‘You had a horse?’
She grinned, glad to have surprised him for once. ‘For most of my childhood I did. I rode English style of course. Since I started work, I haven’t had time to ride at all.’
Her smile faded as she buried her face in the horse’s mane, inhaling the peppery musty scent. She’d forgotten how much she enjoyed riding before her career overwhelmed her and kept her tied to the city.
Grayson upended the two buckets in the feeding trough and studied her, his expression full of wry understanding. ‘When I was a kid, all I wanted was to stay with my mom’s folks on their ranch. After the divorce, my dad made it almost impossible for me to get back there. I missed it like hell.’ He touched Lauren’s cheek. ‘I’m going to get some hay. Stay here if you want and get acquainted. I’ll be back in a minute.’
By the time Lauren kicked off her boots in the mud room, the outside light had disappeared. She was surprised at how hungry she felt as Grayson guided her into the kitchen and switched on the overhead lights. A worrying thought struck her as she gazed around the welcoming but empty kitchen.
She gave Grayson a cautious smile. ‘Are we going out to dinner?’
He leant back against the counter, the mischievous glint back in his eyes. ‘Not unless you feel like a long drive. The nearest decent restaurant is thirty miles away.’
Lauren glanced uneasily at the shining cook top and oven. ‘You’re not expecting me to rustle up a good old country feast are you? Because despite some very expensive cookery lessons, I burn water.’
Gray walked across to the industrial-sized refrigerator. ‘Luckily for you, I’m a great cook. When you leave home at eighteen and have to earn your own way in the world, you gather a fine collection of paper hats serving at fast food restaurants and food-packaging plants.’
Lauren tried to imagine a young earnest Grayson in a paper hat instead of a cowboy hat and failed. ‘What if I don’t like fries?’
He grinned as he flung open the refrigerator door. ‘I can do better than that. Tomorrow I’ll barbecue but for tonight, my housekeeper left these.’
Lauren took in the stacked plastic containers. Each had a note attached to it detailing a date and brief reheating instructions.
‘You could’ve pretended to cook it all yourself. I’d have been terribly impressed.’
Grayson studied the containers. ‘I didn’t know you couldn’t cook. If I had, I would’ve tried it for sure.’
Lauren crossed to his side and he put a companionable arm around her shoulders. ‘And what would madam like? We have chicken parmesan or beef stew and dumplings.’
‘Chicken sounds great.’ Lauren didn’t care what she ate as long as she didn’t have to cook it. ‘I’ll even volunteer to heat it up if you like.’
Grayson pulled out two of the containers. ‘I’ll man the microwave. How about you set the table? There’s beer in the refrigerator if you like it.’
After discovering an apple pie and a jug of cream as well as the beer, Lauren was well satisfied with her meal. She sat opposite Grayson at the scrubbed pine table and ate ravenously.
Grayson put down his fork. ‘So tell me how you ended up running an antiques business?’
‘It’s not antiques, it’s retro, you know, fifties and sixties stuff. When I was a kid, I used to save up my allowance and buy old Barbies and their outfits.’
She smiled as she remembered her closet crammed full of dolls. Her father had never understood why she preferred them to the expensive gifts he gave her. ‘I always loved the designs from those decades. As I got older, I spent a lot of my weekends searching for bargains at garage and estate sales.’
She stabbed a piece of lettuce. ‘Eventually, my collection grew so large that people started asking me to help out with set design for local theatres and exhibitions. Two years ago, I realised I had an opportunity to develop my own business.’
Grayson smiled. ‘What did you do before that?’
‘I was a lawyer in my father’s accounting firm.’
She caught his look of surprise and grimaced in return. ‘I know. I don’t know how I stood it either. Don’t get me wrong, I know some fine lawyers but I’m definitely not one of them.’
She smoothed her hand over the embroidered white top he’d given her. ‘Now I get to wear all my funky clothes to work. No more pant suits and boring black for me.’
Grayson reached forwards and clinked his beer bottle against hers. ‘I’m all for people doing what they love.’
Under the guise of drinking her beer, Lauren studied his calm expression. Was he the kind of man who would understand how much her business and her independence meant to her? She’d grown so used to her father belittling her achievements she probably sounded defensive.
Nothing further disturbed the quietness between them except the ticking of the kitchen clock and the gentle hum of the refrigerator. Despite the lack of conversation, Lauren was comfortable with Grayson. She should have felt awkward with a man she barely knew but she didn’t.
Grayson seemed to calm her overwrought senses just by sitting there. She’d been drawn to his sense of inner strength and completeness from the moment she’d met him.
When she sat back, she encountered Grayson’s amused gaze. He pointed at the microwave. ‘You’ve got a good appetite. I’ll show you how to microwave some popcorn later if you behave yourself.’
Lauren groaned. ‘Last time I tried that the bag caught fire and I had to buy my friend Ella a new microwave. I’m not risking it again.’
Grayson’s eyebrows rose. ‘You weren’t kidding about the cooking were you?’ He glanced down at the table where a small helping of apple pie remained in the dish. ‘How about we share this?’
As Lauren went to dip her spoon in the bowl, Grayson jerked it away to his side of the table. ‘If you want some, you have to come and sit on my knee.’
Lauren pretended to sigh. ‘I’m not sure if I want it that much. Perhaps I’d better try making some popcorn.’ She gasped as Grayson came out of his seat, put his hands around her waist and lifted her clear across the table. She clutched at his shirt as he settled her on his knee.
‘After all the food we’ve just eaten, I’m surprised you didn’t rupture something.’
Grayson held his right arm out in a traditional strongman pose and flexed his biceps. ‘Honey, I’ve lifted chickens heavier than you. I didn’t feel a thing.’ He leant across the table and grabbed her abandoned spoon, presenting it to her with a flourish. ‘I bet I can eat faster than you can.’
In her childish desire to beat him, Lauren forgot to care about her manners. It was only when she sat back, her spoon filled with the last piece of apple that she realised she’d spilt dessert all down the front of her blouse. With a shrug, she popped the apple in her mouth and smiled triumphantly at Grayson.
‘I win, cowboy. You might be good at lifting heavy things but I’m a lot quicker at eating.’
Grayson grinned, his eyes fastening on the trail of cream down her blouse. ‘But as the loser, I get to clean up.’ He lowered his head. Lauren tried not to purr as he licked the cream from her lips and slid his mouth down her throat. His hands slid off her shoulders to cup her breasts.
Lauren closed her eyes as Grayson stroked her erect nipples between his fingers and thumbs. He drew them out from her body, tugging gently until she leant away from him, conscious of the mixture of pleasure and pressure. He kissed her deeply, his mouth tasting of apple pie and light beer as he continued to hold her captive.
With a sound of deep approval, he drew her covered nipple into his mouth and began to suckle. The strength of his mouth on her sensitive skin made her press closer. Without releasing her breast, he put his hands on her waist and shifted her until she straddled him. Her short skirt retreated to her hips, uncovering her bare legs and butt.
Without conscious thought, she pressed herself against the zipper of his jeans, enjoying the rough sensation of the cloth against her skin, seeking his hardness, rocking into it. A groan escaped him as he transferred his mouth to her other waiting breast.
‘I want this to be slow, Lauren. I want you to enjoy it.’
In answer, she undulated her hips against his in a fast demanding tempo which soon made him thrust back at her. He grabbed her ankles, crossed them at the small of his back and stood up, pushing her down onto the table. One handed, he pulled off her top as she fumbled with the buttons of his shirt. She tried not to laugh as he picked up the cream jug and held it over her head.
‘You forgot to finish the cream.’
‘You like cream, don’t you, Grayson?’
His gaze dropped to her crotch and he fingered her damp panties. ‘Yeah, I do, especially when it’s on you.’
He angled the jug and poured a thin stream of cream in a figure-eight shape down onto her exposed breasts. The coldness surprised her. Lauren moaned when his mouth and fingers returned to lick and suckle her cream-coated skin.
His weight kept her trapped against the edge of the table and her pussy began to throb with need. He rolled his hips in a steady tempo, mimicking the subtle pull of his mouth and fingers. Lauren came with a shudder that ripped a scream from her mouth.
Before she’d finished, Grayson picked her up and headed for his bedroom. He set her on her feet, one arm around her waist to stop her from falling. She reached for his belt at the same moment he did. His fingers fell away.
‘Be my guest, honey, but be careful with that zipper.’
Lauren struggled to undo the top button and then slid her hand inside his jeans as she slowly slid the zipper down. With a delighted sigh, she knelt in front of him. As he stepped out of his jeans, she reached forwards and grasped his heavy shaft at the base. He shuddered, his muscled stomach contracting sharply inwards.
‘Lauren . . . I’m real close to coming. If you touch me, I’ll . . .’ Gray licked his lips as she licked the tip of his cock. His hand threaded through her hair, holding her there as she swirled her tongue over the engorged slick head.
As she toyed with him, Gray closed his eyes and tried to fight against the need to push himself more fully into her soft wet mouth. Her fingers moved from the base of his shaft and caressed his balls, sending shivers of ecstasy up his spine. He couldn’t stop the thrust of his hips and surged deeply into her mouth. She sucked him hard, just how he liked it, her teeth grazing his shaft as she worked him. He couldn’t quell the raging desire to come, which swiftly consumed and drained him.
When Lauren got to her feet she smiled. Gray waited as she kissed him full on the mouth. He tasted himself, needed her again.
‘I’ve wanted to do that ever since I met you,’ Lauren murmured.
Gray caught her hand and laced his fingers through hers. ‘Do what?’
She wiggled out of her skirt and faced him. ‘That.’ She stroked his semi-hard cock, which responded by filling out again. Gray allowed Lauren to pull him over to the bed.
‘Most women seem to hate touching a man there.’
Lauren rolled until she was on top of him. Her breasts swung in his face. He licked the tip of her right nipple.
Lauren snorted. ‘The way you fill out a pair of jeans, I’m surprised women aren’t lining the block to be allowed to touch you.’
Her tart remarks amused him and he kissed her luscious mouth. ‘If I’m such a stud, maybe I should start charging. How much are you willing to pay me?’
She bit his shoulder. ‘I get you for free this weekend and next and don’t you forget it.’
He slid his fingers down past her soft curls and sought her swollen entrance. He couldn’t believe how ready she was for him again. She knelt up, grasped his cock and lowered herself down onto him. He held still deep within her, felt the clench and release of her internal muscles around his thick cock.
‘Ride me slow, honey. Make me wait.’
Lauren smiled at him as she rose slowly onto her knees. ‘Have I worn you out already?’
He swallowed hard as she almost let him come out of her. ‘Hell, no, darlin’, I was thinking of you.’
He fought a groan as she lowered herself down again and tried to watch his cock disappear inside her. Desperate to see more, he moved up the bed until his back was against the headboard.
Her breasts swung against his face and he rubbed his unshaven cheek on her soft flesh. Mesmerised, he watched the rise and fall of her body over his. His need to come grew. He fought the urge to grab her hips and push the pace.
Her eyes were closed, a small frown on her forehead the only external sign that she was close to coming. He felt it inside her though, the vicelike grip of her sheath around his cock, squeezing him until he wanted to yelp like a puppy. His balls tightened and his come travelled up his shaft.
Gritting his teeth, he held himself deep and tight inside her as her orgasm crashed over them. Only when he felt her relax did he allow his climax to shudder through him. She collapsed onto his chest, her face hidden against his shoulder. He stroked her hair as she burrowed closer and kissed his throat.
Gray stared up at the white ceiling and settled Lauren against his side as she drifted off to sleep. Her comments about his empty house and solitary life kept repeating in his mind. Had he really chosen his own path or was he paralysed, waiting for his father’s approval before he could move on again?
Grayson grimaced and glanced down at Lauren’s quiet face. Dammit, she was making him think like a woman. He wanted to live here, he believed in his choices. He smiled remembering her comment when he suggested paying him stud fees. Unable to resist touching her, he smoothed his finger over her luscious lower lip. If he had his way, she’d spend the rest of her life getting him for free.
Chapter Five
Lauren opened her eyes and immediately shut them again. It was dark. She couldn’t possibly have heard an alarm clock. Beside her, Grayson yawned, stretched out one long arm and silenced the annoying bell. Lauren sighed as he gathered her close and kissed the top of her head.