Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 63311 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 317(@200wpm)___ 253(@250wpm)___ 211(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63311 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 317(@200wpm)___ 253(@250wpm)___ 211(@300wpm)
I shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ll find something.”
“Mmm. You have frosting”—Graham gestured at my hair—“just there, stuck in your eyebrow.”
I brushed at my eyes and winced. “Gross.”
“By the way, I don’t pity you. On the contrary, I admire you. No matter your slightly unethical means, it takes courage and a certain evil genius to con your way into The Horsham Group,” he commented with a laugh.
“Yeah, well…”
“You should stay.”
“Huh?”
“You heard me. You’re here now. What you don’t know can be learned.”
“Is there a Horsham handbook for executive protocol and decorum?” I snarked.
“Not that I know of. I’ll ask Bernadette in the morning.”
“Don’t. That’s embarrassing.” I swiped my hand over my stubbled jaw and flashed a wobbly smile his way. “I’d need an English etiquette tutor. Know anyone?”
I was joking…obviously. I wanted to leave him on a positive note. No regrets.
“No, but—”
“Oh, my God, you’d be perfect! You could teach me Britishisms like you did at the bar. Knob heads are dickwads, bell ends are…?”
“Idiots,” he deadpanned, his lips curling at one corner.
“Got it.” I impulsively reached over to squeeze his hand when the Range Rover stopped at a light near the Marble Arch. “I’ll get out here.”
Graham glanced out the window. “This isn’t Kensington.”
“Close enough.” I unbuckled my seat belt, and tapped on the screen to ask Collins to pull over before shifting to Graham. “Thank you. This has all been surreal and weird, but I’m eternally grateful the universe transpired to make you the guy who reminded me to wake up and look out for myself. Take care.”
On a whim, I kissed his cheek. A good-bye kiss, a thank-you kiss, a friendly, no-big-deal kiss.
But Graham intercepted and crashed his mouth over mine. And all my good intentions flew out the window.
My initial surprise faded in a heartbeat. I hummed against his lips, threading my fingers through his hair at the nape of his neck as I tilted my chin to deepen the connection. Our tongues twirled and twisted in a slow, experimental dance that quickly escalated. Graham held my face between his hands and devoured me, licking my lips and kissing me breathless.
Memories of Vegas flitted through my subconscious. How easy it had been to talk to him, be with him, have him over me, inside me. It had only been one night, but it had been a damn good one. I wished we could have a second chance. I wished it were as simple as inviting him to my flat and continuing where we’d left off last month in that hotel room.
But it wasn’t. We might have been in the same city, but we were worlds apart. I’d seen his kingdom firsthand now. I knew it was impossible. Hell, he’d told me himself that I didn’t belong. He hadn’t been cruel…he’d been honest. This wasn’t my place, and I wasn’t going to be anyone’s dirty secret again.
I pushed away with a sigh, brought his knuckles to my lips, and smiled. Then I opened the door and stepped into the night.
9
GRAHAM
“Home, sir?”
“Uh…one moment.” I jumped out of the Range Rover and stared after Raine’s retreating figure, paralyzed with indecision. Should I call him back and demand to take him home?
No, of course not. I had no power here. He wasn’t my employee, wasn’t my lover. He was nothing to me. We were never supposed to meet, but some fluke of nature or blip in the space-time continuum had brought us together—not once, but twice—like a cosmic accident. Or a coincidence.
But I didn’t believe in coincidences. There was usually a reason for everything.
Except for Raine.
He wasn’t someone I was supposed to know. He couldn’t be.
He seemed younger than thirty-two, but he wasn’t fragile. Under his wrinkled suit coat and finger-combed hair was a capable man of steely resolve. He would never have come this far without some modicum of cunning and courage. I liked that about him. I respected it. He didn’t need a ride home now any more than he’d needed one from that Vegas bar last month.
The curious combination of his strength and naïveté still fascinated me, but there was nothing here for either of us…personally or professionally. So what in God’s name was I doing standing in the rain like a thwarted lover?
I swiped moisture from my forehead and climbed into the waiting SUV.
One week later…I couldn’t stop thinking about him.
Frankly, it was unsettling. It was one thing to have fond reminiscences over a sexual encounter and perhaps even wish a repeat was possible. But it wasn’t. He wasn’t fit for the job he’d lied his way into, yet I’d told him he could stay. I’d even offered to send him to another office in his country.
Me. I did that. It hadn’t mattered how stupid it was; there was a real part of me that liked the idea of having an excuse to spend time with him.