I trailed off, realizing what I was about to say.
“Never really what?” His voice was gentle, curious.
“Dated.” The word came out smaller than I intended. “I never dated. In high school, I was too embarrassed for any guy to find out about my home life. And in college, I was just so grateful to have friends that I didn’t want to risk complicating things. Plus, I was working part-time and studying and trying to figure out who I was when I wasn’t just ‘the quiet kid nobody noticed.’”
“So you’ve never…?”
“Never.” I met his eyes, feeling vulnerable but also strangely safe. “I’m twenty-three years old, and I’ve never been on a real date. Never had a boyfriend. Never had someone show me what I’ve been missing.”
The air between us shifted, grew heavier.
“That seems like something that should be changed,” Grady said, his voice lower now.
“I think so too.” My heart was doing acrobatics. “I want someone to show me. What it’s like. What I’ve been missing all these years.”
He leaned forward slightly, his eyes never leaving mine. “I could volunteer for that position.”
There was the slightest hint of amusement on his face, but his eyes were serious. Intense. Like he was asking a question that mattered.
“Could you?” I managed to say.
“I think I’d be very good at it.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because I’m meticulous. Detail-oriented. I believe in doing things right.” His gaze dropped to my lips for just a second before returning to my eyes. “And I think you deserve someone who’ll pay attention. Who’ll make sure every moment is exactly what you need it to be.”
My breath caught. “That sounds…thorough.”
“I’m nothing if not thorough.”
We were sitting so close. Close enough that I could smell his cologne—something clean and understated that probably cost more than my monthly grocery budget. Close enough that I could see the flecks of amber in his dark eyes.
“Yes,” I heard myself say.
“Yes?”
“Yes. I accept your volunteer application.”
His smile grew, just slightly, and I felt it everywhere. “Good.”
Then his eyes shifted, just for a second, to the window beside the door. The window with its clear view into the hallway. The window that meant anyone walking by could see us sitting here, close enough to?—
The air between us was thick with promise, but the view through that window was a splash of cold water. Anyone could walk by. The party was right there. He was the host. This couldn’t happen here. Not now.
He let out a slow breath, the heat in his eyes banked by practicality. “I have to stay until the party is over. Protocol. But after that…”
After that felt like a lifetime away. The want that had been simmering in my veins all day was now a rolling boil, and I didn’t have the strength, or the desire, to turn down the heat. I didn’t want to wait. Besides, the risk of being seen only sharpened the edge of my need, adding a thrilling, dangerous current to the tension.
My gaze remained fixed on the window, watching for danger, as my left hand settled on the fine wool of his dress pants. I felt the solid muscle of his thigh tense beneath my palm. I didn’t look at him, didn’t break my surveillance of the area outside the room, as my hand slid slowly, deliberately, upward.
The thin fabric did little to hide the hard ridge of his erection, and a jolt of pure, feminine power shot through me. He was already this hard for me. Forme. I traced his length through the wool, my thumb brushing over the head, and a sharp, quiet hiss escaped his lips. His hands clenched on the arms of his chair.
Emboldened, my fingers found his zipper. The metallic whisper was deafening in the quiet room. Once his pants were unzipped, I flicked the button open, my knuckles brushing against the hot, tense skin of his abdomen. Still watching the window, I slid my hand inside his underwear.
The feel of him, silken and steel, filling my palm, stole my breath. He was smooth, hot, and achingly real in my hand. My fingers curled around him, learning his shape, his weight, the pulse that beat a frantic rhythm against my skin.
This was Grady Thorne, the unflappable CEO, laid bare and trembling under my touch. It was the most intoxicating thing I’d ever experienced.
