here in the dark. . . . “Then she unfastened my bra, and had me lie down on her bed. Before I knew what was happening, she kissed me.”
“Christ,” Declan muttered, and lifted his head to crush his own mouth to hers.
Grace let him, parting her lips when his tongue sought entrance and delved within. He sucked against her, his tongue rubbing hard against her own. His hand slid up toward her breast and she clutched his shoulder with her one free hand, not knowing if she would make him stop or urge him to continue.
A crash of crockery shattered the moment, jolting Grace out of her sexual haze. Cat’s voice let loose with a string of curses, and Grace remembered the mugs she’d left on the bottom step of the staircase.
Panic flooded her. She couldn’t be found like this! She struggled to get out from under Declan, but he weighed her down, his hand still up her top.
“Let me go!” Grace whispered.
“Grace?” Cat called softly into the darkness. It sounded like she was standing in the doorway to the living room, not ten feet away. “Are you in here?”
Grace froze, not daring to breathe.
Declan’s fingers pinched her nipple. She stared, wide-eyed, at him and caught the gleam of light on his grin.
“Grace?” Cat called again.
A lamp clicked on. In its amber glow, Catherine gaped at her.
Frantic in the light of discovery, Grace struggled against Declan and was released, his hand withdrawing from her shirt. Hot with embarrassment, she rolled off the couch and onto the floor on all fours and scrambled to her feet, pulling down her T-shirt.
“God damn you,” Catherine cursed, glaring at Declan.
“I’m astonished you didn’t get further with Grace,” Declan said to her, sitting up. “Look how far she was willing to go with me, a stranger she despises.”
Grace glared at him, too aghast to speak. Her worst doubts about him were proving true, even as her body still tingled with his touch.
“I was curious how far she’d go,” he said, his eyes on Catherine. “I didn’t think she’d let me touch so much as her foot, but she is full of surprises. A minute or two more, and you’d have seen her getting what she so obviously wants.”
The hard words hit Grace in the gut. “I don’t want that!”
Catherine shot a bitter look at her. “Don’t lie to me!”
Her breath caught on a sob of humiliation. She had wanted it while Declan’s hands were on her and his mouth against hers. She’d wanted it with every cell of her body.
“Good thing she’ll be here all summer,” Declan said. “We’ll have plenty of time to scratch that itch.”
Catherine pivoted on her heel and marched from the room. Grace stared after her, then turned to face Declan angrily. “Why?”
“Because you let me. Your type always does.”
“ My type?”
“Dumpy women protesting that they don’t want to be sexual objects. What you really want is a man with the balls to bend you over a desk and fuck you till you can’t see straight. All your feminist crap is a shield you hide behind because you know no guy is ever going to want you enough to do it.”
She shook her head, stunned by his blatant chauvinism. “You’re wrong. It’s not about sex. It’s about respect, it’s about—”
“Everything’s about sex. Grow up and smell the pheromones, Grace. Sexual acceptance and rejection; it’s what makes the world go round.”
“Not my world.”
“Then you’re living in fantasyland. Have fun there, alone with your vibrator.”
She choked on a sob and fled.
CHAPTER
5
G race shivered in the misty air of dawn, her bathrobe inadequate against the chill. The maroon Jaguar and the other cars were all gone, and she wondered which had belonged to whom. The Volvo looked like a piece of forgotten rubbish in the empty courtyard.
Catherine loaded the last of her things into the back of the car and slammed the hatch. “You’re crazy to stay,” she said. “You know that, don’t you? You’ll need years of therapy to
“Christ,” Declan muttered, and lifted his head to crush his own mouth to hers.
Grace let him, parting her lips when his tongue sought entrance and delved within. He sucked against her, his tongue rubbing hard against her own. His hand slid up toward her breast and she clutched his shoulder with her one free hand, not knowing if she would make him stop or urge him to continue.
A crash of crockery shattered the moment, jolting Grace out of her sexual haze. Cat’s voice let loose with a string of curses, and Grace remembered the mugs she’d left on the bottom step of the staircase.
Panic flooded her. She couldn’t be found like this! She struggled to get out from under Declan, but he weighed her down, his hand still up her top.
“Let me go!” Grace whispered.
“Grace?” Cat called softly into the darkness. It sounded like she was standing in the doorway to the living room, not ten feet away. “Are you in here?”
Grace froze, not daring to breathe.
Declan’s fingers pinched her nipple. She stared, wide-eyed, at him and caught the gleam of light on his grin.
“Grace?” Cat called again.
A lamp clicked on. In its amber glow, Catherine gaped at her.
Frantic in the light of discovery, Grace struggled against Declan and was released, his hand withdrawing from her shirt. Hot with embarrassment, she rolled off the couch and onto the floor on all fours and scrambled to her feet, pulling down her T-shirt.
“God damn you,” Catherine cursed, glaring at Declan.
“I’m astonished you didn’t get further with Grace,” Declan said to her, sitting up. “Look how far she was willing to go with me, a stranger she despises.”
Grace glared at him, too aghast to speak. Her worst doubts about him were proving true, even as her body still tingled with his touch.
“I was curious how far she’d go,” he said, his eyes on Catherine. “I didn’t think she’d let me touch so much as her foot, but she is full of surprises. A minute or two more, and you’d have seen her getting what she so obviously wants.”
The hard words hit Grace in the gut. “I don’t want that!”
Catherine shot a bitter look at her. “Don’t lie to me!”
Her breath caught on a sob of humiliation. She had wanted it while Declan’s hands were on her and his mouth against hers. She’d wanted it with every cell of her body.
“Good thing she’ll be here all summer,” Declan said. “We’ll have plenty of time to scratch that itch.”
Catherine pivoted on her heel and marched from the room. Grace stared after her, then turned to face Declan angrily. “Why?”
“Because you let me. Your type always does.”
“ My type?”
“Dumpy women protesting that they don’t want to be sexual objects. What you really want is a man with the balls to bend you over a desk and fuck you till you can’t see straight. All your feminist crap is a shield you hide behind because you know no guy is ever going to want you enough to do it.”
She shook her head, stunned by his blatant chauvinism. “You’re wrong. It’s not about sex. It’s about respect, it’s about—”
“Everything’s about sex. Grow up and smell the pheromones, Grace. Sexual acceptance and rejection; it’s what makes the world go round.”
“Not my world.”
“Then you’re living in fantasyland. Have fun there, alone with your vibrator.”
She choked on a sob and fled.
CHAPTER
5
G race shivered in the misty air of dawn, her bathrobe inadequate against the chill. The maroon Jaguar and the other cars were all gone, and she wondered which had belonged to whom. The Volvo looked like a piece of forgotten rubbish in the empty courtyard.
Catherine loaded the last of her things into the back of the car and slammed the hatch. “You’re crazy to stay,” she said. “You know that, don’t you? You’ll need years of therapy to
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