Protecting Lily Read online

  Lily was his.

  He didn’t share.

  For the past three days he relieved their kiss over and over. He’d sat in his chair watching her work. Walking with her to and from the vault as she collected the diamonds and started playing around with them on the fabric. And every time they were together he wanted to touch her. To run his hand down her hair. Smooth away the frown lines when she wasn’t happy with what she saw in front of her.

  Every day he walked her to her car and watched until her car disappeared from sight. Each time he wanted to kiss to her. Each time he wanted to feast upon her. Each time he wanted to lose himself within her arms.

  Lily had no idea she possessed a power over him. A power he had to fight if he was going to walk away unscathed from this job. Even the news Ash had given him that Wayne was still in the USA couldn’t fire him up the way watching Lily work had done.

  Lost in his thoughts he was unprepared for the punch he received in his arm.

  “You bastard. Get out. Get out of my office and don’t come back.”

  He deserved those words and more. He could hear the desolation in her voice and he hated himself. Hated the fact he was the one responsible for hurting her.

  Grayson turned back, despising himself even more when he saw the tears in her eyes. He’d used her like she was a worthless piece of paper. As if she had no value. But she did. She was more valuable than the diamonds she currently worked with.

  He lifted a hand to touch her face but she flinched away from him. “I’m sorry.”

  “Oh please, you’re not sorry. You’re like all males. Have to prove the point that you’re right. That you’re better than everyone else. Well guess what, Grayson. You’re not.”

  The tears in her eyes killed him. Why had he’d done it? Why had he wanted to prove that he could make her beg? What point did it prove anyway? The moment he tasted her he wanted to lose himself in her. He should’ve been begging her to take him. He needed to do the begging now. He needed to beg for her forgiveness.

  “Please, Lily. Look at me. I’m sorry.” He reached out to pull her toward him. She took a step back. He wasn’t planning on giving up though. “You have every right to hate me. I am the bastard you call me. I’m an asshole and I deserve your anger.”

  “Well how magnanimous of you to admit that. But it still doesn’t change my mind. I want you out of here.”

  She went to brush past him, her blouse buttoned incorrectly and her hair disheveled. He couldn’t let her walk out there like that. She probably had no idea how she looked.

  He got to the door before she did. Standing behind her he put one hand against wall above her, effectively trapping her against him.

  He leaned down and whispered into her ear. “I’m sorry, Lily. So very sorry. I wish I could take back what I said.”

  “You can’t.”

  “I know.”

  Grayson rested his cheek lightly on her hair, before straightening and turning Lily to face him. Tears streaked her cheeks. Her nose a shiny red. She looked adorable and he still wanted her. Gently he swiped away her tears with his thumb before replacing his thumb with his lips.

  He kissed his way down till he got to her lips. “I know I don’t deserve a chance to explain, but I’m going to take it anyway. I heard you and Rita talking. I heard Rita asking about you going on dates. What I heard knifed me in the gut with an emotion I’ve never felt before. I was jealous. I’ve never been jealous in my entire life. I didn’t know what to do. The thought of you seeing someone else, kissing him,” he swallowed. “Sleeping with him. I couldn’t handle it so I lashed out at you. I said and did things I shouldn’t have done.”

  “You’re right you shouldn’t have said what you did. I thought you were different. I don’t know why though. You’re all macho and I don’t like macho. I like safe men.”

  “Safe can be boring.”

  “Boring can good.”

  A small crack appeared in her shell. He planned to smash it wide open. “But you have to admit,” he pointed to the desk. “Boring wouldn’t give you what we almost shared on your desk. What I want to finish.”

  Grayson threw caution to the wind and took her lips again. He cradled her in his arms like she was the finest piece of china he’d ever held. He wanted to let Lily know how precious she was to him.

  His cock stirred back into life and while he’d like nothing more than to take what his body wanted. He let his brain rule the situation.

  He broke the kiss and rested his forehead on hers. “Have dinner with me tonight. Let me take you on a date. Let me show you that I’m not a jerk or asshole or bastard. Let me show you I can be a good guy.”

  9

  Lily looked at her watch again. Then the clock on the microwave. Then the wall clock. With each flashing colon or annoying tick tick tick it became clearer and clearer—Grayson had stood her up.

  Six o’clock he said. On the dot. I won’t be late. Thank you for giving me another chance he said.

  And she believed him. Like the insecure-I’m-never-going-to-be-adopted-or-loved girl she was she’d believed him. Dammit she’d believed every word Grayson said to her because she wanted to think she was special.

  How many more times did she have to get let down before she stopped taking words at face value.

  She reached for the zipper at the back of her dress when the doorbell rang. She looked up at the clock—seven o’clock. Her heart leapt momentarily on the thought that perhaps she hadn’t been stood up after all.

  Could she be anymore stupid? When she opened the door no way would Grayson be standing on the other side of the wood and glass. A knock sounded again. Louder, more impatient as if the person didn’t appreciate being kept waiting.

  Sighing she walked over and pulled it open, gasping out loud at what she found standing on her doorstep.

  “Grayson! What the hell?”

  All anger and thoughts of rejection forgotten in a split second at the sight of a battered, bruised, and bleeding Grayson.

  She pulled him by the hand into her house, checking down the street to see if whoever had hurt Grayson was still lurking about. Had he been attacked when he walked up the steps to pick her up for their date? Is that the reason he was late?

  All she saw was her dimly lit street, most of the lights obscured by the big, bushy trees lining the sidewalk.

  “Can I have some water? Please.”

  Lily whirled around and slammed the door shut at the same time. “Of course, come into the kitchen. Shit Gray what happened?”

  She slipped her arm around Grayson’s waist and guided him down the hallway to her kitchen. Once in the big, bright airy room, she sat him down at the kitchen table and pulled a bottle of water out of her fridge. Before handing it to him she opened the freezer and pulled out an icepack. She walked back to where he sat, or slumped more to the point and gave him the water.

  Should she call a doctor? A bruise was forming around his eye and he had a visible lump on his forehead. A cut on his left cheek was the cause of the blood trickling in a shiny red line down his face. She made a slight detour toward the sink and grabbed some paper towel. Ripping off a couple of sheets, she put them under the faucet. Once completely dampened she squeezed out the excess water and picked up her hand towel and tea towel.

  Lily walked back to the kitchen table and sat in a chair next to Grayson.

  “Here,” she said quietly and held out the ice pack she’d wrapped in the tea towel.

  Grayson took it and rested it against the lump. With the damp paper towel in one hand and the hand towel in the other Lily patted gently at his cheek, wiping away a combination of dried and fresh blood.

  “Do you need a doctor?” she asked after a few minutes.

  Grayson shook his head and winced. “No I’ll be fine.”

  “Wanna tell me what happened?”

  “It’s a long story.”

  “I don’t know about you, but I’ve got time. I didn’t have any firm plans for the evening,” she
finished on a small chuckle.

  Again Grayson winced. “Yeah, sorry for being late. I was detained.”

  “Nooo, you don’t say? I thought for sure you’d changed your mind and decided I was too much like hard work.”

  She’d tried for sarcasm, and failed. She hadn’t been able to keep the hurt and the depth of her true feelings at bay.

  A warm hand landed on top of hers, sandwiching it against his cheek. “I’m sorry, Lil. If I was in a position to call you I would’ve. Something came up. Something I needed to deal with. I never expected it to take this long or for me to end up like this.”

  Lily pulled her hand out, ignoring the way the damp paper towel jerked at Grayson’s cut. She stood up, putting some distance between them.

  “Telling me something came up isn’t good enough. Something could be anything. A wife, fiancée, girlfriend. Anything. I don’t want to be someone’s second best. Or someone’s I’ll get to you later person. For once in my life I want to be someone’s first. The first person they think of when they wake up. The first person they want to call with good news. The only time I want to be someone’s last is when they go to sleep at night and I’m the last person they think of.” Lily gripped the sink, her fingers turning white with the pressure. “All my life I’ve been an after thought. The girl pushed aside for the prettier, cute, younger one. The one who people wanted to adopt. Is it too much to ask to be someone’s first?”

  She heard the scrape of the chair. The sound of light footsteps. The feel of arms slipping around her. The smell of a musky aftershave mixed with a natural masculine scent. The sight of remorse in the eyes of a man when she was turned in those strong arms.

  “No, it’s not and if given the opportunity, I want you to be my first.”

  Lily wanted to believe his words. She wanted to know that nothing truer was spoken, but how could she trust him.

  “How am I supposed to think what you’re saying is what you really want when you won’t even tell me about what happened to you.”

  Grayson pulled her with him and sat back down on the chair, with her perched on his legs.

  “Two months ago my business partner ran off with half a million dollars that belonged to a client we were doing security for. He was a big time gambler and he entrusted us to look after his winnings. Transfer it to a secure location. Only Wayne decided he wanted the money instead. The client had gone on a huge bender after his big win so he was living the high life in Vegas and had no idea Wayne had skipped out with the cash. Fortunately I had investments and shares—my nest egg. I was able to use those holdings to cover the loss and the client never knew. I was out of pocket, but my reputation was still intact.”

  “Isn’t that illegal?” Lily asked. “Aren’t you as culpable as Wayne is by covering up what he did?”

  “In a way yes, but there are a lot of shady business practices out there and even though I don’t feel proud of what I did. I did what I had to do to protect me, and my business. I’d do it again if I had to.”

  Lily didn’t know what to make of Grayson’s story. Everything in her felt what he’d done was wrong and if it came out he could go to jail. And what about his partner? Had the gambler found out Grayson’s cover up and had come after him, hence the beating Grayson had that night?

  She touched his cheek with the tip of her finger. A feather touch so as not to cause him any pain. “Did that client do this to you? Did he find out about your cover up?”

  “No, and to be honest he really wouldn’t care too much. He got his money and at the end of the day that’s all he really cared about. Besides he lives on the edge of life with drugs and women. He’s not the type of client I really want for my business. He really was more the type of client Wayne tried to bring continually into our business.”

  “Right, so if it wasn’t this guy then who did this to you?”

  “Wayne.”

  “Wayne? You mean you found him. Did he still have the money?”

  “Yes I found him. Well an ex-military friend who is a PI, amongst other things, traced Wayne to a location in New Jersey. Ash called me after I left you today to say it looked like Wayne was preparing to leave town. I couldn’t let that happen so I met with Ash and together we went to see Wayne. Let’s just say things turned ugly pretty quickly. If you think I look bad you should see Wayne.”

  Lily shuddered at the thought. If Grayson’s friend was ex-military she’d hazard a guess he was also a former seal. The two together would be a dangerous combination.

  “Will he be okay? Wayne that is.”

  “He will be.” Grayson chuckled then winced again and placed a hand on his ribs. Immediately Lily placed her hand over his.

  “Let me look at your ribs? You might have broken something. I really should take you to the ER.”

  “Stop it, sweetheart. I’ve had broken ribs before, they’re bruised at best. I don’t need a hospital. The only place I need to be is with you.”

  Lily relaxed a little and wrapped her arms around him, resting her head on his shoulder. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

  “Me too.”

  They sat there for endless minutes, arms wrapped around each other. Content to take the strength they needed from each other.

  Grayson hurt like hell but there was no way he planned to move. He liked the feeling of having Lily in his arms. He’d thought she needed protecting but it turned out she was a strong woman. She hadn’t flinched when he turned up bloodied and bruised on her doorstep.

  He knew he should’ve gone home, cleaned himself up before coming to see her. He’d been looking forward to taking her to dinner. Finding out her favorite foods and drink. Asking her about her business and her relationship with Rita. But he hated knowing he’d broken his promise about picking her up on time. The words he’d said about wanting to be her first were true.

  Defying his own rules, he’d fallen for her and he wanted to know everything he could about her. Would he get that chance again?

  Lily stirred in his arms and pulled away. He wanted to tighten his hold and never let her go. Only his legs were starting to go numb.

  “Are you hungry?” she asked as she stood and straightened her clothes.

  His stomach growled. “I guess there’s your answer.”

  Lily laughed and he enjoyed hearing the sound. He hoped he could make her laugh more often. “I guess it is. Why don’t we order pizza or chinese?”

  “Chinese sounds good to me.”

  “Okay, go into the living room and I’ll make the call.”

  Grayson pushed himself up from the chair. His legs burst to life with the sensation of pins and needles from sitting too long. He bit back a curse and gave each leg a shake to get the circulation going again. When he felt confident enough to walk, and not collapse in a heap, he wandered over to where Lily stood studying a Chinese take-out menu.

  He came up behind and laid his hands on her shoulder. She looked up at him and smiled softly.

  God, she was beautiful.

  He leaned down and kissed her gently. A simple thank you for everything she’d done for him over the last hour. Hell the last couple of weeks.

  He was about to break the kiss when she twisted in his arms and opened her mouth. He didn’t need a second invitation; he widened his stance and gripped her hips as his mouth roved over hers.

  Her moan pierced his soul and he picked her up. His injured muscles and sore ribs stretched in annoyance at the movement, but he didn’t care. He had Lily and he was going to finish what they’d started twice before in her office.

  “Bedroom,” he muttered against her lips.

  “Up the stairs.”

  10

  Everything they’d been doing the last three days, actually since the day they met had been leading up to this moment. The moment in time where you got down to basics. The moment where you threw caution to the wind and followed instinct instead of a list. The moment where you were just a girl and a boy and nothing else mattered in the world.

  Yes,
this perfect moment in time.

  Lily sighed deeply when Grayson walked into her bedroom and set her down on the floor. Not giving her a chance to say or do anything. His lips, once again, captured hers. Her hands moved to his leather jacket and pushed it off his shoulders. A groan emitted from him and she immediately pulled her lips away from his.

  “Did I hurt you?” She could’ve kicked herself with the stupid question she asked. The guy had been in a fistfight with his former partner. “I’m sorry, of course I hurt you. What are we thinking?”

  The perfect moment broken.

  Hands clasped her face. “Stop it, sweetheart. I’m fine. And no more thinking. Time to feel.”

  His hands moved from her face to the zipper at the back of her dress. In the silent room the sound of the metal splitting open seemed ten times louder than it possibly could be. The fabric loosened and she let it fall off her shoulders to pool at her feet. She stood in front of Grayson in her mint green matching lace bra and panties set. It was a new design, one she’d just received the samples for.

  “Beautiful. I almost don’t want to touch you.”

  “Please do.”

  Grayson smiled his sexy I’m-going-to-make-you-scream smile. “I said almost.”

  She laughed and expected him to reach for her, instead he pulled his shirt off. His movements slow and steady so as not to aggravate his injuries, but she saw him wincing.

  “Gray—”

  “I’m fine.” He said as the shirt came off. His hands were on his pants undoing his button and fly. “Don’t ask me to stop because, quite honestly sweetheart, it would be impossible.”

  In the next instant he stood in front of her totally naked. Areas of his torso showed patches of red, blue and purple. She walked over and lightly touched the marks.

  “Do they hurt?”

  Grayson moaned. “Not when you touch them like that. But there is one part of me that is aching for you to touch.”