She took a sniff of her shoulder, sure there was more to the blended smell than mere sex. Like Julia and Ty, she and Grady had bonded. Hadn’t they? She felt emotionally tied to the man, and physically, well, that was a no-brainer. But he hadn’t said he loved her. To her, that would seal the deal, scent or no scent.
“What the hell do you two want?” Grady asked.
Oh boy. The poor guy. But he had her now. He no longer needed Joy, not since he had a prize like Gabby for the taking. So why did that niggle of jealousy refuse to go away?
“How did it go?” Dean asked.
“I’m not giving you details, Dean. Really.”
“Good, because I don’t want them. Really. What I want is an apology for leaving me and Monty to clean up your mess this weekend. We almost lost the Watsons to those idiot McKindrick tours.”
He’d left work for her. She shouldn’t feel so good about him getting in trouble because of it, but that he might have forgotten his work because he was infatuated pleased her to no end.
“Fine. I’m sorry. It slipped my mind.”
“And?” Joy asked.
“And what?” Grady snapped. “Look. You two have done enough. I’m meeting Gabby soon and—”
“And how about an I’m sorry I didn’t trust your judgment, Joy.”
Gabby didn’t understand.
“I don’t trust it.”
Dean snorted. “Please. The only reason Gabby even gave you the time of day was because of us.”
From her vantage point, Gabby could see Joy nod and cross her arms over her generous chest. Joy agreed with Dean, apparently. “She felt sorry for you, because of me.”
“Because of us,” Dean corrected. “I told you mooning after her wouldn’t work. And that dancing, that almost sunk you.”
“You did that to me, dickhead.” Grady snarled and took a step but Joy interceded.
Gabby didn’t know what to think.
“You lost a bet, dumbass. But Joy and I gave you Gabby. We want something in return.”
“I don’t have her yet,” Grady mumbled. “I haven’t told her the truth.”
“Why not?” Joy asked.
Truth? What truth? What the hell were these three talking about? And why did she have the sinking feeling she’d been the butt of a nasty prank?
“Because I’m afraid she’ll hate me,” he said through gritted teeth. “Yeah, your story about Joy dumping me got me close to her. Great. But she’s not going to like knowing I lied to her.”
“True.” Joy buffed her nails on her shirt. “Women don’t like being lied to for sex.”
Gabby saw red. The bastard!
“It wasn’t just for sex, damn it.” Grady’s anger took her aback. “I love her, have loved her. But she wouldn’t take me seriously.”
Dean nodded. “And again I say, where’s the thanks?”
“Look, fuckwad, you lied to her. Then I lied to her. She’s going to be madder than a…fuck. She’ll be madder than Burke when you crashed his car in high school.”
“That was your bad influence and you know it,” Dean protested.
“So what, Grady?” Joy sounded exasperated. “You want me and Dean to pretend to be into each other in front of the others? She’ll never have to know we weren’t in desperate, romantic, passionate love.”
Dean scoffed. “Christ, Joy. That’s a mouthful.”
“Shut up, Dean. Maybe if you had those deep feelings for a female, you’d be more than a man-whore. You’d be a romantic like Grady.”
“I prefer man-slut, thank you very much.” The two bickered like siblings while Gabby tried to gather her wits.
Grady had lied. She’d made love to him thinking him a poor, cheated-on lover while in truth, he’d been scheming to get into her pants.
Yet he said he loved her, and he sounded miserable and guilty about fibbing.
Part of her wanted to claw his eyes out. The other part wanted to hug him tight and never let him go. The cat didn’t like being played for a fool, but she’d gotten sexual satisfaction—and then some—from the handsome feline. The fox loved this game, pleased at finding a mate that could best her. But then, the fox had loved his pranks and conniving ways from the beginning.
She needed time to think things through. At best, she had another half an hour before he returned to her house. What could she do? Slinking away from the fighting and hissing in the cabin, she returned home and made her own plans.
Trick her into loving him, would he? Well, two could play at that game.
Once at home, she dialed a number off the business card she’d received last week. “Miles? Hi. This is Gabby Easton, from the pride. Oh sure. Of course you know who I am.” She cleared her throat, full of nerves. “I need a favor…”
When Grady arrived forty minutes later, he could feel his palms sweat. He’d dressed in his best jeans and button-down shirt. He’d brushed his hair until it gleamed and held a bouquet of Rachel’s freshly picked daisies, wishing he’d had time to buy a ring. But he couldn’t wait. Especially not after dealing with his idiot brother and ditzy Joy. If Gabby thought he’d played her for sex, he’d lose her for sure. And that didn’t bear thinking about.
He knocked and waited.
And waited.
And waited.
“Gabby?”
She answered wearing ratty shorts and a cute top that enhanced her curves. No problem. He didn’t need her in a fancy dress to tell her what was in his heart. Then again, he did his best work on paper. Maybe he should have written her a note.
“Hey Grady.” Her smile was wide and toothy, and made him pause.
He suddenly felt like a wild hare trapped between a cat and a fox with nowhere to run. “Gabby?”
“Oh are those for me?” She drew him inside and put the flowers in a vase.
Her warm thanks relieved him. He must have been imagining things.
She returned to the living room and crossed to kiss him. The moment their lips met, he lost what he’d wanted to say. They broke the kiss, both panting with need.
“I want you, Grady. Right now.”
He had things to tell her, but his protest died under the warm hand curled around his cock. She had an uncanny way of getting around his clothing in no time.
“Oh baby. Whatever you want.”
“I want you to go down on me. I want to watch you lick me.” The dark mischief in her gaze entranced him, as did the sultry vixen looking out at him. He hadn’t seen this side of her before, and he wanted more.
“Good, because I love eating you out.” As much as I love you, he felt with all he had inside him.
She blinked at him and smiled, and there was a softening around her eyes. “Let’s go to my bedroom.”
He hefted her over his shoulder and fireman-carried her into the bedroom in a rush, ignoring her shriek of surprise. He tossed her on the bed and stripped her bare. Then he parted her thighs and settled in for a meal.
She was sweet, so ripe under his tongue. The slick glide through her pussy told him without words how much she wanted him, and he reveled in it, in the possession and awe of having such a strong, sexy woman to call his own.
“Grady, please.” She writhed under his tongue, pushing for more while he intentionally held back, determined to make it last.