Grant threw back his head and laughed, and the sound of his laughter vibrating in his chest warmed her heart.
He walked across the room with her still in his arms, and set her down by the window.
“Well, hello, husband,” she said.
Grant smiled at her. He had a nice smile. “Is that how humans greet their spouses? I mean, I may be a werewolf, but I’ve seen a sitcom or two. I’m pretty sure no wife says that, ever.”
She grimaced. “Hello,dear. Hello,sweetie.Hey,babe,how was your day?”
He laughed. “And you don’t have to look as if you’re drinking sour milk every time you greet me.”
“Right. No sour milk face. I’ll work on that.”
He was still smiling, and he looked so impossibly sexy and handsome, with rays of sunlight glinting in his thick, dark brown hair, that she wanted to kiss him. To devour him. To feel him inside her. Instead she turned her back to him and stared out the window.
“Relax.” He started massaging her shoulders, and a flood of arousal washed over her like a tidal wave. She stifled a gasp and tensed up.Stop it, Celeste, you can’t have him. This isn’t real.
He stopped massaging her, his hands resting lightly on her shoulders.
“Hey, I might not be your dream man, but you at least have to act as if I don’t make you want to gag when I touch you. Just until the court case is over.” There was a touch of hurt in his voice.
She put her hands on his. “I’m sorry. And you’re everyone’s dream man, believe me. I just… I’m really stressed about this.”
He resumed the massage, and she stifled a moan of pleasure. “You can break into a business or a millionaire’s home without blinking an eye. You talk your way past people for a living. Fooling a county judge and a government employee should be child’s play to you.”
She sighed. “I know. I just never had to worry about anybody else before. This is Jeffrey’s life we’re talking about here. If I screwed things up for myself, it wouldn’t matter to anybody. But Jeffrey’s had a tough, terrible life, and we cannot afford any missteps.”
“It would matter to me if you screwed up your life.”
His hands felt too good. She had to make him stop before she made a total fool of herself.
“Thank you. I need to go to the bathroom.” She hurried away, found the bathroom, and splashed cold water on her face. It didn’t help. She needed to bathe in a tub full of ice cubes. That led to thoughts of being naked, and then she was imagining Grant’s hands on her bare skin again. She shivered and squeezed her thighs tightly together as arousal zinged in her core. She had to get a grip – and not on any part of Grant’s anatomy. If she got involved with him, she knew how badly it would hurt when she had to leave.
When she walked back in to the room, he was unpacking his suitcase. As she moved towards his suitcase, she bumped into a table and almost knocked over a vase. He grabbed for it and caught it.
“Damn,” he laughed. “You are Jennifer’s sister.”
She gave him a puzzled glance. “What do you mean?”
“You know. You’re both clumsy.” He had a twinkle in his eye. “It’s okay, I think it’s cute.”
She shook her head. “Wow, shereallypulled the wool over your eyes. I was always the clumsy one. She was as graceful as a cat. If she acted clumsy around you, it was to make herself seem helpless so you’d be there to rescue her. That was a thing she did with guys.” It always worked, too.
“I see.” He bit the words out and turned away, his eyes gone dark and stormy.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“You didn’t.” His smile was rueful now. “When I look back on it, I know it was just infatuation. I came from this family where everybody was intent on proving how badass they were, how macho they were, how they never needed anybody. Your sister seemed sweet and helpless and she needed a white knight to rescue her. I met her at a bar. She was waitressing and her ex-boyfriend was there threatening her, and she was so scared. He hit her, right in front of me, and I punched him so hard I knocked his lights out.”
“Boone,” she said. “He wasn’t her ex. They set you up. That’s a classic Jennifer move.”
“Wow.” New understanding dawned on his face. “I was a total chump.”
“Hey,” she shrugged. “I was her sister, I knew her better than anybody, and she took me in all the time. It was a game to her, manipulating people. We were so powerless growing up, it was her way of feeling like she was in control.”
“And what’s your way?”
She frowned, turning away from him and hugging herself. “Moving all the time so I don’t have to depend on anybody, ever. Which is why we should keep our distance from each other. Let’s talk about tomorrow. What’s our game plan?”