Page 37 of Queen of Spades

My mouth opens, but nothing comes out.

It’s kind of an accomplishment, but I have no words.

“Goddamn, you’re cute when you're flustered.” Grady’s lips tip up, and he winks.

This fucker actually has the audacity to wink at me right now.

I’m getting entirely too close to my heat, considering how the little crinkles near his eyes and the way his strong chest stretches that T-shirt to perfection nearly distract me from the moment at hand.

“You could just trust me, and I could drop to my knees in apology,” he tries to negotiate. “You obviously popped up because you need my knot.” His muscular arms cross over his chest, and he gives me a playful grin.

God, he really is one of the most attractive men I’ve ever seen.

And he has a great cock.

He also knows exactly how to use it.

“Are you considering my offer?”

“You’ve been lying to me since we met.” I shake away the illogical thoughts and aim for the other door.

“Yeah, but think about how much you love that little thing I do with my tongue…”

A horrible sound between a scoff and a snort escapes. “You’re delusional.”

The cold handle turns in my palm, and the door flies open. There’s no normal bedroom furniture. Well, there’s a desk and a chair, but there are also three large boards filled with pictures of me.

My eyes hone in on a blue box atop the desk. It has a silver ribbon, but not the kind tied around it. It’s more the kind with the ribbon glued to the top of the box.

I stomp over.

My hand shakes as I run my pointer finger over the scratchy fabric of the bow.

I twist my head until I can see Grady over my shoulder.

He’s got a lazy smirk on his face as he leans against the doorframe with his arms crossed over his chest. The bottom of his T-shirt is pulled up, showing a few inches of his abs.

Is he really diabolical enough to do a sexy pose right now?

“If I would have known you were popping over, I’d have made sure I had a real gift.” He laughs, and my screwed-up body finds it just as attractive as I always do.

My heat is coming way too fast for this level of revelations.

Yanking the lid off, I toss it aside on the desk.

One hand flies to cover my mouth as the other dips inside the box.

“You dick. This is where all my panties keep disappearing to!” I glare at him over my shoulder, but my gaze quickly moves back to the box.

There are security bracelets from all the clubs Grady and I have gone to over the last couple of years. There’s a set of my favorite earrings that went missing six months ago, but mostly, there’s a crap load of my underwear.

“You total weirdo,” I say distractedly.

My impulses think it’s kinda romantic that he’s been stealing my things.

I mean, they’re in a box with a ribbon.

That makes it feel like he considers them a gift.

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