Page 25 of Forbidden Virgin

Chapter 9

“Amanda mentionedyou’re expanding your hotel group beyond Hawaii,” Mark Preston said after dinner. Most guests had gone inside to enjoy coffee, sweets, and dessert wine in the library, but Mark had stayed behind to smoke a cigarette and Graham kept him company.

“Yes. We’re solidifying our brand and the portfolio has never looked better,” he said, leaning casually against one of the bronze garden statues.

“And you would like my business?” Mark asked before puffing one more time.

“Yes,” he said, ignoring the smoke between them. God, he hated those invisible clouds—his mother had been a chain smoker for as long as he could remember. He’d go to school with the scent clinging to his clothes and the kids made fun of him. The teacher once ended up calling his mother about it.

Mark gave him a once over. “You’re successful, direct, and you don’t kiss ass, Graham. Tell you what. Send me the business proposal. I’ll have my team take a look at it but I give you my word, I’m very interested,” he said, and stretched out his hand.

Graham shook his hand enthusiastically. “Thank you.”

Silence stretched between them and Graham appreciated the quiet. Mark removed the cig from his mouth and held it between his thumb and index fingers. “One more thing. Kate isn’t just your trainee, is she?”

A jolt of surprise surged through him, but Graham didn’t flinch. “No, she’s not.” Hiding the truth bothered him enough. Lying was beneath him, especially when asked. He stretched to his full height, wondering if this chance to nail that deal had just slipped through his fingers.

Mark nodded, apparently unfazed. “That’s what I thought. Do you intend on marrying her?”

Not the type of question he’d expected. “I love her, but there’s a lot we need to work out,” he said truthfully.

Mark inhaled and shook his head. “Her father doesn’t know about it, does he?”

“No. I wanted to tell him but she does not,” he said.

“All right. Well, like I said you’re direct. Send me the proposal.”

“Will do,” he said, then returned to the library and loosened his collar. Only a little bit longer to go. He found the guests discussing a mix of football and politics in a couple of different groups. Amanda seemed a lot more relaxed so he assumed Mark Preston gave her good news too. Graham would have to bite the bullet and work with her in the future.

After Mark left the dinner, he did the same. For the second day in a row, coming back to an empty home corresponded to eating mac and cheese without the cheese. For the past month, whenever Kate didn’t come home at the same time as him, he waited eagerly for the end of her shift and for her arrival.

Sighing with disappointment, he removed his clothes and slid into the shower. Somehow he’d have to get used to living without her. He’d told Preston he loved her but had things to work out. Had his response been a lie or wishful thinking? Could he really ask her to stay? She’d excel in the hotel industry and he could give her a really good executive position. Hell, if she didn’t want to work with him he’d give her a recommendation letter or introduce her to important hoteliers.

Would she even want to, though?

He let the hot water glide through his body, enjoying the side sprays. He closed his eyes and threw back his head.

“Do you need any help scrubbing?” asked the female voice he’d so foolishly gotten used to, and his eyes opened with a start.

Deliciously naked, she joined him in the shower. She grabbed the soap and smiled. Soon the water glided down her body.

“What? What happened?”

“Dad had to catch a flight tonight instead of the red-eye. One of his business partners requested an emergency meeting early tomorrow. So I drove over to your place.” She soaped him up and his cock jumped. “Did I do something wrong?”

Technically, he’d decided not to have sex while Jacob visited but that was no longer an issue. Or maybe his painful erection surpassed any moral ground. “No. You couldn’t have been more right.”

Smiling, he touched her breasts. God, how he had missed them. He slammed her against the wall, and she wrapped her legs around his torso. Holding her, he positioned his cock between her legs and enjoyed the sharp hiss fleeing from her lips. She bucked into him, and he caught her lips in a glorious, soul-searching kiss that left him barer than the absence of clothes.

She put her arms around his neck. He thrust into her, hard and strong. The curve of his knee buckled, and he straightened to keep balance. The sensation of being inside her again caused an indecent amount of tingles to tease his entire body. She caressed the back of his neck, her nails scratching his sensitive flesh. “You’re killing me, baby,” he said.

She licked his upper lip. “We have a lot of catching up to do.”

Holding her waist with one hand, he slid the other down her sex, and soon flicked her clit. If she tortured him, he’d be happy to do the same. Her moans filled the space, and even with the curtain of steam around them he could see her eyes semi-closed. He loved how she writhed under his touch whenever he played with her bundle of nerves.

“Graham,” she called when he pounded her pussy faster, deeper.

He intensified the flicks on her clit, while his cock no longer held back. Once he acknowledged his feelings, a sense of freedom washed over him. A freedom he never knew he didn’t have. She screamed, announcing her orgasm as she trembled undone in his arms. Soon, he let himself go, loving the experience of giving her his most intimate fluid, his seed, until he had nothing left.

---