Page 43 of Cinderella Hired for His Revenge

That didn’t mean she was completely confident in her role of seductress, though, especially standing above him completely nude and vulnerable.

Grant pushed up off the blanket and knelt before her.

“You’re beautiful, Alexandra.”

With that pronouncement he placed his hands on her hips and leaned forward to kiss her between her thighs. She gasped, knees trembling, hands clutching at his shoulders as he parted her folds with his tongue.

“Grant!”

His first strokes were gentle. As the stars spun overhead and the sea rolled ever closer with each wave, his mouth firmed on her. He slid one finger inside her, pulsing in time with his lips and tongue. Pressure built inside her, intensifying and spreading throughout her body with a languid heat that suddenly escalated as he wrapped his mouth around her clitoris. One tender suck and she exploded, crying out as the pressure burst into pinpricks of light that spiraled throughout her body. She would have collapsed if Grant hadn’t guided her down with his strong hands, pulling her onto the blanket and tucking her into his side.

She didn’t know how long they lay there, her body trembling in the aftermath of her pleasure as Grant’s fingers lovingly caressed her back.

“I was supposed to be seducing you,” she finally said.

Grant’s chuckle reverberated against her cheek.

“You did. I just returned the favor.”

She slid one arm over his stomach and snuggled her face into the crook of his shoulder. His hand paused on her back, then slowly resumed moving over her skin.

“The last time we were like this, we were just a couple miles down the beach from here.”

The warm glow evaporated. No longer did the sea air feel like a balm to the fever Grant had inspired in her. Now it felt cold and harsh as it whipped sand against her bare skin. She shivered.

“I remember that night.”

Grant reached down, captured her chin in his hand and turned her to face him.

“Don’t turn away from me.”

The words were firm, but his voice was kind, his face gentle.

“I’m not.”

“Liar.”

Liar. Yes, she had lied about a great many things, but not trusting him with why she lied had been her biggest mistake. If she trusted him now, would he be able to see who she had become and allow her to atone for her past weakness?

“Why didn’t you tell me that night what was going on?”

She hit pause on the panic building in her stomach and breathed in deeply. The old her would have turned away, wanting to avoid conflict. But it was a reasonable question. It was uncomfortable to revisit that moment, but he deserved an answer.

“I was scared. Scared that if I didn’t break things off you and your mom would be sent back.” Her voice caught. “I remembered the night you told me about finding your father’s body. My heart broke for you. And then it broke for me, because the thought of you being killed...” She closed her eyes against the image that had given her the strength to deliver her performance in the library the following evening, that of Grant lying on a Brazilian street, his chest red with blood and eyes staring unseeing at the sky overhead. “I should have told you what my father had threatened. But I was worried you would confront him, and he would send you back out of spite.”

She opened her eyes to see Grant staring down at her. Did he believe her? Or had the cruel words she’d hurled at him in the library, vicious sentiments that had been festering for the past nine years, done too much damage for him to ever be able to fully trust her?

“I sometimes thought about how you said we should run away. Where we would go.”

A small laugh escaped her lips. “Running away. It’s what I’m good at.”

“Don’t say that.”

She blinked in surprise.

“What?”

“You rebuilt your entire life after losing everything. You could have quit at any point. You could have given up on The Flower Bell after you were turned down for a lease. You stood up to a damned thief.” His arm tightened around her waist. “You have grown into an incredibly strong woman, Alexandra.”

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