Page 44 of Cinderella Hired for His Revenge

She surged forward and kissed him, her hands coming up to frame his face as she pressed her lips against his.

Grant surrendered to his need and hauled Alexandra on top of him. Her naked body seared his chest, her heat seeping through his pants. He sat up, keeping their mouths fused together as he reached between them and fumbled with his belt. Alexandra pushed him back onto the blanket and undid his belt and jeans with deft movements. He reached up, his hands cradling the full weight of her breasts, needing to touch her skin, to feel her and reassure himself that she was here, that she wasn’t going to run away. He’d meant every word he said, but his damned pride and insecurities wouldn’t let him completely forget.

When will you? When will you let go and free yourself?

The thought disappeared as Alexandra rolled his boxers and pants off and his erection sprang free. She settled between his thighs and ran her tongue over every inch of him. He reached down and grasped one hand in his, enfolding her fingers with his as he submitted to the lust she inspired in him.

Until, that is, he could feel his need building, threatening to undo him.

“Enough.”

Before he could grab her, she moved up his body with surprising speed and straddled his hips. His breath caught as she placed the tip of his hardness against her wet heat. Knowing that he had been her first and only made the moment all the more potent as she slowly slid down, losing himself in the pleasure as she surrounded him with her silky tightness.

She rode him, then, dark hair falling over her shoulders as she moved above him, hands braced on his chest. He grabbed her hips, guided the building tempo as they thrust against each other. Her fingernails dug into his chest as her mouth rounded into an O and her head dropped back.

“Grant... I’m... Oh, God!”

He knew the moment her orgasm rolled through her, felt her clench around him as she cried out. Seeing her release, feeling her come around him, sent him over the edge with her, continuing to thrust until she collapsed onto his chest.

Unlike their first night of lovemaking, she didn’t get up. Instead, she curled into his embrace and once more pressed her face into the crook of his shoulder. He reached over and grabbed the extra length of blanket, pulling it up and over. It barely covered both of them, but it provided enough coverage against the dropping temperatures.

He waited until he heard her breathing slow before he glanced down at her face. In the dim light of the moon she looked peaceful and so beautiful it made his chest ache.

It hadn’t just been what sounded like genuine heartbreak in her voice that had caught his attention when she’d explained why she had followed her father’s orders to break off their relationship. It had been the self-loathing when she had described herself as prone to running away. He remembered how many times she’d mentioned feeling weak and submissive during their summer together. Those first two months he’d witnessed it plenty of times himself. David Waldsworth had considered employees beneath him, mere insects compared to his greatness, so he hadn’t bothered to hide his treatment of his daughter. What had it mattered if the hired help witnessed the cruel things he said? How many times had he wanted to come to Alexandra’s defense as her father had lambasted her by the pool for not being friendly enough to a business associate or chastising her for not achieving a spot on the Dean’s List for her spring semester?

Except as he remembered those moments, unfortunately now with stunning clarity, he was also confronted with an even harder question: Why had he dismissed all of that when Alexandra had broken things off with him? He had known how cruel David could be, seen it time and time again. He’d also seen how frantic and upset Alexandra had been the night before. Why had he let her go?

His arms tightened around the woman sleeping peacefully in his arms. He’d blamed Alexandra all these years. But what if, in the end, the person most at fault was him?

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

ALEXANDRAADJUSTEDAstalk of snapdragon before standing back to survey her work. A glass vase full of spring blooms adorned each picnic table, and the mix of lavender freesia, pale pink roses, magenta pieris and orange carnations added vivid color to the backyard, a pleasing contrast against the lush green lawn and the white beach house in the background.

Her eyes drifted up to the balcony before she yanked her gaze away and turned to face the water. Waves rolled in, crashing and tumbling onto the sand toward the grass, then smoothing out and slowly receding into the ocean.

She’d woken up in the circle of Grant’s arms, snuggled deep into the warmth of his chest. They’d walked back to the mansion after the second time they’d made love. He’d carried her up the stairs, stripped her once more of her dress and tumbled her back onto his bed, where he’d worshipped her body again before they’d collapsed in each other’s arms.

The perfect place to wake up and watch through the blinds as the darkness of morning gave way to the soft pastels of dawn. As she’d started to wiggle away, Grant’s hold on her had tightened and he’d pulled her back against him, murmuring something in his sleep before placing a kiss to her forehead that had made her melt back into the bed.

As she’d given in to temptation and surrendered to his embrace, her head resting on his chest as the familiar, comforting rhythm of his heartbeat thudded gently against her cheek, she’d revisited her revelation from the night before.

She was in love with Grant. She might have convinced herself those first few days that she had stopped loving him, but she’d been lying to herself.

The problem now, she realized as a salty breeze came in off the water, was what happened next. She saw more and more of the old Grant: the carefree smiles, the thoughtful touches, the more relaxed approach to life. Mixed with the qualities of the new Grant, like confidence and determination. He’d become a truly incredible man.

A man on the verge of achieving something amazing with his career while she tried to save her tiny little floral shop. A barely there florist with a felon for a father living in a studio apartment she could only afford because of her stepbrother.

She’d grown so much in the past nine years. But was she good enough for the man Grant had become? Did they have a chance at starting over? She’d told him everything, bared her heart and all of her failures. She’d taken away his chance to choose all those years ago and he hadn’t snapped at her or gotten angry, as he’d had every right to do.

She hadn’t trusted him. She hadn’t been strong enough for either of them.

But all he’d done, again, was love her. Held her through the tears, reassured her, kissed her until she hadn’t been able to stand not feeling him against her, inside her, the insatiable need to touch him overriding all of her questions and doubts.

Goose bumps pebbled on her skin as she crossed her arms against the sudden chill. It wasn’t just her own insecurities holding her back from confessing how she felt. No, it was the worry that her father’s past would hurt Grant’s future.

Could she risk telling Grant how she felt? Risk him returning her love again only to have everything crumble once someone made the connection that she was Alexandra Waldsworth, daughter of one of the greediest and cruelest investment managers in New York?

“Miss Moss!”

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