Page 26 of One Night in My Rival's Bed

I had no idea of the time, but I knew it was way past my bedtime. ‘You should.’

‘But I’m not going to.’

‘Oh, really?’

His eyes glinted with unbridled lust that reignited my own. ‘I’m not finished with you yet.’ And before I could think of a response, his mouth came down on mine.

CHAPTER SEVEN

IWOKETOthe sound of the morning chorus of birds in the trees outside Grayson’s bedroom window and the hum of traffic and it took me a moment to reorient myself. The bed was empty beside me, but I could see the imprint of Grayson’s head on the pillow next to mine. My stomach hollowed out at the memory of all we had done together during the night. I stretched my legs out against the silky sheets and breathed in the scent of him like I was breathing in a potent drug I couldn’t resist.

But Ihadto resist.

We had made an agreement and I was not going to be the one who begged for him to change it.

I threw off the sheet covering me and began to search for my clothes. They weren’t on the floor where I had last seen them but were now neatly folded on the walnut chair. I snatched them up and put them on with as much haste as I could muster, given I’d only had a couple of hours sleep, if that. There wasn’t time for a shower, although I would have loved one. I had to put my game face on and get the hell out of Grayson’s house before I was tempted to pop a toothbrush in his bathroom.

I opened the bedroom door to leave just as he came in carrying a tray with a mug of coffee and some toast on it. I was in such a rush, I collided with the tray and the mug toppled over, splashing coffee all over the front of my dress. Lucky it was black—the dress, not the coffee, although that too was black—but the coffee was steaming hot, and I yelped and pulled my dress away from my stomach.

‘Are you okay?’ Grayson asked, putting the tray to one side.

‘You could have knocked before you came in,’ I said, throwing him a glare so icy it should have frozen him on the spot.

‘Last time I checked, it was my bedroom.’ His tone was as snippy as mine but then he let out a long uneven breath. ‘Sorry. That was uncalled for. Blame it on the lack of sleep.’

‘Well, that’s your fault too.’ I wasn’t angry about the coffee. I was angry I was so touched that he’d brought it to me. It didn’t seem to fit with the one-night stand arrangement we had made. No one had ever brought me coffee and toast in the morning, not my ex, not even Niamh, mostly because I was always up first.

‘Did I burn you?’ The concern in Grayson’s voice and in his expression dissolved my anger on the spot and opened the teensy-weensy crack in my heart a little further.

I released a sigh. ‘No, I overreacted. I’m sorry. You just surprised me, is all.’

He placed a gentle hand on the top of one of my shoulders, his eyes holding mine in such a tender lock my breath caught in my throat.

‘You surprised me too.’ His voice was deep and husky, and I wasn’t completely sure he was talking about the coffee incident or not. Something about the glint in his grey-blue eyes made me wonder if he was recalling every passionate moment we had shared in his bed.

I could feel a blush flowing into my cheeks. Some of those moments in his bed were pretty damn hot. It would probably take me months to forget about them. Years, decades, a lifetime.

‘I’m going to be late for work if I don’t get a wriggle on. Thank you for...dinner and...erm...’ I couldn’t finish the sentence and instead forced my lips into a vestige of a smile.

Grayson brought me a little closer, the warm, clean, fresh scent of him making my senses do cartwheels. How could he look so good after so little sleep? ‘Are you free tomorrow night?’

I blinked like an owl. ‘Why?’

‘We should at least put some ideas on the table for Ethan and Niamh’s house.’

I had forgotten all about my sister and Ethan’s dream house to go with their dream relationship. But would working with Grayson be a dream or a nightmare? Especially now we had done the once-only deed.

‘Oh, right, yes, I guess so.’

His hand fell away from my shoulder, but he was still standing within touching distance.

‘I figure if we show we’re willing to work at it together, it might make them less defensive and more introspective about their plans to marry.’

‘Building a house together is a big commitment. Does Ethan have the money to do it? Niamh has some savings but nowhere near enough to—’

‘He has plenty of money. I oversee the bulk of it, but he has the freedom to spend his allowance and the income he gets from working for me as he sees fit. It helps him feel more independent.’

‘So, he has a real job in your company? Not just a token position?’

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