Sin With Me

12

I round the bed and give A.J. a hug. “You did so good,” I whisper into his ear.

His expression is calm, proud, and extremely satisfied. He squeezes the arm I’ve got around his shoulders. “I didn’t do anything. I’m just the luckiest motherfucker on the planet.”

From behind us, Elizabeth scolds, “Language, dear!”

I go over to her and Thomas, give them both hugs, and say my good-byes. I do the same with Nico and Kat, who is watching me a little too closely for comfort, so I escape with a breezy smile as fast as I can.

And then I say good-bye to Kenji.

“Aunt Kenji,” I pronounce, looking down at him in his chair, “you were fantastic today. I’m very proud of you.”

“You are?” he replies, preening.

“Yes. You didn’t make it all about you, you didn’t complain . . . much, and you didn’t faint once.”

His eyes grow misty. He starts blinking rapidly as if he’s got a speck of dust lodged under a lid. “Oh, lovey, that’s so sweet of you. I don’t care what anyone says, you aren’t a man-eating ballbuster with a shard of ice in her chest where her heart is supposed to be.”

And that, folks, is Kenji’s version of a sincere compliment.

“Thank you. Considering the source, that means a lot.” I lean down and kiss the cheek he offers.

When I turn for the door, I come face-to-face with Barney and Brody. They stand blocking the doorway, looking at me eagerly like they’re in line to have a book autographed by their favorite erotica author.

I say cautiously, “Guys. Nice seeing you.”

Brody says, “You, too, Grace. It’s always great to see you.”

He puts emphasis on the word “see.” Combined with the twinkle in his eye and the way one corner of his mouth tugs up, I know he’s referring to our brief interlude in Nico’s bathroom, where he backed me up against the counter and tried to kiss me. I told him to get lost and gave him a laundry list of reasons why I wasn’t interested, but not before spending a decent amount of time leering at the bulge in his jeans.

I mean, I might be cold but I’m not dead.

Barney says, “Yep. And, uh . . . I wasn’t kidding before. If you ever need a hand around the office . . .”

He shrugs his broad shoulders, leaving the rest of his sentence dangling there between us like a dare.

Brody’s expression sours. He shoots a sharp glance at Barney, and then focuses back on me. “If your plans change on Saturday, I’d love to have you.”

An explicit picture of Brody “having” me pops into my head, complete with an audio soundtrack of our pleasured groans and the sound of a headboard slamming against a wall as Brody f***s me from behind while I’m on my knees in bed, my face buried in a pillow.

Great goddess of peckermelons, get me out of this room NOW.

I say primly, “Sorry. I have a date.”

The smile on Barney’s face is a little too smug. It irks me. Just because I’m shooting Brody down doesn’t mean I want anyone else to be happy about it.

I turn to Barney. “And I was kidding before. I always work alone. Thanks for the offer, though.” I shoulder past them both, retrieve my handbag from the little table just inside the entrance, and then leave without so much as a backward glance. I walk away briskly, my heels clicking against the linoleum floor.

Just before I’m out of earshot, I hear Barney chuckle. “Is she always that hard to read?”

Brody sighs. “Man, you have no f*****g idea.”

I walk a little faster before the wistful tone in his voice makes me turn around and run back in.

A few hours later I’m flat on my back in Marcus’s bed, stuffed to the gills with his thick c**k, taking it like a champ while he bangs the living daylights out of me, when he suddenly stops thrusting and sighs.

“What’s wrong?” I ask, perplexed. “Why are you stopping?”

“Because if I wanted to have s*x alone, Grace, I’d just jerk myself off.”

He stares down at me with his brows lifted, daring me to contradict him.

I don’t bother with a denial. I’m many things, but a woman who fakes an interest in s*x isn’t one of them. “You’re right. I’m sorry. My head is just somewhere else.”

It wasn’t when I got here half an hour ago, but as soon as Marcus slid inside me, it was as if I mentally went offline. I’ve never composed a to-do list in my head during s*x before, but here we are.