Just One Reason Page 9

  I pulled back to look at him. I was the one surprised. Surprised that it was so clear, even to a total stranger. And a guy. Guys never pick up on stuff like that. Cam ruffled my hair and led me back to the car. “Don’t worry about it, Lindsay. But you have to promise we can stay friends.”

  I grinned at him. “Of course.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Grady

  Against my better judgment I let Josh and Leah drag me to Cam’s house on Labor Day for a party. Hell, even Ford was going. I knew Lindsay would be there, having heard from Leah how Cam had taken Lindsay out twice since he’d been back in town. Biggest client or not, if I had to hear one more word about how great this guy is I might have to take him out.

  While Leah complained about looking like a beached whale and Josh did his best to tell her how beautiful she was and how she was glowing, or some shit like that, Ford and I went on ahead and found the beer. I had to give it to Cam. The guy knew how to throw a party. There was a full bar and tables full of food. Cam was out on his boat when we arrived, taking people water skiing. At least he was getting some use out of it.

  I took a swig of my beer and stripped off my shirt, leaving me in just my swim trunks. When I raised my eyes after dropping my shirt on a lounge chair, I met Lindsay’s big blue eyes across the yard. Actually her eyes were on my chest and arms. I forgot she had never seen my tattoos up close and personal. They were all done in the years after she left. I would have expected a city girl like her to turn up her nose at tattoos, but even from across the yard I could see the interest in her eyes.

  I took the opportunity to let my gaze sweep down her body, and as always, I liked what I saw. She was wearing a bright pink bikini with a black skirt thing tied around her small waist. Her skin was so pale and flawless, my fingers itched to touch her. When she realized she was staring at me and I was staring back at her, she flipped her long hair over her shoulder and walked down to the beach where Leah was settling into a chair.

  Cam was out on his boat, so I might as well have a little fun. When the cat’s away… Leah didn’t stop talking as I walked over and sat down on the other side of Lindsay, who narrowed her eyes at me and flipped her sunglasses down to cover her eyes. Those eyes should never be covered up. I blatantly ran my eyes over her body.

  “Looking good, Bambi,” I said.

  She rolled her eyes. Even behind the dark glasses I could see that. She fully turned toward Leah so her back was to me and continued to tell Leah about her date with Cam. Now it was my turn to roll my eyes.

  I lay back to enjoy the hot sun for a while. When I realized Leah was finally silent, I cracked one eye open to see Lindsay struggling to apply sunscreen to her back. Shit, I had missed most of the sunscreen show. There was almost nothing I loved to watch more than Lindsay rubbing sunscreen all over her body.

  “Need a hand?” I asked with a sneer.

  She huffed at me, “No thanks. I’d rather get skin cancer.”

  I laughed, “Come on, Lindsay. I promise I’ll be good. Back only.”

  She eyed me skeptically.

  I held my hands up in surrender. “Seriously. My hands won’t wander anywhere.” Yes, I wanted to touch her any way I could. But I also needed her to wear sunscreen. Her skin was so pale, and it would burn terribly without it.

  She relented and threw the sunscreen bottle at me and turned in her chair, pulling her hair over her shoulder. I took my time squeezing the lotion out and rubbing it between my hands to warm it up. When I smoothed it over the soft skin of her shoulders and neck, I felt her relax involuntarily into my touch. I massaged the lotion into every inch of her upper back before dipping my fingers underneath the tie of her bikini, wishing I could pull the strings and free her perfect breasts. But instead I continued rubbing the lotion onto her lower back, right down to the top of her bikini bottoms. I didn’t miss the shiver that ran through her body when I ran my hands to her sides and all the way back up to her neck.

  “All done,” I said huskily. Damn, I was going to have to sit in this chair a while longer unless I wanted everyone to see the hard-on I was sporting.

  “Thanks,” she said, her voice barely a whisper. She was clearly as affected as I was. Of course, Cam pulled his boat up at that moment and called to us.

  “Hey Grady! You up for a ride?” Cam’s voice was the equivalent of a cold shower, and I was now able to get up.

  “Sure,” I replied.

  Then he called, “Lindsay! You’re coming too.” The guy might be rich and famous but he wasn’t that smart. If I was him, I’d do anything to keep Lindsay away from me.

  Josh and Ford came too. “Goddamit, if that baby doesn’t come soon I’m going to end up killing my wife,” Josh grumbled when he was safely out of Leah’s earshot.

  Lindsay smacked him on the arm. “Be nice, Josh. It’s hard work growing a human.”

  Ford was the first to ski, and Cam drove him almost the entire length of the lake before he signaled he was done. Josh took the next turn, but didn’t last nearly as long as Ford.

  “Marriage and fatherhood is making you soft,” Ford joked when Josh pulled himself back on the boat. It was good to see Ford having some fun.

  Lindsay was sprawled out on the seat on her stomach sunbathing. “Come on, Bambi. You gonna give it a try?” I taunted, knowing full well Lindsay would never water ski. She turned on her bitch face and managed to look down her nose at me even though I was standing over her.

  “Hell no.”

  I took my turn on the skis and fell somewhere between Ford and Josh on the water skiing scale. On the ride back to the house I watched Cam and Lindsay talking. If there was something going on between them, I wasn’t seeing it. Sure, Cam checked out her rack a couple times, but who wouldn’t? Lindsay was obviously comfortable with him, but her eyes never took on that heated look that they did when she was looking at me.

  When we got back and Lindsay went into the house, I followed her to test my theory. If she was into Cam, surely she would turn me away if I made a move. She was ahead of me, so I had to look around the house before I finally found her in one of the guest bathrooms rifling through the medicine cabinet.

  “Find anything interesting?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest and leaning against the doorjamb.

  Lindsay squeaked and jumped, putting a hand over her heart. “Jesus, Grady. You scared me. I’m looking for a band-aid.” She held up her finger, which was in fact bleeding, if only the tiniest bit. I walked in and took her hand, holding the injured finger up to take a better look.

  “Hmm, looks bad. You might need stitches.” She glared at me and tried to pull her hand away, but I held tight. Our eyes locked and she inhaled sharply when I sucked her finger into my mouth. The salty taste of the blood combined with the sweetness that was uniquely Lindsay. I nipped her fingertip lightly before releasing her hand. It fell limply back to her side, as we both stood unmoving, mere inches apart.

  I don’t know who moved first, probably me, and my lips were on hers. I stroked my tongue along her lower lip and then lapped inside her mouth when she parted for me. Her hands grabbed my biceps, and she pressed herself tightly against me. Her thin bikini top provided little barrier between her hard nipples and my bare chest. Somebody moaned, probably me, and whimpered, probably her.

  My hands were everywhere, making up for not touching her for the last five years. I bent my head to kiss her neck, and my fingers trailed over her stomach. She jerked and I remembered how ticklish she was at the spot right above her hipbone. Carefully avoiding that spot, I slipped my fingers between her legs and found her hot and wet. So wet. She rolled her hips towards me, and I nipped her earlobe and slipped two fingers inside her. Lindsay grabbed my shoulders, holding on, her nails digging into my skin. But it felt so good. She felt so good. I moved my fingers slowly in and out as she rocked her hips against my hand. Even though I had barely started touching her I could tell she was close. More than anything I wanted to make her come, but somehow through the haze surro
unding us I remembered how I felt when I received her e-mail that October day. Could I go through this again?

  It took all my strength to pull away and put distance between us. Lindsay muttered, “No, Grady.” And it nearly broke my heart…again. She had too much power over me. I couldn’t let her see that, so I played the role I had perfected. The asshole.

  She whimpered at losing my touch, and opened her eyes. They were heavy with desire and glazed with confusion. And I think there might have been tears shimmering in those blue depths.

  Forcing a sneer onto my face I said, “Sorry, Bambi. Didn’t mean to keep you from looking for your band-aid.” She snapped to attention and I barely had time to duck out the door before a silver soap dispenser smashed into the wall to the left of my head. I hightailed it down the stairs and ran into Cam in the kitchen.

  He was pulling more beer out of the fridge and when he saw me, tossed one over. “Thanks, man,” I grumbled and started towards the door. I needed to be the hell out of here when Lindsay came downstairs.

  “Thanks again for the boat, Grady. You did good work. I’ll definitely be telling my friends about you,” Cam said, using the counter to pop the top off his beer. Shit. I had to be polite.

  “I’m glad you liked it,” I said, hoping that was it for our conversation.

  I didn’t even hear her coming; she was like a fucking ninja. Before I knew it a swirl of blond hair came around the corner and headed straight for me.

  Damn the girl was fast. Her hand slapped hard across my face and I didn’t even see it coming. When she raised her hand again I grabbed her wrist and held her away from my body.

  Her eyes were on fire, and she snarled at me, “You stupid son of a bitch!”

  “Whoa, Lindsay. Settle down,” Cam said calmly. He came up behind her and gently restrained her so I could take a step back.

  “Let me go, Cam. I’m going to rip your fucking face off!” She shrieked at me. God, she was feisty. Our first summer together I never saw this side of her. I must say, I kind of liked it. If it wasn’t my face she was threatening to rip off.

  Cam glanced between Lindsay and me, not quite sure what to do. I wasn’t sure what to do either. And I wondered why Cam was so calm. If the girl I was into was fighting with some other dude, I wouldn’t just stand there. I’d do something about it.

  “I’ll go and leave you two lovebirds alone,” I tossed over my shoulder on my way out. Cam looked confused and Lindsay was still vibrating with anger.

  “We’re not together, Grady. We’re just friends. Not that it’s any of your business,” Lindsay hissed between clenched teeth. Her confession surprised me. Leah had made it clear that Cam was interested in Lindsay. So if they were just friends, that must have been her idea.

  “What are you smiling about, you conceited asshole?” Lindsay said. That mouth of hers just kept going.

  “Grady, you might want to give her a minute to calm down,” Cam suggested, nodding his head in the direction of the gathering outside.

  Lindsay’s mouth suddenly curved up in a teasing smile and she moved closer to Cam’s side. “Yeah, Grady. Run along. You started something you can’t finish. So, I’ll find someone who will.” Oh hell no. I was not letting Cam put his hands on her. My fists clenched at my sides and I stalked back towards them.

  Cam backed away from Lindsay and held up his hands. “Easy, dude,” he said to me. Then to Lindsay he said, “Sorry Linz, I really do like you but I make my living with this face. I’m not going to come between you two and let Hawke fuck it all up.”

  Maybe I didn’t need to worry about Cam after all. If he really cared about Lindsay he wouldn’t let anything stand in his way, certainly not me.

  I needed to get out of here. I turned around and left without another word. Grabbing my wallet and phone out of Josh’s car, I sent him a text that I was walking home. Fortunately Cam’s vacation house was not far from my house. When I got home I went straight to the basement to work out.

  After two hours sweating Lindsay out of my system, I took a shower and called my dad. He and Lana were leaving the next day for a cruise, and I wanted to wish him a good time. I drank enough beer over the course of the evening to make me ready for bed by 9:00. What a great fucking day.

  Chapter Twelve

  Lindsay

  “Are you sure you’ll be okay here by yourself? I’ll have my cell phone, but I don’t know if I’ll have great service. But you know you can always call Grady if you need anything,” Lana babbled while pulling her suitcases out onto the front porch. I rolled my eyes behind her back. The last person I would call if I needed help was Grady Hawke.

  I followed her outside. “Lana, calm down. I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about me. Just go and enjoy your cruise.” Lana had done so much for me, and I wanted her to enjoy her vacation, not spend her time worrying about me.

  Mitch walked across the yard and collected Lana’s luggage to put in his truck. “Good Lord, Lana. We’re only going to be gone seven days, not seven months.”

  I walked with Lana over to Mitch’s driveway and gave them both a hug. “You two have fun. Drink plenty of cocktails and remember to wear sunscreen,” I lectured. Lana had the same pale skin as me. “Mitch, don’t let her worry about me. Make sure she has fun.”

  Mitch put his arm around Lana and guided her to the passenger side of his truck. I went back to the house and stood on the porch until they drove out of sight. Okay, I thought, rubbing my hands together. I can do this. I’m twenty-one years old. I can spend a night by myself, right?

  I went from living with my parents to living with Taryn. After everything went down with her dad declaring his candidacy for President this summer, she moved back home and so did I. Until the blow up with my parents, and then I moved in with Taryn. Her parents spent most of their time in Washington DC, so there was plenty of extra room in their apartment. In twenty-one years, I had actually never spent a night alone.

  When I walked back inside the house and shut the door behind me, it was eerily quiet. I had always found this big Victorian house charming, but now I noticed all the shadows and places where ax murderers could hide. I could hear the ticking of the clock in the living room and the old wood floors creaking underneath my feet as I walked to the kitchen. I got a drink of water and checked the time. 3:00 pm.

  With Lana gone, I didn’t have to go to work. I thought about calling Leah or Taryn, but I held off. I could do this. I could be alone. I only had seven hours to kill before it would be an acceptable time to go to bed…by myself…just me and the ax murderer hiding in my closet.

  Over the next three hours I baked (actually burned) one batch of cookies, watched two reruns of America’s Next Top Model, did three loads of laundry, stopped myself from calling Leah four times, and paced the entire house five times checking in every closet and under every bed.

  When my phone rang at 6:00 pm, I nearly broke my ankle lunging over the couch to grab it. Oh, thank god! It was Leah.

  “Hey, Leah,” I answered nonchalantly, twirling a section of my hair anxiously around my finger.

  “Hi, Linz. Josh and I are heading to the pub for dinner. Do you want to come? I know Lana left today, so I thought you might be lonely.” I was already taking the stairs two at a time to change.

  “Oh, sure. That sounds good. I’ll be there soon,” I answered. After we hung up, I stripped off my sweatpants and ratty t-shirt and threw on a pair of jeans, a tank top under an off the shoulder thin sweater, and pair of heels. Once I was presentable I grabbed my purse and headed out. I made sure to leave the porch light and a light inside on. It would probably be dark when I got home, and I sure as hell didn’t want to come home to a dark empty house.

  It was a nice night out, so I left my car behind and walked to the pub. By the time I got there, the wind had picked up and I regretted not driving. If it rained, I could probably get Josh and Leah to drop me off later.

  I also regretted coming here at all when I went inside and saw Josh and Leah at the bar with
Grady. Leah saw me and mouthed “Sorry.” Clearly she didn’t know he would be here when she called me. Instead of going over, I grabbed an empty table and sat down. Leah waddled over with a beer for me and an ice water for herself.

  “Here you go. It’s on me for putting you in the same room as him,” she said. “I have to pee again for the tenth time in the last two hours.”

  With Leah in the bathroom I tried to ignore Grady, but that became impossible when he sauntered over to the pool table just ten feet from where I was sitting. Some brunette bimbo followed him with a gleam in her eyes. Apparently he didn’t discriminate by hair color.

  Leah returned from the restroom and sat down next to me, lowering herself carefully into the chair. She only had a few days left until her due date and she looked about ready to pop. I couldn’t imagine there was any more room left in there.

  Judging from the scowl on her pretty face, she had noticed Grady’s companion as well. “That skanky bitch has been after him since high school,” she grumbled. Wondering if the skanky bitch had a name, but not really wanting to know it, I said instead, “Looks like she finally got him.”

  I risked a glance to my left and cringed when I saw her giggling and leaning over the pool table with Grady wrapped around her, “helping” her line up a shot.

  Leah scoffed, “God, could her skirt be any shorter? She’s had enough use we could probably see right up her vajajay.” I spewed the beer I had just swigged all over the table and burst out laughing. Leah joined in and soon we were in the middle of a full on giggle attack. Grady straightened up and narrowed his eyes at us.

  With a couple of spare napkins I wiped up the table. I was still laughing when Grady pulled out the chair on my other side and folded his long lean body into it. He sat with his legs spread, like guys do. I’m sure if skanky bitch noticed she would have bopped right over and plopped right down on his dick. I know I was tempted to. Instead I gave him a dirty look and rolled my eyes at him.