Bewitching You(40)

“So who or what was I in my past life?” Andy eyed Sofia suspiciously.

“Let’s see. I have to touch you to find out. Do you mind?”

“Not at all, dude.”

“Close your eyes,” Sofia said.

Andy clenched his eyes shut, and Sofia looked up at Gray, sticking her tongue out at him. You’re going to get it, she mouthed.

Gray was looking forward to it. But did she really have to touch Andy?

The elevator door opened again, and Mrs. Farley, Gray’s neighbor two doors down, walked out with her cane in one hand and a sparkly pink leash attached to her toy poodle in the other.

“I’m waiting,” Andy said with a smile on his face. “Are you going to touch me or not?”

Mrs. Farley gasped, and the poodle barked. The silver-haired woman had been Gray’s neighbor since the day he and Hayes had moved in. Lord only knew how long she’d lived here before that. Her hobby was walking around with a notepad and pencil, writing down occurrences that happened in the building. She’d gone through a new notebook every week when Hayes was alive. Yep, his brother had kept her very busy.

Gray took Andy by one arm and Sofia by the other. “Why don’t we take this somewhere where Sofia can concentrate?”

“Mr. Phillips,” Mrs. Farley called out. “Mr. Phillips. Mr. Dashmoor. There is to be no funny business in this building. Do you hear me?”

Gray glanced over his shoulder to see her and the dog scowling up at him. “Of course not, Mrs. Farley.” He shoved his key into the lock. Gray had learned a long time ago the less said to the elderly woman, the better. He turned the key in the lock. It worked. The door opened without a problem. His luck was improving.

“Yeah, Mrs. Farley,” Andy said. “No worries.”

Sofia piped up. “I wasn’t going to touch him anywhere inappropriate, I assure you.”

“You weren’t?” Andy frowned.

“Well,” Mrs. Farley huffed. “I’m going to have to write this down on my list of grievances. I would’ve expected this from your brother, Mr. Phillips, but not you.”

Gray blew out a breath. He really wished she hadn’t stooped to that level. “Mrs. Farley,” he said, after she’d started down the hall. “Your dog pissed against my door again last week. Next time he does that, I’m going to find that notebook of yours and use it as toilet paper to wipe my—”

~ * ~

Sofia hadn’t realized she’d had the strength to push a man Gray’s size onto his butt. But she did and she had, and now he was sitting on the dark maple hardwood floor in his foyer.

“Super psychic woman, baby.” Andy put his hand up for a high-five, but Sofia knew better.

She shook her head for him to nix it and looked down at Gray. “I’m so sorry, honey. I had no idea I could do that.” She held out a hand for him to grab.

Needless to say, Manly-man didn’t accept it. He stood on his own. “Don’t worry about it,” he grumbled.

“Well, I couldn’t let you threaten to—”

“I know, Sofia.”

“Don’t be mad at me.”

“I’m not.” He sure the heck sounded like it. He brushed past Sofia and Andy and headed to the kitchen.

“This place is nice, dude.” Andy followed him. “Do you have more square footage than I do?”

Sofia glanced around for the first time. The floor plan was open, revealing the living room, dining area and kitchen. The floors were all hardwood. A black leather sofa and loveseat and a glass coffee table sat in front of a flat screen television in the living room. A fireplace posing as a half wall separated the living room from the dining room. The dining table was a dark oak. Four high-back leather dining chairs surrounded it. The kitchen had dark granite countertops and an island bar with stools separating it from the rest of the space.

Everything was very masculine. Of course, Gray and Hayes were the only two people who’d lived here. Bachelors. Sofia was sure Mrs. Farley’s comment had hit a nerve with Gray. The twins had grown up together and lived together as adults…and now Gray was alone.

He pulled out two bottles of beer and handed one to Andy. “Sofia, I can open a bottle of wine if you want. Or I have water, but that’s about it.”

“I’ll take a beer.” She sat on the bar stool beside Andy.

Gray grinned. “Yeah?”

“Sure. I drink beer sometimes.”

“Awesome.” Andy leaned toward her. “Super psychic woman who can drink a brewski. I like that. How do you feel about cozying up in a humongous bean bag and watching a football game on a plasma?”

“Um.” Sofia wasn’t sure how to answer that, but it appeared she didn’t have to. Gray walked around, put an opened beer bottle in front of her, and kissed her cheek.

“I love you,” he whispered into her ear, and sat down on the stool on the other side of her.

Sofia’s skin prickled with delight. She’d never tire of hearing that, and hoped he’d never tire of saying it. The make-out session in the elevator had left her wanting more.

She took a sip of the beer, and from the corner of her eye, caught sight of Gray’s upper arm flexing as he leaned against the island. She looked farther up to see him smiling at her.

“Super Psychic Woman,” he said teasingly, “are you going to tell Andy his fortune?”

“Wait,” Andy said. “Doesn’t she have to touch me first?”

“Right.” Sofia hopped off the stool and swiveled Andy around to face her. “First, I’ll tell you who you were in your previous life.” She sized him up like her mother did with all of her clients.

Andy was an average-sized man, but seemed smaller in the presence of Gray. Maybe a couple inches less than six foot. He was lean, but not too skinny. He had some muscle to him. He appeared to be a year or two younger than she was, so maybe he was twenty-one or twenty-two. He wore a shirt with the name of a rock band she’d never heard of and ripped jeans his daddy probably paid a bundle for. He was attractive in a boyish way, with his curly blond hair and puppy dog brown eyes.

“Close your eyes again,” she said.

He did, and added the extra step of flinging his head back and bracing his arms against the island. The man was ready to be touched, that was for sure.

Tell him something he wanted to hear. That was always her mother’s motto, and it would be Sofia’s for this task, since she didn’t really know who the guy was in his previous life or even if he had a previous life. Might as well make him happy.

She brought her hand up to his neck and slowly swept it down his chest. Gray cleared his throat and raised his brows at her.

Hello! This was his idea. She ignored him and continued with the act, stopping just above Andy’s abdomen before starting back up again. She needed more time to think. What would Andy Dashmoor want to hear?

“You were a king,” she blurted out. “Of a foreign country. You had several wives that catered to you and fed you grapes from the vine.”

Andy smiled, but kept his eyes shut. “What else?”

“The people of your kingdom adored you and bowed at your feet.”

“Cool. How did I die?”

“Do you really want to know that?”

“Duh. The Montel chick always ’fesses.”

“Okay.” Sofia rubbed circles on his chest with the tips of her fingers and thought of how to end the highly fabricated tale. If this didn’t please him, she didn’t know what would. “Two of your wives were fighting over who was going to sleep with you that night. The argument got out of hand and one of them said if she couldn’t have you, no one would, so she stabbed a knife into your heart.”

“Dang. That’s harsh.” Andy opened his eyes and winked at her. “There’s plenty of me to go around, as you can see.”

“Okay.” Gray straightened in his seat. “Can I talk to you in the other room, Sofia? We’ll be right back, Andy.”

“No prob, dude. You got any chips or anything?”

“Help yourself.”

Sofia followed Gray into a hallway. He pushed a door open and gestured for her to enter, all the while not giving her the courtesy of eye contact. Great. Was he grumpy again? What happened to the sweet I love you in her ear?

His bedroom was large, but taking up most of it was his California King covered by a black and beige striped comforter. The bed frame was a dark mahogany wood that matched his dresser and nightstand. The walls were white, and vinyl blinds covered the window. The man needed some color in his life, for sure.

“Do you want me to paint you something so you can hang it up in here?” she asked.

The door shut behind her and suddenly she was being picked up and set down on the bed.

Gray’s body covered hers as he continued the kiss that had begun in the elevator. His tongue and lips were potent and powerful, like the rest of his body, leaving her senseless and full of desire. She imagined what he could do with that tongue on other parts of her body. She had dreamed that experience before, but as she’d realized, real life was far more satisfying than her visions. Far more emotional, as well.