Not Planning on You (Danvers #2)(5)
She had gotten groceries for two months for Cindy in accounting after her surgery, she watched Jim’s dog when his mother was sick and he suddenly had to leave town, she spent the weekend helping Lori clean her basement after a water leak and apparently she mowed George’s grass. She would be horrified to know the way people at Danvers talked about her, almost in awe. It just made him that much more determined to get through her tough shell to the woman he knew was under it. He had no idea why she wanted everyone to believe that she didn’t care about anyone else because obviously she couldn’t resist a person in need.
He wasn’t going to delude himself; he wanted her in his bed anyway he could get her. It wasn’t just about the sex though, he also wanted the relationship to go along with the sex. He couldn’t deny that lust had been the first thing he felt for her and although it was still there, he could also see a future with her, and he knew that would scare her to death. He was going to have to approach her carefully, and if they needed to jump ahead past dating and go right to sleeping together then, hey, he was a guy, and that would suit him fine. He’d allow her to believe she was calling all the shots but sooner or later Suzy was going to be scratching her head and wondering what had hit her.
“So my place or yours?” Gray asked with a twinkle in his eyes.
Suzy tried to maintain her cool façade. She clasped her hands behind her back so that Gray wouldn’t notice them shaking. Suck it up and put your big girl panties on. It’s time to either stand and deliver or run and hide. “Um…where is your place exactly?”
Propping a hip against the corner of her desk Gray said, “Home is here right now. Jason is letting me use the penthouse until I find something to buy. I think I could probably sneak you up in the elevator, though, without anyone noticing.” Wiggling his eyebrows suggestively, he continued, “Have any elevator fantasies we could take care of on the way up?”
“I….Um….don’t think your place is a good idea, then.” My God I’ve turned into a blubbering idiot. The man starts talking about elevator sex, and I’m tripping over my tongue like a virgin school girl. Get some composure. Geez. “How about my place? It’s a bit more private.” Suzy walked over to her desk and wrote the address down for him and handed it over. Fire literally flew from their fingertips as their hands touched during the exchange.
Seeing the flush on Gray’s cheek bones, she knew he’d felt the same zing she had. “So how about dinner around seven and then back to your place?”
“Dinner? I told you this wasn’t a date, Gray. You’re getting lucky tonight, there’s no need to wine and dine me,” Suzy replied dryly.
Chuckling, Gray said, “We both have to eat so we might as well do it together. I’ll meet you in the lobby around six if that’s ok with you?”
Suzy knew it would do no good arguing and she was desperate to have him out of her personal space. “Yeah, yeah, whatever, I guess I can do that. So don’t you have a job or something to do here?”
With one last leisurely inspection of her, Gray smiled and blew her a kiss. “You will be on my mind all day, Suzanna.” With that parting sentence, he turned and left.
Suzy’s knees were in serious danger of giving out so she slid into her seat and tried to slow her breathing. How could something as simple as an air kiss make her melt? She would not get attached to this man, and she sure as hell wasn’t going to fall in love with him. Please, please let him be terrible in bed, pretty please!
Chapter Three
Suzy spent the day trying to put out fires and handle all the small details that Brittany would have normally handled. She seemed to be messing up everything she touched today. She was more nervous than she could admit even to herself. She might talk a good game, but in reality, she wasn’t that experienced in matters of the opposite sex. She’d been with Jeff for so long that she’d never really dated anyone else. She’d only slept with one man in her life, and she’d been engaged to the scum bag.
She wanted Gray with an intensity that she’d never experienced with Jeff. Things were familiar with Jeff, and their sex life was good. She was more excited at the thought of sleeping with Gray than she’d ever been doing the deed with Jeff. Her thong literally sizzled when Gray was anywhere in the vicinity. Could she really pull off the worldly woman routine with him? She’d talked herself into a corner. She didn’t want a relationship because she didn’t want to get hurt. Unfortunately, she had made sure Gray would never see her as anything other than a roll in the sack.
A quick check of her watch showed it was now close to six. It was time to suck it up and meet Gray. She hoped that Ella had already left for the day. She’d like to avoid any unpleasant conversation over the assistant’s job that Ella apparently wanted for some unknown reason. Maybe Ella saw her as someone in desperate need of saving. Poor thing, that would really be setting herself up for failure. At least with Beth coming in tomorrow, hopefully Ella would get the message and that would be the end of it.
Suzy pulled the small spritzer of perfume from her purse and gave herself a few sprays. Hey, a girl has to smell fresh, right? She knew she looked like someone on their way to meet the firing squad as she made her way down the hall. She was greatly relieved to see Ella’s desk empty. All too soon she was in the lobby, and she spotted Gray immediately. Sooo unfair. One man shouldn’t look so good. I want to drag him down here on the lobby floor and rip that uptight suit right off him.