Sweet Surrender (Sweet #1)(40)

“Watching is what I do,” he said nonchalantly. “It’s my job to make sure no one is hurt.”

“And what did you think?” she asked, tilting her head at an angle to look more directly at him.

He regarded her thoughtfully for a moment. “It’s obvious he wasn’t a stranger to you. He seemed to know what it was you most needed when even you were not certain. You reacted to him when Brent left you cold.”

She inhaled in surprise.

He smiled gently. “Faith, I see a lot of people in the throes of passion. You were obviously not. You were obviously frustrated and disappointed. If your mysterious man hadn’t stepped in when he did, I was prepared to stop things. It was apparent it wasn’t the experience you expected or wanted.”

She smiled ruefully. “Will it offend you if I tell you I won’t ever be back?”

He laughed. “No. If I had to guess, you’d have one very angry man to deal with if you ever set foot back at the club.”

She harrumphed under her breath, but she knew Damon was right. Gray might well blow a gasket if she ventured back into the club. On the other hand, if he reacted like he did the first time…

A delicious thrill coursed through her body at the thought.

Damon rose, smoothing hands down his neatly tailored slacks. She took in his appearance for the first time since he’d arrived so unexpectedly on her doorstep. He looked like money. He was the epitome of refinement. Apparently it wasn’t just an act he portrayed for his job at the club.

“I should be going,” he said. “I wanted to bring you your shoes and to see how you were doing after your experience last night.”

She also stood and smiled. “Thanks, Damon. I appreciate it.”

“Keep me posted, okay? Let me know how your search goes for you.”

“Uh, well, okay, sure. I’ve got your e-mail.”

He leaned over, cupped her elbow in his hand and kissed her cheek. Then he headed for the door, leaving her standing there feeling slightly confused.

She sighed as he closed the door behind him. Then she flopped back on the couch and let out her breath like a sagging balloon.

Why couldn’t she be attracted to Damon? He seemed open enough to the things she wanted. Hell, he’d even watched her suck off another man, and for some inexplicable reason, that didn’t creep her out. It titillated her in an odd way.

Who knew she was a closet sex maniac? Okay, not maniac. One instance of public acts didn’t relegate her to nympho status. What was surprising to her was her reaction to the various scenarios she’d witnessed last night.

She’d seen things that by all rights should horrify a girl like her. Instead, she’d watched with breathless wonder, a new awakening dawning inside her. But. The proverbial but cropped up. She wasn’t sure she wanted to experience them so clinically. Like an exhibition at a freak show.

The club, while very enlightening, wasn’t what she really wanted. What she wanted was to be taken on a similar journey, but she wanted the journey to be real. Not a trumped-up show for an audience. And she wanted a man who would take care of her every need.

A man like Gray.

No matter how many circles she turned in, she always ended up right back at the central point of all her struggles: Gray.

It seemed abundantly clear to her that Gray fit the bill on so many levels. Only problem was, he didn’t seem to agree. He was fighting his attraction to her way too damn much. Why? That she didn’t know. But she suddenly became very determined to find out.

CHAPTER 21

Finding out proved to be more frustrating than she’d possibly imagined. If Faith was determined, then Gray was even more so. Determined to avoid her, that is.

She’d gone over to his apartment not long after Damon’s visit. He hadn’t answered the door, even though she knew damn well he was home. Coward.

Later, she’d gone by Cattleman’s when she knew he’d be getting together with Micah and the others. Only when she arrived, Gray had beat a hasty retreat, mumbling something about an appointment he’d forgotten. And Micah had stared intently at her, probing enough that she had no doubt he knew at least some of what she’d done.

Hell. At least now she knew how Gray got her car back to her apartment. At least he hadn’t asked Connor to go with him. She would have had to kill him over that.

Faith ended up staying and having a few drinks with Nathan, Connor and Micah, since it would look pretty suspicious if she left on Gray’s heels. So she hung around like she hadn’t come looking for Gray at all.

And Micah had watched her the entire evening like he was trying to pry every one of her secrets right out of her head. By the time she did end up leaving, she couldn’t get out quick enough.

Sunday was more of the same. She went over to Gray’s apartment early. He didn’t answer the door. Which was pretty silly, and it was really grating on her last nerve. She saw him leave in the early afternoon, and she was tempted to follow him until she thought about how stalkerish that would come across.

She’d catch him at work the next morning. He couldn’t avoid her forever.

Monday morning she made sure she was in the office early. Coffee was made, donuts were laid out, and she waited for Gray to make his appearance.

He walked in with Micah and never met her gaze. Micah was more than happy to grab a cup of coffee and stuff his mouth full of a donut. But Gray retreated to his office, leaving Micah behind.