Sweet Surrender (Sweet #1)(76)

He flipped it open to see who had called. Micah. He punched the Send button to call him back and shoved the phone to his ear.

“Hey, man,” Micah said. “Hope I didn’t wake you and Faith.”

Gray grunted. “You woke me. Didn’t wake Faith.”

“Ah good. Look, I just got into Galveston, and I’m headed your way. Just wanted to give you a heads-up.”

Gray frowned. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, just wanted to give you a report and see how you guys were doing.”

Gray looked down at Faith. “That’s fine. There’s something I wanted to run by you anyway. I have a feeling you might be interested.”

“I’m intrigued now. I’ll see you in a few minutes.”

Gray closed the phone and set it down beside the lounger. He gathered Faith a little closer in his arms and kissed her soft hair. He was curious as to how she’d react to what he had planned. She’d been so open to everything else so far.

With infinite care, he maneuvered out of the lounger then bent to pick Faith up. He carried her into the bedroom and laid her on the bed. She stirred when he began undressing her, but he murmured soothingly to her, and she never fully woke.

He pulled the covers back so that she was exposed, and then he retrieved the rope he’d tossed aside. He gently eased her arms above her head and bound her wrists together. Then he took the long end of the rope and stretched it to the bedpost, wrapping it around it several times.

Satisfied that she’d be comfortable but wouldn’t be able to move from the bed, he headed for the bathroom to take a shower. Five minutes later, he dressed and peeked into the bedroom one last time. She was still sound asleep.

He walked into the kitchen and put a pot of coffee on. He’d just poured his first cup when a knock sounded at the front door. He ambled over to open it and saw Micah standing on the porch.

“Want coffee?” he asked by way of greeting.

Micah followed him inside. “Yeah, sounds great. I was up way too damn early this morning.”

Gray poured him a cup and slid it along the bar. Micah grasped it in both hands and sipped at the hot brew.

“So what’s going on?” Gray asked in a low voice.

Micah looked up at him and then around. “Faith still asleep?”

“Yeah, she won’t be walking in until I go get her, so you won’t have to worry about her hearing.”

Micah raised one brow.

Gray laughed. “I tied her to the bed.”

A flicker of interest stirred in Micah’s eyes. One that didn’t go unnoticed by Gray.

“Well, so far, the plan to bust Samuels hasn’t gone too well,” Micah said.

“Tell me,” Gray said tersely.

“He made the decoy we put in place. Not sure how. He followed her to the office one morning. I thought he was going to make his move, but then he gave us the slip.”

Gray swore. “Has he made any contact since then?”

Micah shook his head. “For all we know, he’s in Mexico by now.”

“He’d be stupid to hang around,” Gray said. “He has to know we’re on to him now.”

“That’s my thinking. You’re buddy Mick isn’t taking it well.”

Gray sighed. “Mick needs to go the hell back to Dallas and let the locals handle it. He’s lost all perspective. He’s crazy with grief and can’t see beyond his need for revenge.”

Micah nodded. “At any rate, I wanted to let you know what was going on. And I needed to get away from that place for a few hours. The tension is thick. Pop is pissed. Connor is on edge. Nathan and I are just trying to stay the hell out of the way and let them do their thing.”

Gray studied Micah for a long moment. “You might as well stay for a while. I have a proposition for you that you might find interesting.”

Faith yawned and opened her eyes. When she tried to roll over, her arms twisted above her and held fast. She pulled slightly and realized that her hands were tied to the bed. Her second realization was that she was naked.

She smiled. The last thing she remembered was going to sleep on the deck in Gray’s arms. Sometime during the night he must have carried her to bed, stripped her naked and tied her to the bed.

Which could only mean he planned more naughty things.

Arousal hummed low in her groin. Her stomach fluttered, and her ni**les tightened in anticipation. Would he spank her again? Fuck her ass?

She moaned low and twisted her legs as she remembered the way he’d taken and mastered her body. Owned it. There wasn’t an inch of her body he hadn’t marked in some way, and it gave her a delicious thrill to remember in exacting detail the way it had made her feel.

A sound at the door made her turn her head in that direction. Her mouth fell open in surprise when she saw Micah standing there. His gaze raked over her body, and a primitive light gleamed in his eyes.

Suddenly she felt way too naked and way too vulnerable.

“Gorgeous,” Micah murmured.

He started forward, walking with slow, measured steps as if he didn’t want to frighten her. She wasn’t frightened. That didn’t aptly describe what she was feeling. Confused. But aroused. Where was Gray?

Her question was answered a few seconds later when Gray walked in. Her gaze went to him in question.