Forbidden Secrets. Charlene Sands
He didn’t like the sound of that. The whole we-need-to-talk thing was such a veiled subject and he didn’t like how it eluded to the fact that she may want to call this quits.
Eve possessed every quality he’d ever wanted in a lover. She was career driven—so she wasn’t monopolizing his time—she was passionate and damn if she didn’t challenge him...in bed and out.
He’d never cared when another woman blew off his calls, though that rarely happened. The few times it had, he’d moved on. No worries. Yet with Eve, he wasn’t going to have her call it quits without seducing her one last time. If she wanted to move on, he wouldn’t stop her, but he sure as hell would give her a send-off she’d never forget.
Just the thought of getting his hands on her again had Graham hurrying to get to her office. He’d purposely waited until it was good and dark before setting out. With the skies darkening earlier this time of year, he was able to log in more hours with her.
Damn. He shouldn’t keep track of the hours he’d spent with her. He should be going with the flow in this casual hookup arrangement. But he was human and Eve turned him on like no one else ever had. So what if he wasn’t ready to put the brakes on just yet?
Graham wasn’t oblivious to the fact that he hadn’t seen anyone else since that night at the ball when he’d seduced Eve. Had he ever gone this long with the same woman? Other women would think things were getting serious, but not Eve. She knew the boundaries. Besides, even if they wanted to make this something more permanent, no way in hell would their family feud allow that to happen. The last thing he wanted was his brothers or her sisters in their business.
No, it was all about sneaking and seducing. That was the name of the game. He’d been looking for a label and he’d found one. Simple as that.
So what if he had a designated bay in her second garage all to himself. He refused to believe this was serious. Hiding his car when he visited her at her house was merely precautionary, that was all. If one of her sisters or assistants stopped by, he could easily hide in one of the rooms of her sprawling mansion. A car would be a bit harder to explain if it was out in the open.
But now he was at her office, parking in a public garage, so there. Why the hell was he arguing with himself? He’d rather concentrate on Eve and how quickly he could have her on her desk panting his name. Ironically, she was the perfect distraction from the investigation and beating his head against the wall where Sutton was concerned.
Graham took the elevator up to her office. Nobody would be there this time of the evening, and Eve wouldn’t have requested he come if her assistant or any other staff members were hanging around. Their offices had quickly become the go-to choice for late-night rendezvous.
As he made his way down the wide, tiled hall, the intense, familiar scent of Eve’s jasmine perfume enveloped him. Would he ever tire of smelling it? When she’d wrapped herself around him after her bubble bath the night before last, he’d inhaled that sweet scent. Everything about Eve was a punch to his gut. The desire for her hadn’t lessened one bit—if anything, he only craved her more. That was dangerous territory to venture into, but he was in complete control. He had to be.
Her office door was slightly cracked, a sliver of light slashing the dark floor tiles. Without bothering to knock or give a warning, he pushed open the door and found her at her computer. As Graham moved closer, he realized she was staring at her screen, scrolling with her mouse, but she didn’t seem to be focusing in on any one thing.
She hadn’t said a word, hadn’t even turned to acknowledge his presence. As he came behind her chair, he glanced at the screen. Photo after photo of Eve with her sisters and their father in various places and times continued to scroll up the monitor. Sometimes she’d stop, scroll back down, then commence to go up again. Eve was a brilliant photographer. The images around the entire floor of her office proved that. She claimed her photography was a hobby, but he knew full well if she ever opted out of the real estate industry, she could turn pro without fail.
Graham swallowed. Whatever she’d called him here for had to do with that old bastard. Talk about a mood killer.
When she didn’t say anything, Graham surveyed her spacious office overlooking the city. The floor-to-ceiling windows showed off a brilliant Chicago skyline dotted with lights. As he turned, he noted the built-in bookshelves on the far wall were full of books, mostly on photography and real estate. When Eve was passionate about something, she put her whole self into it. He could attest to that.
But the fact that he admired and cared about her hobbies was even more dangerous than having his physical desire escalate. Getting too personal meant setting down roots. He wasn’t about to set down roots with any woman. Ever. Let alone a woman whose family bitterly rivaled his.
Graham walked back to the desk, setting his hip on the edge beside her chair. The picture she’d homed in on now was of a smiling Sutton surrounded by his daughters. This had to have been taken recently. Eve wore that killer red suit she’d had on a few days ago and Sutton wasn’t looking well. But he actually smiled in these pictures. Graham didn’t want to see his old rival as a human being capable of such emotions.
“I’m almost done,” she told him, without turning. “I have a few more to upload.”
Graham didn’t want to see Sutton’s face on the screen another second, especially not with Eve smiling back from the picture. Guilt twisted the knife in his chest. He had no right to hate the relationship between Eve and her father. He had no right to...what? Be jealous? No way was he jealous. That was absolutely...
Damn it. Maybe he was jealous. How did a man like Sutton deserve love and loyalty from someone so caring and trusting as Eve? Sutton was a bastard and that he’d managed to raise three amazing women was a miracle.
Sutton may have been a conniving jerk, but he’d made the right choice putting Eve in charge of his company. There was no one better to run Elite Industries. She had a vision, something fresh that would drive the company into the next several decades. She was brilliant, independent and charming. She had all the traits that would make Elite expand in the exact ways she wanted it to because she refused to take no for an answer, and she refused to fail.
“I saw my father today.” Her soft words cut into the silence. “Grace and Nora happened to be there at the same time. Dad knows I always have my camera on hand, so he wanted family pictures in case...”
Graham didn’t like that vulnerable, lost tone in her voice. Selfish as Graham was, and as much as he loathed Sutton, he wasn’t going to let Eve grieve alone. The loss of a parent was still too fresh, too painful for him. Nobody should have to face such emptiness on their own.
Squatting down beside her chair, he gripped the arms and turned her to face him. Finally, her bright green gaze landed on his. “It’s good you have these pictures. Many family members don’t get to say goodbye, let alone capture the final memories.”
Moisture gathered in her eyes as she nodded. When one lone tear slipped down her cheek, Graham reached to swipe it away. But his hand lingered on her cheek, his thumb sliding across the darkness beneath her eye.
“You’re tired,” he said before he could catch himself. “Maybe you should go home and rest.”
“I’m fine. It’s only seven. I wouldn’t sleep now, anyway.”
Stubborn. Hardheaded. So much like himself, he felt as if he were looking in a mirror. Still, he wouldn’t let her work herself to death and that had nothing to do with their intimacy. He wouldn’t want to see anyone this exhausted and worn down.
“What time did you come in today?”
She pursed her lips and looked away. “I think five. Or maybe it was five yesterday and six today. I can’t remember right now.”
He clenched his teeth and counted backward from ten. She was pushing herself too hard and someone needed to intervene.
“You have spreadsheets scheduling your bathroom breaks at work and you can’t recall when you came in or how long