He withdrew his hand and resumed eating. She wanted him to touch her again. A simple caress, him looking at her just so, his masculine scent…her stomach curled into a nervous knot of anticipation.

She studied him as he ate, watched his movements. He was strong and confident. She liked that. But would it extend to the bedroom? Would it extend to his relationships? She shook her head a bit. No more was she leaving it all to chance. How many more men would she have to go through before she found what she wanted? Would she ever find what she wanted—no, needed?

Friday seemed a light-year away. She was nervous as hell at the idea of waltzing into some fetish club by herself, but another part of her was proud of the fact that she’d ventured so far out of her comfort zone.

Strong. Confident. If she wanted those qualities in a man, then maybe it was time she started exhibiting them herself. Like attracted like, didn’t it?

“I’d give up beer for a week to know what’s going on inside your head right now.”

She blinked and refocused and saw that Gray was staring at her. “Oh, sorry. Was just thinking.”

He chuckled. “Like I said, I’d love to know about what.”

She wouldn’t blush. Would. Not. Blush. She could feel herself losing the battle as the wave of heat crept up her neck. Damn it.

He hooted with laughter and picked up a napkin to wipe his mouth. “That blush just gave you away, darlin’.”

She groaned. “It’s not polite to keep pointing out my faults.”

He leaned forward and tipped her chin up with his finger. “Not a fault at all. I find it sexy as hell.”

Goose bumps trickled down her spine, back up again and over her shoulders. Her nipples tightened, and the muscles in her pussy constricted.

A dot of ketchup rested in the corner of his mouth, and it gave her an excuse to touch him. God, she wanted to touch him. She raised a finger and gently wiped the ketchup away. When she would have withdrawn her hand to wipe it on a napkin, he captured her finger then raised it to his mouth.

His lips closed hot over the tip, then his tongue swirled over the skin, licking away the ketchup. The action sent a shock wave through her system. She sat, stunned at her reaction.

Slowly he pulled her hand away, sliding his tongue along her finger until it left his mouth. When he released her, she let her hand fall to her lap, trying to disguise the shaking.

“I should go,” she said, saying the first thing that popped into her mind. That was a lie. She didn’t want to go but didn’t know what to say or how to react to the blatant sensuality between them.

“Why don’t I follow you back?” he offered. “I’m headed home too. I’ll see you to your door.”

“O-okay.” She sucked in several steadying breaths so her voice didn’t waver so damn much. After collecting her purse, she dug for her cash and started to flip a few bills onto the countertop.

Gray held out a hand and shoved her money back to her. “I got it.”

She slowly pulled the money back and stuck it back in her purse. “Thanks.”

She waited as he paid their tabs, and then he turned around to face her. “Shall we?” he asked, gesturing toward the exit.

Why did this feel like a freaking date? And why was she so damn nervous? She was never this insecure, this jittery. She’d never felt anything but comfortable with her dates. Was that the problem? Had they all been nothing more than buddies? Nice boys whom she had nice sex with?

Nice sex. Ugh. She wanted the dirty kind. The hot, sweaty, make-you-scream sex.

She walked ahead of him, but he caught up to her and put his hand to the small of her back as they walked into the parking lot. It was a protective gesture, one that made her feel cherished. And she liked that feeling. Liked it a lot.

He opened her car door and ushered her inside, closing the door behind her. She sat there and watched him return to his truck. Watched his determined stride, the way his jeans hugged his ass.

When he slid into the driver’s seat, she started her car and backed out of her space. Fifteen minutes later, she pulled into her assigned parking spot outside her apartment and cut the engine.

She got out and walked around to the front of the car, waiting as Gray approached from three spaces down. There was an awkward pause as he waited for her to start ahead once more. Then, as before, he put his hand to her back, sliding his fingers seductively down her spine to rest in the hollow.

She barely controlled the tremble that threatened to take over her body. When they reached her door, she couldn’t help the pang of disappointment that their interlude was over.

Withdrawing her key, she unlocked the door then looked up at him. His eyes burned into her and seemed to concentrate on her lips. Was he thinking of kissing her?

Her lips parted, and she sucked in a catchy breath. “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”

He leaned in closer and trailed a finger down her cheek. “I’m counting on it.”

His mouth hovered temptingly over hers. Her gaze flickered over his face. She could see the pulse in his neck. He swallowed once then twice and slowly pulled away as if he’d just undergone an epic battle with himself.

A surge of disappointment knifed through her. He wasn’t going to kiss her. She smiled shakily. “See you then.” She turned and walked into her apartment, turning only to give him a small wave.

He stood, unmoving, watching her until finally she shut the door. Once fully inside, she sagged against the door and closed her eyes.

You are such a chickenshit.

She could have just kissed him. No law said she had to wait on him. And he’d wanted to; she could tell that much. She mentally replayed the sensation of his tongue sliding over her finger. She could easily imagine his mouth on her body, moving delicately across her rib cage, to the underswell of her breast and then finally to her nipples.

A groan escaped her as her breasts ached, a tingle knotting the tips into taut beads. Hard to believe that just the other night she’d enjoyed mediocre sex with John. Now in light of what she felt Gray could give her, her past experiences paled in comparison. And she hadn’t even gone to bed with him yet.

Yet. A giddy smile curved her lips as she shuffled toward her bathroom. Yet implied intent.

CHAPTER 6

Gray yawned and stretched tired muscles as he let himself into his apartment. He’d only get a couple of hours’ sleep. If he was lucky. But the phone tap on Faith’s office phone was in place, and all that remained was for him to get into her apartment to bug her personal line.

A twinge of guilt nipped at his gut as he palmed the key he’d lifted from Pop’s office. Pop kept spares of all the apartment keys there, and so Gray had taken the one for Faith’s apartment.

He needed to get in today as soon as she left for work and return the key before it was missed.

As he shed his shirt and tossed it on the couch, he saw his answering machine light blinking. Knowing it could only be from Mick or one of the guys from work, he shuffled over and hit the Play button.

“Gray, it’s Mick. Call me no matter what time you get in.”

Short and sweet. There was an urgency to Mick’s voice that woke Gray from his lethargy. Glancing at the clock, he shrugged and picked up the phone. Mick had said no matter what time it was.

A few seconds later, Mick’s disgruntled voice fed over the phone line.

“I didn’t send you down there to party. Where the hell have you been?”

Gray sighed in irritation. “I was getting the phone tap in place. Can’t exactly do that in broad daylight. Now what is so all-fired important?”

“Samuels was spotted in Huntsville earlier today. Woman was with him.”

“You think he’s on his way here?” Gray asked.

“I think it’s a damn good possibility. Stay close to the girl. I bet anything Samuels and the mother are headed straight for her. They probably set up the meeting when the mom called the other day.”

Gray frowned. Was that what had Faith so edgy? And did she have any idea what her mother was involved in, or was she just acting the dutiful daughter?

“I’ll keep my eyes and ears open, Mick. You know that.”

“Just wanted you to know,” Mick said gruffly. “Let me know if the tap turns anything up.”

Gray hung up the phone, not liking the implications of what Mick had reported. Was Faith involved, or was she just being used by her manipulative mother?

He scrubbed a hand over his hair and then rubbed his palm down his face. Maybe he’d call in sick tomorrow. That would give him time to slip into Faith’s apartment after she left for work, then he could return home to get some sleep.

He trudged into the bedroom and set his alarm for six. Two hours. He’d sleep for two hours then get up and wait for Faith to leave.

When the alarm went off, Gray groaned and slapped his hand over to stanch the annoying cacophony. After several long minutes, in which he argued the need to get up at all, he finally swung his legs over the side of the bed and sat there, face buried in his hands.

Knowing that Faith would leave at seven sharp, as she did every morning, he got up and headed for the shower.

At six forty-five, he called Pop’s cell phone and told him he was home sick for the day. After enduring a gruff lecture to get plenty of rest, Gray hung up and nursed his cup of coffee.

At six fifty-five, he moved to the living room window that overlooked the parking lot and nudged the curtain aside so he could see Faith’s car. As expected, at seven, she hurried out of her apartment and got into her vehicle.

One down, three to go.

He kept vigil by the window until one by one, Connor, Nathan and Micah also got into their trucks and headed off. Knowing he needed to be quick, he retrieved Faith’s key from the kitchen table and slipped out of his apartment.

He didn’t waste any time looking around. He didn’t want to arouse suspicion. When he reached her door, he slid the key into the lock and went inside.

As he scanned the living room, he grinned. Weren’t most women supposed to be neat freaks? Clutter abounded, and it looked as though she performed a striptease on the way to her bedroom. Pieces of clothing lay tossed aside, forming a path from the door toward the hallway.

His gaze focused in on her computer several feet away. It sat atop a wooden desk, piles of paper and books scattered across the surface. Her screen saver hadn’t come up yet, and what was pictured on the monitor gave him serious pause.

Porn? She’d been looking at porn? Despite the urgency of the task at hand, he simply couldn’t walk away. The idea that she’d be surfing pornographic websites seemed incongruous with the image she projected.

He walked over and leaned in closer. Hmm, not a porn site, at least not in the typical fashion. The website was actually an informational on bondage and submission. Couples in a variety of poses dotted the page, and Gray couldn’t help but picture Faith in the woman’s stead.

Did she harbor dark fantasies? Sweet, easily blushing Faith with a penchant for kink? The dichotomy turned him on and intrigued the hell out of him.

Then he frowned. Was she just another woman all too willing to give up control in the bedroom, live for the fantasy then forget the whole thing the next morning? It wasn’t as if he hadn’t had his fill of those women.

Oh, they were more than willing to play a role, one that only extended to the bedroom, but when it was over with, they became a completely different woman.

He wasn’t into pretend shit. He wasn’t some damn puppet to have his strings pulled then be put back on the shelf until it was time to play again.

He shook his head and smiled ruefully. He was getting worked up over nothing. And letting past experiences color his perception of something he had no idea about. Who knew what Faith was up to or why she was looking at submission sites. It wasn’t any of his damn business.

Remembering the fact that he had a job to do, one that didn’t include figuring out a dozen ways to fuck Faith, he hurried into the kitchen. After arranging the tap, he headed for her bedroom, sure he’d find another phone there, but after a quick search of the house, he only discovered the one in the kitchen.

Quickly surveying the living room and kitchen to make sure he hadn’t disturbed anything, he strode to the door, opened it a tiny crack and peered out. Not seeing anyone, he let himself out, locking it behind him. Then he hightailed it back to his apartment and the promise of a nice long nap.

Faith raised her hand to knock on Gray’s door but hesitated at the last minute.

“Don’t be such a ninny,” she muttered. “Just because you can’t be around him two seconds without blushing doesn’t mean you’re a spineless wimp.”

Shifting the sack she held in her arm, she pressed her lips together and knocked. She waited several seconds then knocked again, louder this time.

Finally the door opened, and she blinked as Gray, a shirtless Gray, stood in the doorway. He leaned against the frame for a minute, and she let her gaze wander down his body. He wore only a pair of jeans, and his bare feet stuck out from the pants legs.