Sweet Surrender (Sweet #1)(10)
Author: Maya Banks

“So how was your day at the office? You look…stressed.”

She twitched uncomfortably on the stool and took another sip of her drink. Then she forwent the straw and drained the glass in one long swallow.

“Office was fine. Just tired. Didn’t sleep well last night.” She swiveled on her stool and flashed him a bright smile. “So how are you liking the job so far?”

Classic change of subject. She was definitely hiding something. A complete moron could figure that out. But he didn’t exactly have the kind of personal relationship with her where she would confide in him, and he damn sure didn’t have time to cultivate one.

“I like it. It’s going well.”

“Connor said…Connor said that your partner was recently killed.”

He tried like hell to keep his brow from creasing at the pain her question caused. He didn’t say anything for a long moment.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have pried.”

Her gaze softly caressed his face, her eyes flashing with sympathy. Lord, but she was sweet. And he’d bet money she felt every bit as soft and delicate as she looked.

“You aren’t prying,” he said quietly. “It’s not a secret. Yes, my partner—Alex—was killed in the line of duty.”

Her face scrunched with dismay. “Did they catch the person who did it?”

“No. Not yet.”

Her long blond hair fell forward over her shoulder as she turned completely to face him. He wanted to touch it, imagine what it would feel like to wrap his fingers in the strands while he slid his c**k into her pu**y.

A tortured groan welled in his chest and stuck there. Okay, granted, he hadn’t gotten laid in longer than he could remember, but he couldn’t blame his reaction to Faith on that. There was something about her that just did it for him. Pushed all the right buttons.

She elicited all his protective instincts. He wasn’t thinking of hot sex—okay, well, maybe a little. What he was fantasizing about was hot, slow, lovemaking. The kind where a man worshipped at the altar of woman. Where every taste and touch was enjoyed and savored.

Then they could progress to the hot, sweaty f**king.

Got this all figured out, eh, Montgomery?

He downed the last of his beer and wondered where the f**king air-conditioning was.

“How long are you on leave?” she asked. “I mean when do you go back?”

She leaned forward, giving him just a glimpse of the pale mounds of her br**sts, plumped up by the lacy bra she wore.

“I, uh, I’m not sure yet. I’m just taking it easy. Deciding what to do next.”

She smiled then, and his eyes were drawn to her face. He couldn’t look away. He’d never wanted to kiss a woman so bad in his life.

“I’m glad you’re here,” she said sweetly. “Pop is a great man to work for. He views his employees as family. Sometimes…sometimes you just need to get away from everything, you know? Maybe that’s just what you need. Time away.”

“What kind of things do you need to get away from, Faith?” he asked softly.

Her expression froze, and he could see her mentally retreating. Damn it all to hell.

The waitress returned and plunked the plate of food down in front of him, and the bartender slid another beer across the bar to him.

Gray reached for the ketchup and opened the cap, prepared to douse the burger and fries. He paused then looked back over at Faith. “Sure you don’t want some of this?”

She smiled and reached for a fry. “Typical guy. Have to drown everything in ketchup.”

“I’ll refrain just for you.” He pushed his plate over so it straddled the space between them. Then he proceeded to dump ketchup in a confined space on the plate.

As he watched her nibble on one of the fries, a sudden thought occurred to him.

“Are you meeting someone here? Am I keeping you?”

She gave him a puzzled look and shook her head.

He dunked a fry in the ketchup and raised it to his mouth. “Not hooking up with the boyfriend?”

Again a delicate pink blush bloomed on her cheeks.

“There’s no longer a boyfriend,” she said lightly.

Could this be the reason for her melancholy? But no, she had a wariness about her that signaled more stress than sadness. He was still betting on the mother. He just wished he knew how involved Faith was at this point.

“He’s an idiot,” Gray muttered.

She laughed, and he pulled his head up, transfixed by the sound.

“I guess I’m the idiot. I was the one who ended things.”

“He’s still an idiot.”

Smiling, she motioned to the bartender for another drink. “You sound just like one of the guys.”

He raised a brow. “Which guys?”

“Connor, Micah and Nathan.”

“Well, I definitely don’t see you as my damn sister.”

Her eyes widened. “What do you see me as?”

Now that was a provocative damn question. Maybe she wasn’t as shy as he thought. She stared back at him, unblinking.

“Beautiful.”

He chuckled as she blushed yet again.

“What? What’s so funny?”

“You’re adorable when you blush, and you do it so easily.”

Her brow furrowed, and her lips turned down into a frown. “Adorable? I much prefer beautiful to adorable.”

He reached over and touched her arm. “What if I find you both?”

A warm tingle spread up Faith’s arm as Gray’s fingers brushed across her skin. She swallowed the knot in her throat. She wasn’t some inexperienced virgin, but here, sitting in such close proximity to a man telling her she was beautiful—and adorable—had her completely flustered.

She loved the subtle complexities of attraction. Loved the feeling and challenge of meeting someone new and exploring those first awkward moments as they felt around, both being subtle yet forward.

“I can live with that,” she said huskily.

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?