“Holy shit, this looks like that place from that movie you love, Pride and Prejudice!”
“Uh, you mean the classic novel?” I laugh and Shelly rolls her eyes.
“Seriously, what does this guy do for work again?” I pan around the parlor before flipping the camera back to me.
“And now for my favorite part,” I say as I walk into the bedroom and flip the camera back so she can see the open French doors and balcony.
“Does he need a dog? I can bark. Seriously, that place looks unreal!”
“I know and check out this bathroom!” I spin around and run into the bathroom that is also bigger than my entire studio apartment.
The floor and walls are all a gorgeous marble. The dual sinks and massive window-sized mirror hanging above them are simple but elegant. The stand-alone soaker tub looks like you could sink the Titanic in it.
“You need to invite me over,” she says as I back up to get the entire bedroom into the camera shot. “Whoa, you could have an orgy with like ten people in that bed.”
I laugh as I take one more step backward and slam into something warm and hard. I drop the phone and stumble to pick it up, turning around to see Mr. Hayes standing in the doorway to my bedroom.
“Oh,” I yelp as I fumble with the phone. I can hear Shelly asking me what the hell is going on. “I’ll call you back,” I say quickly before hanging up.
“Mr. Hayes, I’m so sorry. I didn’t see you there.” I can feel heat creeping up my cheeks and I don’t understand why I’m such a bumbling mess every time I see this man.
“No apologies necessary. I know I’m encroaching on your private space. I can assure you I don’t and won’t make a habit of invading your quarters, but I simply wanted to stop in and officially welcome you.”
He stands with his hands in the pockets of his gray dress pants, causing them to be pulled taut across his crotch.
Don’t look, don’t look, don’t look! I repeat the phrase over and over in my head.
He has a matching vest that’s fitted over his baby-blue dress shirt that has two buttons undone. I see a hint of dark hair at the base of his throat, peppering his tanned skin. I swallow, my mouth feeling like I just chewed on a cotton ball.
“Thank you. It was no intrusion at all. This is your house, after all. I, uh, I filled out most of the paperwork for Miss Perry and I was about to finish that up.”
He nods his head as he glances briefly around the room before settling his gaze back on me. His dark eyes focus on mine, and uneasy, I can’t help but look away. I glance back in time to see his eyes drop down to my bare feet before slowly making their way up my body and my belly flip-flops.
Suddenly, I feel completely vulnerable. I curl my toes into the carpet, wishing I could disappear. Something about the way Graham Hayes looks at me without saying a word is scarier than standing naked in the middle of Times Square.
“Well, I’ll leave you to finish your tasks then,” he says as he turns to walk back to the parlor door.
I can’t help it; my eyes drop down and take in his magnificent ass. He’s got the perfect amount of perky projection—not that I’m an expert on the subject of the male form. God knows my experience ranges from a fumbling virgin freshman year of college to an entitled two-hump-chump that never got me over the finish line… not even once. Suddenly the desire to fall to my knees and bite it erupts in me, and I blush in embarrassment.
I bet Mr. Graham Hayes knows exactly how to make a woman tremble under his touch.
“Oh, and Miss Silver.” He turns back to face me, slowly pulling his hand out of his pocket and rubbing his chin with an almost undetectable wink. “Let’s keep the orgies to a minimum.”
4
GRAHAM
I shut the door softly behind me as I exit Margot’s quarters.
I had to bite my cheek to keep from chuckling at the way her eyes bugged out of her head when I mentioned orgies. Technically, she mentioned them first.
I had to stop myself from reaching out a hand to steady her when she ran into me. Clumsy little thing. But memories from the way her soft skin felt in my hand the night we first met came flooding back to me.
Only one woman over the years ever had such an impact on me with such a minor touch and that was my late wife, Meredith.
The two women are nothing alike as far as I can tell. Meredith was outspoken and driven, I guess what you’d call an alpha female. She wasn’t meek or timid in the slightest. She could command a room with just her presence. She was my equal and I was drawn to that.
She challenged me.
Called me out on my bullshit.
From what I’ve gathered in our short interactions, Miss Silver is the exact opposite. Timid, perhaps a bit naive or innocent.
The kind of woman I have no business wanting to defile. And yet, from the moment I first met her, something has slowly started stirring in me. A desire to have her at my mercy, completely helpless against every filthy fucking thing I want to do to her.
An image of Margot stretched out on my bed, naked, arms and legs tied to the four posts, sends a pang of desire straight to my cock.
Would she beg me? Would she willingly give herself to me?
I bet she’d be fun to tease, I think to myself as I run my hand over my rough five-o’clock shadow. I close my eyes and pinch the bridge of my nose, trying to force images of sweet little Miss Silver begging for release from my mind.
I walk down to the end of the hallway where a large bay window sits, giving an expansive view of the backyard.
I never intended on making this estate my home. It was my late grandfather’s house and while Meredith and I never had any use for this much space, she absolutely fell in love with the house when I showed it to her years ago. My mother insisted Meredith and I take it. My father had passed two years before we were married, and my mother couldn’t bear to live here alone without him. She moved into a smaller place a few miles away and we moved in here.
I, on the other hand, now can’t imagine parting with the house knowing how much it meant to Meredith.
“Sir, can I help you with something?”
The breathy sound of Miss Perry’s voice interrupts my thoughts and I turn to face her, offering up a small smile.
“No, just—thinking. How was your vacation?”
I walk to where she’s standing and we both turn to head down the main staircase.
“It was nice. Spent some quality time with my sister, sunning ourselves lazily on the beaches of St. Tropez and sipping a few too many fruity cocktails.” Her voice is breathy and I know she’s putting it on.
“Sounds relaxing.”
“Oh, it was. You would love it there.” She reaches out and touches my arm softly. “We ended up spending some time on a yacht owned by the Felton brothers. You know them, right? Teddy and Martin?”
Teddy? I know what she’s trying to do and I’m not interested. Nobody besides maybe his mother or whoever he’s currently sleeping with calls Theo Felton Teddy.
“Yes, I’m very familiar with the Felton brothers,” I say as I open the fridge and grab a bottle of water.
“Well, they spoke very highly of you. We certainly had a fabulous time with them and they invited us to join them on their next trip to the Amalfi Coast. I told them I would need at least six months to recover from this last trip and to make sure I have time to work off all those delicious cocktails. Can’t be losing my figure before another vacation.”