“Love her.”
“Good. That was a test. You can stay. Let me show you around.” Gray winked before playfully pulling me into the room.
His library was impressive. Any music lover with an appreciation for vinyl would have been in heaven. But I was more enchanted with him. And yeah, I was fully aware “enchanted” was a goopy word to even think about a guy. But it fit because I didn’t recognize my thought process. It was like I was under a spell that put a dreamy look in my eyes and had me hanging on his every word. Of course, it was a matter of time before my brain tripped my internal wiring and asked me to clarify what the hell I was doing here with someone like him.
“…this is an original Fats Domino recording from—”
“Why did Charlie call me? I mean, I get that he’s your godson, but I don’t know him. He seemed to know about me, though.” I furrowed my brow in distaste. “Did you tell him about us?”
“No. But his dad is my best friend. He knew.”
“And decided to play matchmaker?” I asked incredulously.
“No. Seb is a producer. He was with me that night and…well, he’s interested in switching up the music for his next movie. He talked to Xena about contracting a—”
“Whoa!” I raised one hand, then paced back toward the door to lean on the jamb for support. My legs felt like jelly, and the roaring noise in my ears made it difficult to hear. That was probably a good thing. I pulled out my cell and read the text Declan sent me that morning. We need to talk. Xena’s signing a contract you might be interested in.
I couldn’t believe it. This really was a setup. I had no idea what they wanted from me, but something told me my starry-eyed infatuation was like fish bait to a shark. Gray might have remembered that night fondly…who wouldn’t? But he hadn’t called me here to rekindle something or even give me a fucking job. He was working for his friend. Writing him jingles…and somehow Xena and Dec were involved? Fuck this shit.
“Justin, whatever you’re thinking, you’re wrong.”
“I don’t think so. You’re using me. I don’t know what you want but—”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Let me explain,” Gray said in a rational, mature tone.
“No. Don’t.”
There had to be twenty perfect comeback lines, but I couldn’t think of one. Nothing funny, nothing snarky, and certainly nothing intelligent. Surprise warred with pride and made it difficult for me to see through the fiery red haze clouding my vision, let alone think of a pleasant way to tell him to shove his record collection up his ass.
A little voice in my head told me I should take advantage of this not-so-chance meeting. But using sex and making the right connections to get ahead wasn’t my specialty. Hell, anyone who knew me agreed I was an expert at destroying opportunity, not exploiting it.
And just to prove it, I pushed Gray’s chest and backed him against the wall before capturing his face between my hands and sealing my mouth over his in what I referred to as a “fuck you” kiss. Something sexy but harsh that should have said everything I couldn’t without sounding delusional.
Unfortunately, my “fuck you” backfired.
My body responded to him like a match to a flame. It was instant and all-consuming. The scrape of his stubbled jaw, his soft lips, and his hard body. The wicked combination and his immediate response made me horny as fuck. I moved between his open legs and tilted my hips, moaning aloud at the feel of his shaft alongside mine. The friction felt amazing through his flimsy swim trunks. I lowered my hands to his waist, then nipped his jaw before cupping his ass and grinding against him like I was riding a pole at a strip joint. We made out in a furious tangle punctuated by rhythmic thrusts until I dipped my hand under the waistband of his trunks and traced his crack.
“We can’t do this here.” He gasped for air and shook his head.
I blinked in surprise. Holy crap. What was I doing?
“Save your speech. I don’t need you to tell me this is a bad idea. I don’t need your special treatment, I don’t want any favors, and I don’t want your fucking job,” I huffed humorlessly. “Thanks for wasting my time and ruining a perfectly good memory. It’s been fun.”
I flung the door open and hurried along the maze of sunlit corridors and posh living spaces, retracing my original path to the main entry as quickly as humanly possible. I sucked in a breath of fresh air on the landing, then pulled my keys from my pocket and raced down the path. I made a mundane to-do list to keep from spinning over the disastrous meeting. Something bigger than a chance meeting with a former hookup was at play, but I couldn’t begin to make sense of anything in my current state of mind.