Wearing Him Down

He laughs.

Laughs.

There’s no humor in the sound, only a warning of what’s to come, and within seconds, I’m inside the SUV, the door slamming behind us. Grant settles into the leather seat beside me and with seeming calm, leans forward to communicate something to the member of security personnel sitting in the front passenger seat. The man leaves the vehicle and I only get a glimpse of him approaching my would-be attacker where he continues to bleed on the sidewalk, because the SUV starts moving. I almost feel bad for the guy.

Grant presses the button above his head to raise the partition, cutting us off from the driver. Then we’re alone. The atmosphere becomes eerily still inside the vehicle even as the cityscape begins to whiz past outside the windows.

“There is a reason I keep you guarded around the clock, Sienna,” Grant says through clenched teeth. “Do you have any idea of the picture you make, my little blonde princess, strolling around the city in your uniform? Men were circling you like vultures.”

I lift my chin and stare out the window, refusing to admit Grant is right about this one thing. I had no idea my appearance could create that kind of a stir, but I can still feel that man’s hand on my arm and frankly, I haven’t been that scared in a long time.

He plows his fingers through his dark hair. “Do you have any idea what the last few hours have been like for me, Sienna?”

With a gasp, I turn toward him in the seat. “Do you have any what the last five days have been like for me, Grant?” I’m horrified to hear a hitch in my voice. “I wasn’t even sure you would care if I took off.”

“You weren’t sure if I would care?” His expression is one of utter disbelief. “Oh Sienna, you’re about to get a very valuable education.”

He reaches for me, but I smack his hands away. “I don’t want your education.”

Grant doesn’t listen. Instead, he hooks his hands under my knees, turns me until I’m facing him and then yanks, making me fall backwards on the seat. One second I’m staring up at the roof in shock. The next, Grant’s hands are under my skirt and I’m having my panties ripped down to my ankles. Tossed aside. Lust trickles into my belly, but even though I’ll never stop wanting Grant, I’m still mad as heck. I jackknife on the seat and push at his shoulders, but he easily pins me down to the seat. “One more hour without you and I would have gone insane, Sienna,” he growls, wedging his big body between my kicking legs. “When they told me you were missing, I wanted to kill. I wanted to destroy everything in my path. Don’t you understand I’m nothing but a cold bastard without you? Don’t you understand I can’t live without you?” He tears my shirt down the middle, sending buttons flying in every direction and then he buries his face between my breasts, groaning as he kisses each globe in turn. “You promised you would never leave me, you beautiful little liar.”

“You left me,” I shout up at his gorgeously ravaged face. “You’re the liar.”

“No.” His hands slide up over my breasts and knead them gently. “I was there, princess. You just couldn’t see me.”

“Seeing you matters.” I attempt to swallow the lump in my throat but can’t. “I called you…that name…and you obviously didn’t like it. But you didn’t have to abandon me over it.”

“Didn’t like it?” My bra is torn off next in a quick wrist twist, Grant’s eyes hot and intense on mine. “You’ll be calling me Daddy every day for the rest of your life. Not hearing it for five days has been torture. It echoes in my head every minute of the fucking day.”

“Really?” I wince in self-disgust at the breathlessness of my tone. I’m supposed to be mad, dammit. Stay mad. I refuse to easily disregard the hurt he caused. “You know what? No. I don’t regret running away, Grant. I needed to get away from reminders of you and I’ll do it a hundred more times if I want.” Ignoring his growl, I press on, though it’s difficult to maintain the upper hand when I’m naked, except for my uniform skirt and knee-high socks. “You gave me a home and everything I could ever want, but…don’t you know I would trade it all to have just you? Only you? And you took yourself away from me.” I push his big shoulders futilely. “I’m in love with you. And I never want to talk to you again!”

Apart from running away, I’m not sure I’ve ever caught Grant off guard. But I have. He opens his mouth to speak and closes it again, seeming to struggle through a breath. “Sienna,” he says gruffly. “Love isn’t a strong enough word for what I feel for you. You consume me. You hold my soul in your precious hands. I’m so in love with you, I have to temper my actions or they would terrify you. By the end of the day, you’ll realize how deep my feelings run. Can you trust me on that?”