Page 31 of Guarding Grace

“I’ll be heading in shortly.” I glanced at the gorgeous hunk of man in the room and really wished I could have said I’d be there in an hour or two.

“Hurry. She’s due back now, and I won’t be able to stall her again. I’m good, but I’m not a miracle worker.”

“And so modest. I’m on the way.”

She laughed, and we ended the call. I didn’t know what I would do without her.

Terry approached with a glass of water and an open hand. “For the pain.”

I shook my head. “No thanks.” I tried to avoid painkillers after what I’d seen them do to my sophomore-year roommate, Denil, in college, and he knew that.

He shoved them at me. “It’s just Tylenol, and I’m not taking no for an answer. Promise to take them for two days and then you can stop if you want.”

“Okay.” I took the tablets and swallowed them, finishing off the glass of water. “Thanks.”

He moved behind me and kneaded my shoulders. “You need to slow down. You’ve been attacked twice in twenty-four hours, and you need to give me and the team some time to figure out what’s going on.”

“I can slow down later. You’ve heard of parallel tasking, right? You guys do whatever investigating it is you do, but right now, I have to get to work before we lose a big opportunity.”

Terry took a deep breath, clearly disappointed. “I’m coming with you, and you can tell me what the hell Elliot is into on the drive.”

“Fine, but only if you sit in the corner and don’t distract my employees.”

I knew that was too much to expect. He would draw all the female eyeballs, and the gossip about us would be immediate.

Rushing to change, I marveled that I had kissed Terry Goodwin, and he’d kissed me back with a passion I wasn’t used to. The kiss had been better than in my dreams, and feeling his hard cock through his jeans said one thing very clearly. We were on the same page about wanting each other.

If Mrs. Eclestone hadn’t represented my biggest opportunity in a while, I would have blown her off and focused on straddling Terry. I couldn’t remember being this turned on in forever.

Tonight I was going to indulge in all the naughty fantasies I’d pictured for Terry and me. The literal pain in my ass told me not all the positions could be on the menu, but certainly we’d find enough to keep us busy all night long.

Me and Terry Goodwin? Yesterday I never would have believed it. Well, at least before I got attacked. Him saving me had changed things.Now it seemed like fate demanded we explore the chemistry our kiss had revealed.

Changing quickly, I didn’t bother with makeup or my hair, opting for a natural look. As jazzed as I was, I probably would have messed it up anyway.

CHAPTER 8

Grace

We hustleddownstairs and into Terry’s Porsche, where I expected to get a chance to take a breath.Wrong.When he pulled away from the curb, the beast of an engine roared, and its power threw me back against the seat.

“Speed won’t do me any good,” I squeaked, “if I don’t get there in one piece.” It didn’t hurt much, but because of the cut in my ass, I sat crooked in the seat.

“Trust me, Kitten. I’ll get you there safely.”

Kitten. I liked the sound of that much better than his other names for me. Still, it took a minute of white-knuckling the door handle and pressing my feet against the floorboards before I relaxed.

Eventually, I realized Terry knew how to drive fast. His hands were sure on the wheel, and he methodically scanned the mirrors and traffic ahead as we darted between lanes and rounded corners. Maybe it was the adrenaline from that kiss that had my motor revved, but I soon found watching him drive at hyperspeed to be sexy.

“Why were you meeting with Elliot?” he asked as he sped by another car.

I braced as he hit the brakes to slow for a delivery truck. “He called. He needed my help, and I had to go because he’s?—”

“I get it. So what did he say? What’s going on with him?”

There wasn’t much, but I tried to recall it exactly. “I don’t know details, but it sounds like he’s a courier for some criminal. He said his boss sent the guys at the restaurant.”

Terry nodded. “That would have to be Tall Tony Russo, head of the Italian mob in town. He’s bad news. Fuck, they all are. The first two who attacked you worked for him. How did the little snot get on the wrong side of them?”