He put his arms around her and urged her on top of him. Tara eagerly accepted the challenge, rising up onto her knees, and then taking his length in her hand. She guided him inside and sank down against his body, soaking up every blissful second of the way he filled her so perfectly. They began to move together and he took his time with the rotation of his hips, hitting her center in just the right spot, already pushing her close to the edge. She struggled to stay in the moment and not let her mind wander. The pure ecstasy made it a difficult proposition. He felt too good inside her, and she slipped into a daydream about what it would be like to actually be with a man who was her match. Was Grant that man? Could they work past all that stood between them?
She struggled for her breaths as the pressure began to build. She kissed him and caught just how shallow his own breath had become. It was clear that they were both close, and she was torn between wanting to cross the goal line and wanting it to last forever. This right now was perfect. As messy as everything around them could be, being in bed with Grant at this moment was where she belonged. No question about that. The orgasm barreled into her from out of nowhere, shattering the tension between them. Grant followed almost immediately and they were both calling out, a chorus of pleasured and breathless words.
She collapsed at his side and spread her hand across his chest as he wrapped his arm around her. He smoothed her hair back, and kissed the top of her head. Over and over again. Each kiss came with a tiny tug, bringing her closer to him. Contentment blanketed her body just as his body heat poured into her. She couldn’t remember feeling like this with a man before. Not with anyone who’d come before him. She and Grant were equals. They were friends. And they would always have a connection. Now deeper than the one they’d had before.
Fourteen
Tara slept over for two nights. There wasn’t much sleeping going on, but that was better than fine with Grant. He wanted this to go on forever—Tara in his bed, giving him untold pleasures and welcoming his touch. They’d quickly reached the point where he could simply walk up to her, take her in his arms and kiss her. He didn’t want to call it a fantasy brought to life. It was more like a dream, and it felt like that, seeing her walk around his home in bare feet, watching her wrap her hair up in a towel after a shower, bearing witness to the moment when she woke up in his bed. She was what this house had been missing. She was the missing puzzle piece in his life.
He had to find a way to tell her before she had the chance to go home. It was Sunday morning and they’d already made love twice and had breakfast. They’d long since finished as much of the Seaport proposal as they could without Clay’s help. It was only a matter of time before she’d be gone, they’d return to their previous arrangement at Sterling and he’d be in the hot seat. If she was successful with the Seaport pitch, he might lose his hold on the company. He was essentially standing in her way, and he already knew that her relationship with Astrid and Miranda had grown stronger.
But there was another way out of this, at least as far as Grant saw it. They could run the company together, as a true partnership, in the office and out. Could Tara ever see them that way or had this been just another instance of him being lucky enough to get her into bed? Would she ever want to share that lead role at work? Or would strong and determined Tara, the woman dead set on winning at all costs, simply decide that Grant didn’t measure up? Would she ultimately reach the conclusion that she was too much for him?
“This weekend has been amazing.” Grant put the last plate from breakfast in the dishwasher.
Tara was seated at the kitchen island, still hugging her mug of coffee in her hands. She turned her sights to the backyard and the Pacific. The palm trees rustled in the wind, the sun casting short shadows on the grass. He studied her profile, and it was hard not to see her through the lens of everything she’d been through. She’d had so much loss in her life, and still she kept forging ahead. She was a survivor and that was not only what he adored in her, but it was the quality he feared most. Could she ever need him the way he needed her?
“It really was.” She took a sip of her coffee and turned to look at him. “Thank you so much for saving my butt with the Seaport project. It remains to be seen whether or not Clay and I can actually pull this off, but I couldn’t have put us in that position without your help. So thank you.”
Grant walked around to her side of the island and stood next to her. “I think we make a great team.” He believed that in every sense, and he wanted to tell her as much. I love you. I have always loved you. The words were swimming around in his head, but he couldn’t begin to imagine he would ever have the perfect chance to utter them, to say them in a way that wouldn’t scare her off and send her running.
“About that. I know you’ve been against this project from the beginning, but would you consider coming with me to the presentation on Friday? We could use a heavy hitter like you.”
Grant wanted to be supportive, but he also wanted to give Tara the chance to shine. He hadn’t
