Inappropriate by Vi Keeland
Chapter 29
Ireland
Sometimes you chip and chip at a brick wall until you’re exhausted and still make no progress bringing it down. And other times, you pull out one brick and the entire thing starts to crumple. Leilani was the brick that had kept Grant’s wall standing. Everything seemed to have changed since sunrise this morning. It wasn’t anything you could tell from the outside, but it was in the way Grant showed me himself.
After he woke up, he’d driven me home and said he needed to run a few errands. But he’d asked me to pack an overnight bag and be ready when he came back in a few hours. To my surprise, he took me to his condo downtown. The building was a fancy high-rise overlooking the waterfront, with a doorman and security desk.
The uniformed guard nodded as we walked in. “Both your deliveries came and the crew just left, Mr. Lexington.”
“Thanks, Fred.”
I waited until we were in the elevator to quiz Grant. “You have a crew?”
Grant chuckled. He intertwined his fingers with mine. “You’ll see.” He slipped a card into a slot on the elevator panel and pushed a button: PH.
“Penthouse? Well, aren’t you fancy? You should have told me your lair was this nice. Maybe I wouldn’t have been such a pain in the ass about coming here.”
Grant lifted a brow. “My lair?”
“I thought it sounded nicer than fuckpad.”
He pulled me to his side and kissed the top of my head. “I’m actually glad you refused to come here.”
“Oh yeah? So why are we here now?”
“You’ll see.”
The elevator arrived on the fourteenth floor and opened directly into a huge foyer. A large, round marble table greeted us as we walked in. I looked around. The apartment was enormous. To the right was a sleek, modern stainless-steel kitchen, and straight ahead, a few steps down was a sunken living room with a full wall of floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked the water. I walked straight to the glass to admire the view.
“Oh my God. This is gorgeous. I don’t know why I was picturing some dark and seedy place. Oh wait…maybe I do. It’s because of what you used this place for.”
Grant came up behind me and snaked his arms around my waist. “Used is the key word. Past tense.”
I turned in his arms and wrapped my arms around his neck. “Are you saying you won’t be using this beautiful apartment for any sexual activities anymore? That’s sort of a shame.”
“Not at all. I plan to use it for lots of fucking. Starting with you bending over and pressing your hands against the glass in just a little while. But the place is now a lot more exclusive.”
“Exclusive, huh?” I teased. “Higher end one-night stands?”
Grant rubbed his thumb over my lip and stared at it. “Just you, beautiful.”
The tenderness in his voice made my heart flutter. Ever since our talk this morning, my emotions had been all over the place, and I started to feel myself getting a little choked up. Grant saw it in my face and smiled as he brushed his lips with mine.
“Come on. Let me show you around.”
We walked down a long hall. Grant opened each door as we passed and pointed from the doorway, but didn’t go inside.
“Office.”
“Guest bedroom.”
“Bathroom.”
But when we got to the last door on the left, he opened it and took my hand to lead me inside what was obviously the master bedroom. The room had the same big floor-to-ceiling windows, a beautiful fireplace to one side, and a king-size bed in the center. Like the rest of the apartment, it was pretty stark on decoration, but what was there was beautiful and high quality.
Grant walked to the bed and sat down, pulling me onto his lap. “Mattress is brand new. It was delivered today.”
“Was something wrong with the old one?”
He looked into my eyes, and I felt the warmth of his gaze spread through my chest. “It had seven years of things I can’t take back on it.”
And those bricks just keep falling.
I cupped his cheek. “That was really thoughtful.”
“Figured we could pick up some new bedding this afternoon before we christen it.”
I smiled. “You better be careful, Mr. Lexington. Buying a new bed, taking me shopping—a girl could get used to all this sweetness.”
Grant looked at me in a way he hadn’t before. Something was different. And that something made my heart race. I had put off making a decision about the long term, hoping something would organically happen to make it for me. And I suddenly realized it had: I’d fallen for him.
“Get used to it, sweetheart. It’s what you deserve.”
Falling…falling…falling so deep.
I was basically a pile of mush inside, and my self-protection mechanism had me needing not to fall so far that I lost myself. So I changed gears and smirked. “While we’re picking up bedding, maybe we can pick up a few decorative things, too. The apartment is beautiful, but it’s kind of…sterile. It needs some warmth.”
“Whatever you want.”
I kissed him one last time and dragged us from the bedroom. Feeling emotional and sitting on a big bed with this man was dangerous territory on so many fronts. As we walked into the living room, I noticed a tag on the couch.
“Is that a brand new couch, too?”
Grant nodded.
“You needed a new one?”
He shook his head slowly.
Oh. Oh. My nose scrunched up at the thought of Grant screwing some woman on the couch. “Did you also get new countertops in the kitchen and a new desk?” I asked dryly.
Grant shook his head. “No, smartass.”
***
I got the feeling Grant didn’t do much shopping. He looked completely awkward in a home goods store. Every time I asked if he liked something, he shrugged and nodded. “Sure, if you like it.”
So I picked up the most hideous comforter set I’d ever seen. It looked like someone had taken the ugliest floral pattern in the world and laid it on top of a check print. Not only was it loud and made me a little dizzy, but the material was almost scratchy.
“How about this one?”
Grant barely looked at it. “Sure, if you like it.”
I shook my head. “It’s the ugliest thing I’ve ever seen.”
His brows furrowed. “So why are you picking it out?”
“I’m not. I just wanted to see your reaction. You aren’t really being helpful. I don’t know what you like.”
He smirked. “You naked. Just pick something you like and will be soft on your back. And your hands and knees.”
Mmmm...That sounded good. Desire shot through me. Grant noticed the change in my face and leaned forward to whisper in my ear with a growl. “Hurry. Or I’ll be dragging you from this place and fucking you on a bare mattress soon.”
Oh my.
I attempted to ignore the growing need between my legs and moved on to a display toward the back of the store. It was simple, a navy blue-and-white striped spread by Nautica. I ran my hand along the fabric—luxurious and soft.
“I feel like this one fits you.”
It was the first time Grant gave me an actual answer. “I like it. Simple. Maybe a few of those, too.” He pointed to a display of throw pillows I hadn’t noticed to my left. They were navy with burlap patches on the front and would go perfectly—continuing a bit of a nautical theme.
“Perfect. Look at you. You’re a regular designer when you want to be.”
Grant looked over his shoulder and then to the left and right. I thought he was looking for other items to add to what we’d picked out. But I quickly realized he was seeing if the coast was clear. Before I could argue, he lifted me up and tossed me onto the bed. I landed on my back in the middle of the Nautica display. A wicked grin spread across his face as he nodded.
“It looks good together. Let’s get it and get the hell out of here.”
I was probably as ready to go as he was, but I so enjoyed screwing with him. I lifted up on my elbows on the bed. “But you said we could pick up some decorations. I figured we could check out the art store a few blocks away and then head over to that big lighting store on Fairway Blvd. I can spend hours in that place.”
Grant’s face dropped.
I couldn’t contain the smirk taking over my pout. He noticed and squinted. “You’re screwing with me.”
I smiled. “I figured it was only fair since you plan to screw me.”
Grant scooped me up off the bed, cradling me in his arms. He shifted my weight to one arm and grabbed the striped comforter set off the shelf. He walked to the throw pillow display and dipped forward.
“Grab a few.”
I laughed but grabbed two I liked. He marched down an aisle toward a register on the other side of the store.
“Ummm… You’re going to carry me to the line?”
“I am. Keeps you from stopping to look at shit and gets us to trying out the new bedding faster.”
I giggled. A few people stared at the handsome man carrying a woman and his purchases, but either Grant didn’t notice or didn’t give a shit. “You realize you look like a Neanderthal.”
“That’s the way you make me feel, sweetheart. Don’t worry. I’ll make up for my ungentlemanlike behavior when we get home.”
Home.He’ll make it up to me when we get home. I liked the sound of that for a lot of reasons.
