My law firm partner, Hadley popped her head inside my door. “Griffin Locke on the phone for you.”
I raised a brow. “Griffin Locke, our landlord?”
“The only and only.” She sing-songed.
“Why would he be calling?” He’d never had time to deal with us directly before. I didn’t have a good feeling about this.
Hadley shrugged. “He didn’t say.”
We’d signed a lease agreement for office space through a proxy, realtor Juliana Breslin. She’d said Griffin recently sold a successful start-up in California, and had moved to Annapolis to be closer to his family. He was too busy to deal with the paperwork on this building.
“I can’t imagine what would be so important he’d need to talk to me now,” I said to myself since Hadley had already moved away from my doorway.
I picked up the phone. “Avery Arrington.”
“There’s seems to be an error on the lease.” The gruff voice came over the line.
I tapped the end of my pen on the legal pad in front of me. “I’m sorry?”
“The monthly lease amount is wrong.” He punctuated each word.
I laughed. How could he argue that it was wrong when he’d had someone sign it on his behalf?
“Are you giggling?”
His question set my heart rate spiking. It made me feel like a little girl playing at being an attorney. I clenched my jaw refusing to respond to his petty comment.
“Juliana Breslin signed it as my proxy.”
I steeled my spine. “Because you were too busy to show up.”
He was quiet. Too quiet.
If it had been anyone else, I would have asked what the problem was, requested a reasonable amount of time to read over the lease, and provided a well-thought-out written response. His brisk manner put me on the defensive.
“If you scroll down to the paragraph outlining the monthly lease amount, you’ll see it’s too low.”
I got the impression he was used to throwing around his weight and have people cow to him. He was going to find out that wasn’t me.
Pulling the contract up on my screen, I scanned through the document, stopping on the amount. It was a little low for the historic district. “The documents were forwarded to you. If there was an issue, it should have been addressed before it was signed.”
“I want it fixed.”
Anger surged through me. “That’s not how it works, Mr. Locke. It’s a legally binding contract.”
“I’ll have my attorney look into it.”
“You do that. I’m sure he’ll say the same thing.” I wouldn’t have tacked on that last part if it was anyone but him. This man brought out the worst in me.
He growled into the phone.
The sound should have infuriated me. Instead, I felt that rumble in my clit. Pressing my legs together to ease the ache, I asked, “Is that all?”
My question came across breathier than I intended.
“This isn’t over, Ms. Arrington.” Then he hung up.
It was a promise I was looking forward to. No one had ever gotten me that riled up over a contract. Griffin Locked knocked me off my carefully controlled axis, and I wanted more.
***
Instead of hearing from Griffin’s attorney, he called me personally a few days later. When I heard Griffin’s voice come over the line, my heart skipped a beat.
“If you don’t change the lease agreement, I won’t renew it.”
I barely restrained myself from rolling my eyes. “You’d rather look for another tenant?”
“It’s not about the money.”
That one statement told me more about him than anything else he’d said to be so far. All I had was his voice, and his demands to go on. Griffin Locke was rich. He could have anything and anyone he wanted. On the rare he occasions a mistake was made, he expected it to be rectified immediately.
“I know. It’s about your ego. You can’t be wrong. And you hate when someone tells you no.” I was positive he wasn’t used to anyone refusing him.
It made me wonder what he looked like. My fingers itched to do a quick google search, but I restrained myself.
Over the last few days, I’d conjured an image of him in my mind—dark and brooding—I didn’t want to ruin it by seeing the reality.
“If you were smart, you’d fix it.”
I laughed at that. I didn’t care what he thought. “You’re not going to get what you want insulting me.”
I knew I had contract law on my side. Whether it was smart to continue down the path I was on—I wasn’t sure. It was probably going to mean moving the firm only six months after we’d opened. It wasn’t great. But acquiescing to his requests wasn’t on the top of my list of things to do either.
“Nothing good will come from you being stubborn.” His tone was stern.
I could almost imagine him promising to do dirty things to me in that same voice. Tingles erupted over my scalp. How could I be reacting like this to a voice?
I was positive he wasn’t having the same sexy thoughts I was.
“I’ll give you a couple of days to see reason.”
“More time won’t make a difference.”
“We’ll see about that.” He hung up. He was never going to let me get the last word.
This wouldn’t be settled until the current lease ended. I knew that. He knew that. So why was he dragging this on? Why did he keep calling me? Unless he enjoyed our back and forth as much as I did.
I liked that idea a little too much. It was too bad he lived in California. I could only imagine what meeting him in person would be like. Would he be tall and muscular?
Would he use his size as well as his voice to try and intimidate me? What would he do if I kissed him?
There was something about only talking him over the phone that allowed my imagination and fantasies to run wild.
He used every weapon in his arsenal to counter his opponents. I could never let him know that his voice was my weakness.
If he softened his tone even slightly, and demanded I get on my knees, I just might. It would go against every feminist bone in my body but it made for a great fantasy.
***
“Avery.” The sound of my name on his lips already had me dripping.
I hated his voice for making me want him. The deep rumble liquified my bones, heating my blood, making every nerve in my body ache for him.
“Get on all fours.” His tone was brisk and demanding.
Yes. Please. I scrambled to get into position, arching my back and tipping my ass in an open invitation.
“I’ll make it hurt so good.”
I was already aching for him. This position was perfect because I didn’t have to look at his face. But it also left me open and exposed. I’d certainly never admit it in the light of day, but I’d never been hotter for anyone. Something about our conversations heated me from the inside out, making me want things, making me want him.
Widening my knees, I expected his cock to enter me, hard and fast. I wanted it to sting. I wanted him to brand his cock on my pussy.
He made me feel wanton and desired—out of control with need.
The light touch of his tongue on my clit had me bucking in surprise. His hands wrapped around my thighs anchoring me in place. Fuck. He’d laid down between my legs so that he was on his back, and I was riding his face.
Pleasure shot through me that I was covering his mouth, effectively shutting him up. His voice couldn’t control me anymore. He’d have to seduce me with his tongue and his touch.
His finger entered me, his tongue was doing circling my clit in a pattern that was driving me wild, making me think I’d never escape his mouth. He owned me.
Whimpering, my hips moving involuntarily, seeking the apex of a climax I’d never reached before.
Gripping my hips tighter, he lifted me slightly, so that his tongue wasn’t touching me anymore. I “Please.” I twisted the bedspread under my fingers. I was so close.
“Say my name.”
“Griffin, Griffin, Griffin,” I continued chanting until he pulled me roughly down, nipping my clit with his teeth, sending me flying.
Before I’d come down, he moved behind me, his hands on my hips, his cock nudging my entrance. He slowly entered me as my muscles continued to spasm around him.
His separated my ass cheeks, probably watching the spot where my pussy was swallowing his cock. The image spurred me to push back, meeting his thrusts.
He pressed lightly on my upper back until I rested on my forearms on the bed, arching my ass to take him deeper. My nipples grazed the comforter as he moved faster.
He reached around fondling my breast, then trailed down my body to press on my clit. Stars exploded behind my eyelids. He was ruining me.
He thrust once more, groaning his release. We collapsed onto the bed, his weight holding me down. I didn’t want to turn over. I didn’t want to see his cocky face.
He kissed my back softly. It was so unexpected I turned over despite my vow not to.
A harsh buzzing sound forced my eyelids open. Blinking at the bright light, I realized I was alone—still achy and needy. Dream Griffin hadn’t satisfied me, he’d only made me want him more. Damn him.