The Perfect Stroke (27 page)

“Showing you just how good I can drive to the hole,” he tells me, grabbing my leg and wrapping it high on his hip. “And all you have to do is hang on and enjoy the ride.” 

I don’t respond. I can’t because he thrusts inside of me and all thought is gone. Nothing is left but sensation, pleasure, and need. Everything else ceases to exist. The garage, customers, the work, Jackson, it all fades away as I lose myself into the man who owns me. Everything is gone, and all that’s left for me is Gray.

“Do you think we might be having too much sex?” CC whispers as she sits back in the seat beside me on the plane. I just got back a minute before her. I think we played it all rather smoothly, really.

“Is there such a thing?” I ask her with a grin. “Besides, you weren’t complaining when I had you pinned against the door of the bathroom.”

“You couldn’t help but pin me. There wasn’t enough room in that bathroom for two people.”

“I think we need to go back in there. You didn’t complain as much. I mean, seriously, is this the thanks I get for making you a member of the mile-high club?”

She leans over and kisses me sweetly on the lips. “Thank you, Grayson Lucas, for inducting me into the mile-high club.”

“Much better. You’re welcome, sweet lips.” 

She laughs and pulls away, rolling her eyes at me. “What do I make, anyway? Your, like, fiftieth inductee?”

“Ouch. I can’t remember. Since you came in my life, Cooper, I can’t remember a fucking woman before you.”

“That would be a better line if you said you couldn’t remember fucking a woman before me. Grammar is very important, Tarzan.”

“That’s what I meant. Stop being a pain in my ass,” I grumble, watching as my fingers play in her hair. I’ll never get enough of the beautiful auburn-gold color. It’s natural, unique, special… just like the woman who wears it. “I love your hair.”

“I like being a pain in your ass and I’m glad because, well, it’s kind of stuck on my head, y’know? Hard to change,” she jokes.

I look at her. She’s got a faint color in her cheeks as if she’s embarrassed. I need her to see the truth.

“I don’t want you to change anything about yourself, Cooper. You’re perfect just the way you are.”

“I think it’s only fair to tell you perfection doesn’t exist. Heck, even those abs you sport aren’t perfect. I think the last can in your six pack isn’t quite defined as the rest of them.” She grins, trying to shrug off the compliment.

“I’m serious, CC. You’re perfect to me…
for
me.”

“Gray…” she whispers, and I think she’s getting it. I can see the fear in her eyes, but there’s something else there and that’s what pushes me to take it a little farther. CC is new territory for me. Not only am I in love for the first—and last—time in my life, but she sure as fuck is
not
getting away. She’s also new territory because she’s the first woman I’ve ever met who is afraid to commit to me. She doesn’t trust people in general. I think that comes from her past and her mom. But she’s doubly afraid of me and it makes me ashamed of my past.  She brings it up sometimes when we’re joking and it feels like it doesn’t bother her, but still, the truth of it has hit her and has settled in her mind and that can’t be good. Still, this is the first time I’ve seen anything from her that might encourage me, so I have to start trying to break through.

“CC, you have to know you’re special to me,” I tell her—a fucking understatement of the year.

“I…” she starts, then stops. She looks at me and slowly nods. “I know, Gray. You’re special to me, too.”

Fuck, that’s such a simple statement, but with it, I feel better than winning any damned match or tournament has ever made me feel. It feels like fireworks are going off. I get lost in the feeling and push harder—
which might be a mistake.

“I want everything with you, Cooper. Everything,” I tell her, laying it bare as gently as I can. Everything in me is wanting to tell her I want to give her my last name. I want kids with her. I want to grow old together. She’s the last face I want to see when I close my eyes and go into the next world. I’m pretty sure those words would scare the hell out of her.

“What if you’re disappointed?” she asks.

“If there’s one thing I’m one hundred percent sure of, Cooper, it’s that I could never be disappointed in you.
Never
.”

I hate seeing the fear in her eyes. I think it’s probably a good thing I never met her mother. I’d probably want to kill the woman. I bring CC’s face closer to mine and kiss her.

“You better get a quick nap in. We’ll land soon, and I’m going to need you again.”

“You cannot be serious.”

“Watch and see, sweet lips, watch and see,” I tell her with a wink. She watches me for a minute, then reclines her seat back to rest. I stare out the window wondering how in the hell I’m going to knock down all of CC’s walls. I may have to call my family in for reinforcements. They’re crazy as fuck, but they’re hard to resist and CC is already drawn to them.

I’ll figure it out somehow.
I have to.

“Claude, I didn’t expect to see you here,” Cammie exclaims, and it’s a real struggle to keep myself from slapping her. If there was ever a woman in need of someone knocking some sense into her, it’d be Cammie.

“And yet, here I am,” I say with a shrug. I hear Gray snort in the background, but I don’t look at him. If I do, I’ll probably start laughing and I need to at least appear like an adult here. It’d be much easier to control myself if I could just slap her once. Okay, maybe twice. Three times, tops. “Did you want something, Cammie?”

“I was looking for Gray. I was hoping I could meet with him before the press conference this afternoon introduces him as the face of Riverton golf clubs and merchandise,” she says, sounding put-out. “It’s extremely important we present a united front and send this venture out with a bang,” she explains, but honestly, her voice is droning on so I’m tuning her out. I pull the door to my and Gray’s hotel room back to give her room to enter.

“I’m ready, Cammie. Just give me a minute to grab my jacket and tell CC bye.”

“Oh, no rush, Gray. I’m just excited to get this venture underway. With your face and our quality product, our clubs will become a household name,” Cammie says, and Gray turns his back on her and rolls his eyes. I grin. God, I love him.
Shit
.

“You sure you don’t want to go with us, sweetheart?”

“Of course she doesn’t, Gray. What on Earth would Claude do while we were talking to the press and deep in business? She’d be bored silly,” Cammie interjects.

I stick my tongue out at her. Sadly, the gesture is hid by Gray’s chest as he blocks me. He laughs, though. His hand rest on my hips and he looks at me when he answers Cammie.

“CC is very astute when it comes to business. I can always use her in my corner. I admire
her
.” The way he stresses the last part of that sentence is like a verbal blow that sails right over Cammie’s head.

“I suppose, but honestly, that little garage that Claude runs can hardly be compared to the millions we are dealing with. I doubt CC could imagine the money this contract between you and Riverton involves.”

I close my eyes and try to count backwards. I shove down the old insecurities which threaten to rise to the forefront. I’m not the innocent little girl that the Riverton’s nearly destroyed—
not anymore
.  I’ve been trying to play nice with Cammie and her father before I had Banger to worry about. Why do I care now? Why am I not lashing out? Habit? Do I still have the fear? Hell, maybe I just don’t care enough to try and defend myself.

“Cammie, do you have any idea how you sound when you talk?” Gray says, and I freeze. I look up at him and I can see anger and frustration on his face, but it’s not directed at me. It’s totally focused on Cammie.
Wow…

“What? I’m sorry, Gray, I don’t mean to hurt Claude’s feelings…”

“You’re not,” I interject.

“You do,” Gray says at the same time, and I look up at him again. “Claudia Cooper is one of the smartest, most dependable women I know. I have no doubt she would have no trouble running a Fortune 500 company if she wanted and do it amazingly.”

“Yes, well… I think you might be exaggerating a little, Gray. But maybe we should just agree to disagree and make it to our press conference,” Cammie says.

“You do realize you just made me sound like a Volkswagen or something, right?” I chastise Gray, because honestly, his words blew me away. Unlike Cammie, I don’t think he was trying to get laid or just defend me; I think he truly believes them—and believes in me.

He kisses my forehead and laughs. “Always busting my ass, Cooper. You own my dick now. I think you get that to me, you are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes on.”

“To you? So you’re saying other men wouldn’t do the same?”

“Jesus,” he grumbles, shaking his head.

“I think I’ll just meet you at the meeting. I can tell you’re not in the mood to listen to anything logically.”

“No, he’s leaving now,” I tell her, but all my focus is still on Gray.

“I am?”

“Yeah. I’m thinking of calling Apple. Their stocks fell last quarter. I’m going to pull them out of their dark tunnel and show them the light.”

“I’m going to spank your ass when I get back,” he grumbles, giving me a quick kiss and then walking to the door with Cammie following him like an obedient little dog.

“I’ll look forward to it, Lucas.”

“I’ll hold you to that, Cooper,” Gray says over Cammie’s exaggerated huff of breath.

“Go knock ‘em dead and leave me to my financial planning,” I tell him. He winks and then closes the door as they leave. I just stand there watching the door with a sappy look on my face. Then, I do something every teenager does when the boy they like picks them for the prom—or what I imagined they did, because I was never that girl: I run to the bed and jump on it, squealing.

“What are you doing?” I ask Cammie once the press conference is over. It went really well, I suppose. I’m always kind of lost at these things. Since CC, honestly, I’m getting kind of bored with it all. Golf isn’t even fun anymore; it’s a means to an end. When did that start? Once I get this tournament behind me, I think I may take a year off. Hell, maybe I’ll buy that farm across from Blue. Would CC like to live on a farm? Would she be willing to let go of her garage? I could live in Kentucky. I wouldn’t hate it, though it wouldn’t be my first choice. Still, if I get CC in exchange, I could live there happily. Decisions… I need to make some decisions.

“Texting father some information he needs to know. He asks that we meet him in the south banquet room for lunch with the stockholders.”

“I need to get back to CC, then I will. She’s probably hungry, too…”

“Father was called away on business, Gray. Surely you can go make an appearance and then go find CC, right? So they aren’t left alone?”

I frown, wondering if Cammie is up to something, but since she’ll be glued to my side, I figure it’s safe.

“Fine,” I tell her, and I know I sound like a sulking child, but the last thing I want to do is spend more time with Cammie Riverton. I really want to get back to CC. My phone rings and I look down at the number and grin. “I need to take this. It’s my manager,” I tell Cammie, already answering the phone.