Gloriana collapsed back against the luxuriant leather car seat and closed her eyes. Her head hurt and she felt shivery all over. She didn’t know if it was remembering her previous attraction to Griffin that had brought it screaming to the fore, or the man himself… But she was unable to deny the sweet feeling of desire that had pooled low in her pelvis when he’d held her in his arms and looked at her as if he wanted to kiss her.
Actually, now that she thought about it, her physical response was probably caused to emotional tiredness and stress making her super sensitive to her surroundings and having nothing to do with Griffin at all. How could it be when he immediately assumed that she was guilty? That she was lower than dirt?
His cold arrogance fired her blood and made her want to fall b
So hot… Gloriana was hot. Too hot… And something was tugging on her. Pulling her down.“Gray…” she whispered then blinked and tried to focus. ‘Where am I? Whose room is this?’“Missing your boyfriend already, little Glow?” An aggravated male voice she instantly recognized, drawled from far away.“Oh… I wasn’t dreaming…” Gloriana tentatively raised herself up on her elbow to find Griffin seated behind a large desk strewn with leatherbound books and reams of paper. For a moment she just stared at him in a daze, unconsciously registering his dark frown. Then the events of the morning s
Griffin regarded Gloriana coolly as she walked back into his office. She’d put her hair up, which made her look shabbier than when she’d first woken up… and incredibly cute. A fact he found hard to believe when he usually preferred women well-mannered, well-bred, and well-groomed. Griffin was still smarting from having lowered himself to question her about her lovers before, like some petty boyfriend, and wouldn’t have minded if she’d spent the rest of the afternoon in the bathroom. All the better for him to get some actual work done. But Gloriana hadn’t, and now her eyes stopped on the refreshments his PA had just placed on his desk. Griffin knew she must be hungry because he doubted the customs officers had made it a priority to feed her earlier today.&nb
Gloriana’s mouth gaped, and she tried to calm down, before telling him what she thought about his rude comments and hurtful attitude.“You really think you’ve got me all sussed out, don’t you, Griffin?” Her voice was husky with raw emotion.“In your opinion, I’m just some worthless, dumb celebrity who takes drugs and uses the casting couch to get her roles.”“Well, not if you’re screwing the dolly boy… I can’t imagine he can win you too many roles.” He leaned back in his chair and folded his arms behind his head. ‘You, arrogant jerk!’ Gloriana narrowed her eyes and s
Griffin sat opposite his sister at one of London’s most exclusive restaurants and tried not to brood over Gloriana’s earlier comment. Because Emeline was right, damn it! He was one of the good guys, and he didn’t know why he was letting the two-bit actress beside him, laughing over Kostas’s unfunny jokes, make him question that. Maybe because he’d kissed her the way a man kissed a woman he planned to sleep with and then blamed her for it. As if this maddening desire he felt for her was a deliberate spell she had cast over him…Which, come to think of it, was a much better explanation than the alternative… that he just couldn’t keep his hands off her. But that wasn’t the case at all. What had happened in his office earlier was the result of extreme stress boiling over. Nothi
Gloriana had wanted to put Griffin in his place, but instead, he threw his head back and laughed… the most delightfully masculine sound she’s ever heard. She could see Emeline and Kostas looking perplexed, and then Griffin smiled at her.“That’s just who I am,” Griffin said, picking up his wine glass and holding her gaze as he stroked his thumb over the stem.“I take it that was an in-joke?” Emeline offered, jolting Gloriana’s attention away from Griffin.“I don’t know…” Gloriana sniffed. “I didn’t find it funny at all.”“Well, are you seeing someone or not, Glory?”“No,” she sighed, and then, feeling observed by Griffin’s skeptical gaze, added, “no one important, anyway.” ‘Let him make of that what he would!&rs
The ride to Griffin’s house was tense, to say the least. Gloriana was still fuming over the humiliation of nearly embarrassing herself before, when she had almost reached up and pulled Griffin’s taunting mouth to hers. Again… Something she hadn’t even been aware she was about to do until he’d pulled back. She swallowed a whine of distress and watched one neon sign become another as Griffin steered his silver Mercedes through the streets from Park Lane to Hampstead Heath, one of London’s most prestigious addresses. How dared he tell her that he wasn’t interested in her? As if she would care! How about the fact that she wasn’t interested in him? And he’d certainly been a little more than intere
Griffin stepped forward. ‘Impudent witch!’ He might be as hard as stone at the thought of touching her but he actually resented having to touch her like this. No matter how much he tried to deny it to himself, Griffin knew that he would much prefer her willing and wanting. And he’d lied to her before. He was interested. Way too interested. Wanting to get this over with as quickly as possible, Griffin circled her tiny wrists and ran both his hands up the long sleeves of her blouse at the same time.“You know… My stepfather warned me about men like you,” Gloriana said, her voice a breathy caress in the otherwise silent room.“Is that right?” 
“A… what? A movie première? Are you kidding me right now? Is there a candid camera in my office?” Griffin’s PA, Agnes, inched as she stood on the other side of his desk, and he realized he’d said almost those exact words to his sister at almost this exact time the day before. Once again, he’d been having a great morning, and again it was shot to… Okay, so it hadn’t been that great a morning, with Gloriana waking up late and a police detective waiting around in his home until she did so, but it was definitely ruined now. He cut a hard look to Gloriana, who stared back impassively at him from the white sofa.“Uhm… N-no, sir,” Agnes stuttered. Griffin glanced b