redeeming cupid 01 - struck by eros Read Free Page A

collarbone. “Sure I can’t persuade you to stay home?” His fingers wandered to the edge of my sweats.
    It killed me to stop him from exploring further, but I knew better than to be late for my matchmaking session. “I have to work on a new piece for the mythology project.” Not a full lie but still, another lie piled on top of a hill of lies.
    “You can’t work from home today?”
    “All the supplies I need are at the Rail Yard.”
    “How about postponing for a couple of hours?” His hand grabbed my backside and squeezed. “I took the whole day off to spend with you to celebrate.”
    I’d give anything to stay and be seduced by Len, but if I refused to do Cupid’s bidding, bad things happened. I’d tested the boundaries once, just once, and swore the hours spent huddled over the toilet praying for the swift death Cupid promised wasn’t worth repeating.
    I turned around, snitched a piece of toast off the plate so I wouldn’t have to face him with yet another lie. “I wish I could, but it’s an important job. New client. Big commission.”
    He wrapped his arms around me from behind and hugged me closer. “Dinner tonight to celebrate? That new Italian place?”
    My head leaned against his chest, and I sighed. “Wouldn’t miss it.”
    He slapped me on the rear. “Then get to work lady, so you can come home, and I can make love to you before our night out.”
    Closing the door and leaving Len behind felt wrong. The way my libido picked up at the thought of seeing Grayson felt wrong. This whole Cupid-screwed situation felt wrong. Totally fucking wrong. I put Doris’s soft top down and hopped in. San Diego’s cool, ocean air helped calm the anger to low level irritation.
    Pulling in behind Grayson’s black Audi R5, my first instinct was to ram it up the rear, but the damage to Doris wouldn’t be worth the tiny temper tantrum. Instead, I grabbed my bag, and pulled out my bathing suit top. Without being indecent, I pulled my arms through the sleeves of my T-shirt. Wrangled my bikini top under my shirt. Clasped it, and made sure it covered all my womanly bits, before pulling the shirt over my head and tossing it in the back seat. I wiggled out of my sweats, slipped into a pair of flip-flops, and stepped out of the car.
    The car door closed with a creak and a slam, imitating my feelings for the next couple hours of my life. I walked past the large, jagged rocks that separated the sidewalk from the beach in search of my co-worker.
    The morning fog ebbed, and the sun peeked between the clouds. Joggers ran through the shallow water, families searched for seashells, and ten feet away, a gaggle of girls surrounded Grayson like seagulls circling a kid with popcorn.
    I trekked through the warm sand, threw myself into a chair underneath the rainbow-striped umbrella, and scared away Grayson’s entourage. “Let’s find our lonely hearts and get this over with.”
    “Hello to you too, sunshine.”
    Pulling a book out of my bag, I cracked it open and settled into my time-to-ignore-Grayson pose. A pose that took me weeks to perfect. “Let’s not pretend we enjoy each other’s company.”
    “Don’t you get sick of always being…” He waved his hand back and forth in my direction like a conductor guiding an orchestra. “You?”
    “What’s that supposed to mean?”
    “Just that if the stick in your ass got any higher we could hang a flag over your head and declare you your own state.”
    I peeked over the top of my book. “Go get eaten by a shark.”
    “Better than sitting on the beach with a crab.” Grayson hopped off his towel, jogged down the seaweed-covered sand, and got lost in the distance. I’d see him again when he located our wayward couple with the bobbing purple arrows over their heads.
    Comforted by the sound of waves crashing on the shore, I tried to get interested in the story of a man and woman who managed to find love no matter how many obstacles life put in their way.
    Choking out a laugh,