The Tycoon's Captured Heart Read Free

the countertop.  “There’s no need.  But thank you.”
    Grayson saw the sadness in her eyes and reacted to it.  There was no way he was letting her sleep in this house alone tonight.  She was sad, exhausted, vulnerable and looking more beautiful than any woman he’d ever known in his life.  “There’s every need,” he argued.  “Go to bed, Scarlett.”
    Scarlett watched him for a long moment and thought she could detect a battle waging inside the man.  Was she just imagining that?  Or was she hoping that he was fighting the same demons, the same desire that she was battling?
    In the end, she just walked out of the kitchen, bowing her head with both fatigue and frustration as she walked up the stairs. 
     
    Grayson watched the woman of his dreams, literally and figuratively, walk up the stairs, her shoulders sagging with the pain of her loss. 
    If he thought it would make a difference, he would take her into his arms and kiss her until she was shivering with excitement.  But that was what he needed.  Scarlett just needed a friend, someone to be there for her.  She definitely didn’t need a lust-filled night of sex.  Sex that would take their minds off of the loss of the man they all loved very deeply. 
    When she turned the corner and he couldn’t see her any longer, he bowed his head and tried to get a grip on this need.  He’d wanted her for so long, he felt as if he was damned to eternal, unsatisfied sexual need.  Every once in a while he would find a woman that he’d hoped would take his mind off of his feelings for the beautiful blond woman, but after a few weeks or, if he were lucky, a few months, he would accept that she wasn’t Scarlett.  So far, no woman had been able to obliterate his hunger for the slender blond with blue eyes that could look deep into a man’s soul and make him want to be better. 
    He poured another slug of scotch and slung it back, wishing that it could help ease the need.  It never did.  Nothing helped.  Nothing but a few weeks in a bed with that woman would help him.
    And since that was out of the question, he was doomed. 
    “Hell,” he muttered and went around the house, turning off lights and making sure the doors were locked.  He glanced out through the windows and saw his bodyguards patrolling the perimeter.  At least he could keep her safe, he thought.  It wasn’t much, but it was something. 
    When all the lights were turned off, he walked up the stairs, turning right and moving into the guest bedroom.  It was decorated in masculine colors which soothed him.  Not as much as being in her frilly bedroom might, he thought.  He didn’t give a damn what the bedroom looked like as long as Scarlett was curled up next to him.  Or underneath him.  Or on top of him.
    “Hell,” he said again and stepped into the bathroom, turning the water on in the shower so that it was as cold as possible.  It only helped marginally.  Stepping out of the shower, he dried himself off and slipped into bed. 
    Staring up at the ceiling, he wondered what Scarlett was doing.  Was she crying?  She’d buried her last relative today.  It had been a long day, full of tearful remembrances as well as happy ones.  It had ended well, he thought, overall.  Would she still be upset?
    And what the hell was going on with the other guys tonight?  There had been some strange looks passing among them.  He had no idea what was wrong, but they were all meeting for breakfast tomorrow.  He’d demand answers as soon as he got them all alone. 
     
    Scarlett lay in bed, her eyes staring up at the ceiling and wondering what Grayson was thinking about.  He was so close.  What would he do if she slipped into his bed, curled up next to him?  She’d decorated that bedroom with him in mind, making sure all the colors were dark and masculine, that the bed was long enough for his enormous height and that all of the toiletries were there for his convenience. 
    Would he find the