Grayson
“Isabella to see you, sir.” It’s six in the morning when my doorman’s voice sounds from my intercom.
That’s not so odd. Obviously, my fiancé has sex on her mind, and now, so do I.
Blood rushes to my cock as I walk into the kitchen and push the small black button on the gray panel. “Send her up.”
With my door open, I anxiously wait for the elevator to ping. Then, she walks into the hall and my chest tightens at the sight. Circles under her eyes are so dark, they could be black. Long blond hair is pulled into a messy ponytail, her face is pale, and she’s shivering as if the temperature were below zero.
What twists my gut, however, is the purple bruise on her jaw and swollen lower lip.
I run to her and hold open my arms. “What the hell happened to you?”
“It’s so stupid, really. I fell out of bed and hit my head on the side table.” She buries her wounded face into my dress shirt and cries.
After I hold her for a while, I lead her back into my apartment, sit her in a kitchen chair, and tuck an index finger under her chin. I suppose it’s possible she could’ve got injured the way she described but it’s not likely.
I grab my coat out of the closet. “C’mon. I’m taking you to the emergency room.”
“No, no. I’m fine.” Wide eyes lift with a bit of panic in them and her body stiffens.
Hell, you’re not fine, not by a long shot.
I’m not known as a patient man but I know if I make a big deal of this, it’ll only make things worse. After kicking my door closed, I grab a bag of frozen blueberries from the freezer and put it to her bruise.
Grimacing, she holds the cold plastic to her face while I claim the chair next to her and cover her free hand with mine. “Better?”
“Yeah, thanks.” Always, she tries to be strong and make every damn struggle her own.
I swear that’s why she keeps postponing our wedding date. She doesn’t understand me at all. As soon as she’s mine, I’ll surround her with the best that money can buy. Meanwhile, it sucks she lives alone and won’t let me protect her, not even from wooden objects.
I can’t stand seeing her in pain and that, in and of itself, is so strange. Before I met her, I never felt anything and now I’m tore up all the time.
When our eyes lock, it’s fucking explosive. I hardly recognize the growl that comes from deep within my chest, the beast waiting to claim her. At the same time other alarms ring out, warning me to be gentle.
I lean over, brush my lips across hers and when I taste blood, go Neanderthal. If someone is hurting her, I will fuckin’ pound them so hard that they’ll never see the light of day again.
Feeling me tense, she removes the frozen bag from her jaw and takes our kiss deeper, pushing her tongue into my mouth. With her fingertips in my scalp, I stand, lift her butt onto the kitchen table, and step between her legs.
“You sure? I don’t want to hurt you.” My soul is captured by blue eyes deeper than the oceans, the centers growing dark and wide.
“I want you, Gray. I want this.” She pulls my shirttail out of my slacks and places a pair of icy hands on my waist.
“Ahh!” I jump about a mile and reach for them.
“Sorry.” Her first real, albeit lopsided, smile of the morning brightens my whole damn world.
I bring her cold digits to my mouth, blow warm air, and rub them as I did that night on Bear Mountain, the night she almost died. Then, holding them to my chest we kiss some more.
When our temperatures rise, I let her go and lower the zipper of her long winter coat. It drops to the floor and holy shit… She’s wearing nothing but a pajama top and fold-over cotton pants. After sleeping with this woman for over a month, I don’t need to check for undergarments.
She’s not wearing any.
“Fuck. You went out like this?” Groaning, I pick her up and carry her down the hall but only get two steps before setting her down.
Craving her soft skin against my chest, I tug off her shirt and toss it away. Then, on tiptoes, her head tilts up for another kiss while I worship her, thumbs sliding across her nipples.
She moans, arches, and long legs wrap around me, her wet core pressing my need just below my belt buckle.
Ah hell, I need to get out of these clothes.
I try to get her onto my bed but her ankles are locked at my lower back and she won’t let go.
“I love you so much.”
“Ah, babe. I love you, too.”
And it scares the shit out of me.
My chest tightens. Hell, I wish I could find the right fucking words but I’m no poet. All I can do is show her so I sit with her straddled over my lap, cup her cheeks, and wait until her lashes flutter and those eyes meet mine.
Izzy, what went on last night?
Her mouth captures mine, her chest presses in, and her legs unlock as I lower onto my back. Warm cotton wets my navel, her lovely ass presses into the air, and her tongue plays with my upper lip and teases the tip of my nose.
We kiss like that for the longest time, desire spiking through the roof. When I can take no more, I flip her onto her back and straddle her. I kiss her neck, her collar bone, tasting her saltiness.
My cock swells when her nipples grow taut as I suck and play. When she squirms and moans, I put my mouth to her belly button and drag her pants over her ass. She kicks them away, I unbuckle my belt, and step out of my slacks. My shirt’s already ruined so I rip it off, throw it to the carpet, and pull her to the edge of the bed and kneel.
Mine.
She’s already so wet and so ready that I groan, thinking how many times I’ll make her scream before she comes. The urgent way she tugs on my hair is a real turn-on but we got plenty of time. I flick my tongue over her hooded nub until it rises and her breath catches. Shivering while I tease her mercilessly, she reaches the very edge.
I suck, she stiffens, and spreads her legs wide.
“Grayson…”
“Isabella.” My finger on her clit, I climb up her body and place my cock at her entrance.
Small drops of my sweat drop onto her face and with her eyes glued to mine, she flicks out her sexy tongue.
“Now.” She arches, wets my tip, and I ache to sink into her but not quite yet.
In a one-armed pushup, I reach between us and pinch her clit.
“Oh God.” Her eyes roll back and when she screams, I plunge into her wild orgasm.
Inner walls suck at me, driving me to madness.
“Harder. Give me everything.” She nips at my shoulder and her heels dig into the mattress as she lifts her butt high to meet me thrust for thrust.
She has no idea what she’s asking. I’ve always held back something, never wanting her to know my inner animal. Biting my lower lip, my gut clenches. I’m so damn close. With a finger pressed to her clit, I dive in deep, my tip hitting soft flesh.
She swells, slick liquid warms my hand, and I do it again.
“Come with me, again, baby.” I twist into her, pull out fully, and sink into softness.
“I can’t” Her breathy voice tells me just the opposite.
“Yeah, you can.” I press a little harder, sliding in and out, faster. Then, I turn her onto her knees, her back to my chest and push in at this sweet angle. One of my hands clamps onto her tit, the other slides to her nub, and I bite the back of her neck.
Her pearl is fully stretched and she’s trembling the way she should be, the way I like. My finger swirls around her nub, I press, and she comes apart, muscles dancing all over my cock. Repeatedly, I dive, sweat lubricating us, making us go faster. I’m so damn close that the muscles in my lower back tighten, I groan, and I’m fucking blasting off. Bright lights explode behind my eyelids
After emptying myself fully, I collapse and roll onto my back with her on my chest. After a few minutes, or hours, I’m not sure which, she covers me with gentle butterfly kisses.
I open my eyes, and when I see that hers are filled with tears, my heart stops.
“Oh shit, did I hurt you, babe?”
“No, no, I just love you so much.” She smiles, but something is totally off.
“Me too. I swear, you need to move in with me so we can have sex like this every damn day.”
“Ahhh… about that.” She climbs off from me and the lack of body heat, along with her tone sends chills right through me.
“I think we need to break up for a while.” She tugs on her pants, lifts her pajama top over her head, and heads for the door.
At first, I think she’s kidding, right? After making love like that? But her face is dead serious.
“Whaa?” My chest gets all tight but I keep it together as I look for my trousers.
“Gray, you hardly know me. You can’t possibly understand how screwed up I am.” Tears run down her face and I can’t fucking stand it.
“What’s going on?” I jump up, stand in front of her, place my hands on her wet cheeks, and bring her gaze to mine. “I know what I know. Ten days or ten years won’t change the way I feel about you.”
Her swollen mouth purses and just a small croak comes out. “Wait for me. Please.”
She shrugs out of my grasp, unlocks my door and runs out of my life.
Somehow, I have the where-with-all to text my driver, Slate, to take her home, then collapse on my bed wondering what just happened.
Somehow, I fucked up royally.