AVERY #3
When Grayson’s lips touched mine, it wasn’t the gentle kiss of the sweetheart that he was.
It was a hungry, determined kiss. It carried all the waiting and all the patience I had subjected him to, but there was more.
It was lusty and flirtatious. It was playful as much as it was heated.
He kissed me hard, but the tip of his tongue was careful as it explored my mouth.
He kissed me like he had something to prove. Like he was saving my life.
And I kissed him back. As soon as the first moan slipped from me, I clutched his light cream shirt with both fists and kissed him like I hadn’t been joking; like my life depended on it.
His lips were sweet and his breath minty, but it was the scent of his cologne that did such wonders to my body.
Something about it was so deeply rooted in my mind.
It was him. Leather and musk and a hot day in the city.
It was so Grayson that my heart pounded harder and faster whenever I smelled it.
His wet lips dragged over mine and his tongue played against mine for a few moments longer. Then, Grayson pulled back. “How’s that?”
My throat was tight and I heaved for air. “That’s a good start.”
Grayson’s unbreakable spirit and good mood were all over his face.
I realized, then, that I had always associated him with an abstract idea of happiness.
He was what joy looked like if it had a human body.
His smiles were always the brightest and his laughter the loudest. “Before that, though, I just want to say…”
I bit my lip. Come on. I need you. But I waited.
“We don’t have to,” he said. “If you’re not ready, we can binge The Lord of the Rings trilogy, extended cut obviously, and play drinking games.”
As charming as that idea was, I didn’t want that.
I looked into his eyes and placed my hands on his cheeks, framing his face.
To feel his skin against mine was enough to turn me on.
This bond that connected us might have been just an idea or my imagination, but it was strong enough to make things perfectly clear.
I wanted Grayson. I wanted him naked. I wanted him under me and on top of me.
I wanted us to discover, together, what it was like to have sex with someone you truly liked.
With a whole person, not just their body.
“That fact that you’re suggesting it makes me twice as sure. If you want to, of course.”
“Oh, Avery,” he said softly. “I’ve wanted you since I first laid my eyes on you.”
A breath hitched in my throat. “That was…over a year ago.”
“And I’m so happy I waited,” he said. “It’s worth every goddamn second because I feel like I’m ready.
I’m glad we didn’t hook up when it crossed my mind.
” His hands were on my shoulders, sliding along my arms and reaching for my wrists.
“And I’m glad we didn’t hook up on our first date.
It makes this so much better.” He slowly lifted my hands from his face and all the way above my head.
His chest pushed against mine as my wrists crossed and bumped against the door.
“But before that, I want to say…ask…” He looked into my eyes for a long moment.
“I want to ask you to be my boyfriend. For real, I mean. Officially.”
A boyfriend. It rang through my mind and picked up every shred of meaning, soaking it all up, growing, glowing brilliantly, and fitting in like it was always supposed to be like this.
It fell into place like a puzzle piece I had been missing.
“Yes,” I said and was surprised at how giddy my voice was. “Let’s do it.”
“I knew you’d say that,” Grayson said slightly cockily. “I don’t know why I was so nervous.”
I’d never had a boyfriend. And I knew that Grayson hadn’t had a boyfriend before, either.
I didn’t know what sort of duties came with the title, but it didn’t matter.
I found that I wanted the whole package.
I wanted to be his and only his. And I wanted to do whatever boyfriends did.
It couldn’t be that hard, right? Do everything to make his life better.
Do everything to make him happy. Move the mountains to see him smile.
I didn’t even realize it, but our faces had gotten so close that the tip of his nose was brushing gently against mine.
He shook his head to make the tips of our noses touch this way and that, and his gorgeous smile was still on his lips.
I kissed him softly at first and it felt different. Better. It felt right.
He held my hands high above my head as his broad chest pressed against mine harder. It made it hard for me to breathe, but I didn’t worry about it. I didn’t like breathing nearly as much as I liked feeling him so close.
Grayson’s crotch pressed against mine. It was thrilling and scary and incredible at the same time.
It was all these things and more. The hardness I felt down there set fire to my groin.
I suddenly wanted something more. The need erupted in me.
My hands jerked, but they were secured in Gray’s grip.
Instead, I thrust my hips forward, pressing my hard length against his and feeling air drain out of my lungs as I moaned.
“So impatient,” he murmured against my lips. “Where’s that coming from?”
I bit his lower lip as soon as he kissed me again.
He jerked back and laughed. “…waited too long…” I couldn’t talk.
My words were slurred and short, my breaths shallow, and my body strung so tight that I was going to snap like a rubber band if he didn’t take us to bed soon.
Or the dining table. Or the floor. I didn’t care.
The lust I had been keeping low for fear of another meaningless hookup now ran wild.
It was free of its cage and it was like lava erupting from a volcano. “…need you…Gray…”
He kissed me again, hard and fast, his tongue exploring my mouth.
When he released my wrists, he set his hands on my hips.
I placed one hand on the back of his head and the other on the small of his back.
We made out like it was all we ever wanted.
Bodies grinding, sighs and gasps and wet kisses filled the air around us.
I pressed his back hard with my hand just to feel more of him and then I had a moment of dread because I had completely forgotten to ask. “Gray, are you a top or a bottom?” I blurted against his lips. Not that it mattered that much, but I hadn’t even thought to ask until now.
“I’m whatever you want me to be,” he said in a low murmur.
With that out of the way, I turned us around in a surprise gesture and pressed him against the door. Swapping places, I showed him I could be just as dominant. We had danced this dance on the ice so many times; it was only appropriate we tried to best each other behind closed doors, too.
Rubbing all of my body against him felt like the most erotic and inspiring thing in the world. We were both so hard that it practically hurt to press against each other.
“That photo you sent,” he whispered as I moved my lips off of his and trailed his jawline.
“With your tattoos on your collarbones…” He moaned when I sucked the soft skin of his neck, feeling his pulse under my lips.
“I can’t get it out of my head, Avery. You’re so…
handsome. So sexy.” He wrapped his arms around my torso and held me so close I couldn’t take a deep breath.
I kissed and sucked and licked the length of his neck, tickling him and turning him on.
The anxiety over making some blunder along the way had almost completely disappeared. I had this under control. We were boyfriends now. It meant something. It made things different. Easier.
And when I dragged his shirt out of his pants, he released me a little. We kissed again, but our fingers were busy with each other’s shirts. One by one, we undid the buttons, and I stepped back.
Gray. He was chiseled and defined like an athlete, and like it was an aesthetic. Everything about him was tuned to perfection. Every curve was designed with a purpose, every bulge a mouth-watering sight.
He shrugged his shirt off just as I pulled mine down my arms. We tossed them on the floor and moved around each other slowly, nearing but not yet touching. He examined the dagger and tiger tattoos that were stained into my skin and smirked. “I knew you had more. I just knew it.”
“Touch them,” I dared him.
He didn’t hesitate. His fingertips dragged over my collarbones, then down the side of my ribcage to feel the tiger tattoo done in an East Asian style.
As he moved his fingers along my torso, he bent his head low.
His lips touched my collarbone, and he kissed the tattoos, then lowered himself even more until his lips closed around my left nipple.
I ran my fingers through his hair and clutched a fistful on the back of his head.
It was soft but had a bit of hair product that kept it in place.
I made a mess of his bright blond locks as he sucked my nipple and sent tingles all through my body.
His teeth closed around it, making it small and hard, and goosebumps covered my left pec as well as my arms.
I choked on a moan, then pulled his head back. We looked at each other, sparks of desire flying out of our eyes, and I slammed my mouth against his. Grunts and moans increased as we felt freer to explore one another.
Our hands were everywhere. He was feeling my torso and I was squeezing his ass. He swiped his palm over my length and I dragged my hands to his broad upper back, then pulled them slowly down, grazing his soft skin with my nails.