19. Harley
Chapter Nineteen
HARLEY
The following evening, I got back to the staff house before Grant, which wasn't unusual. I usually got here first. Sometimes I had dinner at the lodge, but I often came back and worked after eating a little early. I needed the quiet to focus.
I was in the kitchen making some tea when my heart felt funny. I ignored the sensation, pouring a generous dollop of honey into my tea and taking a swallow. As I turned to walk across the kitchen, I felt light-headed and fuzzy and knew what was about to happen. I felt myself slipping.
I came to a few minutes later. I glanced up at the clock. Eight minutes had passed since I walked into the kitchen. I felt shaky and wanted to rest on the floor, yet I was galvanized to get myself up. Grant might arrive at any minute.
On unsteady legs, I scrambled to my feet, scanning the floor. My tea had fallen. The mug was broken, and tea had spilled on the floor. Blessedly, I hadn't landed in the spilled tea or
any of the shards from the mug. I hurried to the sink, grabbing the paper towels from the corner of the counter. A moment later, I was sweeping up the glass when I heard the front door open.
“Fuck!” I hissed to myself.
“What?” Grant called.
“Oh, nothing,” I called in return.
Of course, the man had long legs and crossed from the living room area into the kitchen in maybe one second. He stood in the archway between the rooms, surveying the kitchen floor. I had the dustpan in hand. His eyes landed on the shards of the mug.
“What happened?”
“I dropped my tea. I walked too quickly, and it sloshed over. It was hot, so I dropped it,” I lied.
Grant looked at me suspiciously, but he nodded. “Okay.” After a beat, he pressed, “Tell me the truth.”
“I am. I swear.” I felt a pinch of guilt, the sting sharp in my heart.
He was quiet for a long moment. “It’s not like you owe me anything, but my mom died from a heart defect that we didn't know she had.”
That stinging sensation burned more deeply. Grant’s shoulders rose and fell with a deep breath. He closed his eyes for a moment. I reflexively crossed the kitchen to him, still holding the dustpan.
“I'm sorry,” I said.
His eyes opened. “It's not your fault.”
“I know. That’s not how I meant it. I'm sorry in general that she died. I didn't know how she died.”
“We all got tested for it after that,” he added. “None of us have it.”
“I have SVT,” I blurted out. I quickly explained what it was to him, ending with, “Just a weird heart thing. Sometimes my heart skips a beat or gets irregular. That's why I faint sometimes. I'm following up with Quinn next week to discuss medication.”
Grant nodded slowly before his eyes shifted down to the dustpan. “You should put that in the trash.”
I rolled my eyes. “I will.” I quickly brushed the remaining shards from the mug into the dustpan and dumped it in the trash before walking to the closet in the corner of the kitchen and pulling out the mop. “There was honey in my tea,” I explained over my shoulder.
After I mopped, I asked, “Where’s Cat?”
“I guess she's staying in town.”
I bit my lip as I felt heat race into my cheeks. My pulse vroomed faster. “Are you sure she's spending the night in town?”
“Yes. Nora dropped her off. She's at practice tonight.”
“Should we watch TV?” I asked.
“Sure.”
This was all for show. We were just going through the motions.
I knew, in a matter of minutes, we wouldn't be able to keep our hands off each other.
In a way, I wanted the tease of it. The anticipation itself was becoming addictive with Grant.
Hiding it from Cat was almost overwhelming.
The secrecy created this undercurrent of need and the thrill of the forbidden every night.
By the time the coast was clear—meaning Cat had been in her room long enough that we could guess she had gone to sleep—Grant would open his bedroom door.
He would go into the bathroom, wait a minute or two before flushing the toilet, and fake opening and closing his door again.
Only then would he stealthily enter my room.
We would lose ourselves in each other. Sometimes it was rushed, and sometimes it was slow. We were always quiet.
A little while later, I was sitting a few feet away from him on the couch. He glanced over, reaching for my hand and placing it over his arousal. I was wet, and I couldn’t help but bite my lip and let out a little moan as my channel clenched with need.
“Tell me how wet you are,” he murmured, low under his breath.
I shifted my hips before unbuttoning my jeans and shimmying them down with one hand just far enough to give him access. “Why don't you find out?”
He moved closer to me on the couch. My eyes fluttered closed, and I whimpered when he slipped his fingers into me.
“Fuck me,” he murmured.
I was soaked, slippery wet. He slid two fingers inside, stretching me before sliding them out. I whimpered in protest. He lifted his hand, sucking his fingers into his mouth. His eyes were locked to mine when he drew them out. “I fucking love how you taste.”
In a flash, we were frantic, tearing at each other’s clothes.
My climax couldn't come fast enough as I straddled him, sheathing him inside me swiftly.
I came in a noisy burst just before he thrust upward one final time.
The cords in his neck were standing out as his hands gripped my hips tightly.
He came with my name on his lips in a husky whisper.
I collapsed against him. He held me tight to him for a few breaths before he tensed. Lifting my head, I saw his eyes go wide. “I hear someone.”
We scrambled apart swiftly. I didn’t know how, but we got our clothes on in a matter of seconds. I raced into the kitchen to button my shirt with my back to the door as it burst open.
“Hey!” Cat called.
“Hey,” Grant said, his voice all low and casual.
He had the remote in hand and was flicking through the channels.
His cheeks had a subtle flush, but he appeared completely composed.
I turned the faucet on, rinsing my hands under the cold water to ease the heat still burning through me.
“Hey!” I called over my shoulder, giving myself just enough time to cool off.
“I thought you were at practice for the play,” I said a moment later as I returned to the living room.
Cat was hanging up her jacket and taking her shoes off. “Practice ended early because one of the leads is sick. We just did our run-throughs.”
“I thought Nora dropped you off,” Grant said.
Cat nodded. “My friend brought me home. Her house is a little past the turnoff to our road. My friend’s boyfriend was spending the night, so I didn't want to cramp her style. What are you watching?” she asked as she plunked down on the couch.
“As usual, Grant can't decide,” I teased lightly.
Grant rolled his eyes. I grabbed my laptop off the table in the corner of the living room and sat down on the couch at an angle across from him.
Cat glanced over. “We're on for Friday, right?”
“Yep. Do you have practice then?”
“We only practice during the week until the week before. Then it’s every night with only one night off a week until the show is over.”
“Do we get tickets?” I asked.
“Of course! You're all coming, right?”
“Hell yeah. I cannot wait,” Grant said.
The following morning, I was in the kitchen emptying the dishwasher when I heard Grant's footsteps on the stairs. I didn’t even want to contemplate how well I knew the pace of his walk.
Cat had already left to go over to the lodge.
I would be following her shortly. I knew Grant would as well because he never wanted to miss breakfast there.
The stolen hours with Grant last night had been a haze of passion and need.
It was starting to feel as though the very secrecy itself was binding us closer and closer to each other.
It was just us in the darkness, skin to skin and tangled together.
I felt my pulse start to race. I took a quick breath, ordering myself to ignore it.
Except knowing that Cat was gone, a tiny little corner of me wanted to take advantage
I forced myself to continue my task, except there was no denying my body's awareness of his potent presence. A shiver chased down my spine and tingles spread throughout my body.
“Hey, hey,” he murmured, coming up behind me.
He dipped his head and pressed a lingering kiss on the back of my neck. Goose bumps rose on the surface of my skin, and my breath became short instantly.
“Hey.” My voice came out husky with a rasp to it.
Turning, I found myself caged between his arms when he rested each hand on the edges of the counter beside my hips. His eyes skated over my face.
“You headed to the lodge?” he asked. His voice was low and gravelly. It got to me every time. Now that I knew what he sounded like with my name on a ragged, whispered shout when he came, all he had to do was speak, and it sent fire spinning through my veins.
“Uh-huh.” That was all I could manage before he bent low, his lips meeting mine.
His kiss started gentle, just a brushing touch. But then, he lingered, dropping a kiss at one corner and then the other. I was breathless and needy by the time he fully fit his mouth over mine.
I lost track of time. It couldn’t have been more than a moment or two before the front door swung open abruptly.
It was too late because there was a wide archway between the living room and the kitchen, offering a direct line of sight from the door to where we were pinned against the counter.
If we hadn’t been in the middle of kissing, we would have heard Cat’s footsteps likely pounding up the stairs.
She came to a skidding stop, letting out a gasp of surprise followed with, “Oh wow.”
Grant and I broke apart. He turned. “Wow, what?” he asked, his tone all casual.
Meanwhile, my cheeks were burning up.
“You’re kissing,” Cat pointed out as she strode across the living room into the kitchen.
I wanted to lie and play it off, but I knew we couldn’t.
“So what?” Grant countered with an easy shrug.
I met Cat’s eyes, scrambling to think of what to say. “Could you maybe keep this to yourself?” I finally asked.
Cat’s calculating gaze bounced between us before she finally held my eyes and nodded. “Only for you.”
“Cat,” Grant said, his tone edged with a warning.
“What? I’m only keeping it between us for Harley’s sake. Not yours,” she returned pointedly.
“What are you doing here?” he asked, choosing to ignore that.
“I left my phone in my bedroom.”
“Well then, why are you here in the kitchen?”
“Because I walked in, and you two were totally making out,” she replied with a sly grin.
Grant rolled his eyes. I took a deep breath.
Cat looked my way. “I won’t say anything, but we’re talking later.”
At that, she spun away, walking briskly out of the living room and sprinting up the stairs. A moment later, she was already pounding down them, calling out, “Your secret's safe with me!”
Grant and I were left staring at each other in the kitchen when the door slammed behind her.
“Fuck,” he muttered.
“Nothing to do about it now,” I said, trying to keep my tone light. “I honestly don't care who knows except for Diego.”
“Well, you know he's gonna find out.”
“Cat won't tell anybody,” I countered.
“You think? I love my sister, and I'm sure she will try to keep it quiet for your sake, but that will only hold for a little while.”
“What should we do?” I asked.
I knew the easy answer. We should stop fooling around. Right now. Except I didn't want to stop.
“Should we stop?” he asked.
“Do you want to?” I returned, my heart kicking faster in my chest.
“No,” he said after the silence stretched too long. “Do you?”
My cheeks burned hot again as I shook my head.
“Okay then.”
He stepped closer, pulling me back into his arms. I loved the feel of him—warm, strong.
He felt like someone I could lean on. When we were together, I always felt good.
It was when we were apart that I worried and got anxious.
I didn't like how I was starting to rely on him.
I didn't like how I felt safe with him, which was a paradox.
His forehead fell to mine, and he whispered, “I'll see you tonight.” His lips moved against mine with each word just before he gave me a lingering kiss.
He straightened, asking, “Should we walk over together?”
I almost shook my head, but the thing was, we had walked over together many times. I shrugged and resisted the urge to reach for his hand every step of the way.