Chapter 31
Thirty-One
Gray
My heart is pounding as Faye slams her laptop closed and pauses, dropping her head into her hands, her exhale sharp.
“What the fuck?” she whispers. “What the actual fuck?”
“Red,” I murmur.
She whips around in her chair with a gasp. “Gray.”
Fuck, but I love the sound of my name on her tongue.
“Shit,” she says, jumping up to her feet. “I don’t know how much you heard—”
“I heard enough.”
Her face changes, expression falling, but I’m already moving toward her, taking her in my arms, smoothing back her hair. “I heard enough, baby. Fuck,” I rasp, dragging her more tightly against me. “I heard enough.”
“I—”
I bury my face in her hair, inhale deeply. “No one,” I whisper. “No woman in my life has ever stood up for me like that.”
She jerks, then her arms wrap tightly around me in turn. “Gr-Gray.”
Tears in her voice.
The only time I haven’t enjoyed her speaking my name.
“Shh, Red,” I say. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”
She sucks in a breath. “I’m not upset”—a shake of her head—“okay, well, I am but it’s only because you should have that, Gray. And not just from Luna and company and the guys on the team, but from your parents, from the women you’ve loved!”
I draw back. “Baby—”
“Don’t baby me,” she snaps. “My head gets all mushy and then you distract me and—”
I kiss her.
Deep and long and with every bit of feeling that’s twining around in my heart.
“That’s worse,” she says, breaths coming in rapid gusts. “I can’t think when you do that.”
“Good.”
She pushes lightly at my chest, sucks in a breath. “Gray. I need you to know—”
“I know.”
“But—”
“Red,” I say, capturing her hands and drawing her toward the couch, settling on top of it, drawing her into my lap. “Baby.”
She shudders.
I grin.
“I heard you.”
“I—”
“I heard you.”
And her words…fuck, it sounds cheesy as hell, but I can’t deny they healed some part of me. Faye—my sweet, my kind, my shy Faye threatened to go to the mat for me.
Threatened to fire someone for me.
Threatened—
Don’t be sorry. Just don’t ever fuck with my man again.
Her man.
Yeah, I fucking love the sound of that. Maybe even more than my name.
“Gray—”
I kiss her again, one hand on her waist, the other in her hair, knowing I can’t give her the words for exactly how much what she said, what she did means to me…but hoping that I can maybe tell her through my lips, my tongue, my teeth.
My cock.
I slip my hand under her shirt, trail my fingers along her side, up—
The doorbell rings.
I ignore it, draw her head down, kiss her again—
It goes again.
“We should—”
“Ignore it,” I mutter, pulling her closer, my lips finding hers again—
Pound. Pound. Pound!
Faye stills, opens her mouth.
And I think of the videos currently circulating online. I think of Courtney…and how unhappy she’s going to be to when she sees them.
Unhappy enough to…
Come here and tell me all about her unhappiness.
Fuck.
“Red, I—”
She touches my jaw. “It’s just Luna and the girls,” she says, stroking her fingers along my jaw. “I forgot they were coming over.”
Pound. Pound. Pound!
Right, that may be the case, but there’s still no way I’m letting her answer the door. Especially when it sounds like the person on the other side is trying to bust through like the fucking SWAT team.
I set her aside, push up to my feet.
“Gray—”
I’m already moving to the door, already bracing myself for the nightmare on the other side.
I reach for the handle, twist.
Then tug it open…
To reveal complete and total chaos.
“You motherfucker!” Smitty shouts. “You blocked my train.”
Leo just smirks and reclines back on the couch, dusting his hands together in a job-well-done fashion.
But I don’t miss he keeps looking toward the front door.
As though he’s looking for someone.
Luna’s clocked it too. “She’s not coming,” she says as Faye bends and begins placing her train cars down.
The room goes still. Smitty opens his mouth.
Kailey settles her hand on his thigh and his teeth snap together so quickly I swear I can hear the click even from across the table.
His face softens as he glances down at her, the big man even gentler with his wife now that she’s pregnant than before—something I didn’t think was possible.
He touches her belly lightly, presses a kiss to the top of her head.
Then turns back to the board.
And scowls.
“Traitor!” he snaps, pointing his finger in Faye’s face.
I lean forward, ready to break it off for being so near my woman, but as I’ve learned, Faye is no wilting violet.
“Hush,” she says. “We’re all trying to win—”
And we are.
Our Ticket to Ride showdowns get intense and today match is no exception.
Competitive fucks, the lot of us.
“—so quit bitching when someone makes a good move and deal with it.”
Aiden grins.
Leo looks away—though he does it glancing toward the front door again (and maybe I’m channeling Smitty’s inner matchmaker, but I just know it’s because he’s looking for Harper…who, as Luna said, isn’t here).
Smitty opens his mouth.
Closes it.
Then scowls and flops back on the couch. “You are all traitors.”
“Traitors who love you,” Kailey says.
“Speak for yourself,” Aiden mutters, earning a smack from Luna, who’s concentrating on her turn.
She places her pieces with a flourish then turns to Faye. “You’re coming with us to the game next week, right?”
“What game?”
“The Grizzlies game. Kailey and I are going.” A beat. “So are you.”
Faye’s eyes come to mine and there’s something in the chocolatey depths I can’t read. “We’ll see. I might have some work stuff.”
“At night?”
“You know my work doesn’t abide by normal office hours.”
Luna studies her, lips pressed flat, expression saying she doesn’t buy that.
And neither do I.
But if Faye doesn’t feel comfortable going then she’s not going.
No arguments allowed.
“I’ll let you know if that changes,” she adds firmly when it looks as though Luna will protest.
“I—”
“She’ll let you know.” I flick up my brows, hold Luna’s gaze.
Of course, she doesn’t back down. “But—”
“Luns,” Aiden says.
She scowls, but after another pause, lets it go.
But that may only be because it’s my turn to play…
And I block the hell out of her trains.