Chapter 22
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Grayson
Fuck. Roxy’s inner muscles grip me hard as I try to move. The only thing making it possible is the crazy amount of wetness that aids me in gliding in and out. I take it slow, even when her hips buck against me. I’m savoring it; savoring her. And damn, she feels good.
I look down at where our bodies are joined, and I have to close my eyes so I don’t come too fast. I breathe deeply and begin to move, feeling her heat each time I press inside her.
My hands grip her hips, holding on and guiding her as she thrusts up to meet me. When I finally feel under control, I open my eyes and gaze down at this incredible woman. A fierce possessiveness I’ve never felt before begins to wash over me like a rogue wave. I’m sinking beneath its gravitational pull, and I don’t want to get back up. I want to stay here, buried inside her, our gazes locked and our bodies as close as they can be. We’re in our own private universe.
I start moving faster. Normally, I want to change positions over and over until I’m pulled over the edge, but not tonight, not with her. I like her beneath me. I like the feel of her smooth skin under mine.
We begin to move in sync. It’s like our bodies know each other even though we’re still learning.
“Keep going. I’m so close,” she moans.
“I got you, baby,” I whisper as I move faster, thrusting upward so my pelvic bone grinds against her clit with each stroke. Then I reach between us and circle it.
“Yes!” she cries out and I start to feel her muscles clenching in waves around my dick.
“Fuck!” I roar as Roxy’s orgasm carries me over the edge with her into an abyss of pleasure.
I lean over her, keeping myself suspended as my cock jerks a few last times. I’m about to lean down to kiss her when out of nowhere, Licorice jumps up on the bed, sticks her head between Roxy and me, and lets out the loudest meow that I’ve ever heard.
Roxy looks at me and I look at her and we burst into laughter. I pull out and dispose of the condom while Roxy snuggles the kitten.
“What’s wrong, little lady?” she coos. Licorice’s purr intensifies, and when I lie down next to them, she stretches out one long paw and places it on my arm.
“Someone doesn’t like not being the center of her father’s attention,” Roxy says with a giggle.
I place a hand on Licorice’s back and stroke her warm, soft fur. “Licorice, I hate to break it to you, but your mom and I have a busy night planned. So you’re going to have to find something else to do.”
I go to take her away from Roxy but Roxy puts up her hand. “You can’t move her yet. She’s being so cute,” she protests before she leans down to kiss Licorice’s head.
“No way. She needs to go. I am not done with you yet,” I grumble.
Roxy laughs and leans over to kiss my cheek. “We have all night.”
My phone pings with a text and I roll over to check it. My heart sinks as I see a text from my mother.
Egg Donor: We’re having a birthday dinner for your father on the twenty-second. Let me know if you can’t attend.
Groaning, I toss my phone back on the nightstand.
“What’s that about?” Roxy asks as Licorice suddenly wakes and runs off to have her nightly ritual of zoomies all over my apartment before passing out in some weird spot like in the kitchen sink, half on the arm of a chair, or curled up on my robot vacuum.
I lean my head back on the pillow and stare up at the ceiling. “That was my mother. Apparently, she’s having a party for my dad on the twenty-second. And my attendance is expected.”
Roxy rolls to her side and I glance over at her. “I can go. I mean, if you want me to go.”
I roll on my side, and we stare at each other. “You want to meet my family?” I ask.
She nods. “I mean, you met my family tonight.”
“Yes, but your family is…normal,” I point out. And they were normal, albeit very smart and accomplished but normal. They didn’t say condescending things or badmouth her. They all seemed supportive. I know Roxy has a chip on her shoulder about not being as accomplished as her siblings, but I didn’t see any red flags.
“Can I ask you something?” I add as I search her eyes.
“Sure.”
“Why do you feel inadequate compared to your siblings? I mean, I get they’ve done a lot in their lives, but so have you,” I state because it’s true and I can’t figure out why she doesn’t see it.
Roxy rolls onto her back. She’s quiet for a moment and I think she’s not going to answer me, but then she does.
“My siblings were all in the gifted and talented program in school. They took AP classes and my older sister even graduated a year early. I was just…normal. I took normal classes. I got normal grades. I did normal activities. I wasn’t an overachiever, and no, my family never said I sucked, but I just…teachers would say things and my friends. I once went on a date with a guy who just wanted to meet Cybil. Anyhow, I guess, I hid away in books because it was something that took me away from my inner thoughts, an escape. This store is the first time I’ve felt like I even belong in my family,” she explains and then turns her head to look at me. “It’s silly, isn’t it?”
“No. It’s not,” I assure her.
“Anyhow, after the guy thing with Cybil, I just decided not to be serious with anyone until I met Richard at the end of college. We dated close to a year. It was the longest time I had ever been with anyone. And then, he asked me to move in with him. Things were good at first, and then I came home early and my friend Nikki was…well, let’s just say she wasn’t sucking on a popsicle,” she says with a grimace.
I reach over and cup her cheek, kissing her for a moment. “I’m sorry that happened. You deserved better.”
“Thank you. At least I have my other friend, Tay. She and my family really helped me move on afterward,” she whispers. She’s quiet for a beat before turning to me. “What about you?”
“What about me?”
She gives me a pointed look. “Your dating life.”
“Oh.” Now it’s my turn to be quiet. Fuck it. She’s bound to find out eventually. “Like I said before, I had a girlfriend in high school. We broke up when we went to college. And then I dated a few women, one of them for about six months. After college, I was sort of sowing my wild oats and then I met a woman through my dad’s friend. We dated pretty seriously for four years. Three years into our relationship, I decided I didn’t want to work for my parents’ business. I had studied music in college. My parents thought it was a phase.” I make quotation marks. “But I never stopped. My girlfriend acted all supportive, but a year after I moved in here, she told me I needed to get back to reality if we were going to be together. We had a big fight about it, and we broke up.”
“You broke up because you wanted to pursue a music career?” she asks, her eyes looking sad.
“Yep,” I reply as I search her eyes. She looks genuinely mad.
“What a bitch!” she snarls, and I laugh.
“Lydia was just…she’s rich, she wants a rich husband. And music isn’t exactly lucrative,” I say, motioning around us. Not that one-eleven Hearts Lane is a bad building, it’s just not the insanely posh condo I previously had complete with a doorman, secured elevators, and amenities like an indoor pool and full gym. It’s also not right in the city center. I remember Lydia scoffing at the building as if she’d catch a disease entering it.
“So, you dated a snob,” Roxy states.
“I dated a woman accustomed to a certain lifestyle,” I correct her because my little sister is drastically different aside from the fact that she’s never once made a comment about my music career or where I live. My parents, on the other hand, well, they side with Lydia.
Roxy rolls her eyes. “Yeah, she sounds like a real fucking gem.”
“I think you’re a real fucking gem,” I tease, wanting to change the subject because all this talk about my ex is bringing me down. I pull her to me and roll us over, so I hover over her gorgeous body as my eyes look down and back up again. Damn, I owe Al a drink for setting us up.
“You’re drooling,” she says smugly. I grin. I like this side of Roxy when she’s strong-willed and playful. I find it hard to marry with her insecure side but put the two together and she’s just…well, I’m beginning to think she’s pretty damn near perfect.
“I guess I should eat something,” I whisper as I start trailing kisses down her body.
Her hands fly to my hair. Fuck, I love when she tugs on it. I line up with her wet heat and lick my lips.
“Did you read that in a book at my store?” she says, as I run my tongue through her slit and she draws in a sharp breath.
“No, but it sounds like I have some homework to do,” I chuckle against her swollen flesh. If finding hot lines in those romance books is a way to my woman’s heart, it looks like I’m about to start a book club with the guys. Maybe they could use some tips as well.