Chapter 4
CHAPTER 4
SOFIA
T he hot water cascaded down my back, washing away the remnants of last night's activities. I closed my eyes, letting the steam envelop me as I tried to focus on the present moment rather than the memories threatening to flood back.
No strings attached. That was our agreement.
But my traitorous mind replayed fragments of the night anyway. Gray's lips moving against mine with surprising tenderness, his hands exploring my body, the way my name had sounded on his lips.
Why had I let it happen? I was feeling more than what I should have with just a night of fun. The thought of going back to the way things were and erasing this time with him made my stomach knot.
I couldn't help it. I craved him in a way I shouldn't have. I wanted to feel him again, his lips on my skin, his hands exploring my body…
The shower door opened behind me, and I froze. Gray stepped in, his naked body already responding to the sight of me.
"I thought you were getting breakfast," I managed to say, my voice breathy as I turned to him fully.
"I was." His eyes traveled slowly down my wet body. "But I came back and you were still in here. Thought the open door was…" He paused, his eyes darkening as he took in the sight of me with a tempting smile.
Had I left it open for him? Maybe. If he chose to take it as an invitation, then I wasn't going to complain.
"I realized I wanted one last taste of you before we head back to reality." Those green eyes met mine, and I couldn't help but smile back.
So I wasn't the only one still wanting things.
Before I could respond, his mouth was on mine, hungry and demanding. My body melted against him as water streamed over us both. His hands found my waist, lifting me effortlessly and pressing my back against the cool tile wall.
"Gray—" I gasped as his lips moved to my neck, my heart racing.
Should I do this again? A little bit of fun the morning after was still a part of a one-night stand, right?
"Tell me to stop," he murmured against my skin. "Tell me you don't want this."
I couldn't lie, not when my legs were already wrapping around his waist, not when my fingers were digging into his shoulders, urging him closer.
"Fuck, Gray…"
"Say it, Sofia." His breath on my neck made my skin prickle as I swallowed.
"Just one more time," I said softly, and I felt him smirk against my neck. “I want you.”
Bastard.
That was all the permission he needed. With one powerful thrust, he was inside me, filling me completely.
I let out a low moan as he began moving against me, the warm water only adding to all the sensations. I was still sensitive from last night, and the pleasure from his dick alone had me digging my nails into him.
I'd always needed extra stimulation to get off, but fuck, right now… It seemed like I wouldn't even need it for the first time.
"Sofia," he groaned, his movements becoming more urgent. "You feel so fucking perfect."
"So do you."
Whatever angle this was, it was perfect, stroking me in a way that had my head spinning.
"Say my name, Sofia," he groaned as he lifted one of my legs higher over his hip. This changed how deep he was stroking me inside, and I moaned as I pressed my head back against the tiles.
"Grayson, don't stop," I gasped out.
"Fuck, Sof. That's right. You're going to come for me again." His fingers dug into my skin with bruising strength now, but it only added to the pleasure building.
"Just keep fucking me," I said between pants. Whatever angle he'd found, it was godlike.
He obliged, and I lost the ability to form words as sounds of bliss escaped me.
"Looks like you're mine, Sofia," he grunted. "Making those sounds on my cock."
It shouldn't have been what tipped me over the edge, such possessive words, and yet it was.
I shattered around him, crying out as my body shuddered and my vision swam.
"That's right, you're mine," he grunted as he buried himself deep inside me as he joined me in climax. I gasped for air as his cock pulsed inside me with his finish.
For several moments, we remained locked together, our harsh breathing echoing in the steamy bathroom. Then, carefully, he lowered me to my feet, keeping his hands on my waist until he was sure I was steady.
"I'm not yours, Gray," I muttered as I came back to my senses.
"Right." His tone sounded off as those green eyes held mine for a moment.
What happened next caught me completely off guard.
Gray reached for the shampoo, squeezing a small amount into his palm before gently turning me around. With careful movements, he began washing my hair, his fingers massaging my scalp.
"What are you doing?" I asked, confusion mixing with the lingering pleasure as all the tension in my body faded away.
"Taking care of you," he replied simply, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
I stood frozen as he continued, rinsing my hair before applying conditioner with the same attentive care. He then took a washcloth, lathered it with soap, and began washing my body—not in a sexual way, but with a tenderness that had me lost for words.
Just who was he right now? How did he go from fucking me like that, claiming me in a way, to caring for me so gently?
This wasn't part of our arrangement. This kind of intimacy wasn't supposed to be included in our no-strings deal. Yet I couldn't bring myself to stop him, couldn't deny how good it felt to be cared for this way.
It'd been too long since I'd felt such things from an intimate partner. Hell, I’d barely ever had anyone do it. If anyone had tried, I’d shown them the door.
These connections were dangerous. But with Grayson, I didn’t want to stop it.
When he finished, he placed a soft kiss on my shoulder before stepping back.
"I'll meet you in the room," he said quietly. "Take your time."
Then he was gone, leaving me alone with my conflicted thoughts and the ghost of his touch still lingering on my skin.
I finished my shower quickly after that, desperate to regain my senses and come to terms with what the fuck had just transpired. Wrapping myself in a bathrobe, I padded out to the room.
Gray sat on the small couch, helping himself to a croissant from a plate on the coffee table, wearing only pants. I wasn't going to lie, the sight of food had my stomach grumbling, but the sight of him, his abs on full display, his wet hair hanging in his eyes, had another part of me aching.
A part I needed to ignore right now.
"What was that, Gray?" My voice was low as I stood in the doorway of the bathroom.
"We're still friends, aren't we? I'm not allowed to treat you nicely?" He arched a brow at me before glancing at the mug on the coffee table. "I'm afraid your coffee isn't hot anymore either."
I just blinked, still reeling from it all.
"Sof, I care about you, you're my sister's best friend and you're family now. Am I also attracted to you? Yes, clearly. But we made an agreement, and I will stick to my word." Those emerald eyes held mine as my chest tightened.
"Washing me like that gives the wrong idea, we can't let it become anything. You can't feel anything more for me, okay?” I said softly, hating how it pained me to say it.
Was it him I was actually telling off?
"I know. I'm sorry, I overstepped. I can't say I've done something like this before," he admitted with a sheepish smile.
"What, had a one-night stand?" Now it was my turn to smirk.
"One with someone I consider a friend as well," he said after a brief moment.
I nodded, still not sure how I felt about what he'd done. It had been soft and sweet, something I'd enjoyed far more than I wanted to admit, and also had me feelings things I shouldn't have been. Things I needed to kill right away.
"What time is checkout?" I asked as I headed over to snatch up some food and the coffee. I sunk into the armchair across from him, wanting to create some distance now.
"Noon, I think. Why, you in a hurry to leave?" He took another bite of his croissant, his tone not revealing anything.
"I have a shift tomorrow morning. Need to get back to the city and prepare." It wasn't even a lie. I did have a shift I needed to be back for.
"Right." He nodded as he leaned back. "Back to real life."
"Back to real life," I echoed before taking hefty swig of my rather cold coffee.
I reached for another pastry in an attempt to ease the disappointment that settled in my chest. I had no right to feel that way. We'd agreed on the terms, this was what I wanted. No strings.
Right?
We ate in silence for a few moments, my mind churning.
Grayson was not someone I could get involved with. He was involved in the Donati family, practically one of them, and getting involved with a mafia family was out of the question. I'd left that life behind.
Then again, my best friend had just married the Donati heir, and I had no intention of cutting her out of my life. She was the only family I really had any more.
I never should have said yes to the dance.
That was what had started the fall that had me in this predicament, feeling things I shouldn't. I ground my teeth together, knowing I'd brought it upon myself as well. I'd left the bathroom door open, given him the belief I wanted more. Which I had, but now I realized it had been too much.
"Need a ride back to the city? I know you came with Meredith." His tone was casual, but it snapped my focus back to his gaze.
Right. I'd come with Meredith in a limo from where we'd gotten our makeup done, our bags getting brought in by a driver.
I'd planned to just call a ride home when I was ready to leave.
"I was just going to call a ride. Meredith did offer to get me a ride back, but I want her to focus on celebrating."
"That's ridiculous when we're heading to the same place." Gray reached for another pastry. "Unless you're worried about being alone with me again. I don't want things becoming awkward between us now, Sofia. We can leave everything that happened here in this room if it's what you want."
What I wanted and what I knew I needed to do were two very different things right now.
I nodded, sipping my coffee to ground myself.
"Yes, that's what I want. It's the best thing. Just forget it happened."
I almost could've sworn I saw the slightest flicker of pain in his eyes, but then he nodded.
"Done. I'll get you a bag for last night's clothes. Take the bathrobe, there's a pool and sauna in the building, most will assume you're coming from that." He rose, moving towards the closet as I downed the last of my coffee. "I'll meet you downstairs in twenty, that should be enough time for you to get your stuff from your room, right?" He pulled a plastic bag from the closet and moved to collect my discarded clothes from around the room.
"Yes, it will be, let me grab?—"
"It's fine. Relax, Sof, eat, you had a few drinks last night." He looked up as he picked up my dress, offering me a soft smile, but it didn't quite meet his eyes.
Yeah, things were definitely not going to go back to normal.
He finished putting my stuff into a bag and set it on the bed.
"I'm going to have a proper shower myself, I'll meet you downstairs." With that, he headed into the bathroom and shut the door, leaving me with my chest tight and my stomach knotted.
No strings attached. The promise we'd made was already fraying at the edges.
What had I done?
* * *
I pulled on jeans and a simple blouse once back in my room, grateful I'd not run into anyone on my way back to my room in only a bathrobe, holding my heels and bag of clothes.
I moved to the bathroom to brush my hair, and applied minimal makeup. The woman in the mirror looked normal enough—perhaps a bit more flushed than usual, but otherwise composed. No one would guess she'd just had mind-blowing sex all night with Grayson Cassaro.
Fuck.
I closed my eyes, knowing I shouldn't have allowed him to talk me into a ride. Although he'd pretty much stated he was taking me back to the city. I could call him and try to cancel it, but then that'd make whatever this was between us even weirder.
But I had one other thing bothering me now. I wasn't sure if he'd used protection in the shower. I hadn't seen a condom.
"You're a mess," I muttered to my reflection. I could ask him, but I didn't want to delve into that right now. I'd just take a morning after pill once home to be safe. I'd never been a fan of birth control pills and whatnot personally, preferring to stick to condoms instead when I did have encounters.
I'd handle it once home.
After packing my few belongings, I headed for the elevator, ready to get this awkward morning-after over with and be back home. The sooner I got back to my house and my normal life, the sooner I could forget about the way Gray had looked at me, touched me, and made me feel.
The elevator doors opened, and as if summoned by my guilty thoughts, Meredith stood inside.
"Sof!" Her face lit up. "I thought you might have left already."
I stepped inside, hoping my smile appeared natural. "Not yet. Gray offered me a ride back to the city."
"That was nice of him." She yawned, covering her mouth with her hand. "Sorry, I'm exhausted."
"I bet," I said with a grin. She had the telltale signs of someone who hadn't gotten much sleep because of fun times—slightly puffy eyes, hair hastily pulled back, and yet practically glowing with happiness.
I'd made sure I didn't look that way.
"How was your night? Did you have plenty of fun?" I waggled my brows.
She laughed, a slight blush coloring her cheeks. "Definitely. Leo kept me up most of the night."
Seems I wasn't the only one who had a wild night of not enough sleep.
"I bet he did," I teased, grateful for the distraction from my own situation. "Enjoying consummating the marriage I bet."
"He certainly has been.” She chuckled. "We're staying another night here before flying out to the Bahamas. Some fancy all-inclusive place Leo booked for a few weeks. I'm just heading down for more coffee and to get away from him for a short while." She lowered her voice and stepped closer. "I'm getting a bit sore, and he would happily keep me in that room all day. My downstairs lady needs a breather."
We both burst into laughter, and for a moment, everything felt normal.
"I'm jealous of your Bahamas getaway," I admitted as our laughter subsided.
"You should have come with us! We offered to pay, remember? Meredith nudged my shoulder. "It would have been fun. I mean, you still can, I can ask Leo?—"
I shook my head and cut her off. "I have work commitments. Besides, I doubt you'll be leaving the room much. This is your time together."
"Gray's coming for some of it too," she said casually. "Leo's dad will be going to Ironstone to run things while we're out of the country, allowing Gray to have a vacation too."
I nodded, hoping my expression didn't betray me. "Right, I bet he'll love that." I vaguely recalled him mentioning it last night at some point, saying I should be going and that he'd have enjoyed having me there.
I'd waved him off, saying the Bahamas were not on my agenda right now, but for him to have fun.
"Give him grief for me," Meredith said with a mischievous smile. "Roman told me he had a female guest stay the night, and it sounded like they were having fun."
My eyes widened as my heart fluttered. Roman knew he'd had a guest? How? We'd been so careful to not get seen returning upstairs together.
"Did he say who it was?"
Meredith shrugged. "No idea. I don't really want to know who my brother is having fun with, to be honest. I'm sure it's just a one-off thing as part of the wedding celebration."
"Right," I agreed, relief washing over me, although there was something else there too. Something that had no place being a feeling about it all. "Just a wedding thing."
The elevator reached the lobby, and we stepped out together.
"Well, have fun in the Bahamas," I said, giving her a quick hug. "Send me pictures of something other than your hotel room, okay?"
She laughed. "I'll try, but no promises. Text me when you get home safe."
We parted ways, and I headed toward the front entrance where Gray had said he'd meet me. I spotted him leaning against a sleek black SUV, his driver standing nearby. He straightened when he saw me, his expression unreadable.
"Ready?" he asked as I approached.
I nodded, not trusting myself to speak. The driver opened the rear door and took my bag while I slid in, Gray following after me. The privacy partition was already raised, giving us a semblance of isolation as the vehicle pulled away from the hotel.
The first few minutes passed in tense silence. I stared out the window, watching the scenery change as we left the hotel grounds and merged onto the highway toward the city.
"So," Gray finally said, breaking the silence. "The Bahamas should be nice this time of year."
I turned to look at him, surprised by the coincidental topic. At least, I hoped it was a coincident. "I'm sure it will be."
"You should have taken Mer and Leo up on their offer to join them. It will be fun."
"I think we've had enough fun. Besides, I have work," I replied quickly as I flicked my gaze back out the window.
So much for things not being weird and awkward. It was hard to push away the way he'd felt, how his lips had trailed over my neck, how he'd…
Enough. I shoved all the thoughts aside with as much mental force as I could. I didn't need to be stuck thinking about him. He'd be gone for a while in the Bahamas, a good thing while this whole dynamic cooled off and we could pretend it didn't happen.
"That's a shame." He shifted in his seat as he pulled out his phone. "I'll be joining them for some of their trip. Business meetings we've organized over there that I'll handle as well.”
"Try not to work too hard, enjoy it while you're there," I said softly.
"Of course." He focused on his phone, and I felt a frustrating tightness in my chest. Was he shutting me out?
I couldn't go to the Bahamas anyway, even if I didn't have work. The Savocas had bad blood with several players there, and I wasn't about to run the risk of causing unrest with an appearance. I may have cut myself off from my family, but I still bore the name.
My phone chimed in my purse, saving me from trying to figure out how to fill the uneasy silence. I fished it out, glancing at the screen.
Every muscle in my body tensed as I read the name displayed: 'Ernesto.'
My uncle never called. Not since I'd walked away from the family business. There was only one reason he would be reaching out now, and my stomach churned.
Marco.
"Sofia?" Gray's voice was sharp with concern. "What's wrong?"
I stared at the phone as it continued to ring, my heart pounding in my chest.
"I have to take this," I murmured. I drew in a deep breath to ground myself before I accepted the call, pressing the phone to my ear.
"Hello?"
"Sofia." My uncle's emotionless voice sent a chill down my spine. He didn't waste time on pleasantries. Why would he? I was nothing to him. But it was his next words that had the wind knocked out of me. "Marco is dead. You need to come back to us. The family needs you."
The world seemed to tilt as a chill swept through me. Marco—my cousin, the one who had taken over operations when I turned it down and left—was dead. And now they wanted me back.
What did he even mean by that? Why?
And why was Marco dead? What had happened to him?
This couldn't be happening. Not now.
"Sofia?" Gray's warm hand on my arm startled me, snapping me back to the present.
I looked at him, really looked at him—the man who was deeply embedded in a world I had tried desperately to escape, the man whose best friend had just married my best friend, the man I'd spent the night with despite knowing better.
The man who had no idea who I really was. Of the things I'd done in the name of my family. Of my past I'd tried to run from.
And now, my past was calling me home.