Chapter 3
Chapter Three
Gray
I could barely form a coherent thought around this woman. All the blood that was supposed to be in my brain making my thoughts fire away had gone to other zones of my body. Erogenous ones.
It wasn’t just her hair or her stunning brown eyes or the ghost of freckles across her nose.
It was the intensity of her focus on me.
Me? Most of the time I got up and went to work and came home and read books, hung out with Tally, and sometimes crocheted blankets and hats I donated or played with Dandy. My life wasn’t exciting, but it was cozy and comfortable and mine.
Mal looked like the kind of person who knew how to choose a bottle of wine and went to galas and had been on a yacht before. She was sophisticated in a way that I could never touch.
But I was drawn to her anyway. So drawn to her that I wanted to crawl into her lap and wrap that hair around my fist and beg her to kiss me.
It would be me begging. People like Mal didn’t have to beg.
“You’re so cute,” Mal said, reaching out and stroking some of my hair over my shoulder.
“How’s everything going in here?” a voice said, reminding me that I wasn’t alone with Mal.
We both snapped our heads around to find Tally leaning against the wall and smirking.
“We’re fine. Right, Gray?” Mal said, looking at me.
I nodded. “Uh huh.”
Tally met my eyes and we had a silent conversation where she asked if I was truly okay and I gave her the tiniest nod and a smile.
“Okay then. I’m going to go check out the hot tub. Let me know if you need a ride or not, Gray.” Oh. Right. She’d driven us here.
“We’re going to the same place, so I could take you home. If you wanted?” For the first time, Mal looked unsure.
“Yeah, that would be okay.” I wouldn’t mind riding back with her at all. And maybe once we got back, we could…hang out for a little while.
Not at my place. It definitely wasn’t clean enough for a guest. Mal’s place was probably spotless, but I was also burning with curiosity to know how she’d decorated it. All the one-bed apartments in my complex had the same layout. But maybe she had a two bed?
“Good. Just let me know when you’re ready to leave, gorgeous.” The easy way she said the last word had me blushing. I couldn’t fathom why she’d sought me out over someone else.
“Uh oh,” Mal said. “I don’t like that look on your face. What’s going on?”
Fuck, I hated that she was good at reading people. Sitting in front of her was like being stripped naked, and not necessarily in a sexy way.
I was flustered and off-balance and it was both uncomfortable and turning me on. A confusing cocktail that I guess I needed more of.
“It’s nothing.” I wanted to ask her why she’d picked me, but that sounded a little too desperate. I mean, we’d never even spoken to each other before.
I’d definitely remember if she’d ever spoken to me. I probably would have been so flustered that I wouldn’t have been able to respond, or I would have said something silly.
It was honestly a miracle I was able to talk with her now. She seemed to get even more beautiful as I sat here and watched the firelight flicker over her face and her hair. Holy shit, her hair. I wanted to get naked and have her cover me in it. I wanted to bury myself in it.
Sure, I had admired a woman with gorgeous hair before, but this was next level. If I wasn’t careful, this could be an obsession, and how embarrassing would that be?
“Fuck,” Mal said, sighing and resting her head on the back of the couch.
“What?” I asked.
“You’re really cute, Gray. And you’ve been living next to me this whole time. What is wrong with me?”
I might be new to this kink world, but I wasn’t new to knowing when a woman was into me. Inexplicable as it was, Mal was giving me all the green lights.
Feeling bold, I slid closer to her on the couch and her lips twitched, as if she’d been waiting for me.
“So, beautiful Gray, do you want to get out of here?” Her fingers fluttered on my shoulder. I wanted her to kiss me. Needed her to kiss me.
I didn’t know lips could ache from not being kissed, but I couldn’t describe the sensation any other way.
I was so busy staring at her mouth and begging in my brain for her to lean forward that I had missed her question.
Once I processed it, there was only one answer. “Yes.”