Chapter 23 Reason Fifteen
The third official meeting of the Unofficial Leah Grant-Carter fan club came to a close at three P.M. on October thirtieth.
After a two-hour tirade about the dangers of Halloween and the spirit world delivered by Myrna Thorpe, the rest of the group went out for a late lunch, giving Gray and myself some much-needed alone time.
As Gray tidied up, I took a shower to wash away the remnants of Rhonda’s World-Famous Pork ‘n Beans she’d dumped on my lap when I pointed out that her world-famous dish had simply been a can of Bush’s Baked Beans she’d microwaved on high for two minutes.
I was stepping into a pair of white boxer briefs when he knocked on my door.
“Come in." I had my underwear halfway up my thighs when he entered, and for the first time in twenty years, Gray Collins saw my bare ass.
“Oh my gosh,” he whispered, his hand welded to the door. It took me a second to realize what had him so startled. I must have still been reeling from the fact that I’d been assaulted by a bowl of baked beans less than an hour prior. Being scantily clad in front of Gray didn’t even register.
I glanced over my shoulder, raising an eyebrow.
“What?” His eyes were glued to my glutes, and my thumbs were still wedged under my waistband.
The second realization struck, I jerked the underwear up and spun around, heat flushing through my cheeks.
The action did nothing to ease Gray’s embarrassment because now, instead of staring at my ass, he was given a front-row seat to the Kent Fox bulge factory.
In a moment of madness, I shielded my crotch from him with my hands.
My actions were ridiculous. I knew that.
We’d been dating for weeks. I had no reason to feel this shy around him.
It all stemmed from that damn black eye.
Gray had told me we could move at whatever pace felt right for me, and I hadn’t wanted our first time together to be marred by the memory of my bruised and swollen face.
He’d waited for this moment for twenty years.
I wanted it to be perfect for him. I wanted to be perfect for him.
When I lifted my eyes to meet his gaze, Gray was staring at the ceiling, trying to give me privacy.
“Sorry,” he said. “I thought you’d be dressed by now. I can give you a minute if—”
“Is everyone gone?” I said, taking a cautious step toward him.
He nodded, his eyes still focused on a particularly interesting patch of the ceiling. “Yeah. They headed out about twenty minutes back. Your mom said she’d be home later this afternoon.”
My love life had never been anything to write home about.
There was the occasional hookup and vast amounts of sexting, but the act itself hadn’t ever been a focal point of my life.
Now, standing in front of the man I loved, wearing little more than a sheer strip of cloth, I didn’t know if I’d ever needed it more.
“Gray,” I said, bridging the last of the distance between us. When I reached him, I cupped his cheek with my hand. “Baby, you can look at me. I’m not going to bite.”
His bottom lip was wedged between his teeth, and he was chewing it like a stick of gum. “I can go. I don’t mind, honest.”
“I don’t want you to go. I want you to stay.
” I tried putting him at ease with a smile, but he still hadn’t taken his eyes off the ceiling.
When I slid my hand behind his head, tapping his unnecessarily sexy bald spot, the last bit of his resistance broke down, and he finally met my gaze. “There you are.”
There was an undeniable heat in his eyes.
It was a look I didn’t see often. Once, in his childhood bedroom.
Again, when he tried to kiss me in the breakroom.
Now, with me standing in front of him, wearing next to nothing.
I lowered my hand from his cheek, slowly dragging my finger down the side of his face.
Then his neck. Next, his shoulder. Finally, his hand.
He tried to take it, but I was too quick for him.
Hooking my thumbs into my underwear, I slowly took a step back.
Gray darted his eyes back to the ceiling, but that wasn’t what I wanted. I wanted him to see me. All of me.
“Eyes on me, Two-liter.”
He blinked a few times before finally looking down at me. Once I had his attention, I slid my underwear down and let them fall to my ankles. His bottom lip trembled, eyes locked on my dick.
“Oh my gosh,” he whispered.
I was half-hard already, and the desire in his eyes did nothing to slow the momentum.
As it rose like a drawbridge, offering him passage into the promised land, he licked his lips.
I wrapped a hand around it and took a step forward.
I wrapped my fingers around his wrist and guided him back, pressing his palm against my ass.
“Hey, Gray,” I whispered.
“Hey, Kent.” The smile that spread across his face was electric. Like tiny bolts of lightning that swam beneath my skin. Still, I could tell something was off. He seemed worried.
“What’s wrong?”
“I thought you might not want this from me. I thought maybe you’d changed your mind.”
“Why would I do that? I’ve been waiting for this for twenty years.”
“I just figured you thought I might not be any good, so you were saving me the embarrassment.”
Nuzzling my face into the crook of his neck, I breathed him, devouring the enticing mix of musky cologne and Fruit Stripe gum. “Of course, I want you.”
“I don’t know what I’m doing. I’ve never—except for that time with you, I haven’t …” He pulled away, looking at me with those big brown eyes. “You fought so hard to get us here, and I’m scared I’ll let you down. I don’t want to be a disappointment.”
“Baby, I’d be fine if you just laid on the bed and let me rut against your thigh. Anything you give me will be perfect, I promise.”
My words didn’t seem to make much of an impact.
He looked like a death row inmate walking to his execution.
Did he think I needed to be dicked down like a porn star?
I didn’t need anything but him. Hell, even if he didn’t want this from me, I’d be okay with it.
Granted, there would be vast amounts of masturbation in my future, but I’d cherish however little or much he could give.
I wanted him to know that. I needed him to know it.
I rubbed his hand before pulling away. I hooked my arms over his shoulders, and as I ran my fingers through his hair, he scraped his fingernails against my ass.
“Grayson?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m going to kiss you. Anything you want to do right now is okay.
If you want to touch me, then touch me. If you want to suck my tongue, feel free.
” I kissed the tip of his nose and winked at him.
“If you want to play with my dick a little, I’m not going to complain.
” His cheeks were the darkest shade of red I’d ever seen.
I wasn’t sure what he was swallowing, but the sight of his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down was all the encouragement I needed.
“Gosh,” he whispered. “Okay. Yeah. Sure, Kent. Yeah, I can do that.”
I closed my eyes and parted my lips, leaning in. When our lips touched, he squeezed my ass with an unbearable grip. Luckily, his mouth muffled my moan. My fingertips tangled through his hair, and I ignored the growl he gave when I spent a bit too much time assaulting his bald spot with my thumb.
As our tongues dueled for dominance, Gray’s hands explored me freely for the first time in twenty years. His fingers were like fire against my flesh, leaving trails of heat as they traveled up and down my back.
I was ready for more. I needed more of him, so I lowered my hands to his waist, tapping his hip. He pulled away and stared at me, eyes widening when my palm inadvertently connected with his bulge.
“You just touched my penis,” he said, more from surprise than anything.
I snorted. “Yeah, that’s going to happen. It kind of comes with the territory. You can touch mine.”
He stared awestruck at my dick. Reaching down, he wrapped his fingers around and gave it a squeeze. When I looked into his eyes, he had an idiotic, dreamlike grin plastered across his face.
“I’m touching your penis,” he said with a chuckle. “It's just right there in my hand.”
I tapped the tip of his nose. “You’re adorable. You know that, right?”
“I try,” he said with a shrug, unable to hide the blush rushing across his cheeks.
I slid his zipper down, and the sound it made was nothing short of obscene. Absolutely filthy, really. Irrefutable evidence of what was about to happen. Leaning forward, I brought my lips to his ear. “Shirt off, baby.”
As he fumbled with the tail of his shirt, I took the opportunity to lower myself to the floor, kneeling in front of him.
His shirt got stuck around his neck, making visible the path of hair leading from his to his chest belly button, then further down to the promised land.
This was my chance. I’d waited so long for this moment.
I wanted to see him again. Needed to see it again.
I slid my hands between the fabric of his jeans and his underwear, tugging the denim down to his ankles. He was wearing a pair of red boxer briefs, and there was an unmistakable patch of wet fabric in the center. God. He was ready for me.
“Beautiful,” I whispered. Jesus. I’d done that to him.
I was the reason. The revelation left me drunk and dizzied with pride.
I brushed my thumb against the fabric that covered him, kissing my way up and down his shaft.
Gray whimpered and grabbed me by the hair, pulling my face up against him.
His scent. Jesus. Musky and sweet at the same time.
It sent echoes of Gray-Gray-Gray reverberating through me.
I kissed it again, nuzzling my cheek against him, like a love-starved kitten. “Gray?”
He touched my cheek, his thumb scraping against my skin. “Yeah, babe?”
“Did you ever think of me when I was gone?”