Two
Brooke
When Grayson and I skidded to a stop inside their kitchen, I wasn’t prepared for the scene that met us.
I was picturing copious amounts of blood and guts, a maniac with a gun, or a deadly fight.
Instead, there was a hugely pregnant girl bracing one of her hands on the kitchen island and the other squeezing the forearm of a severe looking guy with tattoos, long dark hair, and dark eyes who stood at her side.
“Let me go grab a shirt and your bag, Sage.
It’s okay.
We’ll go to the hospital.”
Mr.
Severe pleaded with her.
“Don’t leave me.
It’s too early.
She shouldn’t be coming yet.”
Tears were streaming down her cheeks as another blood curdling scream tore from her mouth and she refused to release the death grip she had on his arm.
Good thing he was built like a small tank.
I raced around the island to her and crouched down so I could catch her gaze.
“Hi Sage.
I’m Brooke.
How many more weeks do you have to go?”
When her focus shifted to me, her eyebrows furrowed.
“Who are you?”
She popped her head up slightly and swung her gaze to Grayson.
“You brought home a girl?”
In her surprise, she released her boyfriend’s arm to hold up her hand.
Given that short reprieve, her fiancé shot down the hallway.
I didn’t believe to escape her grasp – I highly doubted she inflicted any pain on his arm – but so he could get them ready to roll out.
“Yeah, he brought me home so I could hide.
I guess he normally doesn’t do this.”
She opened her mouth to answer as another contraction took hold and her face contorted with the sharp unrelenting pain.
“Look at me.”
When her eyes hit mine, I continued.
“Breathe in, hold, and breath out.”
I modeled the process and went through the motions with her.
“What happened to your face?”
She panted.
“I decided to play tough guy.
How long til your due date?”
“A little over two weeks.
It’s too early.”
“Okay, Sage.
I’m ready, Sweetheart.
Let’s get going.”
Her fiancé had a bag slung over one shoulder when he came around the island and wrapped his arm around her to lead her toward the side door.
“Babies come early all of the time, Sage.
weeks is nothing to worry about.
You’ll be fine.”
I waved as the two of them disappeared through the doorway.
Then I blew out a breath.
“Okay.
I know I’m ready for some calm now.
There has been way too much excitement for me tonight.”
I leaned against the counter and shook my head.
Between too many overzealous guys tonight at the bar and this, I needed to take a breather.
But wow, poor girl was in for some exhausting work and more pain.
I hoped her labor progressed quickly.
“If you want to go be there for your friends, I can figure out something else to do tonight.”
Grayson stepped around the bar to me and wrapped me into his arms.
“Thank you for what you did for Sage.
You don’t even know her, but you jumped right in to comfort her.”
He kissed the top of my head.
I shrugged.
“It doesn’t hurt to be kind to everyone.
Besides they’re not strangers; they’re your friends.”
“And Ryder will text me updates.
He and Sage won’t really want anyone hanging around the hospital while she’s in labor.
He probably won’t even text any of the other guys until after the baby arrives.
We’ll go see them after the baby is born and they are a bit settled.”
“We’ll?”
I guess he wasn’t kidding about the couples thing.
I figured he was just that smooth.
I wouldn’t admit it, but I was definitely planning to sleep with him – just not tonight – but I didn’t really expect anything more.
He leaned his forehead to mine.
“Yes, we’ll.
I was serious about you not being a one-night stand.
Are you okay staying the night without Sage being here? I was counting on that being a buffer for you.”
“I think I’m just wound tight from this evening’s events.
I’m not anxious about staying here with you.”
Which was funny considering all the bad mouthing my dad did about bikers.
“I don’t want to raid Sage’s clothes without her permission.
Although she moved a bunch of her skinny clothes – as she called them – into the closet in the baby’s room because she didn’t want to look at them while she was a whale.
Her words not mine or Ryder’s.”
I put up my hands in defense.
“And I’m sure she would say yes, but I want to ask first.
Would you be okay in one of my shirts and a pair of boxers? When I talk to Ryder next, I’ll see if I can search through Sage’s clothes for something else for you to wear.”
“That would work.
I’ll be happy with anything that’s clean.
I’d love a shower too to wash the bar shit from me.”
“You can use my bathroom.
Do you want company?”
He waggled his eyebrows.
“Not tonight.
Is that still okay?”
So far he hadn’t given me any bad vibes.
But it didn’t hurt to keep testing the waters.
“You’re safe here with me, Princess.”
“You know I am actually confident about that.
Can I go get that shower now?”
Grabbing my hand, Grayson led me down the hallway.
Since we had been preoccupied when we had first entered the house, I didn’t get a chance to take in their living space until now.
So as we headed down to his room, my eyes caught a quick glimpse of their living room and I was pleased to discover it, like the kitchen, appeared clean.
He stopped at the first door on the left and pushed it open.
Once inside my eyes zeroed in on the king-sized bed along the back wall.
I couldn’t answer why because no way was I having sex with him tonight.
But I also wasn’t an idiot.
I had no doubt I would be getting naked with him before my few days were up.
Something told me he would be like no one I had ever been with and that he knew exactly how to treat a woman’s body.
I believed he was the type to thoroughly pleasure a woman before he found his own release.
So I was convinced there was no need to worry about leaving here unsatisfied like I had done on too many other occasions with past guys.
Those thoughts had my nipples tightening and my pussy clenching in excitement and anticipation.
Whoa. Gain a little control here. Not happening tonight.
Crossing to the opposite wall, he stopped at a dark wooden dresser and grabbed me a plain gray t-shirt and a pair of black boxers.
Enough light trickled through the maroon colored drapes – which matched the comforter on his bed – covering his large window along the far wall, but he still clicked on the small lamp which sat on his nightstand.
Strolling over to me, he handed me the items before continuing across the room to one of the other doors which I suspected opened into his bathroom.
Pushing it open, we stepped inside.
He had a huge shower that would easily fit two – I tucked that thought away for later because I was serious when I had hinted that I was interested, just not for tonight.
I set the shirt and boxers on his large and surprisingly uncluttered vanity.
He grabbed a towel and washcloth from the closet and set them beside the clothes.
Then he reached into the cabinet over the sink and snatched a toothbrush.
“I figured you’d want to brush your teeth and I might be a guy, but you aren’t using mine.”
My face scrunched in disgust as a shiver raced down my arms.
“No worries there.
I’d use my finger or a washcloth, but never a stranger’s toothbrush.”
“Anything else you can help yourself to.
Soap, shampoo, deodorant.
And take as long as you want.
I’ll grab a shower after you and then we can cuddle.”
He shot me a wink before sauntering out the door, closing it behind me.
I stared at the slab of wood for a moment before shaking myself out of my momentarily fog.
I was showering in a stranger’s house and then planned on sleeping in his bed, with him, but not with him.
But when I took inventory of my emotional state, I came up empty on anything resembling anxiety or fear.
Now if my dad found out I was hanging out with a biker, he’d go ballistic.
It wouldn’t matter to him that Grayson had saved me from a dangerous situation that had had the potential to get even nastier.
Studying my reflection in the mirror, I ran my fingertip lightly across the red mark under my right eye which I hoped didn’t transform into a full-fledged black eye and then over my bruise and cut.
If that bastard didn’t hesitate to inflict this on me; I didn’t want to even think about what else could have happened.
My face still throbbed and my lip ached.
I wasn’t sure if Grayson’s devouring of my mouth added to my lip’s discomfort or not. But I couldn’t find it in myself to care because the kisses had been mind-blowing.
After stripping out of my clothes and folding them neatly to set on the other side of the sink, I hopped into the shower.
Even though he had said to take as long as I wanted, I quickly scrubbed the remains of the bad night at the bar from my skin and hair before rinsing and then turning off the water.
Grabbing the towel I had hung on the shower door, I wrapped myself up in it for a few minutes before drying off.
His deodorant was in the cabinet above the sink so I rolled some on and then tugged on the shirt and boxers – tying the waistband into a little knot to tighten them around my waist – and hung up my towel and washcloth.
Finding a brush in the top drawer of the vanity, I ran it through my hair.
When I stepped back into his bedroom, I was surprised to discover it empty.
It wasn’t like I had expected him to invade my privacy while I was showering, but with the way he liked to tease I figured he’d be lying on his comforter, sprawled out and would have some cocky comment about luring me into his bed slip from his sexy mouth.
Pushing that image out of my head, I set my pile of dirty clothes on the corner of his dresser along with my purse and then stepped out into the hall to search for Grayson.
When I stepped into the living room, he twisted his head in my direction and shot me a grin.
“Do you feel better?”
Rising from his seat on the couch, he crossed the room and stopped in front of me.
“You can chill on the couch while I shower or snuggle in my bed and wait for me to join you.
I won’t be long.”
Ducking down, he took a long sniff of my hair, before brushing his lips over the damp strands.
“And I think I like you smelling like my shower stuff.”
Returning to his towering height, he lifted his hand to gently run the back of his fingers along the bruise on my cheek.
“I wish you would’ve allowed me to beat the fuck out of him for this.”
“I think you kicked his ass plenty.”
Even though the asshole deserved it; I didn’t like watching it.
So while Grayson dished out more violence than I felt comfortable with; the fact that he had stopped when I had asked him to went a long way in pushing his brutality from my mind.
He studied my face for another moment.
“It’s no secret I have to be aggressive and vicious sometimes, but when it can be helped I won’t do it in front of you.
But know this; I never use this brutality on an innocent.”
“I know you wouldn’t.
I’m just not comfortable witnessing it.
But I promise I’m not judging you for it.”
His eyes studied my expression for a moment before he nodded.
Then he swiped his lips gently across mine before taking my hand.
“I’m taking the couch choice away.
I think I want you waiting in my bed for me.
Is that okay?”
“I’m going to end up there anyway.”
I shot him a teasing grin.
“But my clothes stay on.”
“I could give you multiple orgasms and sink deep inside of you without removing those clothes.”
His lips curled into a devilish smirk.
“But I won’t do anything until you want me to.
And then I’ll make you regret not giving in sooner.
But not tonight.
We still need to get to know one another first.”
A giggle slipped from my mouth.
“The bullshit around here is getting really deep.
This keeps up and you’re going to need a shovel and a truck to haul it away.”
We walked down the hall and I crawled into his bed while he stepped into the bathroom.
Listening to the shower run, I lay there wrapped up in the sheets on a stranger’s bed, waiting for the weirdness to creep in.
It wasn’t like I had never slept with someone I had met in a bar before.
But I usually went on a date with them first.
Although in my defense, I wasn’t sleeping with him tonight and we were getting to know one another just not through normal means like going to dinner or a movie.
I was hanging out with him for a few days.
But maybe going to dinner would be thrown in there as well. And no matter how much thought I put into the situation, things between us didn’t feel strange.
About ten minutes later, the bathroom door opened and his impressive frame filled the doorway.
Clothed in only a pair of running shorts, shit did the man have a phenomenal body.
I already knew that, but seeing it without clothing made the vision all the more striking.
He crossed the room and crawled in on the other side of the bed.
“You don’t have to lay way over there on the other side.
I was serious about cuddling.
But it’s okay if you don’t feel comfortable.”
He switched off the lamp.
I honestly didn’t believe I had anything to worry about.
So I slid over next to him and gave him a smile.
“I’m curious and want to experience these cuddling skills.
Since I know you don’t practice them often.”
“Actually you’re my first.”
His arm snaked around my waist and he drew my chest flush with his.
“And so far I’m liking it.
You’ll have to let me know how I do.”
His lips curved into a devilish grin and his eyes twinkled with amusement.
“Hey, do you want to text your dad that you’re with your other friend? That way you don’t forget.”
“I’m going to wait until he texts me tomorrow.
It will be easier to sell the lie if it’s like I was so wrapped up in Maggie’s problem that I almost forgot about brunch.
If I text him tonight, he’ll get suspicious.”
“You know him better than I do.
I mean I’ve had some dealings with him when we’ve assisted the police, but you grew up with him.
I know him well enough and if things work out between us; I’ll put forth the effort to get to know him better if he would be open to that.
He doesn’t like me or my club.
But maybe we can call a truce or something.”
“My father is difficult for sure.
But we’ll see how things go with us before I clue him into anything.
No sense enduring his wrath for nothing.
It will be frustrating for me, but I’m sure he’ll make things incredibly difficult for your club.
And I don’t want that. And I don’t want to talk about him anymore. He is going to be an issue, I have no doubt.”
There was no question he would go berserk if he found out I was spending time with a biker.
And holy shit; if I decided to date one.
I’d have to plan some way to diffuse that situation before it exploded.
But I had a few days to think on how to tackle that daunting mission.
“Well, then tell me about your mom.
You have to get your beauty from her.
And probably the personality too since your dad lacks one.”
His inquiry punched me right in the chest.
Could this night get any more emotionally draining? I had experienced anger, frustration, fear, arousal, dread, and now grief took a violent swing.
“She was beautiful.
She had the most amazing heart.
And she was always there for me. She was the best. But she died two years ago.”
My chest tightened and my eyes grew watery.
I missed her so much.
And it was still so difficult to talk about her.
“I’m so sorry, Princess.
I had no idea.
Was it expected?”
Grayson trailed his hand up my spine to rest at my nape, where he gently rubbed my neck muscles.
“No.
She was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
She had stopped at a grocery store on her way home from work one evening and while she was checking out someone came in to rob the place.
She got caught in the cross fire and was killed.”
“No wonder you don’t like violence.”
“And it’s hard knowing my dad puts himself in danger every single day.
I was always proud of him for being a cop but after my mom died, I really started thinking about how easily something could happen to him too.”
A few tears slipped down my cheeks.
“I’d never admit it to him because it pisses him off; but I got a little bit of relief when the department starting accepting help from your club.
That meant more manpower and also guys who aren’t afraid to get in there and get the job done, even if you do things outside of the law.
Hell those violent criminals are outside of the law and have no remorse.”
With his free hand, he cupped my cheek and swiped away my tears with his thumb.
“Make no mistake; I would never have remorse for ending the life of a thug who hurt an innocent.
But I pride myself in the fact that we do our best to protect innocent lives, especially ones who can’t protect themselves.
I will always be brutally honest with you.
And I won’t sugar coat things either.”
“I appreciate that.
Even if I’m sure I won’t like many of the things you have to say.”
“Probably not, but you’ll know they aren’t lies and I will also keep it as a need to know basis.
Many things you won’t be privy too anyway.”
“I know I’ll definitely appreciate that.”
Tucking me into his chest, he kissed the top of my head.
“Close your eyes and get comfortable and try to push those sad thoughts out of your head.
Tomorrow we’ll go meet my best friend’s new baby girl.
That should put a smile on your face, huh? Girls love babies, right?”
His arms tightened around my waist.
But for some strange reason, it didn’t bother me at all.
Instead, I curled right into him.
“I do love babies.
I’m not ready for my own, but I love snuggling other people’s.”
He didn’t respond, but I felt his smirk in my hair.
I liked that I could tease the big tough biker guy.
Maybe he would be worth the wrath of my dad and the ensuing battle it would bring.
Wearing a content smile, I drifted off to sleep.
Warm strong hands and sizzling gentle kisses glided over my skin; the sensation causing me to arch into the hot as sin, rock solid body hovering over me.
But before I could fully indulge in the incredible caresses spoiling my overdue, overheated body, my eyes snapped open.
Damn it.
Just a freaking mind-blowing wet dream.
Grayson grinned down at me with a knowing smirk.
“Why are you staring at me while I’m sleeping? Creeper much?”
I huffed.
He didn’t need to know he was the star in my erotic panty – no scratch that since I wasn’t wearing my panties, I was wearing his boxers – boxer melting dream.
“I’ll be a creeper any time a sexy hot girl is in my bed moaning my name.”
His beautiful blue eyes – too gorgeous to belong to a biker – danced with amusement.
“I wasn’t moaning.”
Denial was a lost cause as my skin heated and my cheeks grew hot.
I scowled, hoping I could blame the blush on irritation not stimulation.
“You were and it must have been a hot wet dream.”
He lightly kissed my warm cheek.
“It was probably a nightmare.”
I was sure that was believable.
I inwardly rolled my eyes at my lame explanation.
“You normally moan when you’re scared?”
His lips curled into a teasing smile.
“Yes, because it’s a groan like ‘UGH I can’t believe this is really happening.’”
I did my best imitation of an exasperated groan.
“You didn’t sound anything like that.”
He chuckled.
“Whatever, Princess.
Get back over here.
I’m not ready to get up yet.”
Lying back on the bed, he wound his arm around my waist and curled me into his chest.
“So what do you think about my cuddling skills? Or do you need to experience more of them to give me a fair evaluation?”
They were phenomenal.
I hadn’t had the pleasure of a decent erotic dream in forever.
Being in his arms had to have sparked this morning’s sensual fantasy.
But I would not be admitting that.
“You definitely have potential, but I’ll need to conduct more research.”
“I won’t mind you gathering more data.”
He kissed the top of my head.
“What time is it?”
I snuggled in closer.
Reaching over to his nightstand, he grabbed his phone.
“Nine o’clock.”
“It’s probably safe to call him now.
That way I catch him before he heads over to my apartment.”
Untangling myself from Grayson’s arms, I slid from the bed and padded over to his dresser to grab my purse.
After digging my phone out of the bottom, I clicked on my dad’s contact and then held it up to my ear.
He picked up on the second ring.
“Good morning, Brooke.
Are you ready for your banana chocolate chip pancakes?”
“I feel bad, but I’m going to have to cancel this weekend, Dad.
Maggie had a meltdown last night about Pete again and I’m actually at her place right now.”
I added just enough annoyance to my tone to compliment the story.
“I’m glad you’re a great friend for her.
But we can meet a little later and make it lunch if you want.
You can eat breakfast food anytime during the day.”
He chuckled.
“I don’t know.
I think I’m just going to hang out here today.
She finally fell asleep like at four this morning.
I don’t want to wake her and I wouldn’t feel right leaving her without her knowing.
Can we just skip this weekend? Text me your schedule for the week and we’ll get together for dinner some night to make up for it.”
“I can do that.
Maybe the two of us can attempt the stuffed shells your mom used to make.
I still have her recipe.”
His voice held a tinge of sadness.
I almost felt guilty cancelling on him, but his going into a rage over what had happened to my face wouldn’t be good for either one of us.
“I would like that a lot.
I’ll see you later this week then.
Love you, Dad.”
“Love you too, Brooke.”
I hit end on my phone.
“You’re good at handling your dad.
Had some practice?”
Grayson sat on the edge of the bed, his gaze on me curious.
“No.
I’ve never had to hide from him before.
I just know how he thinks and wanted to find the best way that would avoid too many questions.
More questions just allows for more of a chance to slip up.
And I’ve been in my share of bar fights.”
I shrugged my shoulders.
“But I’ve never had marks left behind like this before.”
“You fight with girls?”
He raised his eyebrow like he already knew the answer.
“Some, but mostly guys.
I refuse to play helpless victim.
I always take the chance to fight.
No way will anyone ever get me to just surrender.
My mom wasn’t given that chance. She was shot in the back. Fucking bastard cowards.”
Tears welled in my eyes.
I hadn’t meant to mention her again.
The wound left from her death still held the power to devastate me.
But talking with Grayson about her last night must have cracked that door open just enough to allow thoughts about her to start trickling out again without my permission.
Grayson had crossed the room and snaked his arms around my waist to pull me into a hug.
“Hey, it’s okay to talk about her.
Grieving is not a sign of weakness.
It shows me she meant a whole fucking lot to you.”
“Thank you.”
Winding my own arms around him, I lay my cheek on his chest.
I was sure I’d never get over losing her; I was just waiting for the day it didn’t hurt so much the pain suffocated me.
He walked us back to his bed and curled us underneath the blankets.
“I wasn’t quite ready to get up so let’s hang in here for a bit before I have to go figure something out for us for breakfast.
And I’m surprised I haven’t heard from Ryder yet.
I sure hope Sage isn’t still in labor.”
He ran his fingers up and down my spine.
“With it being her first, she could be.
But yeah I hope not too.
Hopefully they just didn’t want to wake you or are still sleeping after all of the excitement and exertion.”
Wanting to distract myself from my heartbreaking memories, but not quite ready to have naked time with Grayson be the distractor –
although if I was being honest I really didn’t want him to just be a diversion – I traced my finger tip along the tattoos on his arm.
“So you have tattoos like a biker, a cut like a biker, and the attitude of a biker, but you don’t have the long hair like your best friend nor do you have the long scraggly beard.
Although he doesn’t have the long scraggly beard either.
Are you the misfit?”
Grayson’s chest rumbled with his laughter.
“No.
But Ryder does call me a pretty boy.
I only punched him the first time he did that.
We’re too evenly matched to get into fights, so now I just flip him off.”
“I like your hair shorter.
And I can still run my hands through it.
But this suits you, I think.
Do your tats have meanings?”
I continued my finger journey along his ink.
“Not really.
I liked the look of the snake wrapped around the rose.
Ember works for our tattoo shop and designed it for me when I really only wanted some ink, but didn’t know exactly what.
And I have a tattoo of our Twisted Flames patch.
Do you have any ink? You can keep it a secret if you want and I can discover it later for myself when I kiss every square inch of your body.”
He pressed his lips to my forehead.
“No tattoos but maybe someday.”
I ignored his comment – even though it elicited a delicious shiver than zipped straight down to my core – because the longer I lay snuggled in his arms the harder it was becoming not to just throw myself at him.
But I wasn’t going to be that easy.
This was my one way to prove he wasn’t just using me for sex.
“If you’re serious and want ink, I’ll set you up at our tattoo shop.
She could design you something from your ideas or even if you have no idea what you want.
Ember is incredibly talented and does an amazing job.”
“I’ll keep that in mind because I’d have no idea where to go for one.”
And I hadn’t really given much thought to what I would want, just that I thought they looked cool if you got the right one in the right spot.
Maybe hanging around Grayson would give me some ideas.
“Will you put my phone on your nightstand? I should’ve dropped it back in my purse.
It’s not going to be much use to me for long.
The battery is going to die since I don’t have my charger. I hadn’t planned on not going home last night.”
He plucked my phone from my hand.
“You have the same phone as me so you can use my charger.
We’ll plug it in after we get up.
Can I text me from your phone so we have each other’s numbers?”
“Yeah, I’d like that.”
After he typed a message on my phone and then set it down, his buzzed with two notifications.
Twisting the screen to face him, he grinned and then tapped on it.
“Little Jade Makenzie was born at three fifteen this morning weighing seven pounds six ounces and was seventeen inches long.
She’s just a little peanut.”
His smile stretched across his face as he showed me the picture of the precious little newborn wrapped in a blanket and cradled in her mother’s arms.
Grayson could be lethal as an assassin one minute yet so gentle in the next.
He tapped on the screen again and then held his phone up to his ear.
“Congratulations, Man.
Tell Sage she has a beautiful little girl and Brooke and I can’t wait to meet her.”
He chuckled.
“You don’t remember the gorgeous blonde with me last night?”
He chuckled again.
“Well, I’ll introduce the two of you.
I may need to reintroduce her to Sage as well.
She was a bit preoccupied when we stepped into the kitchen last night.”
He paused for another moment.
“We’ll be down in an hour or so.
Did you text the rest of the guys?”
Another pause.
“No.
I won’t say anything.
I don’t blame you.
You don’t want the whole club down there. It will turn into a circus for sure. They’ll meet her soon enough.”
He nodded.
“I agree.
Just those guys.
And don’t forget Angel and Misti.
They’ll kick your ass if you don’t text them. Oh, hey, ask Sage if Brooke can borrow some of her clothes. She’s going to be here over the next few days. We’ll fill you in on details later, if Brooke is okay with that.”
Scowling, he paused again.
“Shut up, Dickhead.
Tell Sage she’s a sweetheart and I said thank you.”
“He didn’t remember me being here last night? So, you really don’t bring home girls.”
“No, I don’t.
But I don’t think that was it.
He was incredibly distracted last night.
Sage coming into his life has spun his world on its axis.
He didn’t see her coming at all.”
His lips pulled into an amused grin.
I considered if I could potentially turn Grayson’s world upside down, but couldn’t help wondering maybe he was just acting like this to get into my pants.
I was pretty sure I was much more of a challenge to get into bed than others had been for him.
But the more I thought about it; I didn’t believe he was misleading me.
All of his actions seemed sincere.
Although I needed to quit getting ahead of myself and ease into this because only time would tell.
Snaking his arm around my back, he drew me to him.
“Don’t tell Ryder because I’ll deny it.
I gave him such shit about Sage, but only because I knew she was it for him.
But I could stay in bed all day like this with you.
You feel perfect here in my arms. And you smell like me. I didn’t realize how much I’d like that. It makes me feel a bit territorial.”
He dug his nose into my hair.
“And you are so soft to my hard.”
Because I didn’t believe he was trying to get me out of his clothes nor was he pushing his dick into my stomach –
he actually intentionally had his hips curved away from me; I was only pressed snug up against his chest – I didn’t repeat the reminder about not sleeping with him again.
I didn’t even tease him about his hardness.
And I wouldn’t admit it, but I kinda liked hearing he felt a bit possessive of me and that was a huge surprise.
I never wanted a guy to have to take care of me; I liked to defend myself.
“I like this too, but don’t get too comfortable.
My stomach is going to start protesting and you promised your friend we’d be down to visit.
Are you sure you want to drag me along? They don’t know me.”
I tucked my head under his chin.
And marveled at the fact I loved that he was so much bigger than me.
Which went along with my earlier crazy revelation; for once in my life it didn’t seem to bother me that the guy I was with would no doubt insist on being the one to protect me.
And the biggest shocker – I wasn’t sure I’d give him much resistance.
He ran his hands through my hair.
“We’re seeing each other now and you kinda met them last night.
But we’re going to be together so you will be seeing Ryder and Sage a lot.
And the other guys I hang around with from the club, you’ll meet at the hospital today and see them from time to time.
The other ones maybe not until we have a get together at the club and I bring you along.
But I want you there with me and I’m sure you’ll still be here when Sage comes home.
I can’t imagine they will keep her long.
Unless you decide to step out sooner because you don’t want to be kept awake by a baby crying at night. But I could distract you with other things to keep you awake at night.”
He pressed kisses along my temple back to my ear, where he gently nipped.
Then he groaned.
“And on that note, let’s go get some breakfast and get dressed and head into the hospital.
Too much cuddling is making it hard to keep my hands to myself.
And I still don’t know you well enough yet to have sex with you.”
Touching his lips to mine quickly, he unwound his arms from me and slid from the bed.
On his way to the bathroom, he shot me a wink over his shoulder.
I burst into laughter, wrapping my arms around my stomach as it shook and then grumbled because it was empty.
“Oh my God! Are you always this full of shit?”
“Not shitting you, Princess.”
He yelled through the wood.
Stretching, I slipped from his bed and waited for him to finish.
When he stepped back into the room, he crossed over to me and wrapped me into his arms.
“Stop pressuring me to have sex with you.
It’s not happening until the time is right.”
His hands slid down my waist and curved around my ass and then he squeezed my cheeks.
“Then why are you copping a feel?”
Leaning my head back, I smirked up at him.
“I said no sex, but we can do lots of other things that are almost as good.”
After kissing my forehead, he swatted my ass.
“Now go use the bathroom so we can eat some food and then you can put on more clothes to hopefully distract me from what I know is gorgeous underneath.
I’ll meet you out in the kitchen.”
With that he strolled out into the hall.
Cheeks warm, tingles zipping about, and my pussy growing damp, I padded into the bathroom.
Dear Lord, his words alone did wild things to my body.
What was going to happen when I finally allowed him to touch me and make love to me? Shit.
With this train of thought, I was going to need another shower.
Deciding against that, I instead used the toilet, washed my hands and face, ran the toothbrush through my mouth, and then headed out to the kitchen.
Grayson stood at the stove scrambling eggs and the mouthwatering aroma of bacon sizzling teased my nose.
“That smells delicious.”
My stomach released a huge growl.
“I am freezing in your house.
Do you mind if I step outside for a few minutes? I know it’s probably over a hundred degrees outside already; after all this is South Carolina but I need to warm up a bit.
And I figured you’d want to eat before we got dressed.”
“Sure.
Breakfast won’t be too long.
And I plugged in your phone before I came out here.
But let me take care of the alarm first so you don’t set it off.”
He stepped around the bar and over to the door we had entered through last night and punched some numbers into the keypad on the panel to the right of the doorway.
“All set.
You can head out the front door if you’d like.
That way you don’t have to walk across the cold concrete of the garage.
If you’re not back by the time breakfast is done, I’ll come get you.”
While he got back to preparing our breakfast, I crossed to his front door and slipped outside.
It wasn’t quite a hundred degrees yet, but the heat of the day was definitely kicking up and slapped me in the face as soon as I stepped out onto his stoop.
Lifting my face toward the sky, I basked in the warmth.
I was so used to the southern heat; it barely bothered me anymore and was rather refreshing since they kept their house so cool.
Spying a well-maintained lawn, I stepped around the side of the house. I loved the feel of soft grass under my bare feet.
So caught up in the heat warming my chilled skin and the tickle of the blades along the soles of my feet, I almost stumbled into a lone figure staring up at Grayson’s house.
The man stood only a few inches taller than me and had dark brown hair and was wearing a cut similar to Grayson’s.
“We were just getting ready for breakfast, but I can go let Grayson know you’re here.”
I twisted to head toward the front door when he grabbed my arm and squeezed tightly.
“That won’t be necessary.”
His cold tone sent shivers racing up my spine.
“I’m actually looking for a different girl I think, but you could prove useful as well.”
When my gaze met his hazel one, his lips curled into a cruel smirk.
It was in that moment, I realized his cut didn’t have the same patch design on it as Grayson’s.
With my free arm, I swung around my closed fist and clocked him square in the jaw.
His answering punch to my cheek knocked me several steps backward. “Bitch!”
He snarled and raised his hand to strike me again.
I released a scream that temporarily left a ringing in my ears.
Then I ducked away from his next hit at the same time I smashed my elbow and forearm into the side of his head.
However, this time when his fist connected with my cheek, the power behind the hit sent me crashing to the ground.
“Brooke!”
Grayson bellowed from inside the house.
Jolting to the sound of my name, the guy reached out his hand and ripped me up, bracing his arm around my waist and preparing to haul me away.
Wishing I had been in shoes, I used my legs as best I could to stop his progression.
Since my arms were pinned to my side, I bucked my body like I was being electrocuted, making it as difficult as possible for him to drag me off.