Chapter 25
Graham
“ G raham,” Paige purrs softly in my ear, and I feel her hands tug at my wasitband.
“Mmhmm...” I moan as I feel lips caress mine and emerald eyes burning into me.
“Graham. Please don’t keep me waiting,” She purs, full of lust, reaching down into my gym shorts. Firmly gripping me and pumping a few times.
“I’m so tired of waiting, baby.”
God, I want her so bad.
I pull her towards me. Letting my hands roam over every bit of her as she crashes her lips towards mine, causing my breath to catch in my chest.
“Please, Paige.” I moan as Paige pulls away and kneels in front of me…
I know I am dreaming because I fell asleep with Paige sitting beside me on the beige couch in their condo, reading some dragon-shifter romance. As much as I want her to be, she isn’t kneeling in front of me right now, tasting every bit of me she can take into her pretty mouth.
We showed up here a few hours ago after the gym, and I only made it about an hour before falling asleep. I exchanged pleasantries with the few guys I know here, but I’m mostly a wallflower. Paige is the only person I want to pay attention to.
Chris shot me a look when we showed up together, and more than once, he has been watching us. I know it probably has to do with Seth and the fact that Chris wants to believe things have changed, and Seth doesn’t just think with his dick. I have difficulty believing anything has changed after hearing about Seth’s reaction to the picture Katherine must have sent him.
I took it when Paige waited for our drinks, and I had gone to the bathroom to talk myself out of inviting her back to my place. Looking back now, I am grateful that Kat decided to come home early from Phoenix for whatever reason. I knew the fight I had with Katherine would bite me in the ass, and at this moment, I regret proposing to Katherine with every moment I get to spend with Paige.
Katherine and I haven’t spoken since Paige’s birthday. That night, when we got home, she didn’t say much once they left, and she locked herself up in her room for a few days. She left yesterday morning, and I haven’t seen her since. Chris knows I am smitten, too, because he mentions Paige every chance he gets since the night we met her.
A memory floods back…
“Hey, how’s it going?” Chris asks in an exhausted tone when I answer my phone.
I look over to where Katherine is sleeping on the hospital bed and let out an exhausted sigh of my own.
“She is passed the fuck out. The doctor wants her to sleep off whatever she took and reassess her in the morning. At least one day in the hospital this time.”
Silence fills the other end of the line. I know Chris well enough to know something is bothering him, but he doesn’t want to bring it up.
“Just say it,” I tell him.
Chris only hesitates a moment and sounds more like Dad than himself.
“I don’t think anyone would be upset if you finally left Katherine and pursued other options—maybe a very pretty blonde.”
Chris’s words are loaded but don’t really sting like I think they will. He always calls me out on my shit.
I have been stuck in a rut for longer than I can remember. Constantly putting off moving forward and just continuing not to live. I’m having difficulty letting go of the first woman I shared any form of life with. I used to dream of Katherine, but now it is always an image of Paige sitting at that bar, long messy blonde braid draped over her shoulder. Her perfectly tanned and toned thighs are on full display in that purple dress I imagine ripping off of her more than once.
“Fuck you,” I say in response as Chris laughs.
“Good night, brother,” Chris says before disconnecting the call.
“Hey, time to wake up,” Paige says softly, and I can picture her full pink lips next to my ear. I inhale her coconut vanilla shampoo deeply before my eyes flutter open, meeting hers. She has taken her hair down, looking like a blonde goddess. She grins slightly as I take one hand and push her hair over her ear, twirling a strand between my fingers.
“I think this is the first time I have seen your hair down fully. It’s a lot longer than I thought it would be when it’s not curled,” I say before dropping the strand.
Paige’s smile widens.
“You thought of my hair?”
“I might have a thing for one blonde and may have thought of more than your hair.”
I don’t bother hiding the lust in my tone. A throat clears in the background, and I am still. We were oblivious that Chris is still gaming on the couch beside me.
“Bre is going to lose her shit if she comes back out here and sees you pawing at my brother on the couch,” Chris pleads.
His eyes meet mine in apology. Paige pulls away immediately.
“It’s not my fault you have some pretty attractive friends,” she responds before winking at me.
Chris studies her for a long moment before nodding in agreement. I stand up, realizing everyone else has left. I laugh and head towards the kitchen to grab one of the water bottles on the counter, putting some distance between me and Paige. I smile towards Bre when she returns to the room dressed for bed. I glance at my watch, realizing it is almost ten.
“Oh good, you’re up.” Bre smiles and I hear Chris laugh softly.
“Yes, love, Paige woke him up just like you asked.”
“Any issues?” Bre asks exhaustively toward Chris.
“No love. We are all good,” Chris answers, not breaking his gaze from Bre as he stands from the couch and heads toward her.
“Just about to head to bed myself,” Paige says, taking her eyes away from Chris and focusing on me.
“Night, Graham,” she says softly before heading towards her bedroom.
“Night, Paige,” I say, looking toward her bedroom, lingering on her for a moment before my attention is back towards Bre.
“What?” I ask as Chris comes to wrap his arms around Bre’s waist.
“Nothing,” Bre says with a shit-eating grin before adding, “If you just told my sister how you felt, maybe you wouldn’t be so miserable all the time.”
I feel all the emotion settle in my jaw.
“Love,” Chris said softly, shooting me another apologetic smile.
“Bre…”
I have trouble finding the right words before she lets out a small laugh.
“Closed mouths don’t get fed, Graham.” She offers before Chris pulls Bre towards their bedroom.
“Night,” Chris chimes as I head towards the door and lock it up behind me.
When I return to my seemingly always empty townhouse, my mind spirals in Bre’s words. She isn’t wrong. No surprise here, I pull out my phone.
Me: Made it home safe.
I don’t know why I am surprised when I turn on the shower and by the time I remove my clothes Paige has loved my message and I have butterflies when the three little dots appear and a few new messages ping me by the time I finish.
I decide to wash off quickly, but Paige is FaceTiming me by the time I get out of the shower. I quickly wrap a towel around my waist and answer the phone while drying my hair with a different towel. Nothing but pure desire is in Paige’s eyes, and I smile at her.
“Ma’am, are you objectifying me?”
She laughs and cuddles one of the large pillows on her bed tighter.
“You could have ignored my call, you know.”
“Oh, I could never do that to you,” I say playfully, heading into my bedroom.
I throw the phone onto the bed facing the ceiling and hear her whine in protest.
I laugh.
“As much as I love your late-night phone calls. Was there something you needed?”
I finish pulling on some sleeping pants and hang my towels back up. She hasn’t responded, and I put the phone on my nightstand. Once comfortable, I can see she is staring at me, and I’m unsure what to do.
“I’m sorry about dinner,” she says with a sadness that breaks a little more of my heart.
I try to smile, but I feel so much for her.
“There is nothing to apologize for, Paige,” I say sincerely.
There is so much more lingering in the air between us. I can tell she is struggling with how to proceed with this conversation. She closes her eyes for a moment before she speaks again.
“I think about you most nights,” she says, and I can tell it is the first time she has admitted it out loud.
“I think of you every night,” I say, unashamed, as she focuses on my words and smiles softly.
She adjusts her pillow and partially pulls her Stephen King blanket up to her chin.
“Stay on with me until I fall asleep?” she asks with heavy eyelids.
I can’t help but smile and want to reach through the phone and pull her into my arms.
“For as long as you need.”
That’s the last thing I say before we drift asleep.