Chapter Lexi
LEXI
Everything had a watercolor quality, and she couldn’t shake it.
The light Grayson flicked on in her kitchen cast yellow across her worn linoleum, and it occurred to her that she was comfortable with Grayson in her place.
Sure, she didn’t have a clear memory of driving home, and being at the gym felt like yesterday, but so what?
She had a hot guy in her kitchen with great-smelling food.
Grayson laid several containers across her narrow table, and she wondered if he was planning on eating a lot of this, because she certainly couldn’t.
“Why is there so much?” she asked, as he reached into the second bag.
“I wasn’t sure what you liked, so I got some of everything.” He pulled out a chair for her, and, dazed, she sat. Her kitchen smelled of chili, tacos, spicy salsa, and freshly fried chips. Her mouth watered.
“Were you going to leave before this got here?” Grayson paused in the act of opening every one of her cabinets.
“Yes.”
“So why are you still here?” She wasn’t trying to be rude, but by the look on his face, she’d achieved it anyway.
“Do you want me to leave?” he asked. He stood frozen with one hand in her cupboard reaching for the cups.
Lexi frowned. Was he supposed to leave? She couldn’t remember why he was there in the first place. She didn’t think she’d invited him. Lost in indistinct thoughts, she missed the next thing he said.
“What?”
“I’m staying, Alessandra, until you get to bed. You can’t even put a full thought together right now.” He filled two glasses with water from the filter she kept on top of the fridge, and set them on the table with a snap.
Opening various containers, their conversation was made up of ‘do you like this?’ and her yes or no.
They ate in silence, with the occasional twang of styrofoam or crinkle of tinfoil.
Lexi was relieved at the amount of food Grayson ate.
Even if they put most of it in her refrigerator, she didn’t think she’d be able to get to all of it before it went bad.
Throwing food away reminded her of those first few years after the accident.
Before she learned to cook, she and her father had survived on takeout and leftovers. She wondered how he was… if he was still mad at her?
“Drink your water,” Grayson said between bites of taco.
Lexi didn’t think. She didn’t consider it. She drank the entire glass of water. It felt wonderfully cool in contrast to the spicy and crunchy tacos in front of her. After a helping of rice and fried beans, she sat back, more full than she could remember being in any recent memory.
“Are you full?” Grayson asked.
Although it made her a little dizzy, she nodded. He surveyed the table in front of them, nodding in satisfaction.
“Good.”
Lexi stood, and held onto the back of the chair as the room tilted. A container with fajita remnants was in her hands when she blinked and out of nowhere Grayson was next to her. He took it from her hands and put a hand on her back to nudge her out of the kitchen.
“I’ll take care of this, Alessandra. Go to the bathroom, get ready for bed again please.”
She frowned. It was her kitchen; it was her mess. She went to turn around.
“I’ll just put away the-” Grayson’s hand at the back of her neck wouldn’t let her turn, and he walked her the last steps out of the kitchen.
Lexi tried to feel indignant; angry; something.
Except the knots in her shoulders had loosened as soon as she felt his hand on her, and she was relaxing, of all things.
As he stepped up behind her, Grayson banded an arm around her waist and drew her back against him. She could feel his chest against the back of her head, although she could no longer feel the floor beneath her feet. Grayson leaned down to her ear.
“You’re going to go get ready for bed, Alessandra. Use the bathroom, brush your teeth, and that is all. Okay?”
Her mind had already forgotten the kitchen. His woodsy scent enveloped her as they stood together in her living room.
“You always smell so good,” she mumbled. “Why do you always smell so good?” She could feel his smile against her neck.
“I think it’s my body wash. You like it, Miss?”
Lexi nodded. “I want to get some. I need it for my shower.”
Grayson froze for a moment before he let her go and tapped her on the ass.
“Go.”
Did she say something wrong? Oh well. Her feet were following Grayson’s direction, and she was back in the bathroom.
Between two or three long blinks, she was brushing her teeth, then seated on the toilet.
It was only standing up that she realized she was wearing her satin boy shorts. Why on Earth was she wearing these?
That thought drifted into the fact that she’d just used the bathroom without a door, and Grayson was here.
Stark discomfort made her peek through the doorway, but the sound of running water from the kitchen eased her embarrassment.
Now what? He hadn’t told her what to do next.
Did she wait here? Go to bed? Or go back to the kitchen?
Indecision rooted her to the spot. Lexi wasn’t certain of time passing, but she blinked and then he was walking towards her.
She blinked hard and shook her head, trying to clear her vision.
She must be hallucinating a half naked Grayson.
He stopped in front of her, talking, but she didn’t hear what it was.
She reached out a hand, and yanked it back when she encountered skin.
Nope, Grayson was definitely shirtless. His short sleeved button down was tucked into the front of his pants, and his abs made her want to run her tongue along each groove.
The spit dried up in her mouth, and she had to swallow hard.
Then she was pressed back against the bathroom door jamb, and his tongue was pressing her lips apart.
He pulled one leg up hard over his hip, and ground her back into the wall.
The hard length of him pushed against her, and she groaned. His hair was thick and soft in her hand, and he retaliated with a fist in hers. It was over as fast as it started, and he pressed his forehead to hers. His words competed with the buzzing in her ears and lost.
“-so that’s what’s going to happen when you look at me that way,” Grayson finished, his Dominant voice pushing through her like the sweetest poison.
Releasing her hair, he stepped back, and her hand fell on the shirt at his waist. It made a soft slither as she pulled it free of his waistband, and he raised an eyebrow at her.
“I took it off to wash the dishes. Your little sink splashes everywhere.”
Without a word, Lexi stepped into the bathroom.
With her back to him, she tugged off her ratty t-shirt, and heard his indrawn breath.
She quickly drew on his shirt and managed one button.
The expression on his face told her she might as well be naked, but she didn’t mind.
She just wanted his shirt. His scent was everywhere now, literally hugging her, and she loved it.
He smiled when she tucked her nose into the sleeve.
“I like you in my clothes,” he said. He pointed to her darkening bedroom. She realized he must have pulled her curtains closed at some point, and the sun had started going down. Deep shadows from the corners made her room feel larger than it was.
Another blink and she was under the sheets, and Grayson was at the edge of the bed. His eyes looked preternaturally bright in the soft dullness of her room. Lexi wondered for the first time what he thought of her place.
“Goodnight, Alessandra,” he said softly.
“Aren’t I.. um,” she hesitated.
Grayson’s gaze turned from soft to amused.
“Aren’t you what?”
“Do you want me to fall asleep or get off?” Lexi didn’t care that she sounded annoyed. Here she was, trying to do what the hell the man said, and he would switch instructions on her. Grayson tilted his head, considering her.
“Let me check something before I answer that, okay?”
What the fuck could he have to- her own startled gasp cut off her thoughts as Grayson’s hands unerringly found the edge of her shorts beneath the blankets. He massaged the top of her thigh for a moment, and sent a burning jolt of awareness through her.
The blanket of fog receded from her mind enough for her to clearly see him. On his knees. At the edge of her bed.
“If you’re wet for me, Alessandra, I want you to get off.” His fingers dipped underneath the edge of her satin briefs. “If you’re not… well, I’m pretty sure you are, but if you’re not, then we’ll just have to make up for it next time.”
Next time? His thumb found her clit first, over the top of her shorts, and she squirmed. One corner of Grayson’s mouth kicked up.
“Hold still, Miss.”
With short, shallow breaths, Alessandra lay still. At his murmured good girl, she whimpered, and found herself opening her legs wider. What the fuck. She’d never been a ‘good girl’ girl.