Chapter 27
TWENTY-SEVEN
GRAYSON
I’m lost in her, like she’s pulling me deeper with every thrust. It’s been so long, but I swear I’ve never felt this connected, this raw, and I can’t get enough. Her legs tighten around me, her hips lifting to meet mine, and I groan, burying myself deeper, harder. I can’t stop. I won’t.
My hand slides between us, my thumb finding her clit, and she cries out, her body arching.
“Grayson—” Her voice breaks, her nails digging into my shoulders, and I can feel her getting closer, her muscles tightening around me, dragging me to the edge with her.
I need her everywhere. Now. I grip her hips and lift her off the bed, moving to press her against the bedroom wall. Her legs wrap around my waist, and I drive into her harder, faster, my breath ragged.
Flic’s body clamps around me, her walls tightening, and she unravels in my arms, her cry echoing through the room.
It’s enough to push me over the edge right alongside her, and I groan as I give in to it.
I spill out, shuddering against her as the world falls away.
Electric needles of pleasure shoot through my groin and my body.
My head spins. I bury my face in her neck, breathing her in, my heart pounding.
Her breathing is still fast, her voice rough when she finally speaks. “That was—”
“Yeah, it was.” I press a kiss to her neck, my lips lingering against her skin. I don’t want to let her go. I don’t want this moment to end.
I carry her back to the bed and lower her gently to the covers, my body still humming with the aftershocks of what just happened. She looks up at me, eyes soft, lips swollen from my kisses, and something shifts inside my chest. Something I don’t want to name. Something that terrifies me.
I dispose of the condom, slide into bed beside her and Flic rests her head on my chest. I run my hand over the silk of her hair, loose from its braid now and falling down her back.
The sun has dipped lower in the sky. I have the sense of the city outside this room, carrying on.
But here, we are in our own bubble. For the first time in longer than I can remember, the constant tension in my chest eases.
No board meetings. No headlines. No family expectations.
No one I feel compelled to help. Just the hum of the city and a woman who feels entirely present.
“You OK?” she asks softly.
I glance down at her, surprised by the tenderness in her voice. “Yeah,” I say. And for once, it’s the truth.
She hums, satisfied, but instead of closing her eyes she tilts her head, that familiar spark lighting her gaze.
“So,” she says casually, fingers already roaming over my chest. “Worth the wait?”
I bark out a laugh. “I guess.”
She jabs me in the ribs, hard. “You guess?”
I catch her hand before she can jab again, threading my fingers through hers and pinning them lightly to my chest. “OK,” I amend. “It was more than worth it.”
She grins, triumphant, and moves closer. “For me, too.”
My phone buzzes from the pocket of my jeans now discarded on the floor. I make no move to reach for it.
“If you need to check that, it’s OK.”
I press a kiss to the top of her head, wondering if it’s about Ana, if she made it to the treatment center. Then I think of Helena and how she left our parents’ house yesterday. “I don’t.”
And yet, Flic must sense my mind starting to spin because she squeezes my hand. “Just check it.”
I reach for my phone. I don’t even go near the red icon on my email inbox and the three digits of new emails I’ve received today; instead I skim my messages quickly.
There are several from Donny about the Stormhawks that can wait until tomorrow.
Another from Ana’s parents. “Ana’s dad says she’s checked herself into the treatment center. ”
“That’s good.”
I nod. “It could be a long road, but at least she’s on it now.”
I show another message, this one from Helena. Three words:
I like her.
Flic smiles. “She has a funny way of showing it, but I’ll take the compliment.”
The final message is from Nicholas. “The jet’s back and refueled,” I tell Flic. “We could fly back to Denver tonight.”
She shakes her head immediately. “I’m not ready for reality yet.” A pause. “Besides, I’m pretty sure I should buy you dinner after what we just did.”
I laugh, the sound easy. “I buy the dinners. I’ll take you anywhere you want. Le Bernardin. Eleven Madison Park. Rao’s. I’ve got access to a couple of private clubs that do a good steak.”
She lifts her head, making a face as she looks at me.
“What?” I ask.
“That all sounds amazing, but… if this is our one night together, we could stay right here.” Her hand moves over my body, across my abs, her fingers tracing the line of hair downward, and I’m hard again in seconds.
We said it would be just one night. A single moment where we both choose ourselves and each other, before reality closes back in around us. If one night is all we’ve got, I’m going to make sure it’s one neither of us will forget.