Ali came again, shuddering in drenching spasms as Grey groaned deep in his chest and gave up control, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her forward to the very edge of the table so that he could thrust hard and deep. Ali wrapped her legs around his hips and gave herself up to the overwhelming sensations until he came.
She lay back on the table afterward, panting for breath. Grey did up his jeans and tugged her up again, easing her to her feet. “Now I think we can go upstairs,” he murmured into her ear.
Ali was wobbly, even in bare feet, so he kept a strong arm around her as they went up to the loft, undoing her skirt and letting it fall to the ground before depositing her gently on the bed. He stripped off his jeans and joined her a moment later, wrapping his naked body around her.
“I love you, Alethia,” he whispered into her ear. “I love you so much.”
Ali blinked, and then blinked again, but the tears didn’t go away. It was like the feeling inside her chest was swelling up so far that it was spilling out of her eyes. “I—” she choked, and stopped.
He kissed the corner of her eye where wetness was trickling down. “Hey, shhhh,” he said. “You don’t have to say anything back. I just wanted you to know. I love you more than anything.”
Ali hid her face in his neck and let herself cry.
Grey stroked her hair and held her close while she shook and sobbed. She hadn’t cried, really let go and cried, in so long.
It felt like a river sweeping away all the dammed-up bad feelings that had accumulated inside her, all the harsh words and turned-away faces, all the times someone hadn’t cared how she felt or hadn’t thought she had a right to feel at all.
It felt cleansing.
When she’d cried herself out, Grey gave her tissues to wipe her eyes and blow her nose with, and took them from her to throw them away when she was done. Then he wrapped her up in his arms again.
“Do you want to talk about it?” She could feel his voice rumbling in his chest.
Ali took a deep breath. “I think I have to.” If nothing else, she had to explain to Grey why it had been so hard for her to believe that they were mated.
Even now, it seemed impossible, like some fairy tale dream that would shatter if she touched it.
He stroked her hair. “I’m listening.”
“When I was nineteen, I had a boyfriend,” she started.
Grey nodded. She could feel his stubble rasp against her cheek.
“He was a shifter. A black bear.”
“A lot of those around here.”
She nodded. “He was a local boy.” She was being deliberately vague for now. She wanted to tell the story before any names were named. “When we got together, he paid so much attention to me. He bought me presents. He told me he loved me almost right away.”
She took a deep breath. “I was a virgin, and I wasn’t sure how long I wanted to wait. I wasn’t set on waiting for marriage or anything, but I was nervous.”
“Being with someone like that makes you vulnerable,” Grey murmured.
She nodded. “I wanted to feel ready. And I didn’t. Even though I thought I was in love with him too, I still felt like something was holding me back. So he told me—” She stopped.
“That why he told you that you were his mate?” Grey asked incredulously, pulling back to look at her. “He lied about that to get you into bed?”
Ali nodded. “And then when he got tired of me, he said I’d fallen for the oldest trick in the book.”
It had been the worst thing that had ever happened to her. She’d never forgotten the expression on his face, casual and careless, as he said, Oh, come on. What was I supposed to say? You weren’t giving it up.
She choked on tears again. Normally, she kept that memory locked up tight, where she couldn’t see it and nothing could remind her of it.
Grey’s eyes had changed color again, flaring from grey to silver. “Is he still around town?” he asked softly.
Dangerously.
She nodded.