Forbidden Fate (Crowne Point 3)

The way Grayson had looked at me was still stuck in my head. I slowly lifted my eyes, wondering if he was still watching me.

Bad idea.

Grayson dragged a knuckle across his lower lip, his narrow glare fixated on me. I clenched my thighs and was grateful my dress hid it.

West was the first to speak, the first to act.

He casually buttoned up his pants as though he hadn’t just fucked me in front of Grayson, adjusted his mask, and gave me his hand. “Come with me, Angel.”

The sliver of vulnerability was back in his brown eyes. Maybe I should have gone with him…or maybe I should have just left, but I couldn’t take my eyes off Grayson, even if it would destroy me. All I wanted to know were the thoughts that made him rub his lower lip.

“I’ll meet you in the ballroom,” I rasped.

His hand stayed outstretched a moment. Then he stood upright, shoulders square.

“You sure you want to do this, Crowne?” He turned to Gray. “I think you have a lot more to lose now.”

Grayson’s eyes flitted to him, something unsaid, but landed back on me.

West laughed when he left; it was bitter and choking and nearly stole all the oxygen in the room.

Then the door slammed, locking us in silence.

Follow him. Leave.

Grayson bent down until we were eye to eye, still dragging that knuckle across his lip. So close, the sound of our breathing was no longer drowned out by the howling wind. I could feel my power slipping, draining like smoke through a fan into him.

“Go fuck yourself, Grayson Crowne.”

He grinned, that same smile he’d worn only moments before, then gripped my hair, tearing my face to his. “You shouldn’t have done that.”

Fifty-Four

STORY

* * *

I tried to yank my head away from Grayson, but his grip was iron, and it only burned my scalp.

“I had a plan, Snitch. I had a really good plan.” His voice was raw, warbled. “I was gonna get us out of this clean. Or…” he growled. “As clean as we could get.”

“I don’t give a shit about your plans and your promises. Whatever Lottie does to you, West does to me.”

His eyes seemed to burn darker. Then he thrust me against the window sill. It was like he couldn’t hear me. Grayson grabbed the collar of my dress, ripping it across my shoulder. His lips found the spot West had bitten, kissing slowly, easy, without any hurry.

“I thought we might get out of this without burning everything to the ground,” he said as we kissed. His words were nonsense to me, but his lips stoked fire.

Then he bit.

Fucking hard.

I gasped, slamming my hands against the window.

I felt cold on my neck, wet trickling down from his teeth.

“You have no idea what the fuck you’ve done,” he said against my skin. “But I don’t fucking care.”

“It’s done. It’s over. I broke us. Let me go.” I tried to elbow him off, and his grip slipped from my hair to my wrist, slamming it back against the window.