“Everything,” he growls, and his head dips down. This time his hands are at my neck, stealing another kiss.
It's passionate and soul-searing. God, I can’t get enough. His lips mold and press against mine, his tongue seeking entrance to my mouth, and I give it to him. I’m tired of being scared. Of living on the sidelines.
What better time to start living than when the world is in chaos around you?
10
Grayson
She pulls back, and I think she’s going to argue with me again, but she surprises me by lifting her head and looking directly in my eyes. “Come inside with me.”
I shake my head, ready to tell her again how I feel about her, but she stops me, her hands clenching the front of my shirt. “I know, Grayson. I want you to come inside with me.”
My heart is thumping wildly in my chest, and my palms are sweaty. I want to throw her over my shoulder and carry her into the house, but the big boom of thunder has her diving against me, burying her head under my chin. I hold her to me, moving around the barn, working one-handed to close the barn doors and lock them. The rain is now torrential, and there’s no way to get her in the house and her still be dry. I grab on to her hand and lift her chin. “You ready? We’ll have to run for it.”
She squeezes my hand and doesn’t even blink. “I’m ready.”
I know she’s saying more to me than she’s just ready to run through the rain, and I squeeze her hand back. We start to run, and I slow down my strides so she can keep up with me. By the time we barrel up her front porch, we’re both laughing and drenched. I stop on the rug inside her front door. The power is out, and there’s no hum of the refrigerator or any sound of all, only the sounds of us.
I take off my boots, and when I rise up, she’s watching me, and her lips are quivering. “You need to warm up. Go take a hot shower, and I’ll be here when you get out.”
She takes a deep breath and blows it out slowly. She pulls off her boots, then her jeans. When she stands up, she has her eyes closed tightly, and she reaches for the hem of her hoodie and quickly pulls it over her head. She stands there for a full minute with her eyes closed. My gaze travels down her body, and I can see the shape of her, but nothing else. When she opens her eyes, it’s like she’s expecting me to have run away or something. She’s surprised that I’m close to her. Every breath she takes I can feel her bra-covered breast rub against my shirt. I grit my teeth. “Go take a shower, I’ll dry off.”
“I don’t know why you’re doing this… why you’re helping me… why you want me, but you’ll have to leave tomorrow.”
I shake my head. I don’t know how this night is going to play out, but I do know one thing. “I’m not leaving tomorrow.” I’m not leaving her ever. I don’t say that part out loud because I don’t think she’s ready to hear it.
She reaches for me, her hand traveling down my arm until she reaches my hand. She clasps our hands together and pulls me. “We can get warm together.”
If I was a stronger man, I could resist her. I would wait until she wasn’t so vulnerable and I was sure she knew what she was asking for. But I’m finding that with Hadley, I’m weak. I take down my jeans, and they land in a wet plop at my feet. I pull my shirt off quickly and then reach for her. We walk up the stairs, my hand still in hers, and I watch her ass shake from side to side. The storm is still brewing outside, but neither of us seem to care anymore. The animals are safe, the barn is locked up, and we’re inside out of the weather.
A lightning strike hits and lights up the stairwell. For just a second, I get a view of her backside, and I don’t even try to stop myself from reaching out for her. I cup her bottom just as we reach the top of the stairs. She looks at me over her shoulder, and for the very first time, she gives me a beautiful, full smile that hits me right in the chest. There’s no guarded look, no fear, and it’s in this moment that I know I’ll do whatever I have to do to get that smile from her for the rest of my life.
She walks into the bathroom and reaches for the switch and then laughs when she flips it on and nothing happens. “Sorry, I’m not thinking right.”
I have her tucked against me because I want her close. Her back is pressed to my front. The thin cotton of my shorts do nothing to hide my arousal. I know she can feel my erect manhood pressed against her, but I don’t try to hide it. I don’t want to. I want her to know exactly how my body reacts to her.
I pull her hair back and bury my nose in her neck. I kiss her there and move up to her ear. “Hot shower, just to warm up. Then bed.”
She turns and presses her body even closer to mine. Her arms go around my neck. “I don’t know about you, but I’m already warm.”
Because I can’t wait a second longer, I lean down and kiss her. Her lips under mine is everything I dreamed it would be and more. My body is vibrating in need, but I don’t want to push her any further than what she’s ready for.
She pulls back and rests her head on my chest. My hands stroke up and down her back, and then I unclasp her bra and wait. Her body shudders against mine, and then she pulls the straps down her arms and lets the silky piece of material fall to the floor. “I need you, Grayson.”
She says it so softly I have to strain to hear her, and we’re only inches apart. I cup her face. “I need you too.”
She blinks. “I’m scared.”
There’s so much vulnerability in those two words. “You’re safe, Hadley. You will always be safe with me.”
Another boom of thunder seems to rattle the house, but it’s nothing compared to the way my heart is pounding in my chest.
“Take me to bed, Grayson.”
I don’t hesitate. I put my hands under her arms and lift her up. She laughs and wraps her legs around my waist. I stomp out of the bathroom and down the hall to her room. I kick open the door and stride in. It’s all so intense, and I know I need to rein myself in. When I stop next to the bed, her legs unwrap, and I let her slide down my body until her feet touch the floor. “Are you sure, Hadley?”
“Yes,” she says and then shrugs her shoulders. “I mean, if you’re sure. If you’ve changed your mind…”