Strong and Steady

He dropped his arm and stared at me. “Your fault? Are you serious?”

I didn’t respond and looked down at our feet.

“Em, baby, I’m the one who should be letting you go. I told you I was trouble. I told you I was no good for you. My dad, he may be behind the break-in.”

I froze. His dad? His dad didn’t have anything big to bother Gray with until I walked into his life. He may have messed with him, pushed his buttons, but a break-in? Gray didn’t need any of this. “See? I?

?m just adding to your mess. Before me—”

Instead of releasing me, he picked me up none too gently and dropped me on the bed, so I was on my back, his hands on either side of my head. I had no chance of resisting his actions as he was so damn strong. “It is not your fault.” His dark eyes pierced into mine as he said it, and I squirmed, rolling onto my belly, but that afforded me nothing, no way to escape.

Like the fighter he was, Gray settled on top of me, so I was pinned, the length of his body pressing mine into the bed. I couldn’t get up if I tried, but I knew he’d never hurt me. My head was turned away from him, and I looked at his hand pressing into the mattress, his corded forearm.

“Before you, I… I, shit, I didn’t know that something was missing. This is what he wants,” he said in my ear, his breath fanning my neck. “He wants us to fight. He wants to see us ripped apart, so I’ll be torn to shreds. If he can’t hit me anymore, he’ll get at me another way. The idea of letting you go, of him splitting us up, will be worse than any punch. You’re just a casualty to him, and he knows how to shove the knife into my back using you. He knows you’ll panic by mentioning Chris. But, Emory… you and me? This is one fight I refuse to let him win.”

I felt his forehead lower and rest on the back of my head. “Baby, you’re mine. If you say you don’t feel this between us then go. But you’re right there with me. I know it, so you can’t leave me because I won’t let you go.”

It wasn’t just his words that had me stilling beneath him, giving up. Giving over. It was his voice, his tone, the pleading, the need, the longing, the intensity. He was right. If his dad was trying to rip us apart, he was doing a fine job of it.

“You still want me even with my troubles?” I asked.

His body relaxed and settled against me in an entirely different way. Perhaps it was because I wasn’t so upset that I felt every sinewy inch of Gray’s body pressing into mine. Even his cock, full and thick, nudged against my hip. My body softened and warmed to the feel of him, recognizing his scent. It knew him to be the man who gave it pleasure. My body craved him, wanted him again.

He nuzzled his nose into my neck, slipped soft kisses along the tendon then up to my ear. “You don’t have any troubles, baby. They’re mine now. You don’t have to worry about my dad or your house. You don't have to carry it all. You’re not alone anymore.”

He shifted slightly and kissed along my shoulder, letting me know he was right there, above me, around me, surrounding me. It was as if he were shielding me from the world with his body—and I knew he would. The thought that I didn’t have to solve every problem by myself felt… good. I’d thought I had that with Jack, but it had been fake. I’d taken care of everything while he worked, worked through all his secretaries and paralegals.

My breathing deepened, and my skin came alive beneath his lips.

“I don’t know how to give someone my troubles,” I admitted, my eyes slipping shut as he started kissing down my spine.

“Neither… do… I,” he replied, kiss after gentle kiss. “There’s one thing we do really well together.”

When a hand gently nudged my legs apart, I murmured, “Oh?”

I was lost, completely and totally lost in Gray. I heard more than saw him reach down for his pants and pull out another condom then nudge my thighs wide with his knees. “Most people keep those in their bedside drawer,” I commented, remaining still.

“I’ve never been with anyone here before.” He worked the condom on then leaned over me, his skin hot against the length of my back. “I’ll pick up a box later.”

“Gray,” I groaned, my fingers curling tightly around the sheets. Our being together hadn't been a foregone conclusion. Being in his bed truly hadn't been planned. There really hadn't been anyone before me.

“I can’t be gentle this time, baby.” His knee nudged my right leg even wider, and I felt his cock prod my opening, the head slipping in.

I gasped at the hot feel of the way he stretched me open.

“I usually go and work off this restless energy in the ring, but fucking you is a much better workout.”

As he started to fill me, I moaned, snagged the sheets, so my knuckles turned white. “Don’t hold back,” I pleaded, needing the connection with him probably as much as he did. I arched my back to take him deeper.

With one arm, he scooped under my belly and pulled me up onto my knees. As his right hand cupped my breast, he slipped in all the way, settling, and I heard him groan. I knew only Gray could make me feel complete, feel possessed, and very, very soon, feel the most intense orgasm of my life.

20

GRAY

* * *

I came out of the shower and went into my walk-in closet to get dressed and couldn’t help but listen to Emory on the phone.