It had to have been him.
I’m panicking. I don’t know what to do. I can’t call the cops because he’ll kill me and my mother. That was something he always told me he would do. At times, I didn’t care about me, but it wasn’t fair for my mother.
My hand trembles, but I keep hold of my gun while I hunt for my phone. I dial Gray and pray he’ll wake at this ungodly hour. He answers on the fourth ring, his voice thick with sleep.
“Yeah?”
“G-Gray, h-he was h-here,” I sob as I start frantically turning on every light in the apartment.
He growls. “Who?”
“V-Vaughn. It had to have b-been him. I heard him s-slam the door shut when h-he left.” My teeth begin to chatter as another jolt of fear slices through me.
“Lock yourself in the bathroom and don’t come out until I call to tell you I’m there,” he instructs as he shuffles around. “I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”
We hang up, and I rush to the bathroom. I yank my robe off the hook and sling it on before locking the door. Twenty minutes feels like twenty years. But in sixteen minutes, a loud bang on the door causes me to scream.
Gray: I’m here.
I toss the phone down but I’m still too afraid to relinquish my gun. I unlock the bathroom door and run to the front one. Once I peek through the hole and make sure it’s him, I disengage all three locks. When I barely have the last one unlatched, Gray’s pushing in with a frantic look on his face.
“Violet,” he hisses as I all but jump into his arms. He’s warm and safe and here to protect me. That’s what friends do. “It’s okay, baby,” he coos. “I’m here now.” His voice cloaks me like a safety blanket. He pulls away briefly to lock up the apartment and to gently pull the gun from my grip. Then, he wraps an arm around me and guides me to the sofa. Together we sit, and I practically crawl into his lap seeking security.
“Tell me everything that happened from start to finish,” he tells me, his voice tense.
I launch into how I woke from a nightmare and heard a sound. I leave off the embarrassing fact that I don’t know how I got naked. I’m certain it wasn’t Vaughn who got me that way. He wouldn’t have been able to undress me and resist touching me. I’d have awoken with his cock deep inside me if it were him that had taken off my clothes. That was all me.
“The nightmares are back and now…” I trail off and shudder.
“And now what?” he questions, his fingers finding my chin to tilt my head, so I can see him. His handsome face is screwed up in concern as he regards me. I get lost in his fierce, icy-blue gaze before my eyes drop to his mouth.
“Vaughn is back.”
“Vaughn who?”
I shudder just thinking about him. My eyes close, but then I see him staring at me with hate in his eyes so I quickly reopen them.
“We can’t go to the cops,” I whisper. “He’ll kill my mother. He’ll kill me.”
His eyes bug out of his head for a moment before a murderous scowl washes over his features. “He won’t touch you, but I want his name.”
When I start trembling again, Gray grabs my hips and guides me farther into his lap. The lines of friendship are blurring because I straddle him over his thighs. His palms cradle my face as he searches for answers.
“Brecks. His last name is Brecks,” I murmur. “He can’t know where I am. Ever.”
A quake ripples through my body as another sob catches in my throat.
“Come here,” he growls and slides a hand to my ass to pull me closer. The silky robe hardly hides the fact that I’m naked. His palm remains on my butt as he rubs me in a comforting way. I bury my face against his neck. God, he smells delicious. My breasts are pressed against his firm chest, and it feels good to be against him like this.
His other hand rests on my bare thigh and he runs circles with it just under the robe. My entire body starts quivering for a different reason. The adrenaline coursing through my body has channeled into something else. Something hot and hungry.
“How do you think he got in?” I question, my breath hot against his flesh.
His cock begins to harden beneath me, sending ripples of need coursing through me. I’m pressed against his very impressive length in his jeans.
“Those locks are cheap and easy to break into,” he tells me huskily. “I’ll call my locksmith we use for the office tomorrow and have your door fitted with something impenetrable.”
I sit up so I can look at him. His blue eyes have darkened with lust. I wonder if mine mirror the look. He lets go of my ass and boldly tugs at the rope holding my robe together. It falls open and a gasp of shock rolls off my tongue.
“Gray,” I murmur in warning.
He arches a brow and it makes him ten times sexier. “What?” he questions, feigning innocence.
A smile tugs at my lips. “Friends don’t try to undress friends.”
He chuckles and it warms me all the way to my core. I find my eyes fixated on his full lips.
“I need to kiss you,” he admits, his voice thick with desire.
I dart my eyes back up to his. “A kiss isn’t what friends do either.”
His fingers slide to my neck and he curls them around the back of my head. “Maybe I don’t want to be friends. Maybe I want to take care of you in so many ways that go beyond friendship.”
When I’m tugged forward, I start to protest with my palms against his chest. But then his other palm cups my breast in a gentle, reverent way that has me whimpering. I end up meeting him in the middle and pressing my lips against his. The kiss is soft and sweet at first. All it takes is one moan from me and he slides his tongue into my mouth, seeking something deeper.
My clit throbs with need and my nipples ache to be touched. As if he has direct access to my thoughts, his thumb rubs across my erect nipple, causing me to shiver.
“I see you, Violet,” he murmurs against my mouth, his teeth nipping at my bottom lip. “I see you.”
His words turn me on. After so many years of existing as a mere shadow—in his shadow—I love that I’m in his spotlight. Shamelessly, I grind myself against his erection, which makes him groan with pleasure.
“Gray,” I moan as I rock against him. “We should stop.”
He laughs and it reverberates down to my core. “Why would we want to do that?”
“Because we’re friends,” I try but then decide I like kissing him better than talking. My mouth devours his.
His palm slides down my side, dangerously low on my stomach, and my breath hitches.
“Friends can still fuck,” he growls.
I let out an embarrassing sound when his thumb grazes against my clit. The pleasure from such a simple touch sears through me like hot fire. He massages my clit in a slow torturous way that has me jolting with each movement. An orgasm decides to take hold of me out of nowhere. And, holy hell, is it delicious. Electric pleasure shudders through me just as he pushes a finger inside my wet center. The sudden intrusion coupled with the high of my orgasm sends another orgasm right on its heels. I throw my head back and cry out in pleasure. When my body stops shaking, he slips his finger back out and leans forward to press a kiss betwee
n my breasts. The tickle of his hair reminds me of Vaughn, and I scramble away from him with a scream falling from my lips.
I don’t toss a look his way until I’m safely on the other side of the couch. He still sits with his powerful legs slightly spread apart and his erection blatantly obvious through the denim. His hair is messy—I must have grabbed hold of it at some point—and his chest heaves. The lust in his eyes is enough to almost have me crawling back into his lap.
“I-I can’t,” I mutter, tears threatening.
He reaches over and clutches my bare ankle. “It’s okay.” His gaze darts to my bare chest before he clears his throat and pulls his hand away. “I’ll stay over tonight to make sure he doesn’t come over again. Do you have a pillow and a blanket?”
I swallow and nod as I stand. With quick movements, I tie my robe back up. “Thank you. And I’m sorry.” My eyes drop to his erection, and I frown.
He laughs. “I’m fine, little quitter.” Heat and amusement glitter in his eyes, effectively diffusing the awkward moment. “Get some sleep. We’ll talk more in the morning.”
I locate some bedding and practically throw it at him before shutting myself in my room. As soon as the lights are turned off and I’m back in bed, I slink out of the robe and slip a hand between my thighs. I’m still soaked from the orgasms he gave me. I run the wetness up between the lips of my pussy and let out a hiss of pleasure. I still tingle but all he did was make me crave more.
Silently, I massage myself into one more orgasm.
I hope he didn’t hear his name as it shamelessly moaned its way out of my mouth.
The more time I spend with Gray, the more I like it. Is this his plan? To woo me into staying at the company? I have less than two weeks to get my head back on straight and focus on my career. Not men. Not my past. My future.
T-minus twelve days…
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
GRAYSON
“GRAYYYY.”
The way she said my name last night behind her door had driven me wild with lust. I’d already been jerking my cock for relief under the blanket so when I heard the moan, it sent me over the edge. We’d been so close to fucking, but then something spooked her.