"I love you, Carly Summers," Grey whispered.
"I love you too, Grey. I don't like arguing with you."
"We're going to have our ups and downs like any couple does, baby, but I promise we'll always make up," he said as he turned my face toward his.
He placed a chaste kiss on my lips. It was like he was asking for my permission. Was I ready to let things go? I couldn't stay mad at Grey for long, so I opened my mouth to him and licked slowly across his mouth, sucking his bottom lip gently into my mouth. The kiss quickly turned from gentle to passionate. I turned in his embrace to make it easier to kiss him with every unspoken feeling. I wanted him to know the past didn't have a place in our future-we would always know it was there, but we didn't have to discuss it.
As we broke apart, I looked him in the eye and could see his feelings like a mirror of my own. We'd both had different lives, but we'd both suffered in our own ways. Both of us had felt the emptiness where the other belonged, an aching, yearning for the gap to be filled-but try as we might, we couldn't fill it without each other.
Later that night, after I'd submitted my finished article and Grey had caught up on some emails about future jobs, the phone rang and I smiled as Jodie's face appeared on my screen.
"Hey, lady!" I answered.
"Hey, yourself. You got any plans for tonight? Matt's working at Sinners so I wondered if you and Grey wanted to come with me."
"Umm … I'd have to ask Grey if he feels up to it, he's in the shower at the moment. I'll text you in a bit."
"Tell him he can ask the DJ to play "Pour Some Sugar On Me" again and you can dance all slutty with him," she laughed.
"Will do. Text you shortly, babe."
"Okay, but hurry up!" she said as she rang off. Typical Jodie.
I went to the bathroom and asked Grey if he felt up to going. I told him what Jodie said and no sooner had I said that, he agreed to go. I laughed as I went into my room to choose what to wear.
I was looking in my wardrobe when Grey came up and wrapped his arms around me. His body was warm and still damp from the shower. I inhaled the sweet smell of whatever it is that makes Grey smell so good.
"The dress," he said close to my ear, making a shiver run down my spine.
"Sorry?"
"You're wondering whether to go in jeans or a dress, right?"
"Umm … yeah."
"Well, I say the dress," he said as he smacked my ass and walked to get himself dressed.
"Okay. I'll just grab a shower."
"Hurry up, we want plenty of dancing time." He flashed his beautiful smile my way.
I took a nice hot shower, got dried, and straightened my hair. I applied a little makeup and slipped into the red dress Grey had laid on the bed for me. I found my black flat shoes and when Grey asked why I wasn't wearing heels, I said the flats were easier to dance in and I was less likely to break my neck. He laughed and called us a cab.
Chapter Eleven
Having had an awesome night on our first double date with Jodie and Matt, we ventured out together more often. Grey was recovering well from the accident, even if he did keep needlessly apologizing to me. I still hadn't mentioned the ring, although I did wonder a few times if I had imagined the whole thing-maybe because of lack of sleep at the hospital I had hallucinated or maybe it was a dream. But whatever it was, I was embarrassed to broach the subject with him.
Tonight was date night. Grey and I were going out to a karaoke bar and I was looking forward to hearing him sing, though I didn't know about getting up myself. As I wondered what to wear, the doorbell rang. I quickly went downstairs to find Grey on the doorstep.
"You're early," I remarked as he stepped through the door. I noticed he had a garment bag with him.
"I know. I thought I'd get ready here, if that's okay? Mother has her friends round and I don't fancy the Spanish Inquisition."
"Oh okay, sure, you can get ready here. I was just deciding what to wear."
"Something comfortable but sexy, like those butt-hugging jeans you have and a cute t-shirt."
"Butt-hugging jeans?" I laughed.
"Yeah, you know the ones I mean, they're my favorite jeans." He winked and smiled my way.
I led the way upstairs and went into my en-suite to run myself a bath. Grey hung his bag on the door and joined me.
"Is there room in the tub for two?" Grey breathed close to my ear, tickling the spot that really made me squirm.
"There might be," I teased.
"What do I have to do to convince you?" he asked as he wrapped his arms around my waist.
"Hmm … Let me think."
I turned in his arms and stood on tiptoe to kiss him lightly. His response was to grip me tighter and deepen the kiss. We stood there for a few minutes, kissing and holding each other before I turned the taps off and started to undress.
I took my clothes off nice and slow so that Grey got a good view of the body he craved so much. His eyes wandered my curves and I saw them come alight as I took my bra and panties off.
As I sat on the edge of the tub with my feet in the water, Grey came behind me and laid a trail of kisses from one shoulder to the other-his kisses were warm where my body was cool in the air of the small room. I felt him lift my hair as he kissed his way up my neck towards my ear-he made his way down the side of my neck and then repeated the motion on the other side.
The sound of his clothes hitting the floor elicited a small smile that he couldn't see. I lowered myself into the tub, luxuriating in the bubbles that smelled of vanilla. I scooted down to make room for Grey and he lowered himself in, placing his legs on either side of me. I lay back against his warm chest and he wrapped his arms around me. We sat like that for a while before the water started to cool down. I ran some more hot water and while I did that, Grey washed my back-he then instructed me to lay back in the water, wetting my hair. As I sat up, he lathered the shampoo in my hair. I smiled to myself that Grey was so thoughtful. When he was finished, I rinsed off the shampoo and he put the conditioner in.
Once I was washed, I stepped out of the tub and allowed Grey the room to wash himself.
I went into my room, walked over my iPod dock, and selected one of my favorite albums, Violator, by Depeche Mode. "World in my Eyes" began to play and I set about getting dried and dressed. I found the jeans Grey had been talking about and teamed them with my favorite retro t-shirt-it has a heart on the front and it says True Love.
As I finished getting dressed, Grey entered the room with a towel draped dangerously low around his waist-I could see a hint of his iliac crest. I know it's perhaps a little odd to have fantasies about that perfect V shape, regardless, I still fantasize. I had caught myself thinking about it at the oddest times-I could be writing an article or bussing tables, whenever the thought strikes me, I just smile and remember the way it feels-I have memorized the rise and fall of it, how it feels to trail my fingers or my lips across it.
Grey coughed and I realized I had been staring too long. I raised my eyes and as I did, we locked stares. He crossed the room in just a few strides and dropped the towel from his waist before grabbing the hem of my t-shirt and lifting it up, pushing my arms up to allow him to take it all the way off. Then he undid my jeans and helped me shimmy out of them. I stood before him in my bra and panties, wondering what exactly he had planned. I didn't have too long to wait as he undid the front clasp of my bra, shrugged my arms out of it and threw it aside. Next, he pulled my panties down and cast them aside too, not caring an ounce where they landed.
I stood naked before this handsome god of a man and yet I felt like I was the one being worshipped. His gaze spread goose bumps on my skin, yet made me feel warm inside at the same time. If he didn't touch me soon, I might just combust.
I saw hunger in his gaze and knew that we'd be very late to this karaoke bar.
His hands were suddenly on me and his lips came crashing down over mine. He edged me back toward the bed and as my knees hit the side, they buckled. He had me completely at his mercy-far be it from me to deprive him of something that brings him so much joy-plus, I'm selfish and revel in the fact he only looks at me and touches me like this, no one else.
Grey knelt down and put my legs over his shoulders, drawing me closer to his warm mouth. His light kisses made a delicious warm pool in my abdomen and my adrenaline spike in anticipation. He slowly nibbled his way down from one knee to my center and then made his way back up toward the other knee-he really knew how to get my heart racing. As he kissed his way back down, I looked up and saw this beautiful man between my legs. What a breath-taking sight. I pulled myself up onto my elbows and watched Grey smile up at me before he kissed a trail down my other leg, then licked my sweet spot. He sucked at my nub and licked me delicately before delving his tongue inside me. I heard a groan in the back of his throat and that ramped the heat in my abdomen up a notch. I put my hands in his hair and played with the damp curls.