Washing my body, I felt his hands doing the work for me before rinsing away all the soap and licking a trail from one taut nipple to the other. I could feel the warmth pool in my belly as he teased my nipples, flicking his tongue across one then the other.
My eyes were closed and my breathing labored as I stood underneath the shower, letting it wash away the soap and the memories.
I stepped out of the shower and wrapped a fluffy white towel around me. I wrapped another around my hair and grabbed my phone before making my way back into my bedroom.
At least show him a little of that fabulous cleavage of yours.
I laughed at that message and threw my phone on the bed as I dried myself and decided what to wear.
I ended up doing as Jodie suggested. I put on my ‘butt-hugging' jeans as Grey had called them, then I pulled a top from its hanger. I looked at the top in my hands and decided that its form-fitting, figure-hugging material was just right to show Grey what he was missing but also to look like I hadn't made an effort especially for him.
Noon came and the doorbell rang. I opened it to see a sorrowful Grey look up at me. He took me in from head to toe and gave a small smile of appreciation. His eyes were alight with lust but his face regained its serious composure as he walked in.
"Would you like a cup of coffee?" I asked as I put the coffee maker on for myself.
"That would be great."
I looked back at him as I waited for the water to be ready. He looked like he hadn't slept for a month. His clothes were tidy and his overall appearance gave nothing away-but the look in his eyes told me another story.
"You look … " he trailed off.
"You look tired," I replied as I passed him a mug of coffee.
"I am."
I walked into the lounge and Grey followed me, taking a seat on the sofa next to me.
"So, what did you need to tell me?" I asked quietly as I looked him over.
"It's a long story," he started.
"We have time."
"Okay. I don't know where to start. There's this girl … " he trailed off as he saw the look of hurt in my eyes.
"You've found someone else?" I was unable to hide the raw pain in my voice.
"No!" he exclaimed as he took my hand in his. "She was someone I dated in the past. While we were apart, I dated a couple of women but nothing lasted very long because I could never disguise that I wasn't in love with them."
"Okay. So what about her?"
"Well, she resurfaced after finding me on Facebook."
"Oh."
"She's got a child. He's four years old. She claims he's mine."
Chapter Thirteen
I hadn't seen that coming. Of all the things I had thought over the previous two weeks, a child was one thing that hadn't even entered my mind.
"Is he? Yours, I mean."
"I don't know. Selena claims he is, but I've told her I want a DNA test. I asked her why, if he's four, she hadn't been in contact before now. She said that she hadn't wanted me in his life. She'd found someone else when she was pregnant and he took on a single pregnant woman and when the baby was born, they were a family. She said they were happy and everything was good until Kai got sick. He's got leukemia."
"Oh," was my only response. I couldn't wrap my head around it. Grey had a potential son and he had leukemia. That's an awful lot to process.
"Yeah. Turns out Kai needs a bone marrow transplant. Obviously Selena and her partner were tested as possible matches, as were their families. She said they tested just about everyone they can think of, but then as they had no matches, she had to contact me."
"Oh." Wow, my responses today were useful.
"I'm waiting for the results now."
"The DNA or bone marrow?"
"Both," he said as he finished his coffee and turned to look directly into my eyes.
"I haven't been able to take it all in, Carls. I'm sorry I've held you at a distance. I didn't want to hurt you."
"But Grey, I could have been there for you. You know how much I love you, and no matter what, I'm here. What happens if you're his father and a match for the transplant?"
"If I'm his father, Selena still doesn't want me in his life, so I have to respect her wishes. If I'm a match, they'll take some of my bone marrow and give it to Kai."
"Where are they?"
"Staying at a hotel in town. Selena contacted me on Facebook telling me I was a father. She told me that Kai was sick and therefore they needed to know where I was so I could help out. I was reluctant to tell her where I lived. Not because I wouldn't help out if I was the father, but because I was afraid. Afraid of being a father, afraid of having a sick son, afraid what it would mean for you and me."
"Well, whatever the results and whatever happens, I'm here for you. Remember that, okay? I love you wholly and unconditionally. That means that I'm here to tackle any obstacle with you. I won't walk away from you-you will never lose me. Okay?"
I reached out to him and he curled up in the safety of my embrace.
"I love you, Carls."
They were the last words out of Grey's mouth before I heard a soft snoring.
I held the man I loved while he slept, possibly for the first time in days, if his state was anything to go by. I took the throw blanket from the back of the sofa and wrapped it around him. Adjusting to a slightly more comfortable position, I drifted to sleep with Grey in my arms.
A short while later, I woke with Grey still lying next to me on the sofa. As he slept, I crept into the kitchen to make a pot of coffee. While I was in the kitchen, I looked at what I had in the cupboards to see what I could fix Grey to eat.
As I puttered about quietly fixing up a simple meal of roasted salmon and creamed leeks, I wondered what would happen next. The immediate future was one of uncertainty. The wedding plans would have to be put on hold, but I would do anything to alleviate Grey's worries.
I walked into the living room and put a mug of coffee on the table for Grey. I looked down at him, his face relaxed in sleep-there were no worry lines, he looked like he didn't have a care in the world. I knelt next to the sofa and ran my fingers through his hair, inhaling his scent. There wasn't anything in this world I wouldn't do for this man. Not one thing.
He stirred and I sat down on the floor, waiting for him to wake.
Once he was awake and sat upright, he noticed the coffee and offered a small smile of thanks.
"Take a shower, get into your pajama bottoms and a fresh t-shirt, and dinner will be ready in about twenty minutes."
"Thanks, Carls."
"No problem, it's only something simple."
"I don't mean for cooking. I mean for everything. You're my girl and I should've known I could come to you with this."
I took his hand in mine and looked up into his beautiful chocolate eyes.
"Hush now, let's not talk about that. You've told me now, and what's important is where we go from here."
"You're the most amazing woman in the world. How did I get so lucky?"
I had no answer to that. It was more a question of how I had been lucky enough to end up with him.
"I'll just go and see to the dinner, you go and get showered."
"Thanks. I won't be long. Something smells good."
"It's roasted salmon on a bed of creamed leeks."
The sound of Grey's stomach rumbling was answer enough as he finished his coffee and made his way to the shower.
"I love you, Carls," he said as he reached the foot of the stairs.
"I love you too, Grey."
I went into the kitchen to check on the salmon and cream the leeks.
"That was great, Carls. Thank you. I'll load the dishwasher."
"No, you won't, leave it to me."
"I'm not letting you do everything."
"You'll do as you're told," I said as I placed a chaste kiss on his lips and retrieved his plate from his lap.
Once the dishwasher was loaded, I poured two small glasses of wine and re-entered the living room.
"Thanks, babe," Grey said as he took our wine and placed it on the table next to him.
I snuggled into his side and picked up the TV remote. There wasn't really anything on, but some good food and mindless TV would have to be Grey's salvation tonight. Tomorrow we could go back to the real world and talk about real things.
I found an episode of Grey's Anatomy that I hadn't watched. I had started watching the program purely because Patrick Dempsey was in it but it turned out to be one of my favorite programs. Sometimes it's better to get lost in other people's problems than those we face in reality. You could always count on Grey's Anatomy to have some good old drama-Christina and Owen were going through some particularly emotional stuff right now.
Grey and I watched TV until about 11 and then turned in for the night. We went up to my room and I went to my en-suite to brush my teeth. Grey joined me at the sink and once we had both brushed and flossed, we curled up together under my duvet.