Ripper(107)
A quick glance at the clock let me know Gray had been gone for hours.
He leaned down and kissed the bridge of my nose and then feathered kisses all over my face as he talked. “He needed some attention, but everything’s handled.”
Attention? “You had to take him to the hospital.”
I’d put a man in the hospital. I’d held his neck in my hands and squeezed.
“Hey.” Gray stared down at me. “Don’t go there. He tried to kill you. You defended yourself. He’s under guard and he won’t ever hurt you again. How’s your arm?”
“It was a scratch. I’m fine.” I wondered if he would even notice I no longer had any kind of wound.
“I’m glad.” He sighed and let his head sink to my shoulder, nuzzling my neck. “I was so terrified when I realized I wouldn’t get to you in time. He could have killed you. I wanted to strangle the bastard, too.”
“But you didn’t. I did.”
“Hush about that. There’s no reason for you to feel guilty. You did a good job, baby. I’m proud of you. I’m happy that my woman can handle herself. Now look at me and get that guilt out of your eyes. There’s no place for it here.”
Not in our bed. I let it go because I wanted him and I didn’t want to think anymore. Thinking got me in trouble. Being with Gray made me happy. “Yes, Gray.”
The bathroom door was partially open, sending slivers of golden light into the room. I’d learned Gray didn’t make love in the dark. He liked to see what he was doing. “I like the sound of that, sweetheart.” His fingers toyed with my upright nipples. He rolled them back and forth between his thumbs and forefingers. “You’ll go to the courthouse with me tomorrow and sign for our marriage license.”
It wasn’t a question. I was getting used to his bossy ways. I’d learned I could hold my own with him when I needed to, so it was fine to give him his way. “Yes, Gray.”
“We’ll get anything you need from your house and move you in tomorrow night,” he explained. “You can do whatever you want, redecorate, repaint, I don’t care, but you live here. This is your home. Our home. We’re going to be here for a long time.”
“Yes, Gray.” I stretched my arms out. I was ready to move on to the “feeling really good” portion of my evening. I needed him. I needed him more than I wanted to admit. “Now, are you going to tie me up or what?”
Gray went still. “Are you sure you want that, baby? I don’t have to. I love you. I’ll make love to you any way you want.”
“I want you. I want every perverted, kinky inch of you,” I replied with a seductive smile. “Tie me up. Hands and feet. Make me completely vulnerable to you. Anything you want is yours. I love you.” I’d never loved anyone the way I loved Gray. I would have given him my life much less my body.
He smiled as his hands went immediately to the nightstand. He came back with a couple of lengths of rope. “You amaze me.”
“How?” I have to admit, I was ready to hear something good about myself. Something that didn’t include how well I managed to bust a dude’s windpipe.
“You should have worried.” He ran the thin rope over my torso, teasing my skin with it. It was silky against my flesh, and he was already making me squirm. “Damn, baby, we were looking for a killer who was into bondage and had a beef with the Council. I should have been a suspect. You shouldn’t have trusted me.”
He caught my hand in his and started to tie me to the bed. I gripped the cool metal of the headboard. “I love you. You would never lie to me.”
At the time, I didn’t think about how out of character that statement was. I’d never once given it a second thought. What Gray did wasn’t violent. It was consensual and loving and real for me.
Gray went silent and I thought he was processing what I’d said. He lowered his head for a moment and when he looked back at me, all the love he had was in his eyes. “I love you so much. You’re everything I want, everything I need. I would do anything for you, Kelsey mine. Remember that always.”
He was quiet as he finished tying my hands and then moved down. He slid his hand down my body as though I was a canvas and his touch the paint. He kissed my feet before tying them loosely. He explained about something called a spreader bar and how he would buy one and how he couldn’t wait to get started on a playroom that would be only for our exploration.
I was completely open and vulnerable to him and I felt no fear or apprehension. He was my mate. Husband, lover, these were simple, small words to explain what I felt for him. He was…right. It was simple to give myself to him. It was natural.