Ripper(32)

The room seemed quiet and I was aware that we were alone. It was intimate and not at all scary. “Where did you see me?”

“I spent the night in a hotel in Dallas.” His voice was rich and I got the feeling he enjoyed the story he told. He might be thinking twice about telling it, but it was close to his heart. “I’m from Houston originally, but the job I was interviewing for was here in Dallas. My family had money and I inherited it when I was sixteen, so I kind of waste it as much as I can. I took the bridal suite because it was the only suite left. I always spring for the best. It’s a game in a way. Let’s see how much of my mother’s money I can waste. Anyway, I interviewed and it went great. I spent some time in the bar, but something compelled me to go back to my room alone. The minute I laid down on the bed, I saw you.”

“What was I doing?”

He smiled and it was sweet and carnal. “Me, honey. You were doing me. It was our wedding night and I was so happy. I remember feeling happier and more…complete than I’ve ever felt my whole life. I was with my wife. She was beautiful and difficult and mine. I thought about how hard you were on the outside and what a stunningly giving woman you were on the inside. I saw your entire fucked up, gorgeous soul, and it melded with mine. I tried that whole weekend to see it again, but it was gone after that first night. I didn’t see you again until two years later when I walked into your mother’s house. I told myself I had to wait until the time was right. I told myself not to fuck this up. Of course, I still managed it.”

I felt my whole face go red with emotion and I tried hard to force the tears that threatened back, but he said it with such great longing that I couldn’t argue with him. He believed in this and that made me want to believe, too. Who didn’t want to believe there was one person out there who could complete them? Who didn’t feel lonely enough to want that?

He stood there and looked down at me with such deep desire. It went past anything sexual and I wished I could have seen what he saw that day. His eyes were filled with regret. “Look, I know I screwed everything up so I can be honest with you. I love you. I know that sounds ridiculous and it’s too soon to say anything like that, but you’re the other half of me. You always have been. You always will be. If you need anything, I’ll get it for you. All you have to do is call me.”

He stared at me for another second. In that weird time, I felt like I saw myself through his eyes and it was a revelation. I was fucked up and yet I was still beautiful to him. For one stupid moment, I felt radiant and I couldn’t let it go. I jumped out of my chair and my hand was on his arm. He turned and the minute he saw my face I was in his arms. They caged me and I felt safe and small and feminine in a way I hadn’t up to that point.

I lifted my face and he kissed me.

It was gentle at first, a meshing of lips as he lowered his mouth almost reverently to mine. He had to bend over to press our lips together. The moment our mouths met, something seemed to open up inside me. He gently ate at my lips, his tongue barely a whisper, but I felt it there almost begging entry, and I softened against him. I’d had sex before. My experience wasn’t vast. It wasn’t nonexistent either. My sexual history up to Grayson Sloane consisted of seeking a way out. I indulged in sex for the same reason I drank that last tequila shot I didn’t need. I wanted to get out of myself for a while and not think about anything.

Gray’s kiss didn’t simply take me away. It was so much more than a meeting of lips that led to something else. I was more myself than I had ever been in my life. I didn’t want to be anywhere but right where I was—in his arms.

I let my hands trail up his body, feeling the strength of him. He was all muscle, from his lean waist to a chest that felt like a well-made statue against my hands. Pressing my body against his, I sighed and opened my mouth. His hands tangled in my hair and I had no idea how much time passed as his tongue danced with mine. When he groaned, I felt it deep in my own body, and everything that was female inside me answered him. He pulled me close, his hands dangerously near my ass, and I felt how much I affected him. His erection rocked firmly against me, not trying to hide what he wanted. His cock was hard against my stomach and I went up on my toes, trying to get it where it belonged. It belonged at the center of me. He belonged inside me.

The door to the private room opened and I was pulled roughly from my little slice of nirvana as the waitstaff entered carrying trays of food. Gray let me go, his hands shaking as he steadied me against his chest. He laughed, a nervous sound, and I couldn’t help but lean against him and laugh, too. The waitstaff was professional and pretended like they hadn’t interrupted a serious make-out session. I felt like I was sixteen and my mom had caught me with my boyfriend. It was silly and innocent and I felt younger than I had in years.