Make You Mine

by Louise, Tia

  Leslie watches us like a hawk.

  A really pissed-off, green-eyed hawk.

  My bestie is at my ear, breaking the moment. “How are you planning to get him alone with your brother hanging on his neck and that female vulture circling?”

  Ruby and I are inseparable. She knows as well as I do Danny would shit twice and die if he knew how far Gray and I went before the guys returned to college last fall… and how many times.

  I’ve held onto those memories like life.

  Even after Gray told me I should date other guys.

  “Your daddy’s right.” He looked at me with tortured blue eyes that contradicted every word he said. “You’re so young. You don’t know what you want.”

  I only kissed him again, crawled onto his lap again, put his hands on me and made us forget my disapproving father, my overprotective brother. Neither of them had been there for me the way Grayson always had.

  “I know what I want…”

  “Andrea Harris?” A nasal voice kills my memory, and Ruby spins to block me.

  “Incoming!” she cries.

  It’s too late.

  A skinny guy our age wearing plaid shorts and a mustard yellow shirt, steps around her to me. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere.”

  “I’m sure you have…” Ruby gives way.

  “Ralph.” I force a smile. Ralph Stern has been hounding me to go out with him all senior year. Too bad he’s a mashup of Sheldon Cooper and Dwight Schrute…

  Not to mention my heart’s been gone a long time.

  “I didn’t see you today when I stopped by the shelter.” Ralph smiles, revealing heavy silver braces on his teeth, bless his heart. “Did you catch a ride with Daniel and Grayson?”

  Ralph’s the only one of our friends who calls us by our regular names like he’s part of the parent group.

  “I left early to take a shower.” I love my job at the animal shelter, but I didn’t want to smell like kitty litter tonight. “Gray came straight from the airport. Danny’s been here since Tuesday.”

  The serenade ends, and party guests immediately mob my brother and his best friend. Gray’s head rises above the crowd. He’s smiling and charming, but every few seconds, his eyes find mine in a sizzling wave of promise.

  He inspects my outfit, stormy eyes passing over my skin leaving heat in their wake. I’m waiting for him to move away, toward the dark hall at the back of the room.

  “Did you hear me?”

  I force my attention to Ralph. “I’m sorry?”

  “Mother said her ladies group is having a special luncheon for Daniel after church on Sunday. I’m supposed to invite you.” Ralph’s brown eyes cast to the side. “She said to bring your dad, but I figured—”

  “Danny leaves Sunday afternoon.” As I say the words, my heart sinks, because Gray will leave with him.

  “It’ll be right after church in the fellowship hall. To say goodbye. She said your grandmother would’ve wanted it.”

  “I’ll mention it to him.” Everyone in St. Stephen does things for the sake of my grandparents, the Oakville Harrises. You’d think we were royalty…

  Except the Harris fortune has been disappearing since I was a child. My dad doesn’t work, he drinks all the time, which means we’re nearly broke. Pretty much all we have now is an old name, this lake house, the old house in town, and a few “priceless” antiques.

  “In other news.” Ralph straightens, tugging on his waistband. “I took a job with pest control, so I’ll be visiting the clinic pretty regularly. Maybe we can go out to lunch sometime.”

  I see Gray drift to the back hall. My stomach is tight, and I clock the amount of time it’ll take me to meet him without drawing unwanted attention.

  “Wait, you remove pests?” Ruby’s loud voice cuts in. “How ironic.”

  “It’s mostly raccoons, but I had two ladies call with snakes in their swimming pools last week.”

  “Metaphorically speaking?” She’s teasing, but I’m too distracted to play along.

  “I don’t understand.” Ralph frowns at her. “They were water moccasins.”

  I give Ruby’s arm a squeeze. “I have to use the restroom.”

  “I’ll be here!” Ralph calls after me.

  “I’ll be at the keg.” Ruby heads to the kitchen.

  I plunge into the crowd of familiar faces, following him like a starving kitten. I smile and say hello to people I’ve known my whole life. It takes forever to pick my way through without seeming suspicious, and thanks to Ralph’s water moccasin story, my mind has gone to the first time I ever saw Grayson Cole.

  It’s not a clear memory, only shadows and feelings…

  I was four years old, standing barefoot on the path leading behind our old neighborhood.

  Brown grasses taller than my head separated it from the wide canal that ran like a river all the way to Lake Mary. A shiny black snake with bright yellow spots had zipped across my feet, its thick body slippery and fast and forever long, and I screamed as loud as I could.

  I screamed and screamed. I stood there screaming until Grayson appeared.

  “What was it? A snake?”

  I nodded rapidly, and he leaned down, inspecting my small feet and legs. He was only eight, but he seemed like a grown-up, so serious making sure I wasn’t hurt.

  The reptile was long gone, and I was just standing there, crying in my yellow-checkered romper, my white-blonde hair in two plaits on each side of my head.

  Gray hesitated only a moment before wrapping his arms around my waist and lifting me off the ground. He carried me up the path, jogging to the opening in the chain-link fence behind the big hydrangea bush at the back of Mr. Halley’s garden.

  I bounced wildly in his arms, and I held onto his skinny shoulders for dear life until I heard my mamma’s panicked cries.

  “Andrea!” Her hysterical voice made me cry more.

  “She’s not hurt, ma’am.” Gray put me on my feet, and I flew into my mother’s arms. “It was just a snake.”

  More panic ensued, and I was carried straight into the house and fussed at for leaving the yard, wandering off by myself. Everyone forgot my savior.

  Everyone but me…

  Eight years passed before he saved me again.

  Ovarian cancer stole my mother’s life, and I’d sneaked out of her funeral, hoping I could outrun the pain.

  I ran and ran until I dropped to my hands and knees on that same dirt path. Grass stains ruined my fancy church dress, and I dug my nails into the damp earth, letting out another scream.

  This time my screams were the pain of loss. My ribs cinched like a vise over my lungs. My body doubled with the pressure of my sobs, and I held onto that ground for dear life, convinced I’d never stop screaming, until a warm body appeared beside me.

  Those same arms wrapped around me, and he held me on his lap, rocking me, rubbing my back, and saying quiet words of comfort. I don’t remember what he said. I only remember holding on to him for dear life as grief ripped me apart.

  Stormy eyes reflected my anguish back at me. Gray had come to our town to live with his uncle after his mother died. He knew my pain.

  We didn’t say much afterward. He went back to being Danny’s best friend, and I went back to being Danny’s little sister. Occasionally I’d catch his eyes on me, which meant my eyes were on him, but it wasn’t until last summer our relationship changed in a major way.

  Danny and Gray were home from college, and we were all here at the lake house, hanging out. Ruby and I walked down to the pier where the boys were splashing and dunking each other in the brown water.

  I took off my white cover-up to reveal a matching string bikini. My body had changed a lot in five years.

  When I met Gray’s eyes, they weren’t frightened or sad. They were fire and lust, and every part of me lit up in response. He swam away from the guys to where we were sitting, and when he pushed out of the water, I learned a new kind of hunger.

  The skinny shoulders from hi
s past were now broad and strong. Lines cut across his torso, and his stomach rippled where his muscles flexed. His gaze was possessive, and my body answered with feelings I’d never had before.

  When I was younger, he’d saved me from dangers I understood.

  This was new and intoxicating.

  It drew me to him like the ocean to the moon.

  We kissed for the first time that night. We shared all my firsts that summer, and when he tried to slow us down, I learned my power over him.

  Gray might have told me I was too young to decide, but I’ve been his since the day he carried me out of that brush…

  The game room is cooler than the crowded upstairs. It’s dim, and the only light is from the neon-blue Pabst Blue Ribbon sign over the pool table and the lamp post outside on the pier.

  He sits on a barstool, reclining with his elbows on the leather edge. A casual grin is on his lips, but his steel-blue eyes are so intense, so heated as I walk through the door. “Hey, Drew-poo. How’s high school?”

  His manner, using my brother’s silly nickname, it should put me at ease, but his eyes contradict all of it.

  “I hate that nickname.” I try to be sassy, but my voice comes out soft and high. “Anyway, I graduated.”

  “That’s right.” He sits up and smiles, but no dimple appears. “You’re headed to State with Ruby.”

  “How did you know?” I walk slowly toward him.

  He shrugs. “Word gets around.”

  My fingers play with the hem of my skirt. “How’s your uncle?”

  “Same as always. Ornery. Complaining that he’s tired all the time. Wanting to know when I’m coming back to work.”

  “But you got your degree.” I don’t want to disparage his uncle, at the same time...

  “Yeah.” He looks down, inspecting his palm. “Guess I’m too smart to be a mechanic now.”

  “I just meant you’re good at so many things.” Like saving me, comforting me, touching me, kissing me…

  He straightens on the stool, sliding his palms down the tops of his thighs. “Got any new freckles for me?” The teasing is back, but the hurricane is still brewing in his eyes.

  “I didn’t think you cared.”

  “Why would you think that?”

  “You didn’t come to the house.”

  “Danny said to meet him here.” His eyes flicker to my fingers, toying with my skirt, up my arm to my bare shoulders. My nipples tighten, tingling for his mouth. Last summer he would kiss them, suck on them. I would come so fast. “I figured you’d be busy.”

  “I’m not busy.” I take another hesitant step forward.

  “As pretty as you are?” Another fake smile. “You’re not dating somebody?”

  “I never wanted to date anybody.” But you…

  “Well, college is different. You’ll have more options.”

  Did he have options? The thought makes my head hurt.

  As pathetic as I sound, I can’t help asking. “How many options did you have in college?”

  Whatever the answer, I will not cry. Oh, God, don’t let me cry…

  He shifts on the stool again. “I was more… focused on my classes.”

  Nodding, I close the distance between us. “Danny said you graduated cum laude. So you didn’t date?”

  He shrugs. “Dating costs money.”

  He’s not looking at me now. Where did Mr. Cocky go?

  “Were you lonely?” Did you miss me as much as I missed you?

  His hands tighten on the tops of his thighs. Strong hands. Strong arms. Broad shoulders and full lips. Dark hair that touches the top of his collar. I know how soft his hair is. I know how it feels to fall asleep in his arms.

  I know so much I can’t let go.

  “Maybe.” His blue eyes are focused.

  Gray can be so focused.

  The space between my thighs is hot and slippery. I can’t wait any longer. I reach out and put my purse on the bar beside him. Then I place my hand on his.

  He flinches as if shocked by the electricity humming through my skin. He turns his hand over and our fingers thread, pulling me closer, between his knees.

  I step all the way into his chest, and my eyes close at the scent of warm cedar, fresh soap, leather, and Gray.

  His voice is thick and rough when he speaks again. “I told you to find somebody closer to your age.”

  “No, thank you.” I move my hands to his waist, slipping my fingers under his tee so I can touch his hot skin.

  His breath quickens, and I’m buzzing with the heat surging between us. Lifting my chin, I place my lips against his muscled neck. The ice is melting. He’s coming home to me, and when he speaks, it’s a husky whisper.

  “You need to find someone who deserves you, Drew-baby.”

  My chest squeezes. That’s the nickname I love.

  “I found him.”

  Gray has been my hero since I was four. Now he’s going away so everyone else will see him as a hero. I just want him to stay here and be my man.

  Large hands trace my waist, sliding along my hips. I lean back so our eyes can meet. “Kiss me, Gray.”

  Blinking slowly, I’m drunk on his presence, on being exactly where I’ve dreamed of being all those nights. The muscle in his jaw moves, and the struggle in his eyes is clear.

  But I know something else. He won’t tell me no.

  Leaning into his chest, I ask one last time. “Kiss me.”

  And my wish is granted…

  Chapter 2

  Gray

  Kissing Drew Harris is like surfacing into warm sunshine, drawing a long breath after a deep dive. Her lips are so soft, and when my tongue finds hers, she tastes cool and sweet. Peppermint candy.

  I hold her body against me, and she smells like heaven. She feels like forever.

  All the shit disappears when I hold Drew. My body relaxes, the tension leaves my muscles…

  I kiss her again, and she exhales a little noise of pleasure. It registers straight to my cock. Our lips chase each other’s. Our tongues slip and slide together, hungry, eager, reunited at last.

  I taught her to kiss this way. I taught her how to open to me. I taught her, but she also taught me. She took my hands and showed me how to touch her body. I was following her lead when she came alive the first time, full of wonder and surprise.

  I learned every inch of her, every place that made her moan.

  The idea of her doing what I said, of some other guy touching her, sparks a dark possessiveness in me I don’t want her to see. It would scare her if she knew what was in my heart for her.

  Her soft lips move to my cheek and she melts into my chest. The tips of her nipples brush my skin through the thin fabric of our clothes. She’s so fucking sexy. She’s so fucking beautiful and sweet.

  “I missed you,” she whispers. “I missed how gentle you can be. I missed how rough you can be.”

  My stomach tightens, and I want to bend her over the pool table and take her hard while she screams for more. Her blue eyes are hot when they meet mine, and I place my palms on the sides of her head, smoothing her pretty blonde hair away.

  The moment I saw her downstairs, the crowd disappeared. Everything faded away but her, only her. I don’t know when or why my brain decided she was mine, but I’ve never been able to escape it—not that I want to.

  “I dreamed about you every night.” My confession makes her smile.

  It’s the truth. It’s the only truth I know—if she’s in danger, I’ll carry her out. If she’s crying, I hold her until she stops. If she wants me… I can’t tell her no.

  It’s been that way since she was just a cute little kid. It’s been this way since last summer when everything changed. I tried to fight it. She was only seventeen. I was almost twenty-one… Her daddy would’ve shot me dead and buried my body.

  I tried to date… One time. It was a fucking disaster. I could only see her, taste her, want her. Only Drew gets me this way.

  At night, I’d lie in bed and reme
mber the first time we were together. Two triangles of white fabric covered her small breasts. I could see the curves at the bottoms and sides. They were perfect handfuls, high and pointed.

  She looked at me as if she knew what she was doing to me in that white bikini. I’m sure I looked like an awestruck fool.

  Then she blinked and tucked her chin into her shoulder, taunting me. Her hair swished down her back, ending at her slim waist. Her flat stomach led to round hips, long, silky legs. Her toenails were painted bright white, and I wanted to put them in my mouth. I’ve never wanted to do that.

  I’ve never wanted to devour someone before.

  My dick was so hard.

  “I dreamed of you touching me.” Her voice drips with desire, and just like that, I have a steel rod in my pants. “Will you touch me now?”

  “Drew…” I should tell her no.

  Being here with her is dangerous.

  If Danny found out… He’d say what I know. I’m too old for her. She’s too young. I should give her a chance to grow up. On top of that, I have nothing, no name, no status. I’m an orphan raised by a nobody.

  I’m working to change it, but I haven’t yet.

  She takes my hand and places it on the top of her thigh, at the hem of her red dress. “Touch me here,” she whispers, leaning into my ear.

  She owns me in this moment, and she knows it.

  She knows holding her is the greatest feeling in the world. It’s like coming home.

  Her hand guides mine higher, sliding up the smooth skin of her leg. I feel her body tremble, and when my fingers touch the soft folds of her sex, I almost come in my pants. She’s not wearing underwear.

  “Drew.” My voice is a hungry noise, the growl of a starving man.

  “Yes,” she sighs. “Touch me, Gray.”

  Her nails cut into my shoulders as I trace my fingers along the damp slit, teasing the tiny strip of curls, dipping the tip of one finger into her tight, clenching core. One more, and she moans. She’s so wet. I want to taste her.

  “Gray…” Her hands go to my waist, pulling at the button on my jeans. She has my pants undone, and my erection is pointing right at her.