Every Little Thing: Butler, Vermont Series, Book 1

by Marie Force

  “So the next time I do that, teeth would be okay?”

  “Ahh…”

  She laughed. “Didn’t think so.”

  He cupped her breast and rolled her nipple between his fingers, watching with fascination as it hardened. Moving so he was between her legs, he bent to take that hard tip into his mouth.

  Her fingers in his hair kept him anchored to her chest.

  “You are so sweet and so soft and so sexy,” he said as he kissed a path to her belly. “I’m completely addicted to you.” With his hands on her thighs, he pushed her legs apart and dipped his tongue into her heat.

  She moaned and raised her hips in encouragement.

  Grasping her bottom with both hands, he feasted on her, sucking her clit into his mouth and drawing a screaming orgasm from her. He pressed two fingers into her to ride the waves of her release and triggered a second wave when he pushed a wet finger into her anus. He kept his finger buried deep inside her as he drove his cock into her, filling her from both sides as one orgasm rolled into another. He loved the sounds she made, the gasps, the moans and the way she gave him everything she had every time they made love. Her every thought and emotion was on full display. With his Emma, there was no artifice, only truth.

  He rocked into her from the front and the back, and when he dropped his head to suck on her nipple, she exploded all over again, her muscles clamping down so hard on his cock and finger that he came, too, rocking into her again and again, lost in the purest bliss he’d ever experienced.

  She clung to him, their bodies damp with sweat, both of them breathing hard.

  He needed to withdraw from her, to get up, to clean up, but he couldn’t seem to get the message from his brain to muscles gone lax with satisfaction.

  Emma held him close and ran her fingers through his hair, even as her body continued to throb.

  Gray couldn’t believe it when he felt himself begin to harden again inside her.

  She groaned when she felt it, too. “You’re going to be the death of me.”

  Chuckling, he withdrew from her slowly, going for maximum effect and loving the way she quivered from the aftershocks. He placed a kiss on her soft belly. “Don’t move. I’ll be right back.”

  “I couldn’t move if I had to.”

  He went into the bathroom, washed up and brought a warm washcloth back to bed for her. When she would’ve taken it from him, he said, “Let me.” He eased her legs apart and pressed the warm cloth to her sensitive flesh, loving the flush that overtook her body when he touched her so intimately.

  “I had all these plans for tonight,” he said. “We were going to get dressed up and dance and have dinner, and then I was going to sweet-talk you into bed.”

  “You started with the sweet talk, and look at where we ended up.”

  “I can’t help it if I’m powerless to resist you.”

  “Likewise.”

  “Simone told me to order shrimp pad Thai from the place down the block if I wanted to make you happy.”

  “My daughter knows me very well.”

  “It’ll be here in about twenty minutes.”

  “Mmm, perfect. Best New Year’s Eve ever.”

  “Is it? You wouldn’t rather be dressed up and out dancing somewhere?”

  “There’s nowhere I’d rather be than right here with you.”

  “Me, too, honey.”

  * * *

  After getting up to eat the dinner he’d ordered, they spent the rest of the night in her bed, where they watched the revelry in Time’s Square on television. As the clock ticked toward midnight, Gray rolled her under him and was deep inside her as one year rolled into the next.

  “I want to begin every year for the rest of my life just like this,” she said.

  “Yes,” he whispered. “Let’s do it.”

  Emma ran her hands over his back and down to grip his muscular ass as he pumped into her.

  They were awake all night. At three o’clock, he introduced her to the finer delights of shower sex, and at five thirty, he took her from behind. This was utter insanity, she thought, as the sun began to peek through the blinds. Curled up to him, she hoped her dad would take Simone to brunch the way he often did when she spent Saturday nights with him.

  That was the last thought she had before a ringing phone in the other room woke her hours later.

  “That’s me,” Grayson said, disentangling from her to answer it.

  Facedown in bed, Emma was on her way back to sleep when she tuned in to the tense tone of his voice.

  “Are you sure?” After a long pause, he said, “Well, yes, I guess I can do that. Wednesday at ten. I’ll be there.”

  Emma waited for him to come back to bed, but when he didn’t, she got up to check on him. She put on a robe and tied it around her waist. “Gray? Is everything okay?”

  When he looked up at her, she could see that he was upset.

  She sat next to him on the sofa. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

  “I’m a match for my dad. An almost perfect match, the doctor said.”

  She took his hand and held it between both of hers. “They called you on a holiday to tell you that?”

  Nodding, he said, “Apparently, his situation is somewhat precarious. They want to do it right away, and they need to harvest the actual marrow, which is a surgical procedure.”

  “What does that entail? How long does it take to recover?”

  “They’re going to talk to me about the details on Wednesday. This means I have to go back to Vermont Tuesday night.”

  “Of course. You have to do this.”

  “I want to be here with you.”

  “I’m not going anywhere. I’ll be right here waiting for you to come back to me.” As she spoke the words, though, she wondered if there might be a way for her to be there for him when he had the surgery. Her dad could stay with Simone for a couple of days, and Emma had personal time she could take. She hoarded her time off so she could attend functions at Simone’s school and take her to doctors’ appointments, but she’d gladly make the sacrifice for Grayson.

  He put his arm around her and leaned into her. “Let’s go back to bed for a while.”

  She went with him, but Emma couldn’t sleep. She looked over to find him staring up at the ceiling, too. “What’re you thinking?”

  “I’m pondering the humor of it all.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “My father left our family twenty years ago, forcing me to step up for my mother and siblings, and now he’s asking me to step up again. History is repeating itself.”

  “And you find that funny?”

  “I find it ridiculous. If I don’t laugh, I might scream.”

  She reached for him and drew him into her embrace. “Don’t scream. Hold on to me.”

  He put his arm around her and rested his head on her chest.

  “You’ll do what you need to do to be able to live with yourself,” she said, running her fingers through his hair. She didn’t mention that she was going to try to be there until she knew for certain that she could make it happen. “And then you’ll come back to me knowing you’re a far better man than your father will ever be.”

  “Keep telling me that, will you?”

  “Any time you need to hear it.”

  * * *

  Chapter 28

  The best thing to hold onto in life is each other.

  —Audrey Hepburn

  Grayson flew home to Vermont Tuesday night and called Emma as he drove from the airport in Burlington to his aunt and uncle’s home by the lake, where he’d spend the night. In the morning, he would meet with doctors at the University of Vermont Cancer Center to see about getting it done so he could get back to Emma as soon as possible. He missed her like he hadn’t seen her in a year rather than a couple of hours.

  “How was the flight?” she asked.

  “Bumpy the whole way. I hope that isn’t a metaphor.”

  “I read through the info they sent you about the bon
e marrow harvest.”

  “And?”

  “It sounds awful.”

  “They say it doesn’t hurt at all until afterward. I’ll be out cold. I won’t feel a thing.”

  “Have you talked to your siblings?”

  “Just by text. They’re being supportive, even if I’m sure some of them don’t think I ought to have to go through this to save him. They’d never say so now that it’s happening.”

  “It’s the right thing to do. You’re not capable of letting someone die, even someone who’s hurt you the way he has, if there’s something you can do about it.”

  “I wish I was more of an asshole,” he said with a sigh. “That would be easier.”

  “I love you just the way you are.”

  “I miss you like crazy, and I just left you a little while ago.”

  “I miss you, too, and so does Simone. She was out of sorts tonight after you left—or maybe I was and she picked up on it.”

  “A few days, and I’ll be back. I’ve got some work to get done while I’m up here, so I’ll be all yours when I get back.”

  “All mine. I love the sound of that.”

  “Me, too. Thanks for the best weekend.” They’d had dinner at Ray’s on Sunday and spent the last day of Simone’s winter break playing tourist in the city. In addition to visiting the top of the Empire State Building, they’d watched the ice skaters at Rockefeller Plaza and went to see the movie Sing, which Simone had loved.

  “It was the best weekend ever.”

  “Yes, it was.” It’d been nice to feel like a family for a few days, and he was counting the minutes until he could be with them again.

  “Are you going to be able to sleep tonight?”

  “I hope so. I need to catch up on my sleep while I can. My girlfriend has been messing with my sleep lately.”

  “Right,” she said, laughing. “It’s all my fault.”

  “You can’t keep your hands off me.”

  “I admit it.”

  “I seem to have the same problem where you’re concerned.”

  “That’s one problem we don’t need to solve.”

  Laughing at her witty reply, Grayson pulled into the driveway at the lake house and cut the engine. “I’m at the house. Talk to you in the morning?”

  “Call me after the appointment.”

  “You’ll be at work.”

  “I’ll be waiting for your call.”

  “I’ll call you as soon as I can.”

  “Try to get some sleep.”

  “You, too. I love you, Emma.”

  “I love you, too.”

  He ended the call with her and sat in the darkness, staring at the vastness of Lake Champlain, feeling more unsettled than he had in a long time at the prospect of having to do this huge thing for his father. His phone rang, and he saw his mother’s number on the caller ID. He hadn’t talked to her since finding out he was a match.

  “Hi, Mom.”

  “Grayson… Are you still in the city?”

  “No, I’m in Burlington. I flew home tonight.”

  “You’re not really going to do this, are you?”

  “Yes,” he said with a sigh, “I really am, and I don’t want to fight about it.”

  “I’m so sorry he’s put you in this position.”

  “He’s sick, Mom. He didn’t set out to corner me into doing something for him. It’s a medical procedure. I’ll do it and be done with it. I’ll hope it works and that he regains his health. That’ll be the end of it for me.”

  “Do you have to see him?”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “I really hope not.”

  “Look, Mom, I know you’re understandably wound up about this, but I don’t want you to worry. It’s a two-hour procedure for me, and that’s that. I’ll go on with my life without having to feel guilty that I let someone die when I could’ve done something about it.”

  “I’ve been reading about it, and you’ll need to take it easy for a week afterward. You should come home. I’ll look after you.”

  “Thanks, but I’m going back to New York as soon as I can.”

  After a long pause, she said, “Okay, then.”

  “I’ll let you know what’s going on after the meeting tomorrow.”

  “I’ll speak to you then. Grayson…”

  “Yeah?”

  “You’re a good man, a better man than he’ll ever be. Even though I wish you didn’t have to do this, I admire you for being willing.”

  “Thanks, Mom. Love you.”

  “Love you, too. Sleep well.”

  After ending the call, Grayson got out of the car and retrieved his suitcase from the trunk. At the front door, he punched in his aunt and uncle’s anniversary and gained admission to the house. He’d talked to his uncle earlier, and Linc had told him to make himself at home at the lake house for however long he needed to be in Burlington.

  Grayson empathized with his mom in this situation. In her shoes, he’d feel the same way about a child of his doing something to save the life of the parent who’d abandoned him. She had every good reason to be upset, but that wouldn’t stop him from doing the right thing and then getting back to Emma as soon as he could.

  * * *

  Emma flew to Burlington on Friday morning. She’d timed her arrival to coincide with Grayson’s procedure so she could be there when it was over. He’d called her early that morning, and she could tell he was nervous, even if he tried to hide that from her by repeatedly telling her it was no big deal and she shouldn’t worry about him.

  Her dad had been happy to stay with Simone for the weekend, and they had a list of plans that would keep them busy. Over the last year, Ray had been sharing his love of cooking with Simone, teaching her the basics and gradually introducing new concepts. In his retirement, he’d taken some cooking classes, and Simone loved spending time with him in the kitchen.

  This weekend, they were planning to make pasta from scratch, and they were trying out the new bread maker Emma and Simone had gotten him for Christmas. The two of them shared a very special bond, and it was one that Emma couldn’t and wouldn’t break by moving her daughter away from her dad. She owed Linc Abbott a phone call and would take care of that after she got Grayson through today’s procedure.

  The ninety-minute flight seemed to take forever, and by the time the wheels touched down in Burlington, Emma was more than ready to get off the plane. She grabbed a cab and arrived at the University of Vermont Cancer Center just after ten. If he’d gone in at eight as planned, he ought to be in recovery soon.

  Upon entering the surgical waiting room, she stopped short at the sight of Hannah Coleman, who looked up from her magazine, seeming equally surprised to see Emma. Dragging her suitcase behind her, Emma took the seat next to Hannah’s. “Have you heard anything?”

  “Not yet. Any time now.” After a long pause, Hannah said, “It’s good of you to come.”

  “I love him,” Emma said without taking even a second to contemplate whether she should say that to his mother. It was the truth. Why not say so?

  “He’s one of the best men I know.”

  “I agree. What he’s doing today is further proof of that.”

  “I… I’m sorry if I’ve given you the impression that I don’t like you. That’s not true. I have… at times… projected my past experiences on to people who don’t deserve it.”

  “I understand completely. I’ve done the same at times by suspecting that all men are like the bad one I had the misfortune of knowing when I was younger. Gray is the first man I’ve dated since my daughter’s father.” Emma watched as her meaning registered with Hannah.

  “We have more in common than I thought,” Hannah said.

  “Yes, we do, including our love for Grayson. Like you, I want the best for him, and if we can figure out the logistics, I want to try to make him happy.”

  “You do make him happy. I’ve never seen him so gone over any woman the way he is with you.”

  Emma smile
d at her. “The feeling is entirely mutual.”

  “That’s good,” Hannah said with a sigh. “He certainly deserves to be happy after everything he’s done for others from the time he was far too young for the responsibility that was put on him.”

  “On that we agree.”

  A short time later, a nurse came into the waiting room. “Family of Grayson Coleman?”

  Hannah jumped up, but Emma hung back, intending to take her cues from Hannah.

  “Are you coming?” Hannah asked, waiting for Emma before she followed the nurse.

  “Yes,” Emma said, elated to have had this unexpected chance to talk to Gray’s mother and to clear the air with her. “I’m coming.”

  * * *

  Grayson came awake in a brightly lit room, and for a minute, he couldn’t figure out where he was. At the sight of a nurse looking down at him, the story came flooding back to him. His father. Bone marrow. Surgery.

  “How’re you feeling?” the nurse asked.

  “Fine.” That much was true, and they’d told him to expect to feel fine until the pain block wore off. Then he would be achy and sore and probably fatigued for a few days before he bounced back. No biggie, he’d thought then, and now he was glad it was over. He was eager to get back to New York, to be with Emma and Simone and to figure out a way to be with them all the time. “It went well?”

  “The doctor said it was textbook. He’ll be in to talk to you shortly. You have some visitors. You feel up to seeing them?”

  “Yeah, sure.” His mom had told him she’d be coming. Izzy or Noah must’ve come with her.

  “I’ll go get them.”

  Grayson thought his eyes were deceiving him when his mom walked in with Emma. “Where’d you come from?” He held out the hand that wasn’t tethered to IVs and monitors.

  She took his hand and bent over the bed to kiss him. “All the way from New York.”

  “You’ve been keeping secrets from me.”

  “Only the good kind.”

  He was so damned happy to see her.

  “How’re you feeling?” his mom asked, her face pinched with concern.