Mistaken Identities

by Lockwood, Tressie

  “Roman…”

  He grabbed her shoulders and dragged her to him before she could respond. In seconds, his lips crushed hers, forcing them apart, and when the tip of his tongue met hers, the only reaction that rose inside was revulsion. Tonya shoved out of his hold and smacked him as hard as she could. She turned to storm out and froze in place. Both Abby and Letreece stood just inside the kitchen doorway staring at them. If Tonya had eaten anything all day, it would have come shooting up with the way her stomach churned. Hurt and betrayal lit Abby’s eyes, and rage fired Letreece’s.

  The ability to move returned, and she rushed past all of them and kept going straight out the front door. Common sense said go back and get her purse, but her feet never faltered. She needed as much distance between herself and all of them. Tears welled in her eyes and spilled down her cheeks. She swiped at them because it was hard enough seeing in the dark with so few streetlights in this suburb neighborhood. Oh, who cares anyway? I’m sick of all the lies and deception!

  “Tonya!”

  At the sound of Grayson’s voice, she clenched her hands into fists and picked up her pace. She considered running, but that was ridiculous. Besides, she couldn’t outrun him with his long legs. She didn’t look back, hoping he’d lose interest, but his hand dropped on her shoulder, wrenching a cry from her. He jerked her around to face him, but she shook free of his hold.

  “What do you want, Grayson?”

  He frowned at her. She couldn’t tell in the dim lighting if he was pissed or confused. “You’re crying—”

  “It was a mistake coming back here.”

  “So you’re going without saying anything?”

  She poked him in the chest. “You want me to say something? Here it is, so listen good! Yes, I went with Nola for her to get that abortion, and you want to know why I went? Because that bitch told me the baby wasn’t yours.”

  She almost stopped speaking when his eyes registered hurt and shock, but she forged ahead.

  “She said she made a mistake and if she had the baby, it might cost her the relationship with you. I thought she sounded sorry. She was crying and begging me. I wasn’t sure if she was telling the truth, but I genuinely thought you loved her, and I didn’t want to mess up the good thing you had. I guess I was naïve because I messed it up anyway.

  “In case you’re also wondering, and because I’m confessing all, Roman tried to kiss me just now. I slapped him. His wife saw, and so did Letreece. You can ask Abby if I slapped Roman. I realized seven years ago he wasn’t the man for me, and I’m damn sure not going back!”

  He stood immobile, so still he could have been a statue. She spun on the ball of her foot and started to walk away, but then stopped to look back at him. “Oh yeah, one more thing. I saw him outside Letreece’s house. He said he’d never been there, but he was tempted, and that was his first time about to go in. I told him not to do it. Cheating isn’t worth losing the one you love. I know firsthand, right? Since I did it?” She headed back toward the house to get her purse, shaking from head to toe.

  “No…you didn’t.”

  She stopped. Her throat constricted, but she forced herself to face him. “What?”

  He closed the space between them, and even in the limited lighting, she saw the emotion in his gaze, a tenderness directed at her. He raised his hands as if he would touch her, but he hesitated. “I honestly believed I saw you, Tonya. But…it wasn’t you. You weren’t the one.”

  Tonya broke down, and she couldn’t stop. The tears fell until she hiccupped, and Grayson crushed her in his embrace, stroking her back and whispering soothing words. His gentle care made it worse. He believed her. After all this time and after so much pain and loneliness, he believed her. There were times she wondered if she could make it with no one in her corner, times when she doubted her sanity. Hell, on one dark night, she thought she had cheated, which was crazy. She should keep hating Grayson, but the honest truth was, she didn’t want to. He said what she’d known deep down all along. After time passed and the pain and anger had eased, she remembered the devastation in his eyes that night, how pale he’d been. Grayson telling Roman what he thought he’d seen had cost him, and it couldn’t have been an easy decision to make.

  Then again, maybe she was making it too easy for him, falling into bed and now accepting what he said.

  Grayson tangled fingers in her hair and encouraged her to look up at him. He brushed wetness from her cheeks, and at last the tears subsided. When he kissed her lips, in an instant, he swept away Roman’s unwelcome touch. “I came out to tell you Aunt Linn is finally resting more comfortably. She seems to be over the hump.”

  She breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank God.”

  “Come with me to my house.”

  He tightened his hold when she tried to pull away, and she curled her fingers on his arms, wanting to keep touching him but trying her best to do the right thing. Not that she knew what the right thing was at this point. “Shouldn’t you talk to Roman?”

  “For once, Roman has to take care of himself.” He grinned. “Besides, if I go back, I might break his nose for kissing you.”

  “Oh.” A warm rush of feeling washed over her, and she ducked her head. “Okay, let’s go. I have to get my purse.”

  “Quickly,” he warned.

  They hurried to the house, and after she retrieved her purse, Tonya checked for herself that Aunt Linn rested easy. Letreece was nowhere in sight, and she heard low voices coming from one of the bedrooms and assumed it was Roman and Abby. She hoped they could work things out for Lukas’ sake, but she had no wish to run into either of them. Back outside, Grayson held the car door for her, and she stepped into his Porsche to spend the night with him.

  * * * *

  Tonya kicked off her shoes while she sat on Grayson’s couch. The beautiful place still looked the same, so masculine yet tasteful, and it reflected the man himself. In fact, breathing in, she inhaled his scent and let out a little moan.

  “If you do that, I will forget the food and eat you.”

  She squeaked and sat forward. “You scared me. I thought you went to get plates.”

  He sat beside her and drew her onto his lap. She didn’t resist. He pointed behind her to the coffee table, and she looked over to see that he’d set the dishes down.

  “You were too busy having an orgasm on my couch.”

  She rolled her eyes and slapped his chest. “I was not having an orgasm.”

  “Not yet.”

  When he smiled, her heart skipped a beat. She cleared her throat and looked away from his gaze. Falling for him wasn’t in her plan, but she’d have to be stupid not to see it happening. So much lay between them despite her confession.

  “Gray.”

  “Yes?” His hand smoothed over her hip, and she laid one on top of his to still it.

  “You didn’t say anything about what I told you. I know I hurt you.”

  “And I hurt you.”

  She met his gaze. “But yours was a mistake.”

  “You meant to hurt me?”

  “Of course not, but—”

  He touched a finger to her lips. She longed to lie on his chest and forget she started this conversation.

  “I can’t pretend it doesn’t hurt me, Tonya. To have a son or daughter, it’s crazy, but it’s what I’ve dreamed of. You know my family wasn’t very close. My parents are distant, and they’ve always been that way. The warmest relationship I’ve had in the form of a parent figure was from Aunt Linn. I guess I always wanted to prove that I could be different with my own child. At least I hoped I could.”

  “You don’t have to wonder. Just look at how you are with Lukas. You’d make a great dad.”

  He smiled, and joy lit his gaze, but as quickly as it appeared, it dimmed. “Nola didn’t tell me the baby wasn’t mine. For all I knew, she’d destroyed my baby. It killed me. There was no way I would stay with her after that. The insane part of it is that I would have forgiven her for cheating.”

&nb
sp; Tonya stared. “But me…”

  “I’m not perfect, Tonya. Please don’t think for a minute I was completely unselfish when I told Roman what I thought was true. I wrestled over it, but a part of me was glad that it happened. I wanted you for myself from the first day I met you.”

  “I never knew that.”

  “I would never have crossed the line, and I resigned myself to be able to see you from day to day, to talk to you, maybe an occasional hug.”

  She smirked. “Perv.”

  He winked. “Then that happened. I didn’t want to ruin what you had, but I was also disappointed, angry, happy, a number of emotions. I don’t know what was right for me to do. Maybe I should have talked to you before going to Roman. Maybe everything wouldn’t have gone south the way it did.”

  She shook her head. “No, no matter what your motivations were, it was good that it happened. We both know Roman, and he’s always been insecure. We understand the reasons, but it doesn’t change the fact that he couldn’t trust me. He probably wouldn’t have learned to over time. I loved him, but the fact is, he wasn’t a strong man.”

  Grayson went still, and she recognized the old coldness in his gaze. She knew now it was a protective mechanism he had. “Do you still love him?”

  “No. I told you. I feel nothing for him.” She thought about it. “Well, when he kissed me…”

  “What?” A nerve twitched in Grayson’s jaw. Her belly fluttered, and she ran fingertips over the spot. Grayson of all men, she never would have guessed. He behaved as if he were crazy about her, but crazy wasn’t what she wanted anymore. That led to unbearable pain. She didn’t want to torment him or herself and resisted the longing that rose inside for this man.

  “It grossed me out.”

  He chuckled and made a tsk sound. “Can’t have that. I’ll have to see what I can do to erase the feel of his lips.”

  “Gray?”

  He nuzzled her neck, and an arrow of need shot between her legs. She shut her eyes and tilted her head. “I want you, but…” Pushing him back and coming to her senses took effort. “I’m going back to Los Angeles no matter what.”

  He stayed silent a long time. Not a flash of hurt or even the coldness came over his expression this time, yet her words had to have impacted him. She needed him to understand.

  “I can’t pretend I’m all grown up into this being that’s not affected by the past or that somehow I’m superior to Roman. What happened between us did mess up my head as much as it did my heart. I don’t want to fall in love, and even if I do, I refuse to give into it. Not like before. I won’t. Roman had everything in his hands, my heart, my life. He even paid my bills.”

  “Damn it, I’m sorry, Tonya. It’s my fault.”

  “No. It’s over,” she corrected. “And what’s done is done. All of us are who we are whether we like it or not.” She stood up and held her hand out to him. Confusion colored his handsome face, but he took it and rose. She laced her fingers between his. “I will have sex with you tonight, or rather, we’ll make love because…”

  He squeezed her fingers.

  She looked at the floor and then up at him. “Because I love you. And when it’s time, I’m going to leave and return to my life. I’m telling you now so you know. If you’re not okay with that, please take me to my hotel.”

  “You drive a very hard bargain.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “May I state my case?”

  She shivered. “Okay.”

  “I love you.”

  Her knees quivered. “And?”

  “That’s it.” He released her hand and grabbed her around the waist. The floor swept away, and she moved on instinct to wrap her legs around him. He marched the two of them from the living room to the hall and up the stairs to his bedroom. When he laid her on the bed, her heart’s erratic beat frightened her. Moonlight lit the room, and Grayson’s eyes glittered with danger and a promise.

  He leaned back and unbuckled the strap at her ankle then tossed the shoe away. The other shoe followed before he started on her skirt. The material hit the floor, and he smoothed fingers over her mound through her panties. She sucked in a breath and shut her eyes, but Grayson’s voice made her open them again.

  “Roman didn’t fight for you, but I guarantee you, Tonya, I will not lose you. I will go to the ends of the earth to make you mine.”

  Her mouth fell open, and she widened her eyes. “Gray—”

  “Shh. You said you would make love with me tonight, and that’s all I’m asking right now.” The ripping sound her panties made had her crying out, a thrill fluttering in her belly.

  “Th-This isn’t making love, tearing my panties.”

  “Isn’t it?” He bent down and sucked her clit. She screamed as an orgasm that surfaced way too fast exploded through her core.

  “No,” she whimpered.

  He looked up. “Don’t worry. There are plenty more where that came from.”

  She drew her knees up, but Grayson captured them and forced them down. He pressed his mouth between her legs and ran his tongue along her slit. A shudder shook her, and she moaned his name. He sat up and tore his shirt open. Buttons pinged in every direction, and she stared at his hard, muscled chest, skin so taut. When he moved his hands to the band of his pants, she licked her lips.

  “Let me,” she begged, and sat forward.

  “Don’t you move.”

  She dropped back to her elbows, content to watch the show. Grayson shimmied out of his pants and kicked them aside. When he lowered his boxers, she bit her bottom lip. He was already hard as a rock, and his shaft stuck out as if it too wanted to rip something, namely his underwear.

  Grayson removed the barrier, and Tonya took in for the millionth time the look of his cock, so clean, long, and thick. He’d clipped the hair at the base, and nothing obscured her view of the bulging vein running to the perfectly shaped head.

  “I want to suck it, Gray.”

  She hadn’t meant for her tone to rise or to sound so breathless. Grayson had been focused on undressing, but at her words, his gaze flew to her face. “Come here.”

  She slid down the bed until she sat on the edge, but he pushed on her shoulder to make her sink to the floor. Raising her chin with one hand, he stood in front of her and guided his cock between her lips with the other. A moan escaped, and she shut her eyes as she took him deep into her mouth.

  “That’s right,” he encouraged her. “Please me. Take me deep, Tonya.”

  She took him to the back of her throat and let him slide out before going for more.

  “No, take it all the way.”

  She released him. “I can’t.”

  “Trust me. I promise I’m not going to let you get hurt.”

  He seemed to be saying more than just sucking his cock, but she focused on the here and now. With his coaching, she relaxed and swallowed his shaft. At first, she gagged a little, but he withdrew.

  “Do you want to stop?”

  She shook her head. “I want it.”

  “We’ll take it slow.”

  Over and over, he pushed the head of his dick into her throat, and she tensed, but she refused to stop. The way he clenched his jaw and held himself rigid told her the feeling blew him away. She wanted to get him off deep-throating him, and she wouldn’t give up. After multiple tries, at last her fear eased, and she swallowed his cock. Grayson called out her name. He squeezed her shoulder and then relaxed. She knew by the lessening weight of his balls on her chin that he was ready to blow, and she slid her mouth up and down his length. At the same time, she reached around to his ass and stroked his cheeks. Grayson panted.

  “Baby, pull back.”

  She did as instructed. No sooner had she done so, come filled her mouth and spilled from the sides. Grayson swore and then shouted his pleasure. She’d never heard him let go so completely, and a surge of triumph rose in her. She allowed the thick liquid to glide down her throat and released him. Grayson cupped her face.

  “Yo
u’re incredible.”

  “Me?” she teased.

  “You!”

  He bent down, scooped her up by the waist, and dumped her at the edge of the bed. She was about to slide higher, but he flipped her so she knelt on her hands and knees. “Grayson…”

  “All I want from you are moans,” he ordered, and licked her dripping pussy from behind. He didn’t have to ask twice. She scratched at the bed sheets and arched her back, begging for more.

  He stuck his finger into her heat, and she clamped her inner muscles around his digit. Grayson pushed in a second finger and followed the movements of the two with the tip of his tongue.

  “Oh, Gray, it’s so good. Please.”

  He leaned back. “Look at that wet little pussy. Is that for me, Tonya?” The deep rumble of his voice sent her insane with lust.

  “Yes!”

  “Do you want me to eat it?”

  “Yes, please.”

  “Say it.”

  She didn’t hesitate. “Eat my pussy, Gray.”

  “Such a good girl.” He gave it one long lick and then sucked her clit between his lips. She keened. He flicked at the tiny bud, starting a rhythm that brought her to the brink of another orgasm.

  Just like that. Please don’t stop!

  Grayson knew her body, and he seemed to sense her inner thoughts because he kept up the assault. She spread her legs wider and arched as deep as she could. Her pussy felt exposed and vulnerable, but she didn’t care. As long as he kept doing what he did. Waves of pleasure rippled across her core. Her arms and legs trembled, and her mind went blank. All she focused on was the feel of Grayson’s fingers pumping into her pussy and the skim of his tongue against her clit.

  Her orgasm surged on one of the waves and crashed over into insanity. She screamed his name, and moisture gathered in the corners of her eyes. Grayson caught her up around the waist and continued to lick until the sensations eased. At last, she panted, relaxing, and her lover climbed over her.

  She hadn’t realized she still wore her blouse and bra until Grayson shoved both up and palmed her breasts. He squeezed the globes and pinched the sensitive peaks between his thumbs and forefingers. She parted her lips to speak, but Grayson shifted his hips. The next instant, his hard cock filled her pussy, and he began a slow, wonderful grind.