Promise Me

by Brent, Cora

  Orion had heard and he moved faster than any of them, reaching the door in a heartbeat. Casper pulled a drunken Brandon to his feet as Gray tensely started to follow Orion. Suddenly he glanced back at me and his face grew worried.

  “Rachel,” he barked at my cousin. She nodded and pulled me by the arm, heading behind the bar as the men went outside.

  “What’s going on?” I asked, jerking my arm away and hearing cursed shouting from the other side of the door.

  Rachel swallowed, looking uneasy. “I don’t know, hon. Stay here though, okay?”

  I heard Grayson’s voice and my breath caught. I had learned that standing back and hoping things ended well did not work. No, I wasn’t going to cower behind the bar and wait. Not if there was any chance Gray was in trouble.

  Shaking Rachel off, I reached the half open door in time to see Grayson get punched in the face by a large, frightening man who looked familiar. The thud of fist on skin was sickening. I gasped but none of the men paid any attention, so intent were they on the spectacle.

  Gray staggered slightly but then shook his head and stood tall in time to take a hit to his bare chest. I remembered the other man’s name. Angelo. He gave Gray an almost friendly smile and patted him on the shoulder as Gray bent over slightly, trying to breathe through the pain.

  “We’re square, kid,” said Angelo in a mild voice, before starting to head inside the bar.

  Orion pushed past me with scarcely a glance, followed by Angelo and the other men, Defiant and Mojave both, who seemed uniformly relieved and eager to share a drink.

  I tried to get past them, my eyes on Grayson, who accepted his shirt back from Casper with a grin. When he saw me, however, the smile faded instantly.

  “Promise,” he said, as if he were confused over my distress.

  I could see how his face was swelling and I touched his cheek. “Gray,” I whispered as my other hand moved gently to the place on his chest where’d taken the second hit.

  My chest welled with an almost physical pain as I touched the places he’d been hurt. It didn’t seem too bad and I almost sobbed with relief, throwing my arms around his neck and holding him close whether he wanted me to or not.

  The groan which escaped his lips seemed involuntary. As I pressed against his body I noticed the same rising need I’d felt as we danced and I surged against him, daring him to push me away again. Instead his mouth sought mine in a fiery crush of passion. It was unlike anything else. The touch of his tongue was an electric jolt and when his strong hands began a wild exploration of my body, I was his completely. His arms lifted me as if I weighed nothing and I responded instinctively, wrapping my legs around his waist and not caring about anything but satisfying the pounding urgency.

  When I pulled back a few inches we were both breathing heavily.

  “Now,” I told him with finality. Not another night, not soon. Now.

  Grayson settled his arms around me more firmly and started to walk quickly towards his trailer. I ran my lips along his neck, trying to let him know that there was no uncertainty. I wanted him. I needed him. And I would never be sorry.

  We were alone together in the dimly lit confines of his trailer. Gray shut the door behind him and everything else evaporated. I sank into his kiss, feeling dizzy over the play of our tongues as his hands tugged gently at the straps of my dress. He seemed hesitant suddenly to move too quickly, as if he didn’t want to test my fragility. My hands covered his and pressed with insistence, forcing the thin cotton down with them, trying to tell him I wouldn’t break from the effort. There was nothing at all wrong in his touch, except that I wanted all of it. I kissed the broadest part of his chest which was right in front of me, tasting the smoothness of his skin. His fingers skillfully unfastened my bra and it fell away. When Gray’s mouth took my right breast I moaned with shock and delight. He lingered over the tender nipple, artfully stimulating, and then moved over to the left side.

  Gray still hadn’t touched where I wanted him the most. I reached for him, timid at first. My hand found the hard bulge between his legs. When he cursed with pleasure I grew bolder, unfastening his pants and letting his thick rigidity extend across my palm as I ran my hand over it gently, spellbound by the power I held.

  Gray couldn’t wait anymore. He lifted me under the arms and I felt myself moving backwards until we bumped into the bed on the far side of the trailer. He paused and drew back a few inches, looking me over with care before slowly easing my dress the rest of the way over my hips, taking my panties with it.

  As we melted into the sweetness of another kiss I felt him pulling his own pants down and I reached around to help, running my hands over the impossibly hard muscles of his chest and then down his thighs.

  “Sweet Jesus, I’ve wanted you,” he told me in a hoarse voice as his arms circled my back, supporting me as he lowered me onto the bed. My legs enveloped him automatically, eagerly drawing him near. I was open, throbbing, in a way which was almost painful in its expectation. The only coherent through in my head was that I desperately needed him to fill that aching core. He let out a strangled sigh as his stiff organ grazed against my moist center. I arched my body upwards, letting him know that it was okay. I wanted him to follow through.

  “Please,” I whispered, hoping he knew what I meant.

  Grayson Mercado didn’t need any more persuading. He pushed inside of me with one fluid movement which made me cry out in surprise. Gray paused for a split second but when I widened my legs to take him in more deeply, he unleashed a mighty thrust which caused groans of ecstasy to rip from both our throats at the same time. His movements became feverish as he drove himself in over and over.

  There was a tide rising inside of me as he reached deeper with every plunge. I was going higher and higher. I loved the feel of his chest grazing my breasts as our bodies became slick with effort. The escalating surge suddenly broke and I shook from the uncontrollable spasms. He followed me a moment later, first tensing and then shuddering as he moaned my name. I felt the warm pulse of his release coating my depths and I knew I would do anything for him, anything. I told him so.

  The words seemed to wound him somewhat. “Promise,” he sighed softly, kissing me again.

  I frowned. “What’s wrong?”

  He pushed the hair from my damp forehead. “Nothing, baby. Absolutely nothing.” He rolled off me and propped himself up on one elbow and his other hand traveled smoothly over my breasts and belly. I shied away a little. Now that we weren’t in the moment of passion I found it a little awkward to be sprawled next to him naked. He seemed to recognize that though and instead of pressing me he slowly pulled a blanket over my body.

  I touched his face. “Does it hurt?”

  Gray flashed a grin. “Nah, I’d forgotten about it already.” He gave me a serious look. “I tried not to do this,” he said quietly.

  “Oh,” I bit my lip. “Do you wish we hadn’t?”

  “Hell no. I was halfway to losing my mind trying to back away from you.”

  “I love you, Gray.”

  He groaned and lowered his head and I feared I’d said the wrong thing. But then he gathered me against his chest and cupped my face in his hands. “I love you too, angel.” He let out a coarse laugh. “Shit, I never thought I’d say that out loud to anyone. Seems wrapped up in something I wasn’t meant to have. I’m not a decent guy, sweetheart. I’ve done shit I’d never be able to explain to you.”

  “I don’t care,” I whispered. Then I sat straight up, pulling the blanket over my breasts and raising my voice. “I don’t care what you say you’ve done or haven’t done, Grayson. I trust you. And you’re so wrong, so goddamn fucking wrong when you say you aren’t a decent guy.”

  “Hey,” he said, trying to pull me back in. “No. Stop it.”

  “I will not. I can’t have you saying you’re not a good man when you’re the only one I’ve ever known. I thought good men weren’t real. Gray, all that’s gone when I’m with you. All the terrible things fade awa
y.”

  He tried to quiet my tears. They were inexplicable even to me. He held me and whispered soothing words but in a few moments I felt restless. I pushed the blanket away and moved his hands decisively over my breasts, wanting him to take me again.

  “Promise,” he said in a pained voice as he lowered himself over me.

  “I love you, Grayson.”

  He entered me. “Say it again.”

  “I love you.”

  He began moving rhythmically, his breathing heavier. “This is what you want? To have me inside of you?”

  I threw my head back, reveling in the feel of his body sliding in and out. “Yes.”

  “Good. I want to be inside of you every fucking night from now on.”

  “I want that too.”

  “God you feel amazing, baby.”

  I couldn’t talk anymore. I was riding a wave of bliss. It washed over me and left me speechless and exhausted. But when Gray reached his climax I pulled him deeper with all of my might.

  “Shit,” he said, withdrawing.

  “What?” I frowned.

  “Raincoats.”

  “Huh?”

  “Rubbers, babe. We haven’t used any.”

  “Is that okay?”

  He laughed. “Only if you want me to knock you the hell up.”

  I traced his jaw with the tip of my finger. “I wouldn’t mind.”

  He looked at me strangely. “What?”

  I swallowed, hesitating. “Having your baby. I’d want to have your baby, Gray.”

  He closed his eyes for a long moment. The he opened them and grabbed me in a fierce hug. “You kill me,” he said.

  “Why?”

  He molded my body against him and sighed deeply. “You’re so goddamn honest it’s a crime.”

  My arms went around his strong chest. I felt safe. Loved. I didn’t want to let go. “Can I stay with you?”

  “Always,” he whispered, kissing me. “Every night.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  I was afraid to wake up. Not afraid in the way I’d been with Winston. But afraid the things we’d said and done during the night would vanish, that he’d treat me again with polite distance.

  But his radiant smile when he saw me watching him quietly in the morning light took away that fear.

  “I thought you were a dream,” he said, yawning and reaching for me. He looked at me oddly when I tried to pull the sheet closer to my body. “Promise, I’ve seen you naked already,” he reminded me.

  I blushed. I felt ridiculous. Of course there was no reason for me to cover up in front of him. “I know. But…” My voice trailed off. Bad things started to cloud my mind. The things Winston had said and done to me. The day he’d stripped me and forced me to stand in front of the mirror as he said vile words about my bruised, naked body.

  “Hey,” Gray said softly, sitting up. “Baby, no. Shit, I forget sometimes.” He stroked my hair. “You can tell me. You don’t have to, but you can. You can say anything to me, Promise. I love you.”

  No. There were some things I couldn’t form into words. There were some things I didn’t want him to know.

  Grayson didn’t push me any further. He held me for a few minutes and then got out of bed, unbothered by his casual nudity as he searched the floor with a determined look. Finally he smiled and picked up my dress. “Your gown, my lady.”

  We ate the leftover cinnamon rolls I’d brought the day before and Grayson shyly asked me what my plans were for the day.

  “Be with you,” I shrugged.

  He laughed and I winced at my own neediness. But he just grabbed my hand and said, “I was hoping you’d say that.” He leaned across the table and picked up his cell phone.

  “Brandon. Yeah, I know what fucking time it is you shitfaced loser. Listen, I need you to take that restaurant job today. Well, what the fuck do you want? Done. Four cases is pushing it, asshole. Look, don’t be a prick. You know I’m not telling you a goddamn thing. You don’t need to talk to her. No, I don’t think she wants to make you any fucking cookies today. Thanks, dickhead. Later.”

  Gray clicked the phone off and smiled. “Brandon says hi.”

  “So he knew I was here?”

  Gray’s seemed amused. “I carried you home with your legs wrapped around me and then we disappeared for the rest of the night. Yeah, everyone knows you’re here.” He took my hand. “Nobody gives a shit. In fact it was expected.”

  I thought about that. “So what are we going to do today?”

  He stretched. “Whatever you want. Keep in mind it’s hotter than a bastard outside though and you’ll roast as red as your hair inside of twenty minutes under that sun.”

  I shrugged, taking a tiny sip of the coffee he’d set in front of me. “Well we could sit here and stare at the wall for all it matters to me. As long as I get to do it next to you.”

  He ran a hand up my thigh and winked. “There are much better things to stare at than the fucking wall.”

  “Like fucking what?” I asked innocently.

  He pulled me into his lap. “Like fucking everything.” He touched my breasts, running his hands over me, under my dress, inside my panties. His growing arousal pushed through the gym shorts he’d thrown on.

  It felt different in the stark daylight though. I wanted desperately to be close to him but an elusive anxiety wouldn’t be held down. I just sat there mutely.

  Gray knew. He paused and his hands changed position, casually circling my waist. He moved his head back a few inches and peered at me, not smiling.

  “Wait,” he said, pushing me off his lap.

  I was confused when he left me standing there and opened a storage cabinet next to the tiny kitchen. He withdrew what appeared to be a large wall frame and smiled.

  “Thought this was still in there,” he said.

  I was even more confused. “It’s a mirror.”

  “It is,” he agreed, inexplicably propping it up on the narrow stove. “It’s a good size mirror.”

  “So you can watch yourself while you cook?”

  He grinned at me. “So we can watch each other.” He held out his hand. “Come here, Promise. It’s time you had a lesson in just how fucking beautiful you are.”

  I looked at the mirror. I didn’t like it. He was watching me and his face darkened a little.

  “You don’t have to,” he said gently.

  I knew I didn’t have to. That was the difference with him. I went to him because I wanted to.

  Grayson smiled and held me in front of him, crossing his arms over my shoulders.

  “Look at us,” he whispered as he buried his face in my hair.

  I looked. And then I understood what he meant. I recalled how I’d been pleased over the way I looked in this dress before I left my trailer the night before. But with Gray in the same picture I looked tousled and downright sexy. He moved his powerful hands over my upper arms, massaging lightly. He was so much larger than me, so much stronger.

  “Feel that?” he asked me softly, pushing his hard arousal into my back.

  “Yes,” I whispered.

  He pulled my dress down, one strap at a time. “And what is it?”

  “It’s you.”

  He smiled, unhooking my bra. I watched his hands start to knead my bare breasts as he continued to press into me. “What part of me?”

  I wasn’t sure what he wanted me to say. “It’s your, um…”

  “It’s my dick, Promise.” He grabbed my hand and moved it over his rigid organ. “You can call it my dick. Because that’s what it is.”

  I felt a stirring in my middle. The feeling was becoming familiar. It was the same pounding want which led me to him last night. The sight of his hands returning to their work of handling my rose-tipped breasts was intoxicating. “It’s your dick,” I whispered.

  “Louder.”

  “It’s your dick,” I said in a voice which was growing increasingly breathless.

  Gray nodded. “You feel how hard I am?” He pulled his sh
orts away completely and I stared into the mirror at the rigid expanse of him. “I’m so goddamn hard because I want you so fucking much.”

  “I feel it,” I whispered.

  He peeled away my underwear. “My dick gets hard every time I see you. You’re so beautiful. No, don’t close your eyes. Look at how we are together. See the way my hands look on your body?” I gasped when his fingers reached inside me. He groaned loudly and gripped me tighter. “Goddamn, and you’re wet too. You’re so wet I could slide right into you and bring us both to heaven. Is that what you want, baby?”

  Words were nearly lost to me. “It’s what I want, Gray.” I watched my face flush. I stared at the place his fingers had disappeared. I raised my arms and grabbed the back of his neck, stretching my body as he plunged his fingers with deeper claim.

  “Promise,” he breathed in my ear. “I can make you come like this. I can fucking come just by watching you. Do you want to come now?”

  “Yes.”

  “Yes what?”

  I was on the verge of screaming. My hips moved in a wild dance as I bucked against the mounting plea from somewhere I hadn’t known existed. “I want to come now. Gray,” I whimpered, “please.”

  “Watch us, angel. Watch us.”

  I watched in the mirror as he lifted me against him, his hands moving furiously between my legs. I reached behind me and found his swollen dick, squeezing its length. A series of wild cries escaped my lips as the climax found me, a shattering blast. And I did what Gray wanted. I kept my eyes glued to our reflection the entire time. Our eyes locked together in the mirror and he tightened his forceful hold on my body. He shuddered and clutched me. I felt the warmth of his semen coating my back and still we didn’t stop watching each other.

  “I love you,” he said, staring at me in the mirror.

  I leaned back into him, letting his arms envelope me. “I love you too.”

  ***

  We spent the day enjoying each other. Even with the cooler on, it was terribly hot in the trailer, but Gray plugged in a half dozen fans to make it bearable. I truly didn’t mind. I was content to lay naked in his bed as his hands hungrily stroked me.