by Dani René
“Grayson.” His name is a murmur as he drives into me. The waves crashing around us and the pull of his body are like a magnetic force not allowing me to pull away.
“Mila,” he moans. My name on his lips is a hoarse whisper full of hunger that matches my own. My nails dig into the smooth skin on his shoulders, marking him. “Jesus, Mila, sweetheart.” Words fall into the crashing waves as my body tightens, pulses, pulling him in farther as if we can’t get close enough.
“Please, Grayson, I need you . . .” My head drops back on a cry as his mouth suckles on the soft flesh of my neck. My release is so close, coiling, rumbling through me like a hurricane about to unleash an ungodly sound. Grayson bites down on one of my pebbled nipples, and it sends me crashing into the depths.
White stars burst behind my eyelids, and his animalistic growl tells me he’s joined me in bliss.
Chapter 11
Grayson
She’s perfect. Everything about her: her smile which lights up her face as she giggles as the water splashes against her legs, and the soft blue bikini hugs her body. Her breasts heave as she runs back toward me. Long, wet hair sticks to her back. Small droplets glistening on her tanned skin have me salivating, wanting to lick them off.
“Are you ever going to get your ass in there?” She giggles, dropping onto the towel beside me. I regard her behind my sunglasses, taking in the vision she is.
“Told you, darling, I don’t swim.” I lean back on my elbow while she stares me down.
“But you did earlier,” she reminds me of our little tryst.
“That wasn’t swimming. That was me claiming my woman.” My response earns me a soft rosy blush on her cheeks, and I can’t help smiling.
“Okay, caveman. What are we doing next?” She pops a cherry into her mouth, and I watch her lips pout as she bites the flesh of the fruit. Jesus, everything she does turns me on.
“We’re going shopping, and then dinner. Reservations are made. We need to get you a dress and perhaps some shoes if you’d like new ones,” I offer. Her mouth falls open in a shocked stare.
“Are you crazy? You can’t buy me new clothes for a date.”
“I can and I will. Get used to it. Now, dry off before I lick you dry. Let’s get going.” I push up, tugging on my T-shirt. Watching her towel-dry that delectable skin is enough to have me tenting my goddamn shorts again.
Once we’re dried off and dressed, we find the car waiting.
When the vehicle pulls up outside the small boutique, I turn to my girl, who’s got the biggest smile on her face.
“You’re really buying me a dress?” she questions me incredulously.
Nodding, I open the door and exit the car, holding out my hand for her. “I am. Not only a dress but a complete outfit for the evening.” She slips her dainty hand in mine, and I feel like a pauper escorting a princess.
As soon as we step into the store, the sales assistant is beside Mila, whisking her off to try on a multitude of dresses. Settling in the comfortable armchair, I face the changing room so once she’s ready I’ll get the first glimpse of the selection.
An hour later, we’re walking out of the store with two bags, one with her dress and the other with lingerie and shoes. I don’t know which one she finally chose, but they all blew me away. Her body is perfection; every curve and slope of her luscious figure was accentuated in the flowing material of every gown she tried on.
“Are you going to show me the dress I’ll be taking off later?” I lean in, whispering in her ear, but she rebuffs me, shaking her head and smirking as we head back home. “There are many ways I can taunt the answer out of you,” I whisper over her skin, sending a tremble through her, which I can’t help loving.
Love.
Who knew I’d be sitting here with my brother’s stepdaughter, in love and ready to take on the world? I want to take her places, show her things she’s never seen.
It’s almost seven. The car is waiting outside, and I hear it. The soft click of her heels on the mahogany floor. It’s a sound that allows my heart to fall into a steady rhythm as she nears me. Her delicate breaths are behind me, and when I turn to see her, my heart stutters. My gaze drags leisurely up, from her shimmery pink toes, to the sparkling silver peep-toe heels, and over the sleek, gray silk of her dress.
It’s a simple A line that hugs every curve, accentuated with her flawless, caramel skin teasing me from the slivers in the fabric at her hips. The bust cups her breasts, and the soft, sheer lace that peeps at me from her cleavage teases at something more, just a hair’s breadth away.
“Do you like it?” she questions with her glossy lips lifting into a sultry smile.
A sweetheart.
A seductress.
A woman.
“I more than like it. I fucking love it.” I’m the one purring because this woman has me by the balls. She steps down from the last stair, and my arms immediately wrap around her, pulling her flush with my body.
The heat of her sears me. It burns through the material of my jacket, shirt, and onto my skin as if she’s touching my bare flesh.
Leaning in, I inhale her scent. Sweet, like candy. I take my fill, trailing my nose from her collarbone, up the curve of her graceful neck, and stopping at the spot just behind her ear. “You’re incredibly tempting tonight, Mila. I may have to skip dinner altogether and just stay here, taking you, eating you, fucking you. All night long.” My words are gifted with a small shudder that wracks through her body.
The tiny chill bumps that rise on her skin are evidence I’m not the only one affected by our proximity, and I’m dying to do just what I said.
Fuck dinner.
Fuck the public.
Just staying home and fucking her would be a dream come true. But I promised her dinner, and I intend on keeping that promise.
“Come on, caveman, you can’t keep me locked up forever.” She giggles, swatting my shoulder playfully.
“Oh, but I can, sweetheart.” I step away, my eyes holding the promise I could if I wanted to. “But I’ll allow you one last foray in public. Let’s go.” I hold out my hand, which she gratefully accepts, and we head out to the car.
I’m falling.
I’ve fallen.
I’m a goner.
Chapter 12
Mila
Last night with Grayson was something else. I’ve finally had the date I’d been dreaming about for years, and I’m anxious to see him again.
Grayson: On my way, sweetheart.
His message comes through as I think about him, and I wonder if he really can read my mind. I teased him about it a number of times. It’s as if he knows how I feel without my telling him.
I don’t respond right away, letting my thoughts drift to last night. He was a perfect gentleman, like I always knew he would be. And I wonder where we go from here.
Since Dad is accepting of us, I wonder how everyone else would see the relationship that’s blossoming. Even though I wish it were easy, I know it won’t be.
“Mila, there’s someone here for you,” Dad calls to me from the living room. I thought Grayson was on his way, but he wouldn’t be here so soon. Pushing off the bed, I make my way into the living room to find Tyron, a boy from school who took me out on a couple of dates, but nothing ever came of it.
“What are you doing here, Tyron?” I glare at him. After walking in on him fucking someone else, I never wanted to see him again, but here he is.
“I want another chance, babe.” He steps toward me, and I take one back. “Look, I don’t expect you to forgive me right now, but . . .” He stares at me for a moment. “Mila, I love you.”
That makes me laugh. I can’t help it, but love? “You’re serious,” I snigger with incredulity dripping from my voice.
“I am. I need you, baby.” When he reaches for me, I can’t help but shudder at the thought of his hands on me; hands that were on another woman.
“You need to leave. My dad’s in his office with my—”
“
And who might this be?” Grayson’s soothing tone comes from behind me. Like a whisky, dripping with a smoky growl.
“Uhm, this is Tyron. He was just leaving,” I explain, hoping to calm the shit storm that seems to be brewing in the air.
I push away from the wall, and that’s when everything fucks up. “Come with me, Mila.” Ty’s hand grips my wrist painfully. When I cry out, Grayson’s body is behind me, close, tugging me back, and that’s when I see it. A fist flying in front of me, and I hear the crack. The sound of Tyron’s nose breaking echoes through the surrounding space, and as if in a movie, everything plays in slow motion.
Tyron goes down in a split second, and when I spin on my heel, I find Grayson nursing bruising knuckles. “Are you okay?” I reach for his hand, and the hiss of pain startles me. I’ve never seen Grayson angry, livid in fact. As if he’s vibrating with rage.
“Who the fuck is that?” he bites out, pinning me with a glare filled with so much anger I feel it down to my bones.
“He . . . I . . .”
“One of your little fuck buddies?” he bites out, and I flinch at the tone he’s using.
“You know what? Fuck you, Grayson! I don’t need you to walk in here and act like you suddenly care. I fucked guys, and you fucked women. Do you even know how it felt when I saw you with them?” Prodding a finger in his chest, I’m shocked when he stumbles back. But I don’t stop. “Do you? It fucking hurt. It broke me. Every. Fucking. Time. My heart hurt so much the only way I could make it through was to go out and find a 'fuck buddy' as you put it. Because you didn’t want me!”
With that, I storm by him toward my bedroom. Once inside, I slam the door and lock it. Leaning with my back flush against it, I slide down, along with the tears that tumble down my cheeks.
“Mila,” the deep voice comes from the other side of my door, but I don’t answer. I can’t. My body wracks with a sob so fucking painful it feels as if my heart is being ripped from my body. “Princess, open the door. It’s only me.” My dad’s tone is soothing, and I manage to push away from the door and unlock it.
When he steps inside, he immediately falls to his knees and tugs me into his arms. “I . . .” My words can’t form. It hurts too much. The agony is unreal. Almost as bad as the day I lost my mother.
“Listen to me.” He cups my face in his big, strong hands, making sure I meet his gaze. “That asshole, my brother, he loves you. He only got angry because he was worried about you.”
Shaking my head, I push away from him and curl into myself. “He . . . What he said to me was uncalled for.” Gabriel sits back on the floor opposite me. He’s always been an incredible father, knowing when I needed space and knowing when to push.
He watches me. I can feel his gaze on mine.
“I’m not saying he’s right in what he said, but I’m asking for you to give him a chance. Don’t let something this small come between something so strong.”
His words jolt me from my sadness, and I quickly meet his gaze.
“I’m serious, Princess. I’ve never seen him this fucked up over a woman. Yes, there’ve been many, but this is different. I think you need to take a step back and look at it from his perspective as well as yours. No relationship is easy, and for you two, it will be even more difficult, but in saying that, he’s as immature as you are, so perhaps you’ll both learn from each other.”
“Dad, I feel like he’s blaming me for Ty coming over when he spent days, nights, weekends here with bimbos, and he doesn’t understand how I feel. Like . . . It’s the same thing. If he loved me so much, surely he can see that it gutted me as well?”
“He knows. He’s not stupid, Mila. Just, give him a chance.” I watch those icy-blue orbs corner me, and I can’t deny him. Yes, he’s my stepfather, he’s also one of the most important men in my life. The other being an ass who’s probably sitting moping over a double shot of whisky.
“Is he drinking?” I question. My response is the nod I was expecting. “Fine.” Pushing off the floor, I help Gabe to stand, and we head out of my bedroom and into the living room, only to find my now-boyfriend flopped on the sofa with a swollen hand nursing his drink.
When he spots me, he flies off the leather cushions, waiting tentatively to gauge my reaction. “Sweetheart.” One word, only that one fucking word, and I’m putty in his hands. “I’m sorry. I’m an asshole.” Hearing him say it makes me laugh. Almond-shaped eyes, dark brown, pin me to the spot. And then I’m gifted that smirk. The one I would do anything for, and I nod.
“Yes, you’re an asshole, a big one,” I counter, confirming that he’s been acting like a child. Worse than I have. I step forward, waiting for him to make the first move. My body trembles as he reaches for me, but I’m just out of arms reach.
“You two are going to be the death of me. Kiss and make up,” Gabe growls behind me, and I can’t help snickering. “Mila, Grayson, will you two just relax? You’ve both got pasts. There are bound to be exes popping up, but it’s how you handle them now that counts. Don’t let some asshole come between you.”
“It’s not about the asshole, it’s . . .” Grayson’s gruff tone is evidence he’s in a bad mood about Ty being here, but it’s not my fault.
“It’s the fact that Grayson doesn’t understand that while he’s been parading women in here, I’ve had a life as well. I didn’t become a nun and sit at home, Grayson.”
His dark eyes blaze with need, with something other than anger. “Sweetheart, please, just understand that I’m a jealous man. I don’t like sharing. Especially with pricks like that asshole that was here.” His head tips to the side in an endearing way, and I feel the fight slowly seeping from me, leaving me completely and being replaced with an ache.
To be in his arms.
To feel his lips.
To connect in the most primal of ways.
“Fine,” I murmur finally, and both men release an audible breath. “I’m tired,” I announce, waiting for Grayson to follow, and when he does, he wraps an arm around my waist and presses a kiss on my cheek. “Night, Daddy.” I smile.
“Oh, I forgot to tell you. Lissy is back,” Dad says with a small smile on his lips. At the mention of my cousin’s name, I spin on my heel, leaving Grayson to trail behind me.
“What?”
“Yeah, she came by the office yesterday, and you were so busy I forgot to tell you,” he says in a tone laced with desire. I knew my cousin had a thing for him. She made it abundantly clear, and now that she’s back, I bet he’s going to have a hard time — in more ways than one — reigning in the spark between them.
Chapter 13
Grayson
One year later
“Come on, Mila. We’re going to be late,” I call from downstairs. It’s her birthday in two days, and I’ve planned a trip to Paris. She’s never been to Europe, and I can’t wait to see her face when we land. She finished her finals only two days ago, and with the vacation upon us, whisking her away was something I’d planned months ago.
Moments later, at the sound of her heels clicking on the wooden steps, I turn to find the woman who seems to take my breath away every time I look at her. “I’m ready,” she mumbles, lugging the suitcase down step by step, and I rush to her side to help her.
“Did you pack the whole closet?” I grunt, trying to get the damn thing down.
“No, Grayson. I packed enough so that I don’t run out of clothes since I have no idea where you’re taking me,” she huffs angrily. Mila hates surprises, but I love giving them to her. Every moment of the past year has been something out of those fucking romantic movies.
“Come on, sweetheart.” I encircle her against me and tug her into the space under my arm. “You’re my sweetheart, and you need to trust me. It’s going to be perfect, just me and you and a city to explore.”
“Which city?” she asks. Her eyes narrow as she regards me playfully.
Pursing my lips, I plant a soft kiss on her forehead and chuckle. “A city with lights, great food and wine, and s
ome beautiful sights.” Another grumpy huff has me laughing as we make our way to the car, waiting to whisk us off to the airport. The private jet should be fueled and ready to leave when we arrive.
Opening the car door, I allow her to scoot in, mainly because I want to get the incredible view of her ass in those tiny shorts she’s decided to wear. Slipping onto the bench seat beside her, I settle back and pull out my phone to check my emails. “No phones on the trip,” she commands in a soft tone beside me, and I chuckle in response.
“I’m just making sure your dad has everything before we jet off.” I hit send on the message and pocket the thing because I don’t need any interruptions. As we pull away from the curb, I place a hand on Mila’s thigh and circle my thumb on her smooth skin.
“Are you trying to tease me?” Green eyes meet mine, and I give her a naughty smirk. Shrugging, I continue my ministrations on her thigh, shifting my hand an inch at a time until I’m near her heat.
“Open your legs, baby girl,” I murmur in her ear, my breath fanning over her cheek, and my lips whispering on the smooth skin of her face. She doesn’t respond with words, but her legs shift so my hand can inch its way farther until my fingers stroke the apex between her thighs.
Her head drops back as I tease her. Soft whimpers fall from her lips, and I lean in, crashing my mouth to hers, swallowing every sound from her. The sweet taste of her is racing through my veins, turning me into a rabid animal, hungry for her.
“Please, Grayson,” she begs, pleading with me for release. My fingers strum her pussy through the soft material of her shorts. Our tongues dance and tumble, fighting with need for what we want.
