“You are mine.” Kiss. “And I am yours.” Kiss.
He looks at me adoringly, radiating the immensity of the imaginable love surrounding us. I shift in his lap and he stills. I giggle when I feel him harden between my legs and look up to find him blushing.
“Are you blushing?” I whisper, trailing kisses from the freckles on his shoulders to the soft patch of skin behind his ear. I nibble lightly on soft skin and find his reaction to my touch a complete and utter turn on.
He clears his throat. “No,” he says adamantly.
I deliberately rock against him, circling my hips. I watch his chest move up and down as his breathing shallows until he’s panting. His hands dig into my hips as I lift myself up and let him fill me. Our foreheads touch and I lose myself in the feel of him surrounding me, filling me, and loving me. As our bodies connected together like a puzzle, everything around us fell away and we disappeared into each other until it became too much. I bite his shoulder to stifle my moan which only serves to push him over the edge with me. Our eyes meet and the familiar crackling of electricity that flows from his body to mine blankets us. It wasn’t long before our bodies started the torturous dance all over again, causing us to miss all our morning classes.
** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
I walk out of my last class for the day feeling lighter and happier than I’ve ever felt. Something in me has lifted, taking the heavy burden of the secrets that haunted me with it. When I don't see Grayson waiting outside my class for, my face falls slightly. I saw him two hours ago but the thought of seeing him again so soon sends a thrill through my body enticing enough to make my toes curl.
A hand shoots out and grabs me, pulling me into the space between the two brick buildings that house our classrooms. What the ??
I scream but my mouth is soon covered by a palm. Looking up, I find Luke Bailey’s penetrating gaze on me, anger swirling in the depth of his eyes and radiating in powerful waves off every part of his body. He looks like a rabid dog about to lose it. I try to squirm out of his grasp but he pins me to the wall.
“Sshhh," he coos. The stench of alcohol hangs heavy on his breath and I squash the need to vomit. That will not look pretty on my white sundress.
I stop moving and wait to see what he could possibly want. After what he did to me at Nicky's, I have no desire to see him, let alone have a conversation with the douchebag. He can go play in peak hour traffic for all I care.
"Now be a good girl," he says, trailing a finger down my neck. "And listen carefully to what I'm about to say. You are going to tell everyone about our date, and take back the fucking accusations that cost me my scholarship and position on the swim team. We both know you wanted me to fuck you. I was just getting you...complacent. If you don't fix the mess you've caused me, we are going to have some problems." He leans in and sniffs my hair. I pinch my eyes closed and gather the courage to help myself out of this horrible situation.
A bead of sweat trails down my back, anxiety coiling deep in my belly. I swallow my fear and bite down onto Luke’s hand until I taste blood. He lets go of me and stumbles backward.
"You bitch!" he yells.
I make a run for it and smack into someone just as I reach the open space outside the classroom. I yelp when I fall to the ground and graze my arm, watching blood droplets ooze from the gash.
"What the fuck?"
At the sound of that voice my heart thuds loudly in my chest. Relief floods me when I look up. Grayson towers over me, a frown marring the features of his face. He helps up to my feet in time to catch Luke storming towards me.
"You bit me you bitch!" Luke yells again, not caring who hears. "You ruined my fucking life!"
I cower behind Grayson, shielding half my body from Luke’s sight. I doubt he would be brave enough to try and get to me with Grayson so close. Then again, he does have that mentally unstable look about him.
"I'd be very careful if I were you Bailey," Grayson growls in front of me. I can feel the vibrations from his voice move through his body. He is a solid wall of steal and good three inches taller than Luke. He's also a size bigger, since Luke has the physique of a swimmer.
"Fuck you Carter! What's it to you anyway? She's just another one of the many tramps you've bagged!"
Everything happens so quickly but I feel like I'm trapped watching a movie in slow motion. Grayson pushes me back slightly before cocking his fist. I hear the crack as Grayson's fist makes contact with Luke’s face, blood spraying onto Grayson's shirt. This is not good.
Luke tumbles to the floor before Grayson lands another punch, and another.
"Grayson!" I scream, "STOP!"
He gets in Luke’s face and grips his shirt by the collar, never breaking eye contact. "Listen here you little prick," he growls. He looks dangerous and terrifying like this. I've never seen him so angry. "Don't ever touch Huntley again. And if I hear that you've drugged any more girls on this campus, I will make sure the only view of a swimming pool you ever see again is from a wheelchair. Do we understand each other?"
Luke pales but nods in understanding. Grayson drops him to the floor again and he turns to me. He looks me over then, from head to toe, and I know it's ridiculous but the way his eyes roam my body makes me shiver. In a good way. When images of our morning tumble in the sheets start flashing in the front of my mind, I look down hoping he won’t see the redness creep into my cheeks.
"You ok?" he asks softly. He touches my injured forearm gently but I still wince. That's going to bruise.
"I'm fine. My arm just hurts like hell."
He chuckles, "I can never seem to keep you out of trouble."
“Yeah well, I wasn’t exactly expecting to get jumped walking out of my class.”
Scratching in my bag, I find a wet wipe and use it to wipe the now dry blood droplets from my arm. I hiss through my teeth when it burns.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t here to meet you,” Grayson sighs, rubbing the back of his neck. “I had to see one of my professors after class.”
I toss the wet wipe into the bin and grasp Graysons hand in mine. Our fingers twine together in a perfect fit.
“You don’t have to apologize. I don’t need you to babysit me.” He feels guilty for no reason whatsoever and I wish he wouldn’t.
“Besides,” I add, stepping into the crammed cafeteria. “You can make it up me to me later.” I wink and he grins wickedly.
“Baby, I’ll rock you world if that’s what it takes.”
Little does he know, he already has.
As the weeks pass by, the four of us settle into a good routine. Brody and Grayson spend a great deal of time at our apartment and on the weekends they’re away for football games, Demi and I have girls nights filled with junk food and chick flicks. Everything in my life feels normal.
It’s Friday morning and Demi and I are alone in the apartment. Brody and Grayson are away until tomorrow for a football game. Waking up without Grayson next to me feels strange since we’re practically attached at the hip but today I’m a little grateful he’s not here. My stomach churns and I bolt from the comfort of my bed, making it to the bathroom just in time to see the remnants of last nights’ dinner spill into the toilet bowl. My body heaves until there’s nothing left and then heaves again for good measure. I hear a soft knock on the door and turn to see Demi walk in. Concern is written all over her face. She wets a washcloth and kneels next to me on the tile floor.