Page 49 of Gray Area

“He got blood on my new shirt,” Slade complains.

“You did good,” I tell him gruffly. It isn’t always the most fun thing to do, but to keep things running smoothly and free of assholes, you have to be rough. If you go soft, word gets out. And Lions doesn’t know it, but Axel will be watching him now, just in case the motherfucker tries anything stupid, like leaving town. I check my watch and see I have very little time to get Vivian andmake it to class. “Can you take him home?” I ask Axel, and he gives me a nod and we tap knuckles. I do the same with Slade.

As I am leaving out the door, I hear Slade ask Axel, “Hey, did you know he has a girl?”

Chapter 25

DECLAN

After class I take Vivian’s hand and walk her out to my car. She’d blushed in class when I’d taken hold of her hand and people looked at us, but I didn’t care. I am possessive, and I want everyone to know she is mine.

When I had come to get her before class, I saw her sleazeball landlord, Tim, or more accurately he saw me and ran. I was able to squeak my foot into his doorway before he closed it and pushed it open.

“How goes the repairs, Tim?” I asked as he peered around the door.

“I’m working on it, I swear,” he whined. “I have another guy coming tomorrow for a quote. I can’t afford the ones that have come so far.”

“My girl needs hot water. I wanna see a crew by the end of the week, or I’m going to light a fire under your ass,” I told him and went to meet Vivian upstairs, ignoring whatever murmuring Tim made as I did.

I’ve never been particularly possessive over a woman. As a kid I had for sure liked the idea of a girlfriend, but once I got older and realized the unnecessary stress it brings and the perks of casual sex, I’d let that ship sail.

But something casual with Vivian isn’t an option. It just won’t be enough.

Once we are in the car after class, I turn to her. “Do you want to go out to dinner?” I’m a little nervous in that moment, like what if she turns me down, saying she’s tired or this is moving too fast. I don’t know what I’ll do with that rejection.

Vivian looks over to me. “I was wondering if maybe we could do takeout?”

Relief floods my veins and I start my car. “Yeah, sure, and you want to go to your place?” I ask. I hate that she lives there, but I love being with her, so I’ll deal with whatever I have to in order to be around her.

“Well, Bailey is home tonight, and she is trying to catch up on schoolwork. Could we maybe go to your place? If that’s okay?”

“Of course,” I tell her. “Want to head there and we can order pizza?”

“Sure,” she says, and I waste no time taking her home.

There are no other cars in the driveway when I get to my place, which means no weird run-ins with my family and I prefer that. I go around to open Vivian’s door, and she grabs her backpack as she steps out. I want to know the story there, since she is so attached to that thing. But I know it’s a touchy topic for her, so I don’t push it. I feel like once she lets me know the story behind the item, it will be a big step in our relationship.

I bring her into my first-floor apartment, holding the door open so she can enter.

She looks around hesitantly. “Is this whole floor just yours?” she asks in awe as she takes in the space. We could fit three of her apartments into my one.

“Yeah, my brothers live on the two above me,” I say. I feel a flutter and realize I am nervous to show her my space. There isn’t much to it, just some couches and a huge TV. I have a small dining table that we took out of one of the restaurants with three chairs. It’s bare-bones, typical guy stuff.

She turns to me and smiles. “This is really nice.”

“Thanks,” I say gruffly, trying to hide the relief I feel at her praise. “So what kind of pizza? Cheese, veggie?”

She sets her bag down on the floor and hangs her jacket on the back of one of the dining chairs. “I don’t care. I do love a good linguica, if that’s okay,” she says.

I smirk. “That’s my favorite,” I tell her as I pull up the number for Jimmy’s Pizza on my phone.

“Can I use your bathroom?” she asks.

“Sure, down the hall on the right,” I say as I call and place the order. I hang up and go through some of my mail on the counter. When I finish that, I wander down the hall to check on Vivian, and we collide as she is coming out of the bathroom.

Vivian looks up at me and smiles, then pulls my face down to hers. I happily kiss her in my hallway, sliding my hands around her, grabbing her ass and pulling her into me. I’m rock hard, and as I lift her up from the floor, her legs wrap around me and she squeezes me to her core, sliding herself over my hard cock.

“Vivian, I have been dying to touch you,” I say against her lips. She grinds against me, and I let out a groan from the sensation the friction creates.

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