Page 28 of Only for Love

CHAPTER TEN

Emma

Saturday night’s here, and I’m sitting on Grayson’s leg watching Courtney and Ryan lose at beer pong. Maybe it’s unnoticeable to anyone else, but Ryan is losing on purpose. He and Courtney have had this thing all week, and it’s shifted the looks from Gray and me to them. Thankfully, though, sitting on Gray’s leg, letting him run his fingers up and down my arm, I don’t care if anyone has an opinion.

The only thing Ryan’s said is that it sucks to have a roommate who locks him out of the room, which made me blush. And made Courtney blush. So thinking back on it, Ryan wasn’t too pissed at all about Gray commandeering their shared bedroom for nightswith me. He wanted it for himself.

But right now, heaviness hangs on Grayson’s face. It’s not obvious, and when pressed for more, all he gives is a placating smile. I can read him well after the days spent together behind closed doors. The sounds I’ve made for him would be mortifying if not for how amazing they feel. The way his hands play… Grayson’s the only person in the world that I’ll let see this side of me. The more intimately he touches me, the bolder I am, and when it’s my turn, I become more… alive. More me.

Heat hits my cheeks. I know I’m blushing and trying unsuccessfully to hide my smile. Tucking my face into his bare shoulder, I let my lips press to his skin. It warms my memories. I have thoughts of last night with his mouth over me, in between my thighs, and then my first time tasting him… My belly somersaults.

I love it. Love him. Love everything about us.

“What are you smiling at?” His voice tickles my ear.

“Nothing.” I might be able to love what we’ve done, but telling him about my mini-fantasy of wrapping my lips around him and sucking again… Well, I’m going to need a few weeks before I’m comfortable saying that.

He chuckles, and I know he knows. “How about nothing I haven’t replayed a hundred times today, too?”

Holy shit, cue belly flip. “Oh my God, Gray.”

His hands tighten around my waist, and I squirm. It's becoming one of the things I do most because, when he touches me, I know what comes next.

“Let’s get out of here.” He lifts me up, and I squeak in giddy surprise. “We’re headed to the beach.”

Gray heads for the door, holding me against his soapy-scented chest, and grabs a beach blanket from a pile by the door. I’m weightless, supported in his muscular arms. When we hit the sand, I snuggle close. “What are we going to do?”

“What do you want to do, baby?”

“You.” I kiss his shoulder.

He clutches me closer, and the scruff from his cheek scratches against my skin. “Just you and me and the ocean right now.”

My chest feels tight. The waves crash in the background. The last few days, I’ve been honest with everything I’ve said to him. But there have been some thoughts and concerns that have gone unvoiced, mostly about his crazy future fears. “It’s romantic.”

Distant lights from the beach house give soft shade to his face. “Didn’t bring you out here for romance. Just had to get away, be with you.”

Gray sets me down and spreads the blanket. In a whoosh, I’m back in his arms, on my back, and he’s holding himself over me. But then he rolls us over so I’m on his chest. Forever ticks by, his thick arms clinging to me like he’s scared that tomorrow, when we drive home, everything will be forgotten.

He clears his throat. “I have to tell you something.”

This again. He starts; then he stops. Whateveritis, it’s driving him crazy. Me, not so much. Nothing he can say will change how I feel. Young love, maybe. But it’s deep. It’s burned into my soul.

I prop up on his chest and stare into a face shadowed by the night. “Okay.”

“Fuck me.” He groans. “I’m not as strong as you think I am.”

I nod. “Probably stronger.”

“Not like that, Ems. Like… I’m broken inside, and you, you’re perfect.”

“You’re my perfection.” He looks away, and I bring his face back to mine. “Just tell me already. Whatever it is, it’s killing you and ruining my romance on the beach.” Giving him a half-grin and a quiet laugh, I’m dying to help him free himself of this imaginary burden.

“What if we only had tonight?”

I laugh into the salty air. “Well, you know what I’d want.” Dropping my mouth to his, I kiss him and let his tongue sweep into my mouth. “The world’s ending, and I want you. It’s the apocalypse? My last thought is to be next to you, making love to you.”

I can’t believe I just said that. My blood rushes.

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