Page 76 of Seeing Grayscale

Jesus, I haven’t done that in years—since goddamn college!

I pull it off, toss it next to his, and snatch the duffle. Offering it to him, I rake a hand through my hair afterward. “Well, I’ll let you shower.”

Nodding, he flicks his gaze at my crotch. “Are you going to shower upstairs?”

There’s no way to adjust my erection subtly, so I just do it. “Yeah.”

“Reconvene in ten?”

“You can count on it.” I smile, bend, and press a chaste kiss to the top of his head.

THIRTY-THREE

Thehotspraymayas well have been a dive into a frozen lake with how fast it sobered me up. It started when I peeled my sticky sweats off, my dick covered in cum, and kind of red from rubbing it against the material so aggressively.

In the moment, I wasn’t thinking. It wasn’t until I stepped into the shower, the water washing away the alcohol’s warmth, that I realized what I had done. I’m still reeling over it, hiding in the bathroom, ripping at my thumb with my teeth.

Putting the brace back on my leg, I am drowning in something like shame.

He specifically told me we couldn’t kiss again, but we did it two more times. We are bonding faster than I can keep up with. Being goofy with him, playing games, and sharing our secrets means more to me than he could ever know. I haven’t felt this way since my parents were alive. I’m terrified to lose this connection.

But I also know I took things way too far.

That kiss was just too good, my body aching for Hunter’s nearness. I don’t even rememberfeelingturned on. And to top it all off, I feel like a selfish fuck for not offering to return the favor. Despite him not touching me, he aided in my orgasm—made sure I got my cock enough friction, refused to let me go while I humped him like a fucking teenager.

A sharp sting pulls me out of my head, a bead of crimson forming at the soft, fleshy skin under the stump of a thumbnail. I suck the blood away while trying to ignore the rising nausea in my stomach.

What is going to happen now? Hunter didn’t seem upset when he left me in here, but what if his shower was equally as eye-opening? What if he thinks I’m…too much?

How the hell do I fix this?

Erase my temporary insanity so that I can keep him longer?

It hits me like a freight train, so forceful and brutal that I palm my chest.

Iwantto keep him. I want him to bemine.

There’s this sense of knowing—ofrecognition—deep in my heart. Maybe it’s the alcohol talking, mudding up my brain, but there’s no denying this need for Hunter has grown into a certifiable monster. It’s consuming me from the inside out, brushing under my skin and itching to escape into the open. I first felt it stir when he mentioned Brent’s bitch ass. Then it rumbled against my ribs when I saw Leonard. I imagine it’ll be downright bloodthirsty if other men come sniffing around.

Hunter has never done this before—never. That has to mean something, right? That I’m special…that he wants me too.

Frustrated, head still spinning, I creep over to the bathroom door and listen. When I can’t detect any noise, I crack it open and poke my head out. Hunter is walking down the stairs. Those oversized pajamas are back in place, hair slicked back and wet, and his posture is rigid.

“Oh,” he says, startled. “I didn’t see you. Was the shower okay?”

I frown hard.Thatis what he wants to know. My shower? “Sure.”

He nods, feet hitting the bottom step before walking over to where I’m partially hidden behind the door. “Is it going to be weird now?” I blurt, needing to know this information.

“How so?” His head cocks.

“I…we…all that,” I wave my hand behind me, gesturing to the bathroom, “will it be weird now?”

“No,” he says carefully. “Nothing happened.”

My mouth pops open in surprise. “Something definitely happened.”

“Oh.That.” His hand shoots to his hair, running his fingers through it as he ducks his head. Am I that fucking forgettable? “I meant that we didn’t actually…touch if that makes sense?”

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