“Now you’re dealing with it.” Galen squatted down beside me. When he spoke again, his voice was kinder. “Once you can, get back up and keep fighting. That’s the only way to stop it from crushing you.”
When I finally stood up, I felt better. Drained, a bit shaky, but that dark, twisted mass I’d held at bay for two years, one that had tangled deep inside me and felt like an anchor in my gut, wasn’t nearly as hard to carry.
Galen had made me face my pain head-on.
“Thanks,” I said, my voice rough. I snatched up one of the spare towels and wiped at my face.
Galen grunted in response and returned to the weight bench. As he added more weights to the bar, I noticed his softer expression. “Gray should be waking soon. Go clean up. We’re done for today.”
I turned to leave.
“Hey, Hawk?” Galen nodded to me. “See you back in here tomorrow.”
“Yeah. See you then.”
Feeling lighter than I had in a long time, I went upstairs and grabbed a clean change of clothes before going into the bathroom. I started the water for the shower and stripped down. My reflection took me by surprise. The edges of my eyes were puffy and pink, and a flush speckled along my chest and up my neck.
Also on my neck? A bite mark. It had faded some since the day Gray had given it to me, but as I traced it with my fingertips, I could still feel a slight indentation. I never thought I’d be the type of guy who liked being someone’s possession, but I loved having Gray’s mark on me.
I lovedhim.
But fuck, I couldn’t tell him. Could I? It was too soon.
Shoving those thoughts away, I hopped into the shower and closed my eyes as the water cascaded over my head and down my body. A light click sounded seconds later, like a door closing, and a shape appeared on the other side of the shower curtain.
“Hello, Clarice,” Gray whispered.
“Wrong movie.” I slid the curtain aside and looked down at him. “Psychois the one with the shower scene.”
“I know. I was testing you.” Gray tugged down his pants and kicked them aside before stepping into the tub. Naked, he stood in front of me, arms snug around me and his blond hair darkening as the water soaked it. “Hi.”
“Hi.” I gripped his waist. “Enjoy your nap?”
“Yep. I’m hungry now though.” He rose up to his tiptoes and nibbled at my jaw.
I caught his chin and kissed him. He smiled around my lips and slipped his hand down my stomach, taking hold of my semi-erect cock. He gave me a slow pull before gently biting my bottom lip.
“Mmm. I just felt you get harder.” He palmed my tip. “I like how your body responds to me.”
“Only for you.” I backed him up against the shower wall, keeping one hand at his lower back and bracing the other beside his head.
We kissed, explored, and touched. He stroked me, and I opened him with my fingers, loving the sweet moans he rewarded me with each time I nudged that delicious bundle of nerves inside him. Then, I brought up his leg, hooked it around my hips, and pushed into him.
“Mason,” he groaned, eyes heavy.
“I love my name on your lips.”
“And I love your dick in my ass.”
I chuckled and canted my hips, hitting him at a different angle. He croaked out a raspy groan, and his fingertips dug into my shoulders. The sex didn’t last long. My emotions were high from the rage-fest with Galen, and I ached for that mind-numbing release only Gray could give me. It was more than that too.
I wanted his pleasure. I wanted to see his expression when his ass clamped down on me and he whimpered uncontrollably.
Pumping my hips faster, I held him up with one arm and slid my other hand to his back, finding that slit that drove him wild. As my fingers dipped into it, Gray keened and shook before warm jets of cum shot from his cock, his ass quivering around me. It triggered my own orgasm, and my hips jerked as a deep groan crawled up my throat.
“Mine,” Gray murmured, burying his face against my neck.
“Yours.” I cradled him to my chest, my breaths coming out rough. “All of me.”