Page 82 of Losing Forever
“I did what I needed to do.” A warm smile eases across his face. “I’m proud of both of you. We make a great team.You twomake a great team, despite my earlier reservations. I don’t feel that way anymore.” He bends and kisses my cheek. “See you later tonight—or tomorrow.” He winks and strolls toward his SUV with a backward wave. “Good luck!”
What the hell? “That was strange.”
Grayson grins as he watches Noah drive away. He doesn’t seem confused like I do.
I inhale a breath of courage and spit out everything I need to before Grayson dismisses me. “I’m sorry for how we ended things. I’m sorry if I hurt you by sending you away. I thought it would help you. I thought you needed it. But I hate this distance between us. I hate not having you in my life. I miss our sex, which I know is stupid to say because we can never have that again.”
“Why not?” His eyes twinkle, and a sexy smirk tilts his lips.
I didn’t expect him to say that. I wasn’t even finished with my apology. It takes me a moment to find my voice. “I…thought it was obvious.”
“Thought what was obvious?” He bends his head, his gaze locked on mine. His grown-out hair is styled back in the disheveled but polished way only he can pull off, but a strand falls over his forehead.
Unable to resist, I sweep the piece from his face.
He catches my arm and kisses the inside of my wrist.
My heart flutters with force. “Grayson?” I sigh.
“What did you think was obvious?” he repeats, lowering his hand and entwining our fingers.
Is it possible he doesn’t hate me? “My feelings,” I whisper.
“Which are?” He steps toward me, closing the gap between us. His towering presence and familiar spicy scent charge every cell in my body.
I hesitate, fearful my confession will be a mistake, but then decide he deserves to know the truth. “I love you. I have for some time. I didn’t mean to, but you made it impossible. I only pushed you away because I didn’t think it was what you wanted. I understood why, too. But I hate how we are now, and I don’t expect you to reciprocate my feelings. But having sex would mean more to me than it would to you. I would fall harder, and that isn’t fair to me. I don’t need you to love me, Grayson, but I need you in my life.”
He swoops in and kisses my lips, knocking me off-balance. If his arm hadn’t snaked around my waist, I would have fallen. He holds me close, our bodies pressed together. I melt as his tongue works into my mouth and swirls with mine. Grayson slips his fingers into my hair then supports the back of my head and arches my spine more as he bends forward.
Emotions show in his kiss: longing, possession, worship. I grip his broad shoulders and hold on tight as pleasure and desire swirl through my body. How I missed this. But what does it mean?
The open house will start soon. People could arrive early. We advertised enough. Yet, here we are, the Realtor and the designer, making out by the front door. Not the best way to be taken seriously and get a sale.
I force myself from his kiss. “We should stop or go inside.”
He glances around the neighborhood while fixing his now rumpled shirt. “You’re right. As usual, I can’t seem to control myself around you.” He takes my hand and leads me into the house, closing the door behind us and locking the bolt.
“What are you doing?”
“The open house doesn’t start for an hour. I had Noah bring you early so we could talk.”
“Talk? About what? Why did Noah have to know?”
He closes in on me. His hands cup my cheeks, and he kisses my lips once, twice, three times. “It’s been too long since I’ve held you and had you.”
I grip his wrists. “What’s going on? You seem—”
“Desperate,” he says.
“Determined.”
He straightens but plants his hands at my waist, securing me in place. “Noah knows what I’m doing. I had to tell him. It’s the biggest choice I’ve ever made, and I needed him to understand and approve.”
“Okay.” I nod, still confused.
He stares at my face with an awed expression. “Jesus. You’re stunning.”
I touch my cheek. I made myself up more than usual for the event but nothing over the top. My outfit I love, though, a short bohemian flowing dress with mid-length sleeves. With every glance of the happy pink, purple, and turquoise colors, I smile.
