The Rules Regarding Gray (13 page)

“Feel?”

He nodded.

She leaned back, bracing herself with one palm on his knee behind her, and then she guided his hand down farther along her body.

“Fuck,” he muttered, and she smirked at him.

He licked his lips, and when her hand neared her groin, he groaned. She pressed the back of one finger between the lips of her vagina, and his fingers started trembling then. His finger passed between her lips—the back of it getting wet with her arousal as his lips dropped open.

“Feel?” she asked again.

“Fuck, yes, I do,” he breathed out. “So wet…”

And then she lifted his palm to her mouth just as he’d done to her a number of nights before. She kissed gently, and she hummed with her lips against his skin.

She released his hand, and she leaned back, bracing herself on his knees and watching him. He lifted his hand to his mouth, and he sucked the back of his finger between his lips. She swallowed harshly as she watched, and then before she knew what was happening, he lunged toward her, clutching her face and pulling it to his.

Fuck. He was going to kiss her. She closed her eyes, waiting for his lips. She wanted his supple pink lips on hers, and as she felt his facial hair prickle against her chin, she whimpered. But the kiss didn’t come. He held tight to her face, as though he were holding her away from his mouth just as harshly as he’d pulled her mouth to him.

They stayed like that until he finally released his grasp on her face, and when she sat back up straight, he stood and carried her to his bed, depositing her under his body. He hovered over her, staring down at her for a moment. But then he pushed himself up, and she watched him walk away to the bathroom. When he walked back out moments later, he held a rag in his hand and he was wiping his cum from his stomach. She watched, and when he caught her looking, he tossed the rag at her face, chuckling as he climbed onto the bed beside her.

“Get some sleep. I’m sure your douche of a boyfriend will wake us both up when he gets back.”

She glanced away, and he studied her seriously. She didn’t want Ian here, and she was struggling to hide that internal thought as though it was a guilty little secret seeping from her pores.

He eventually lay down beside her, and when she closed her eyes, she felt it as he brushed her hair off her forehead. “Good night, Gray,” he whispered.

“Good night, Jas.”

Chapter Eleven

When Jasper woke up Gray was in his arms, but she hadn’t moved to him any more than he’d moved to her. They’d simply gravitated together and met in the middle. She was snuggled up to his chest with her hand draped over his body to his back. He leaned down, inhaling against her hair, and he kissed the crown of her head. He reached back to the nightstand behind him, grabbing his cell phone as she murmured in her sleep.

He woke his phone up and checked his text messages. There was one from Ian.

Going to be a while. I’ll make sure she’s out of your hair by morning.

He shook his head as he set the phone back down, and then he turned back to her. But he didn’t pull her back into his arms, he just laid down facing her and looking at her. He’d left the kitchen light on, and it illuminated the small apartment. Her lips were parted slightly as she slept, and he reached out, letting a long strand of her hair run through his fingers. He loved her hair. It shined like a pool of light was being reflected from it. It felt like silk against his skin, and the way it made her green eyes sparkle like emeralds was incredible.

She was still naked, and he looked farther down her body to her breasts. He wanted to touch them, and he hated that so much of her was off-limits to him. It wasn’t supposed to be this way—rules and restrictions. But at the same time, he wasn’t supposed to want so much of her. But he did. He wanted more than the body. He wanted that part of her that seemed to lock onto him whenever they were around one another. She made him feel good. But the good far superseded the physical pleasure she could give him. That wasn’t how this worked, though, and he didn’t understand why he couldn’t get past that.

“Gray?” he said softly. He wasn’t trying to wake her up. In fact, he wanted her to stay sound asleep. She kept breathing slowly and deeply, not the least affected by the sound of her name. And then he reached for another long strand of her hair, letting it run gently over his fingers. “I’ve never been jealous of him before,” he whispered. He dropped the strand as it trailed off his fingertips. “But I am so fucking jealous right now.”

She hummed contentedly in her sleep.

He reached up to her chest, and he let his finger glide gently down from her clavicle to her nipple. He touched. He stroked around her nipple, watching those nerves constrict and tighten her flesh. The pad of his middle finger brushed slowly over the peak, and only after he’d silently and gently toyed with it did he pull away.

When he leaned to her slightly parted lips, he paused. This was wrong. It was incredibly wrong for a number of reasons, but it didn’t stop him. He pressed his lips to hers, holding them there softly. He sucked gently on her lips, and then when the quiet smack ended, he pushed his tongue between them, tasting her mouth and flicking his tongue up as he pulled back. She murmured in her sleep, and her body wriggled into the sheets. It wasn’t enough. He needed her lips pulling at his with the same desperation that was driving him now.

He wrapped his arms around her, and she moaned against his chest. He fell asleep then, and when he opened his eyes next, the sky was just starting to get pink. It was early. But he couldn’t sleep any longer. He crept from bed, tossing his jeans back on and starting coffee. He listened to her wake up as the coffee percolated, and when he glanced at his bed, she was sitting up stretching her arms above her head.

It was a rare thing for a woman to wake up in his bed. His evenings just didn’t end that way. He didn’t rudely push a woman out of his apartment, but when a person’s job could last until two or three in the morning if he so chose to work that late, it made an effective excuse to kick them out. But he’d not once thought of going back downstairs last night to help close up, and even if she could have left on her own, he was quite certain he’d have figured out some way to get her to stay.

She picked up her cell phone and checked for messages, and she sighed in what looked like frustration. She looked around as she rose, and she walked naked to his kitchen as he stared. Her eyes bounced around furtively as she walked, and she held an arm across her chest, the other over her groin.

She could be so shy around him, especially considering there was nothing she could hide that he’d not already seen. But it was daylight now, and he supposed that came with different behaviors for them, different rules in terms of how they could appropriately interact with one another. All he could think about was touching her.

She pulled her dress back on, and he zipped it for her, and then she leaned against his kitchen table.

“Did Ian ever call you?”

“He sent a text. He said he got tied up, but he’d be here to pick you up this morning.”

She didn’t seem the least bit thrilled to hear that, and then when she snatched up her phone from the table where she’d just set it, she looked even less thrilled as she dialed a number.

“Hey. Are we doing step aerobics this morning?” She was silent for a moment. “Is there any way you can pick me up at Graystone on Rainey Street on your way?” She was silent for a bit longer. “Yeah, I can be ready that soon. Sorry, otherwise, you’re going to be waiting for me.” That last part was muttered.

He poured her a cup of coffee, and she hung up moments later. He joined her at the table.

“He said he’d be here early.”

She glanced at him. “Yeah, well, I don’t have time to wait around for him.”

He watched her without saying a word. She was definitely not in a great mood thanks to Ian’s absence, and part of him was offended by that, and the other part knew full well she had every right to be upset. It was many silent minutes later before they spoke again.

“Can I ask you something?” She was picking at the edge of the coffee cup mindlessly.

“You know you can.”

She took a deep breath. “Did I…” She trailed off for a moment. “Did I give up my right to…” She opened and closed her mouth, unable to figure out what exactly she was trying to say, or perhaps just how to say it. “I don’t know. Did I give up my right to have expectations with Ian about…” She shook her head in frustration.

“Are you asking if he has the right to fuck around on you because of this?”

Her eyes flashed to his quickly. “Yes.”

“No.” He said adamantly. “What you did… What
we
did, doesn’t change—”

“Sure it does,” she said softly.

He reached over and took her hand, waiting for her to look at him. And when she did, he smiled gently. “The three of us made a decision together. Outside of the three of us, nothing changes.”

She nodded. “And if he ever… Would you tell me?”

“No,” he said calmly, studying her.

“What?” Her disappointment was clear, and she pulled her hand back from his.

He sighed. “He’s my friend, and you’re—”

“Apparently not your friend. Not even someone you respect I take it.” She stood, looking around for a moment.

“Then you took it wrong.” He stood too, following her to the door. When she reached for the handle, he held the door shut. “Don’t walk away from me.”

She eventually turned, and she leaned back against the door behind her as he looked down at her.

“It doesn’t mean I wouldn’t say anything to him. But I would deal with
him
, not you.”

She nodded, but she was rolling her eyes at the same time, and as he watched, she crossed her arms on her chest.

“I have a very specific role here to play, Gray, and—”

“Ah, yes. I remember,” she quipped sarcastically. “You’re nothing more than a sex toy. And a sex toy can hardly be expected to be human or compassionate enough to worry about my mere inconsequential feelings.” She glared at him cruelly. “And here you were complaining about being a prop. Bravo. I’d say you just reduced yourself to that all on your own.”

He swallowed over a lump, but it was a struggle, and as he stepped back from her, she yanked the door open.

“I’m waiting out front for Anna.”

He managed to stay in his apartment for about one minute without following her, but after he spent that minute going out of his mind, he ran down the stairs and out to the front parking lot to find her. When he came nearly skidding to a stop as Anna pulled up, he just froze and stared at Gray. She reached for the handle of Anna’s passenger door, and as Anna leaned over, she eyed him suspiciously.

“Do I need to karate chop his balls?” she asked sarcastically with a scowl on her face.

Gray looked back at him. Her eyes literally glanced to his groin before returning to his face, and then her eyes narrowed. “No need. They barely exist.” She dismissed him as she turned and climbed into Anna’s car, and she never once looked at him as the car pulled away.

He was sulking at his kitchen table when Ian waltzed in an hour later. He dropped the keys on Jasper’s kitchen counter as he strolled casually to the table. He peered around for a moment. “Where’s Gray?”

“You’d probably know if you thought to keep in contact with her,” Jasper snapped, pushing his chair back and snatching up the keys from the counter. “We’re leaving. I have shit to do.”

“Testy. What the hell? Lover’s quarrel you need to tell me about?”

Jasper froze mid-step for a moment, and then he shook his head in frustration. He didn’t acknowledge Ian’s presence at all as he walked to his car that was parked out back. Ian climbed into the passenger seat, and when he looked over at Jasper, he smirked.

“You gonna tell me what’s going on with you?”

“No,” he muttered.

“Did you have fun with my girl last night?” Ian’s eyebrows shot up.

“We played by your rules. Beyond that, it’s none of your
fucking
business.” He started his car quickly.

Ian snorted. “I beg to differ. But keep your secrets, if you must.” He shrugged.

Jasper put the car in reverse, and as he craned his neck around to back up, he reached for the back of the passenger seat. His hand connected with nothing, and his fingers brushed across Ian’s shoulder as Ian glanced at him.

Jasper put his foot on the brake for a moment, and he looked over at the passenger seat. “Why is the passenger seat back farther than it usually is?” His jaw clenched down tight.

Ian stared at him for a moment, but then he shrugged. “I don’t know—”

“Was someone in the car with you?” Jasper focused on the dashboard as his nostrils flared.

When Ian didn’t answer Jasper glanced to him. He caught a smug look on Ian’s face, and Jasper had to take a deep breath to still his racing heart.

“Just a co-worker.” Ian offered casually.

“Did you cheat on her?” Jasper returned his focus to the dashboard, refusing to look at Ian.

“Cheat? What an odd word choice—”

“Did you fucking stick that worthless dick of yours in some other woman?” he raged loudly as his fury erupted.