One day you're happy, and the next, a freak accident exposes your boyfriend's dirty little secrets in the worst possible way.
I lost the man I loved, my trust in people, and my home in less than one afternoon.
At least I know that I've pushed past...
Gray let me undo the buttons of his coat, and I was careful to appreciate the fine knit of the wool and the excellent stitching (instead of trying to rip it off of him like the last time). Since my fingers were still defrosting, it was a painfully slow process.
Yet that somehow made it sexier.
He watched intently, his masculine chest rising and falling with the shallow pants that barely controlled the urgency burning in his eyes. I undid each button to peel away the silken lining, revealing the cashmere sweater hugging his virile torso.
"Isla," his head tipped back, the yearning in his voice rang into the steepled ceiling of his front hall.
I took advantage of the access and pushed up to my tiptoes to lick the hollow of his neck. Gray's entire body hardened as his fingers constricted around my shoulders.
Encouraged by his reaction, I licked again, letting my teeth graze his tantalizing stubble. All the while I kept working at the buttons of his coat, intentionally letting my hands roam over the muscled planes of his body each time a new level was unlocked.
When there were no more buttons left, Gray shrugged his broad shoulders out of his jacket. First the left, and then, the right, showing off the sinewy bulges flexing under his plush sweater.
He let his coat slump to the floor in a forgotten heap.
"Isla," he purred into my neck as his hands desperately stroked the front of my peacoat. The raw hunger in his voice and the quiver of his hands said he was having trouble restraining himself. "Please? I need you."
"You have me, Gray," I reminded him before brushing my lips against his.
His fingertips grazed my collar, jolting a shiver through me at the most inopportune time.
Gray pulled back to study me with a look of concern. "Baby, you're cold."
I had to bite down on my lip to keep from crying out at the loss of his hands. I longed to have them back on my body, caressing, stroking, teasing me into a quivering mass of desire. The need to satisfy Gray, to feel him moving inside of me when we both reached our climax, was a visceral craving.
His fingers pressed into the small of my back, guiding me toward a wide doorway off his foyer.
It took a minute for my eyes to adjust to the darkness, but Gray knew his own place well, so he led me with steady hands and an affectionate smile in his dusky voice.
He helped me down two small steps to push gently on my shoulders. My bottom landed on a smooth cushion but Gray didn't follow.
So, I unbuttoned my jacket.
He disappeared into the shadowy depths, rustling around until I heard a muffled pop and saw the burst of a controlled flame igniting a nearby fireplace. I traced his form as Gray moved over to a low hutch holding a record payer.
The first few notes of a song from a band I really liked (and was squarely in the 'sad-bastard-rock' category) drifted up into the rafters of his enormous sunken living room. The song's somber chorus played to the insistent throb of my heart.
Warmth filled the room with the fire's bronzed glow, casting long shadows.
I stared at the overstuffed leather and industrial-style furniture matching the exposed brick and brushed metal beams throughout his home. Leafy ferns and potted plants surrounded the hundreds of books he had crammed into every shelf.
Rich woodgrains and dark metals were everywhere, echoing Gray's cool, contemplative mien. High ceilings and framed pictures hinted at his impeccable taste without becoming the focal point of any wall.
As my eyes swept the room, I noticed him watching, eyeing me as though I might break.
Even more than the physical need to be with him, I wanted to see inside his head.
The thoughts stirring the amber and emerald tones in his serious eyes hinted at deep-seated fears we hadn't touched on. His perfect lips twitched downward with whatever he was internalizing.
The impulse to comfort him, to take away his pain propelled me off the couch. I stepped out of my jacket to press myself against him. Cupping his angular jaw, I stroked his cheek while searching his somber eyes and brushing my thumb across his lower lip.
"Isla," his voice trembled as he kissed my the pad of my finger. "Wait, Isla, before we go any further, there's something I need to tell you."
I kept my stare locked on his.
"Something big," he continued in earnest. "I don't want to fuck things up with you, Isla, but I'm afraid if I don't tell you-"
"You'll lose me for good?" I asked, finishing his sentence inches from his mouth.
Gray made a bitter face as though the idea tasted foul. I wound my fingers up the shorn sides of his head and into his silky hair.
His jaw unclenched the moment my lips caught his as I sucked his lower lip between my teeth. I didn't nip him hard, my only intention was to bring him back to me. It must have broken something deep within Gray because he grabbed my backside and hoisted me up in one quick movement.
I hooked an arm around his neck to scissor my legs behind his toned butt. My sex was pressed against the ridge of his erection and he growled hungrily at the pleasurable contact.
His mouth moved with a new kind of urgency, almost primal in its demand.
It swept through me, drowning out his protest in a wave of acute lust throbbing in my veins. Gray's strong hands cupped my ass to grind my pelvis up and down his rigid shaft.
His groan, low and erotic, when I rolled my hips in tandem with his lustful movements, almost brought me to orgasm right there.
The sensations pulsing all over me grew stronger as Gray's strangled grunts unraveled with each ragged breath.
"Wait!" He pulled back as I bit down on his bottom lip, stretching the bright raspberry sherbet-colored skin between us. "Fuck, baby, that's so good! Wait! Stop."
His last command was so serious, I dropped his lip immediately to search his tortured eyes.
"Isla," Gray looked as if he didn't know whether to cry or be angry. "I have to get this out."
"Tell me," I inhaled deep, trying to calm my greedy lust and really listen.
Honestly, unless he was going to announce that he planned on chopping me up and burying me in his yard, I didn't care.
Our heavy petting had me so mad with desire all I wanted was to rub against him until his eyes rolled into his skull. I wanted to shimmy down his body and release his cock to deepthroat him.
But I could tell those would only be temporary distractions from whatever was tearing him apart inside. Gray didn't open up like this very often.
I placed an open palm on his pounding heart, closing my eyes to absorb the powerful thrum of his confession.
"Isla, I have a son," he finally managed to whisper.
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