She shook her head and forced a laugh. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, dear, I just remembered that Saks is having their huge one day sale this week and I can’t miss it. They have some leather pants that I’ve had my eye on for weeks.”
Of course Gray knew she was lying through her teeth, but she could tell he appreciated the effort to lighten the mood. She hobbled behind him back into the bedroom as he was sitting her bag down, and with a brief kiss on the lips, he was gone. She washed her face and used the restroom and then collapsed on the bed where she fell asleep before she had time to dwell on anything else.
~~~
Gray had decided to pass on the guest room so he settled instead for a chair in the living room. Even though he was tired, his mind was still racing from everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours. This morning had started off with such promise. When he’d rolled over and found Suzy gone from the bed, he hadn’t been alarmed. He’d taken his time leaving the bed and wandering through the house looking for her. When he’d heard the sound of someone being violently ill, fear had almost choked him as he rushed towards the sound. After he saw his phone in the floor and put all the pieces together, he too had wanted to throw up. He’d never thought it possible to be vulnerable, but in that moment, he’d realized how much of his life was already in Suzy’s hands.
Even though he was still worried, he’d started to relax today even the unexpected drop-in from his parents hadn’t shaken him too much. Maybe that’s how life sets you up. You suddenly start feeling confident and then something small slams you back to earth. For him that moment was when he saw the expression of terror on her face in the bathroom and he knew that he was responsible for it. After what Jeff had put her through when he left her for another woman, he knew that to trust and love again was difficult for her. He didn’t think she’d dated anyone in the year since that had happened. Due to the cold nature of her parents, Suzy needed to feel loved whether she could admit it or not.
He’d been so grateful this morning when Suzy had come out of the bedroom dressed and obviously ready to stand by her man. He’d have gladly followed her to the ends of the earth at that point without complaint. Now that they were here, though, he was starting to question the wisdom of taking Suzy with him tonight. He knew she was a strong woman, but Reva was a very nasty one. Was he making a mistake? He was banking on Reva not making a scene in a public place, but hadn’t he already established the fact that she was pretty much crazy?
Dragging a hand through his hair, Gray pulled his cell phone from his pocket and grimaced as he saw a load of missed calls and texts all from a now-familiar number. He’d started saving them all a few days ago for evidence should he need to go to the police and file a complaint. He opened one message and his skin crawled as he read it. ‘Lover, I need what only you can give me. I’m burning up for you.’ He forced himself to hit the reply button on the message and sent her a text asking her to meet him Sorin’s Pub later on that evening for a drink. He’d barely hit the send button when her reply popped back. ‘Sorin’s? You’re here! See you there lover.’
In disgust, he tossed his phone on the coffee table and wearily leaned his head back on the chair. He realized he must have dozed when a movement in front of him startled him awake. At first he wondered if he was actually still asleep and dreaming. Suzy stood between his spread legs completely naked. Gray sucked in a breath as he sat there and simply stared at the picture before him. She’d released her hair from the ponytail and it lay against her shoulders like fire. Her br**sts were full and her dusky ni**les puckered under his scrutiny.
He leaned up in the chair and put his forehead against the neatly trimmed nest of red curls and she shivered at the warmth of his breath against her core. Still neither of them spoke as she laid her hands on his shoulders and then pushed back. He lay back in the chair and caught fire as he saw the heavy lidded desire in her eyes.