“G-squared, back in force! It’s perfect! You get a fairytale ending! I want to bask in that happiness for a bit.”
I got on the elevator as the door opened and turned back to Parker looking too damn chipper in that candy-striper uniform. “I have to get home, Parker. To Sam. You may have forgotten that I have a life in Alabama, but I haven’t.”
Her mouth dropped, and she thrust her hand into the closing elevator doors to keep them open. “You can’t be serious. Grace is a miracle, Gray. Your miracle. Fuck your other life and come home. We need you. Grace needs you.”
Every muscle in my body tensed. “I have to go.”
“Yeah, as always. You go. Run away. Leave us here. Leave Grace here. It’s what you’re good at, right?”
“At least you’re acting more like yourself.”
“Well, you’ve been handed the fucking glass slipper and you’re still acting like an asshole.” She moved her hands, and the doors shut.
The house was pitch-black when I unlocked the front door. Then again, at two a.m. I didn’t expect any different.
I climbed the stairs, my heart pounding, my hands aching to fill themselves with Sam, to soak up the peace only she brought to me. She was going to be pissed. I hadn’t even called, but what was I supposed to say to her? Hey, sorry, I’m trying to walk this fine line of pretending you don’t exist and flat-out lying to my best friend.
I crept into our room, quietly undressing so I didn’t disturb her. I slid into bed, only to find it empty. What the fuck? She hadn’t moved in. Of course she didn’t. You left her standing in the middle of the hallway while you ran home to your non-comatose girlfriend. Ex-girlfriend. Whatever.
In only my boxer-briefs, I crept across the hall, opened her door, and dodged every landmine of clothes on the floor as I made my way to her bed. The moonlight shone in through the window, illuminating her curves as they dipped along the mattress. Her lips were slightly parted as she slept, one hand grazing her cheek. My breath caught at how fucking beautiful she was, what a gift I’d been given when she fell into my arms.
I needed her. Now. Needed to be inside her, connected to her so deep that she’d never get me out.
I pulled back her covers and then carefully brought her into my arms. “Mmmm,” she hummed, her lips at my throat. “Grayson?”
“I’m here.” I flipped off the hallway light and kicked our door shut gently as I brought her into what was now our bed. Where she’d stay, damn it.
Hovered over her, I kissed the lines of her collarbone until I pulled down the thin strap of her tank top. Her eyes blinked open, sleep-hazed. “Grayson, what are you doing?”
“I know you’re pissed, and you should be. And I’ll explain, I swear. But right now… God, I need you.” My voice broke.
Her hands cupped my face, gently pulling me from her chest so she could look into my eyes.
“Sam?”
A gamut of emotion ran across her face while I waited for her verdict. Anger and defiance softened in those green eyes as her hands ran down my cheeks. “Are you okay?” she asked with more concern than I had any right to.
“I just need you, Sam. Connect me. Ground me. Love me.” Pull me back from the edge of something that could destroy us both.
Our eyes spoke more than words could ever manage. Hers widened in almost panic as her fingers slipped to my hair. “You still want me,” she said as if she didn’t think it was a remote possibility.
“I will always want you.”