Gracie & Gray

Chapter 57

G R A C I E

God.

That kiss.

My lips still felt swollen and tender from the force of it.

As I stared up at Gray, my mind reeled. I was no longer myself. I could feel the seismic shift within. I was becoming the woman that I was meant to be. A woman who was no longer afraid to love and be loved. To live and let live. My chest felt as though it might burst from such courage.

Our lives, I sensed, would never be the same.

All because I confessed my true feelings to him.

The way he was looking at me, so intently, so lovingly, made me want to swoon. It set my senses on fire. Suddenly, I couldn't pretend like Gray wasn't my whole damn world. I had been lying to myself for so long. About him. About everything.

For years, I thought I was content in life.

I thought my sister could be trusted.

I thought I knew Gray when I didn't know him at all.

Years and years of pent-up emotion bubbled up and burst forth. Yet, I wasn't crying from anguish anymore. These were the happiest of tears.

"Kiss me again, Gray," I begged as wetness stained my cheeks. "Please."

His gray eyes darkened noticeably. He didn't say another word. There was no need. His actions spoke volumes. Swiftly, Gray slid his hands beneath my thighs and hoisted me onto him. He lifted me as though I weighed nothing. Instinctively, I wrapped my legs around his waist. My arms came around his shoulders to pull him close.

"God," he rasped, "I've wanted you for so long..."

"I've always been yours," I whispered. "Do whatever you want with me, baby."

Gray's large body tensed beneath me. "Fuck, Gracie..."

Instantly, his lips crushed mine, consuming me, as he carried me to the couch. He laid me down on the cushions and settled between my legs. With clumsy but eager fingers, I started undoing the buttons on his jeans. There was already a sizable tent near his crotch. Gray started unhooking my bra and pulling away my pants. The two of us couldn't seem to get each other naked fast enough.

"So goddamn beautiful," Gray whispered as he gazed down at me.

I blushed at the compliment. Then, my eyes began to roam, drinking in the sight of him, and my shyness gradually dissipated. "I've missed you, Gray."

This brought a faint, soft smile to his face.

Gray was beautiful, too. Perfect. All hard lines and solid muscle. It had been years since Gray and I saw each other in such an intimate way. I thought I would've remembered every little detail about him. Every scar on his body. Every line. Every muscle. Everything. But Gray had been more of boy than a man back then. He had since changed. New scars had emerged from his time in the Marines. He was bigger now, too. Far more muscular than before.

All of a sudden, I was dying to touch him.

To relearn his body again.

Shamelessly, my palms began gliding over the expanse of his broad chest, exploring the defined ridges of his stomach. Gray's head dipped down to rain heated kisses along my neck, down my collarbone, to nip at the curves of my breasts. I moaned softly as he captured one of my nipples between his lips. His tongue swirled around the peak. Bliss coiled through me. My hand wandered below his waist, closing around his hard, thick length. His fingers found their way to my folds. We teased and played like old times. Gray knew how I loved to be touched. He knew my body well. He had been my first kiss. My first everything, after all.