by Cara E Holt
When I enter my bedroom, Grayson has showered and is lying on the bed in his boxers, flicking through Netflix.
“Sophie’s making us food, and I got us both a drink,” I tell him, placing the drinks down on my bedside table. I settle down on the bed beside him and rest my head on his shoulder.
“Found anything?”
“Yeah, there’s this new like spooky one.”
I nod, “I’ve heard about this one, it’s supposed to be good.”
Grayson presses play and we both get comfy and settle in. A few minutes later there’s a knock at the door and then Sophie pops her head round, holding a tray.
“Here you go. I did you both a sandwich and I cut you a piece of chocolate cake too.”
We both sit up and I take the tray from her.
“Thanks, Sophie. I really appreciate you and Andy letting us both stay here.” Grayson tells her.
Sophie smiles at him, wrapping her arms around her slim frame. “You don’t need to thank us, Grayson. Now eat up and we’ll see you both in the morning for breakfast.”
I wake up in the morning, to find Grayson still soundly asleep. His face looks worse in the daylight, his cheek is swollen and he is definitely going to have a black eye. I hate that he has such a shitty excuse for a father. I hate that the only real family he has is his sister and my family.
“You’re staring Manchester,” He says, making me jump. He opens one eye and smirks at me. “I know you’re obsessed with me, but staring at me when I’m asleep is kind of weird.”
I punch him playfully in the arm. “Good morning to you too.”
He grabs me by the waist making me yelp in surprise and he rolls us until I’m underneath him.
“Thank you, for being there for me last night and I’m so sorry Ev, for the horrible things he said about you.”
I shake my head, reaching up to cup his cheek in my hand. “Its just words, Grayson. They meant nothing to me.”
He nods, “I’m still sorry though. I’m sorry you had to see any of that last night.”
“I’m your girlfriend Grayson, I’ll always be by your side,”
His stomach rumbles loudly, making us both laugh. “Want to go get breakfast? I think I can smell bacon cooking.”
“Not just yet,“ he replies. “I need to lose myself in you first,” he tells me, his eyes burning into mine, and I see his need to just feel and forget.
“Whatever you need, Grayson,” I say, as I pull his head down and our lips meet.
He undresses me quickly, and before I know it, he’s sliding inside of me. Grayson loves me slowly this morning, never taking his eyes off me as he moves in and out of me. He studies my face, watching my every expression as he loves me.
“I love you, Manchester,” he whispers. “I can’t ever lose you.”
I reach up and run my thumb along his bottom lip. “I’m not going anywhere, Grayson. I’m right here where I belong.”
We’ve never really had slow and sensual sex before, we were always so hungry for each other that it was always fast and hard, but this morning he is loving me from the inside out and it is a moment I will cherish always.
IT’S MY SECOND DAY in college without Grayson. My dad rang, and he explained to school that Grayson was staying with us whilst his father was away on business and that Grayson had come down with a bad chest and would be off this week. He didn’t need anyone asking probing questions about the black eye or the swollen, bruised cheek.
I nip into the girls’ bathroom on my way to my fourth period class and come to a stop when I find Paige in a cubicle with the door open. She has her head over the bowl, puking her guts up.
She looks up and over her shoulder and she glowers at me before she is retching again and filling the toilet bowl.
“Morning sickness is a bitch, huh?” I comment, leaning on the sink unit, watching her.
“Don’t you have anything better to do, Taylor?” She snipes as she reaches for some tissues and blows her nose.
“Nah,” I reply. “Watching you hurl up your breakfast is kind of satisfying to watch.”
She stands to her feet and flushes the toilet. “So, you know?”
I chuckle. “Oh yes, I know, in fact quite a few of us know. It clearly wasn’t welcome news to Mr St. Clair given the state of him the other night. Jesus, he was trashed. I don’t think he was in the mood to celebrate becoming a dad again.”
Paige scowls at me, folding her arms across her chest. “Well, considering he’s asked me to move in, I’d say the idea is growing on him.”
I blink in surprise. “You’re moving in?”
She nods, smiling, like the cat that got the cream. “Yeah. I’ve already picked the room that will be the nursery.” She comes up beside me and washes her hands. “There’s just something about the St. Clair men, isn’t there? I’m glad I saw sense and went for the man and not the boy though. I mean Grayson’s gorgeous and all but Johnny, he knows how to give a girl a good time.” She winks at me as she dries her hands with a paper towel. “I’m sure we’ll be seeing a lot more of each other Everly.”
“Bitch.” I hiss after she has left the room. Is it me or does she leave an icy chill behind?
I am not looking forward to sharing the news that Paige is moving into their family home with Grayson tonight. Jesus, it’s a shit show!
I head to my next class and drop down in to my seat next to Lottie, who is busy texting on her phone.
I smile. “Texting lover boy?”
She looks up at me and grins. “Maybe.” She studies me for a second. “Who pissed on your Frosties this morning?”
I sigh. “Is it that obvious?”
Lottie chuckles. “You have a face on you like thunder.”
I lean in closer to Lottie. “I just had a run in with Paige in the girls’ bathroom.” I look around me to make sure no one is ear wigging. “She’s pregnant with Mr St. Clair’s baby.”
Lottie’s mouth hangs open. “No way! You’re pulling my leg, right?”
I shake my head, and she closes her mouth and blows out a big breath. “That is wrong on every level. I mean, she’s the same age as his son.”
“Tell me about it, that’s not even the worse part,” I tell her, ‘She’s moving in and I’m going to have to be the one to deliver that news to Grayson.”
“Oh shit,” Lottie curses.
“Yeah, exactly.”
I drop into the front passenger seat of Dom’s car once we have dropped Izzy off.
Dom looks at me and smiles. “Well, out with it.”
I look up at him in surprise. “How do you know I have something to tell you?’
Dom chuckles as if it’s obvious. “You chew on your lip continuously when something is bugging you.”
“Damn, and I thought my poker face game was solid.” I adjust my position so I’m side on in my seat. “So I have some shitty news to deliver to Grayson that is going to make him lose his shit, and I don’t know the best way to go about it.”
Dom nods and I silent for a second. “Want my advice?”
I nod, well obviously!
“Blow him and tell him once he’s relaxed.”
I do a double take and stare at my stepbrother. “That’s your advice to your stepsister? You’re telling me to give your best friend a blow job before I tell him?”
Dom shrugs his shoulders, grinning at me. “You wanted my honest opinion, and that’s it. Izzy uses that tactic on me all the time and trust me, it works.”
“Well, okay then.” I mutter, somewhat lost for words.
We enter the house and Ems is sitting with Sophie at the kitchen island, they both have brews in hands and are laughing together.
“Hey Ems, How are you?’ I ask her as I throw my bag down at the door and walkover to them.
“I’m good. I’m heading back to school tomorrow.”
I nod. “That’s good.” Honestly, Ems is better off away at boarding school, out of the way of the shit going on with her dad.
“Wh
ere’s your brother, Ems?”
Sophie gestures with her head over to the stairs to the basement. “He’s punching the life out of that poor punch bag down there. I hope it survives.”
“Thanks.” I reply as I leave them to it.
“Good luck.” Dom shouts, giving me a quick wink and a grin before he shoves a chocolate Eclair in his mouth.
Hot Damn. What a sight to behold. My guy is naked on his top half and his training shorts hang low on his hips. He’s dripping with sweat as he punches the bag hard, hit after hit. He has Kanye blasting from the speakers.
I quietly close the gym door to give us some privacy.
Grayson looks up, and he eats me up with his eyes, his gaze sliding up my body.
“Hey, how was college?”
I pout as I walk over to him, and he lifts me in his arms. “Boring without you there,” I reply, wrapping my legs tightly around his waist. “But I didn’t come here to talk about college.”
Grayson cocks a brow. “You didn’t?”
I shake my head. “I came in here with an agenda.”
He smirks, “And what agenda might that be?”
I wiggle in his grip until he loosens his hold on me, and I slide down his body. I drop to my knees in front of him and looking up at him; I tug on his shorts and his boxers until they pool at his feet. He is already hard. It amazes me the instant effect my body has on his.
Grayson looks at me through hooded eyes. “I think I’m on board with this agenda item.”
I grip his base with my hands and guide him into my mouth and he hisses and grasps hold of my head. “Fuck, Manchester.”
I go to town on my man’s cock, licking, sucking and teasing, until he explodes in my mouth. I pull back and wipe my lips with my fingers.
“Such a temptress.” Grayson says, looking down at me with complete adoration and lust. He picks me up and walks me over to the bench over the other side of the room. He lies me down on it and his hand reaches under my skirt.
I place my hand over his to stop him in his tracks. “Not yet, Gray. We need to talk.”
He removes his hand and my core whimpers in protest. “Then hurry up and talk and then I can finish what you started, baby.”
He leans up off me and sits down on the bench. I lift a leg over his lap and straddle him, placing my hands around his neck. “I had the pleasure of running into Paige in the girl’s bathroom today and she had some news.”
Grayson groans. “Don’t tell me, It’s twins.”
I smile at his joke. “No, well, at least I hope not,” I pause and sigh, “he’s moving her in Grayson.”
Grayson’s smile drops and his eyes become a pool of fury. “He’s moving her in?”
I nod. “Yep, she took great joy in sharing the news with me this morning.”
Grayson’s grinds his jaw. “I should have fucking known. I’m going to have to put up with that bitch swanning around my home.”
I nod, chewing on my lip. I don’t have anything to say to make it better. It is a shit-show and there is no way of fluffing it over. “You don’t have to go back. Talk to my dad and ask if you can stay here.”
Grayson offers me a weary smile. “I’d love nothing more than to stay here with you and your family, but if I don’t go home, he’ll threaten me in some way. He’ll either use Ems as a bargaining tool or I don’t know,” he says running a hand through his hair, “he’ll likely stop paying my college fees.”
“He wouldn’t?” I ask, horrified.
Grayson gives me a look that says ‘really?’
“Yeah, you’re right, he’s capable of anything.”
Grayson leans his forehead against mine and closes his eyes. “I’m just going to have to grin and bare it. It’s not like its forever, its just three more months until my inheritance from my mum comes through and then I’m free.”
I nod. “And then what will you do?”
He opens his eyes and leans back so he can look at me. “I’ll get my own place and make sure there’s a room for my sister.”
“Your own place, huh? With no grown ups,” I smile. “With no risk of anyone walking in on us.”
Grayson grins wickedly. “Completely private. I could fuck you on every surface in the place as often as I wanted.”
Swoon. Who needs romance when you have a guy that talks dirty? “I think I’d be a frequent visitor. I hope that’s okay?”
Grayson nods. “You can visit as often as you‘d like Manchester. Now, where were we before you dropped that bombshell?” he asks, arching a brow, as his hands make fast work of the buttons on my uniform. “Ah, that’s right. I was just about to rock your world.”
I roll my eyes at him as my heart picks up pace. “Well, what are you waiting for then?”
I RE-FASTEN MY TIE as Grayson grabs his towel and rubs his hair. “I’m going to have to tell Ems.”
I nod, chewing on my lip, as he takes my hand and we head back up to the main floor. “I can be there with you when you tell her if some moral support would help.”
He smiles. “Thanks Ev, but I think I need to do this on my own. I think I’ll take her for a drive to Costa and deliver the news when she has some sugar in her system.”
“Good plan.”
Grayson leans into my ear as we climb the stairs. “Clever tactic that back there, getting me off and then delivering the bad news.”
I grin and look at him from over my shoulder. “That was Dom’s idea.”
Grayson smiles. “Then I must remember to thank him later.’
I stop in my tracks and softly hit him on the shoulder. “Don’t you dare.”
His response is to chuckle, before he growls, chasing me up the rest of the way, threatening to tickle me.
I rush out into the main living space with Grayson chasing me and Sophie looks up, smiling at us both. She’s busy whipping up something delicious for tea.
Grayson inhales and groans. “That smells so good, Mrs M. What are we having?”
Sophie smiles at him. “I’m doing your favourite Grayson. We’re having meatballs.”
Grayson grins. “You spoil me, Soph.”
She bats away his comment with her hand. “Nonsense. Beside, you deserve spoiling. Your dad’s going to be late home, he’s having to work late,” Sophie tells me.
“Where’s Ems?” Grayson asks as he wraps his arms around my waist from behind me and rests his head on my shoulder.
“She’s in the study catching up on some homework,” Sophie tells him. “Dinner will be ready in an hour, so make sure your showered.”
Grayson gives her a salute, and he disappears off upstairs to my ensuite to get cleaned up. I watch him go and when I pull my gaze back into the room, Sophie is watching me with a smile on her face.
“You’re so smitten with him, aren’t you?”
I blush, resting my chin on my hands. “Is it that obvious?”
Sophie chuckles and nods. She hands me a knife. “Chop these will you.”
I take the knife from her and move to stand beside her whilst I chop the herbs.
“It scares your dad sometimes how serious you both are about each other.”
I nod. “I can understand that, after all we’re young, but when you know, you know. I mean, we’re not going to run off and get married at eighteen or anything, but, yeah, it’s the real deal.”
Sophie hands me some more herbs to chop. “How is he holding up with everything with his dad?”
I shrug. “All things considered, I think he’s doing okay, but you know Grayson, he’s not great at telling you how he feels. I just had to share with him that his dad’s knocked up seventeen-year-old girlfriend is moving in with them. As you can imagine, that didn’t go down well.”
“Poor guy.” Sophie places her hand on my arm. “I’m glad he has you and Dom. I’ve spoken with Andy and he can stay as long as he likes.”
I smile at her appreciatively. “I know and he’s honestly so grateful, but he has to go home or his dad will make his life difficult
for him.” I place all the chopped herbs into a bowl and hand it to her. “He’s going to get his own place as soon as his mum’s money comes through in three months’ time.”
“Who’s getting his own place?” My dad asks as he comes through the front door.
Sophie looks up, surprised to see him. “I thought you were working late?”
He comes up beside her and kisses her cheek. “I was, but we got it done quicker than we thought.”
“Hi honey.” He smiles over at me. “So, who’s getting their own place?”
I shrug casually. “Grayson is going to get his own place as soon as his mum’s money comes through.”
My dad frowns as he sits down and loosens his tie. “I see. Don’t get any ideas about moving in together, you’re too young.”
I exchange a glance with Sophie and we both smile at each other.
“What?” My dad asks. “I saw that non-verbal exchange their between you two.”
Sophie holds her hands up. “Nothing.”
I place a hand on my dad’s arm. “Don’t worry, Dad, I’m not going anywhere just yet.”
He ruffles my hair and drops a kiss on my forehead. “Good, because we have eighteen years to catch up on. I’m not ready for you to grow up yet and fly the nest.”
My heart warms. It means so much that he wants me around. I know he carries guilt that he wasn’t around for me when I was little, but he is too hard on himself. He didn’t even know I existed. My phone rings pulling me from my thoughts and I grin when I see its Courtney.
“Hey you,” I say, answering her call.
“Hey Miss Taylor. I miss your tiny arse. When are you visiting again?”
I laugh, gripping the phone between my cheek and my shoulder as I help Sophie set the table. “Aw, I miss you too. It’s your turn to come visit me, although not just yet. We have a house full right now. How’s things?”
“That’s actually why I’m calling. Tyler’s been beaten up”
My smile drops. “Why what’s happened?”
Courtney sighs, “It’s the Doyle’s, Ev. He’s in some kind of trouble. They beat him up outside his house.”
I move away from the table, not wanting Sophie to hear any more of the conversation.