Worth Every Cent (Worth It Series, #2)

by Lexy Timms

  Her defeated expression choked off my voice, but I was in no position to rectify the situation. There was only one way in my mind this could go down. Only one way in my mind the situation itself could be resolved.

  And it sure as hell didn’t involve an audience.

  The two of us finished up our lunch and I started to the last rental property. It was the farthest away from her work and tucked back in the woods a bit. A two-mile walk one way, but the house was also the biggest. Three bedrooms, two bathrooms, with a sunroom. It also came partially furnished. It was at the top of her budget, but the landlord was offering her everything she would need to make her life comfortable. Lawn care. Maintenance. Furniture. Water and trash and sewer included into the rental price. A property she could easily afford if she didn’t mind having only basic cable and no landline.

  “This place is huge. Are you sure I can afford it?” Michelle asked.

  “I’m sure. Come on. There’s a lock box with the key in it, and I know the code,” I said.

  I let us into the house and I saw the light in Michelle’s eyes. She stepped into the room and put her hands to her mouth, gasping as she looked around the expansive space. She couldn’t actually afford it. I’d have to foot twelve thousand dollars upfront to get the monthly rental price down within her range. Twelve thousand dollars for two years of rent that only cost her six hundred a month.

  Andy sure as hell couldn’t provide her with something like that.

  “Oh my gosh,” she said with a whisper. “It’s incredible.”

  “If you like it, there’s an application in the kitchen. I told the landlord we’d leave it along with the money for the application and his wife would be by to pick it up tonight,” I said.

  She walked down the hallway and turned into the first room. And the feeling of jealousy and the need to claim her as mine again permeated my bones. It took all the energy I had not to slam her against a wall and mark her new home with my body in it. Because I could tell by the look in her eyes she would apply for it. I could tell by the look on her face this was her favorite piece of property.

  And I knew then and there I’d do whatever it took to secure it for her.

  “I can afford a place like this?” she asked.

  “You can, yes,” I said.

  I stood in the entryway of the room as tears rushed her eyes.

  “I love it,” she said breathlessly. “Can we take a look at the rest of the house.”

  But no matter how much I willed my body to move, it wouldn’t.

  My eyes connected with hers as I took a step forward. She cocked her head at me, looking at me with this curious stare. I reached my hand out and wiggled my fingers, trying with all my might to keep myself at bay. To keep the angry animal inside my body from bursting forth. But the second my palm grazed the side of her luxurious hip, I didn’t stop moving until she was pinned to the wall.

  Pinned against me with her lips parted in shock.

  “There’s one amenity I want to show you first,” I said.

  I crashed my lips down onto hers, fisting the material of her pants. I hooked my fingers into the loops of her pants and pulled her hips closer to mine. I pushed my tongue between her lips. Lapped against the roof of her mouth. She moaned into me the sweetest sound that my throat was begging to swallow whole. I loomed over her. My cock immediately jolted to life. My body heated with a feverish desire for her, and I knew I wouldn’t stop until every inch of her was reminded of who could touch her.

  Who could cherish her.

  Who could have her body whenever he wanted.

  Her hands slid into my hair as I ripped her away from the wall. She squealed as we danced around the room before she fell to the bed. Her lips swelled against mine as I rid her of her pants. Her soaked panties filled the room with a decadent smell. One I’d come to associate with her and only her.

  “Does he touch you like I do?” I asked.

  I pulled back from her lips and gazed into her hooded eyes.

  “What?” Michelle asked breathlessly.

  “Does he touch you like I do?”

  I cupped her clothed pussy and watched as her eyes rolled into the back of her head.

  “No one does,” she said with a whisper.

  “Does he kiss you like I do?” I asked.

  My lips fell to her neck as she opened herself up to my further.

  “No one,” she said with a whimper.

  “Does he make you cum like I do?”

  I slipped my hand into her panties and slid my fingers into her tight, warm entrance. My thumb pressed into her clit, circling it as I watched her jaw unhinge in pleasure. I nibbled on her lower lip and raked my teeth against it, watching as goosebumps trickled over her body. She bucked into my palm. Her juices leaked onto my skin. I pressed every button and stroked every spot I knew to exist within her, watching as she unraveled below me. My eyes widened as her back arched. I panted along with her as her pussy rippled around my fingers. Her legs tensed and her body shook, and she gasped for air as my name slipped from her lips.

  “Grayson. Yes. Oh. Shit. Yes.”

  She collapsed to the bed as my thumb slowly stroked her clit, watching with delight as her body jumped for me.

  “No,” she said, as her head moved side to side. “No one makes me cum like you do.”

  “Then you better not forget it,” I said, as I hovered over her.

  Chapter 14

  Michelle

  His words were hot and my body was his to command. His intense pursuit of me left me breathless as he slid his fingers from my panties. I wanted more of him. Needed more of him. I wanted his comforting body to blanket mine and take me to heights I knew only he could provide. I laid there, with my legs spread open, as he stood up and rid himself of his clothes. They fell to the floor in a forgotten pile as he stood there, marveling at my pussy as it dripped for him.

  He wanted me. I saw it in his eyes.

  And it made me want him all the more.

  He fell to my body, his lips crashing into mine. I felt his hand guide his cock to my entrance, then he slammed himself in without a second thought. My nails raked along his skin as he ground into me. My legs wrapped around him as I held on for the ride, panting and whimpering and peppering his shoulder with kisses. He was an animal. The sound of skin slapping skin filled the corners of the room of the house. His cock grew thick against my walls as my heels dug into the small of his back.

  “So tight for me. Only me, Michelle. Only me.”

  I hoped he meant it. With all my might, I hoped he meant it.

  Because I felt myself falling into his orbit once again.

  He picked me up from the bed and barreled me into the wall. His hands pinned mine above my head as his lips fell to my tits. He rolled his hips and sucked my nipples until I was crying his name out into the empty house. My calls of pleasure echoed off the empty spaces as the room filled with our scent. I pressed my body into his. I felt my pussy squeezing him tightly. He pounded into me time after time, until sweat dripped down our bodies and dust clung to our skin.

  “Gray. Don’t stop. Please. Don’t stop. It’s you. It’s only you. It’s only ever been you, I swear.”

  He growled into my cleavage, moving his face back and forth. The feel of his stubble against my skin was too much. I parted my fingers and allowed his to fall between them, then curled my nails into the tops of his hands. With my legs wrapped around him and his cock diving into my body, I clamped down and exploded as stars burst in my vision.

  “Yes, Michelle. Cum on my cock. Remind yourself who I am.”

  My body pulled him deeper as his hips stilled. Sweat dripped down my stomach, heading straight to our connection as I pulsed around his dick. I couldn’t speak. Couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t see straight as my vision tunneled. I felt his teeth sink into my breast, hanging on to every part of me as his hands finally curled around mine.

  He held me in every way a man needed to hold a woman as his cock dumped itself into m
y body.

  He slid to the floor, taking me with him before he collapsed into my body. Trapping me between his chiseled form and the dark walls of the home we had just marked with our passion. I closed my eyes and felt the room tilt. I drew in a deep breath and slowly felt my voice gaining strength. Our hands were intertwined at my sides as his cock pulled away from me, spilling juices onto his thighs as he sighed into my skin.

  “If amenities like that come with this place, I’ll take it.”

  His chuckle was warm, and it filled me with a joy I couldn’t explain. He released my hands before wrapping his arms around me, then helped steady me on my feet. I gazed up into his eyes and saw the animal slowly flee from his vision. And in its place stood the Grayson I had come to know over dinner that night.

  “I think I’ll fill out the application for this place, too,” I said.

  “Good. Then we can go get dinner. I’ve worked up an appetite,” he said.

  “We just ate lunch,” I said with a giggle.

  “You ate lunch. I ate a snack. Come on, get dressed.”

  He placed a kiss to my forehead. A mindless kiss before he tossed my clothes to me so I could get dressed.

  I was glad it was our last place to look at, because I didn’t have the energy to look at any more homes or apartments. I filled out the application and left the money behind, putting it in the empty cabinet for the landlord’s wife to find. Then, the two of us started for the opposite end of town. We pulled up to the only decent restaurant in all of Stillsville. An Italian place with a really nice selection of pasta dishes. Gray opened the door for me and he picked a booth in the corner, then the two of us sat down and placed our orders.

  “I’ve never been in here before,” I said.

  “It’s decent enough,” Gray said.

  “You really must piss in a golden toilet, you know that?”

  “Golden toilets are tacky. I prefer chrome,” he said with a grin.

  “So, what did you think of the three houses we saw today?” I asked.

  “Well, I’m glad you didn’t choose the apartments. None of them were fit to inhabit. I think out of all the houses, the last one we saw fits the bill for you well. But it’s still not where I’d prefer you to be.”

  “Where would you prefer me to be?” I asked.

  “Not in Stillsville.”

  His words made my heart stop in my chest. Was he saying what I thought he was saying?

  I found myself hoping a little too much that he was.

  “Well, thank you again for taking me on the house hunt,” I said. “Hopefully I’ll hear from someone soon.”

  “I’m sure you will,” Gray said. “When it comes to money around here, people will skip to anyone’s tune as long as they get it.”

  “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

  “It can be, if money’s the only thing driving a person.”

  “Does it drive you?” I asked.

  “No. Success does. Money is a byproduct of that, sure. But I was told my entire life I’d never amount to anything. My constant success meant I got to prove everyone wrong. Hell, my home’s bigger than Anton’s place, and people around here gawk at Anton’s home like it’s some sort of marvel.”

  “What does your home look like?” I asked.

  “It’s—I mean, it’s a vineyard,” he said.

  “What else is there to it?” I asked.

  Our food was set in front of us, but I wasn’t paying attention to it. I watched Gray’s eyes grow hazy and unfocused as his mind ripped him back to wherever it was he called home now.

  “It’s just shy of twenty thousand square feet,” he said.

  “Yep. I’d say that’s pretty big,” I said.

  “It sits on fifty two acres of grapes. Up on a slight hill that overlooks the expanse of it. Two stories, with a furnished basement that’s practically outfitted for someone to live down there.”

  “It sounds nice,” I said.

  “It is nice. I’ve done a lot of renovating to it.”

  “Like what?”

  “The house was mostly carpeted when I bought it. Now, all of the main rooms have onyx-marbled floors. Except for the bedrooms. Those have a plush black carpeting on them. All my furniture is variations of whites, cream colors, and light grays. I use it to work with the natural light that shines through all the windows in the home during the day. Eight bedrooms, six and a half bathrooms, not including the basement. But my favorite part is my private balcony.”

  “Because it’s private?” I asked.

  “No. It’s these two huge French doors that open up to the vineyard. And when the sun sets, it casts this warm glow over everything. I sit out there every night and sip the latest vintage of wine we’re making and take notes. It’s the most peaceful working experience I have throughout my day.”

  I sat there, listening to him as our food grew cold. His house sounded like a dream, and I wondered what such luxury would be like. No wonder he turned his nose up at all of the houses and properties in Stillsville. We all lived in outhouses compared to what he was used to.

  “So yeah,” Gray said. “That’s my place.”

  “It sounds really nice. You must really be proud of it. I think that’s why I hope this last house works out. That’s a home I could be proud of,” I said.

  “Have you ever had a place of your own?” he asked.

  “No. One day I hope to own something of my own, but renting for now works well for my lifestyle. But still, I’ll get to decorate it however I wish. With pictures I like and a few pieces of furniture that really speak to me. I’ve never had that experience before. It’ll be nice.”

  “If you want my personal opinion, I think you should wait until that last house opens up,” he said. “The landlord’s offering you a great deal, and it’ll be the lowest-maintenance piece of property. You’ll have privacy since its back off the beaten path, and the landlord is including lawn care as well as water, trash pickup, and sewer into the overall price of rent. That’ll diminish your bills substantially, plus he’ll be available for any maintenance the house needs. And if I’m not mistaken, he mentioned something about a four-wheeler in the storage shed out back. I could take a look at it and get it going, so you’d have transportation down the two-mile stretch to and from the diner.”

  “I didn’t know about the four-wheeler,” I said. “That—would be awesome. You would do that for me?”

  “Just say the word.”

  “If the house turns in my favor, then I would really appreciate that. Thank you, Gray. I’ll give them a call tomorrow.”

  The last house was the most expensive up front, but I’d save a lot of money in the long run with it. Something I would need in case an emergency popped up. The two of us ate our food and he paid for the bill, then we made our way out to his convertible with our leftovers in our hands.

  Well, I had leftovers. He didn’t leave a speck of food on his plate.

  “Go the hell back to California, asshole!”

  “And take your slut with you!”

  My eyes widened as Gray whipped his head around, watching a large pickup truck of men barrel down the road. A bunch of shirtless rednecks drinking beer and driving around the town causing a ruckus.

  “Your daddy should’ve left you in a ditch, MacDonald!”

  “Did you know you’re fucking the town dirt!?”

  My jaw dropped as a can of beer came flying at us. I yelped and ducked, then a warm body threw itself over mine. Beer sprayed everywhere as the can hit the rental car, and I felt Gray’s arms tighten around me. He picked me up and placed me into the passenger seat of the car, then quickly put up the top to protect us from any other attacks.

  But their words sped through my mind at lightning speed.

  Gray dipped into the car next to me and slammed the door. I heard him audibly trying to settle his breathing. I slowly panned my gaze over to him as the truck full of assholes raced off into the distance, shouting things like ‘asshole’ and ‘trailer
trash.’

  We sat there quietly as the truck fell into the background before I finally found my voice.

  “What the hell was that about?” I asked.

  Chapter 15

  Grayson

  I had no idea how the hell to answer her question. How the fuck did I explain to Michelle that I used to be a grade-A asshole in high school? That I terrorized the people of this town with her ex-boyfriend because of my own anger as a child? How did I tell her I used to start fires underneath the football bleachers and how Andy and I would hide out in bushes around the school and shoot kids with fucking paintballs?

  As I sat there in my rental car and stared out the windshield, memories assaulted me. The football game I intentionally threw for revenge against the defensive players on my team who had beat on me after a prank gone wrong. I’d lit up a stink bomb and thrown it into the locker room while they were changing. They beat my ass for it, so I threw our championship game just to get back at them. I almost wasn’t recruited because of that damn game. And the coach was ready to throw me off the team for good after that damn stunt.

  How did I tell Michelle any of that?

  “People here aren’t my biggest fans,” I said.

  “That’s pretty obvious. But why?” she asked.

  “A friend of mine and I were pranksters in high school. Not everyone enjoyed our surprises.”

  “What did you guys do?”

  “Just—stupid stuff,” I said with a sigh. “I was an angry kid, and I threw that anger into unproductive things. We made a few enemies back then, and people around here don’t forget much.”

  “I mean, are we talking saran wrap over a toilet seat? Or shooting fireworks into someone’s bedroom?”

  We were talking much, much worse. But how the hell was I supposed to admit that?

  “I wasn’t the nicest person back then, Michelle. But I’ve come a long way. I’m not the guy I was when I was sixteen,” I said.

  “None of us are,” she said. “And it’s usually a good thing. But some of the things they were saying—?”