"Say you're mine."
He pressed his hand harder against my jeans and I let out a breathy moan.
"I'm yours, Grey. Only yours," I whispered.
Those simple words snapped the tether of his restraint. He crushed his full lips against mine and gripped the underside of my thighs, hoisting me up. He groaned but didn't stop. We spun around and my ass connected with the cold marble of the countertop.
His kiss was rough--possessive. I'd never been a woman who could be possessed. I could never give up the control, but with him it was as easy as breathing.
Grey broke the kiss long enough to pull my tank top up over my head, and then his lips were back on mine as his soft tongue dipped into my mouth and he fumbled with the clasp of my bra. When the red satiny material fell away, Grey moved back, his eyes hooded as he admired my ample curves. He dipped his head, his large hands cupping my breasts as he sucked my nipple between his teeth. I threw my head back as he rolled his skillful tongue around the sensitive flesh. The sensation traveled straight down between my thighs. He worked the same magic on the other nipple before our lips met again.
I pulled his shirt free from the waist of his pants and slowly undid the first couple of buttons while he unzipped my pants. He started to lift me to pull my pants off.
"Let me." I pushed him back gently.
I'd gotten lost in the moment when he lifted me earlier, forgetting his body was still healing. I slipped down off the counter and slid my jeans down to the floor. Stepping out of them, I grabbed his shirt and pulled him toward me. I stared up into his golden hazel eyes as I finished with the buttons and pushed the shirt off his shoulders. Grabbing the hem of his undershirt, I lifted it up as he raised his arms.
Seeing his wound for the first time, I cringed. The laceration on the side of his abdomen wasn't wide. There were probably ten stitches, but I knew it was deep. I traced my fingertips around the area, which was purple and yellow with bruising.
"When do these come out?" I looked up at his face.
"They were supposed to come out today," he replied. "But I got busy and had to cancel my appointment," he said with a smirk.
I leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss over the injury. Standing up straight again, I felt as if I might burst. I placed my palms on the side of his face, gazing into his eyes as they swam with emotions matching my own.
"I love you, Grey," I whispered, pulling him to me.
His pupils dilated and a slow smile spread across his face.
This time our kiss was sweet and full of love.
"I've loved you since I watched you run and hide from me in the lobby bathroom," he announced, trying to contain his laughter.
"Oh my God, you saw me!" I said, my face flushing and my eyes widening at the revelation.
"I can't believe you didn't say anything!"
"It would have scared you away. I did a pretty good job of that without telling you," he said, his tone grew more serious as his gaze drifted to my mouth.
I bit my lip and one corner of his mouth turned up as he leaned down and took my bottom lip between his teeth. I ran my tongue along his top lip. He moaned deep in his throat and released my bottom lip before his tongue met mine.
He hooked his thumbs inside the waist of my red panties and dropped to his knees, slipping them down as he peppered my torso with kisses. When I stepped out of them, he ran his tongue up from the inside of my knee, stopping just centimeters from where my body ached for him.
"I love the way you taste," he whispered, looking up at me with those beautiful eyes.
I moaned in anticipation and he flashed a crooked grin, obviously pleased with the way his words affected me. Using his fingertips, he spread my swollen lips and licked slow circles around my clit.
I cried out as my legs trembled beneath me. He slid his tongue down between my wet lips and then moved away to stand. The loss of his mouth was acute.
"Can you taste how sweet you are?" he asked, kissing me and slipping his tongue into my mouth.
I sucked on it and smiled lazily.
"Yes, I like tasting myself on your lips," I whispered before he kissed me again.
He ran his hands through my long waves, fisting it, before he tilted my head back to gain access to the sensitive skin on my neck. I moaned as he nipped and sucked his way up to my ear before he released my hair and kissed my mouth again. He stepped away, gazing into my eyes as he undid his pants. The look he gave me was intense, full of need. My gaze drifted down to his hands as they moved the zipper down. His erection strained against the charcoal material. I licked my lips in anticipation as he moved his pants and underwear down, releasing his hard cock from its confinement.
Swallowing hard, I put my hands over his, dropping to my knees as I took over the task of undressing him completely. I flicked my tongue over the swollen crown, tasting the salty sweetness of his arousal. He growled, stepping out of his pants before I took the head of his cock into my mouth. I rolled my tongue around the silky hard skin and then flicked it along the underside as I took in as much of his length as I could handle.
"I need to be inside you." He grabbed my biceps to pull me upward.
"I wasn't done." I pouted.
He huffed and picked up his pants, rifling through the pockets for the condom he ripped open. I watched with rapt attention as he slid the material over his impressive length before he grabbed my face and kissed me hard, backing me up against the counter.
"Turn around," he commanded, his eyes hooded.
Obeying the command, I leaned over the counter. My hard nipples brushed against the cold surface as Grey gripped my hips. His erection pressed against my wet lips, spreading them apart as Grey slowly pushed inside me.
"Oh. My. God." I moaned as he filled me completely, his cock seeming to touch places inside me I'd never felt.
He planted wet kisses all over my back as he thrust back and forth, slowly at first, but gaining momentum with each motion. My orgasm barreled down on me like a freight train. My legs shook as the fire exploded low in my belly and spread like lava through my veins.
"I can't stop, you feel so--aah fuck, Claudia, you're going to make me come," Grey growled with one last hard thrust as my pussy clenched around his cock.
He collapsed against my back, both of us heaving with each breath. When my heart finally slowed a little, he lifted up, slipping his still erect cock from inside me. He gripped my arm and pulled me toward him, kissing my lips slowly and thoroughly.
"I'm not finished with you yet," he whispered definitively, gripping my hand and leading me toward his bedroom on my still trembling legs.
Chapter 25
Six months later
"I still can't fucking believe this." Lydia gripped my hand to look at the ring again. "It's the end of an era, but who can blame you with that sexy husband of yours? Too bad he's not a triplet," she teased.
"Right, like you're going to settle down?"
"Good point, although I would have said the same thing about you six months ago," she replied.
Touché.
I smiled at Grey across the room where he was talking to his mother. It seemed as though I'd known him my whole life, not just a few months. She noticed the change in his expression and turned my way giving me a little wave and a smile. It was amazing how easily his entire family welcomed me. It was as if I'd always belonged there.
In the short time since my father revealed the truth about my mother and me, we'd managed to become close again. So much so I wanted to be sure he had the opportunity to walk me down the aisle. Grey certainly didn't have any objections to the speedy wedding. He'd proposed to me on the two month anniversary of the day we met.
"I just got confirmation the anonymous endowment to the Adam Dawson Foundation was just received," Elsa announced, drawing the attention of everyone in Carter and Bethany's family room, before giving Grace, who had tears running down her face, a warm hug.
"That's all thanks to you and Bridget," I said, nudging Lydia prou
dly. "That anonymous donor wouldn't have felt nearly as generous without the information you and Bridget found for Gregory."
Not only had they found enough dirt to make Kristen Page and Arrow cease their attempts to takeover G&G and prevent them from releasing stories about Elsa and Gregory to the media, they'd acquired enough to make them realize a few years of generous philanthropic ventures were in their best interests.
I noticed Grace talking to Gina, no doubt about the formal event they were planning to roll out the new charity. Jared was behind her, beaming with pride. The two of them were virtually inseparable since the gala all those months ago. I was thrilled for her, standing there with everything she'd always dreamed of and worked so hard for. I didn't know anyone more deserving of happiness than my best friend.
"We can't take all the credit. It was Elsa's idea to funnel most of those donations to Grace's foundation, and you're the one who told her about Grace's dream," Lydia said, sounding a little sad. "Work just isn't going to be the same without you two."
"But Davis, Hall & Associates has a nice ring to it," I replied, reciting one of the possibilities for the business's new name now Lydia and Bridget were the sole owners. Grace would be running the foundation named for her brother full-time with a little guidance from Elsa.
"This little impromptu celebration of yours really came together." Gregory came up and put a brotherly arm around my shoulder.
"I was just talking with Scott and Paula." He nodded in the direction of Ashley Slade's parents.
"It seems Ashley left for an ashram in India two days ago. She claims to be on a path of self-discovery."
He shook his head, laughing at the thought. I couldn't help joining in as I pictured Ashley giving up her designer shoes and couture for bare feet and baggy clothes. We'd only seen her occasionally over the months, but as was the way of my new family, she was still welcome at most family gatherings. I suspected mainly for the benefit of her parents whom I was told apologized profusely for their oldest child's poor judgment. I wasn't entirely sure they'd truly forgiven her, but everyone put on a good show anyway.
Elsa caught Gregory's eye, a hand resting gently on her barely noticeable new belly. He strode over to her, placing his hand over hers as he kissed her forehead. They looked happier than ever. A few months before I would have never considered having children, but seeing the contentment in Elsa, the joyful little smiles, the subconscious touching of her belly, I started to wonder.
As if he'd been reading my mind, Grey appeared behind me, wrapping his strong arms around my waist.
"I wouldn't mind seeing you like that, Mrs. Michaels."
I turned my head back and placed a small peck on his lips.
"We'll see," I replied with a sly smile.
Epilogue
Eighteen months later
"Are you ready?" Grey took my hand to help me out of the car.
I'd gotten far less graceful once I hit the second trimester, but he still looked down at me as though I was the most elegant woman on the planet.
"I think so." I rested my other hand on my belly as I looked up the walkway to the house. "Oh."
I stopped, bending over a little.
"What's wrong? Are you in pain?" Grey kneeled down to see my face.
I laughed, seeing the fear in him. With each passing day, he grew more and more anxious.
"No, Grey. Your daughter just kicked me in the bladder, that's all."
It seems our little vacation to Tuscany, and the copious amounts of wine and good food, helped Grey to finally persuade me to have a baby. Although, I think my mind was made up long before we left.
Relief washed over him.
"She's going to give her cousin Liam a run for his money," he said, rubbing my tummy.
Elsa sent us a video of Liam that morning taking his first steps toward the stuffed soccer ball we'd given him for his birthday. Because Gregory and Grey both played, it seemed an appropriate gift.
"I'm guessing both of them will," I said as baby girl number two joined in the fun with a jab to my ribs.
It was still hard to fathom there were two of them in there, except for the fact I was already huge at just six months.
My dad hung on just long enough to hear the good news, but he would never meet his two new granddaughters--a thought that brought tears to my eyes. It'd been nearly three months since he passed, and I finally felt ready to open Mom's letter.
I'd read it every day since, those last precious words meant just for me from the woman I loved more than anyone in the world. Those words are private, a little piece of her I keep all to myself, even from the man who owns my heart, but he doesn't seem to mind.
They'd found their way to me when I needed them most, and although I wasn't particularly religious, I'd known deep in my soul she'd made sure of that somehow. She hadn't been perfect, she had her secrets and had made a lot of mistakes, but she did the best she could with what she had. Despite her shortcomings, she got one thing exceptionally right, one thing I hoped I did as well for my daughters. Not a single day went by with her that I didn't know with absolute certainty I was loved.
"Do I look all right?" I asked Grey, standing on the front porch, my heart pounding as I prepared to meet my biological father for the first time.
I didn't know what to expect, if he would be happy to meet me or throw us off his porch, but I needed to know, to see him at least once.
"You look beautiful," he said, tipping up my chin and planting a soft kiss on my lips.
The anxiety I felt suddenly melted away. I smiled up at him, wondering how I could have possibly gotten so lucky. After all those years of me believing love wasn't possible, that men couldn't be trusted, Grey had shown me a love that changed my opinion, that changed me, forever.
No matter what was waiting on the other side of that door, I knew it would be okay because Grey was, and always would be, by my side.
The End
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Titles from S. Simone Chavous
Contemporary Romance
Homewrecker Incorporated
Paranormal Romance
The Fate Series:
Choices of Fate - Book 1
Redemption of Fate - Book 2
Absolution of Fate - Book 3
The Complete Fate Series Box Set
For more information on titles by S. Simone Chavous please visit
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Acknowledgements
Where to even start, there are so many people I want to thank for helping me along this crazy journey!
Brian, none of this would be possible without your love and support. Thank you for letting me follow my dreams. I love you more than words can say.
Cami and Izzy, you aren't old enough to read this book, but you are what motivates me everyday.
Danielle Allen and Kendall Grey, the amazing writing retreat you put together helped me find my passion again. I can't thank you both enough for that gift. You embody the concept of paying it forward.
Danielle, again, you have become one of my dearest friends and I'm so grateful to have met you. Your support and encouragement mean the world to me.
Amy, Danielle (yet again ;) ), Josie, Melissa, Niquel, and Zolie....twerk on my friends!
Lindee Robinson, thank you for the beautiful photographs and cover. Michael Door and Denise Emilia, it wouldn't be beautiful without the two of you on it.
Lauren Schmelz, you're the best and you helped me find the best in my story. I look forward to working with you for years to come.
And finally, all my author friends from Author BFFs, you've been a shoulder to cry on, a sounding board, pretty much anything I needed when I needed it. I'm so happy to be a part of such an awesome group.
About the Author
S. Simone Chavous is contemporary and paranormal romance author. Her debut trilogy, The Fate Series, has been a best seller in the paranormal
romance category. When she isn't writing, she enjoys reading, sketching, cooking, and spending time with family. She lives in northern Indiana with her boyfriend, two beautiful daughters, and their rambunctious vizsla.
To learn more about S. Simone, please visit: www.ssimonechavous.com
or connect with her on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/ssimonechavous
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