CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
GRAYSON
Grayson feints at Dexter half-heartedly, lowering his guard and allowing another gut punch to land, doubling over and giving Dexter the opportunity to deliver an uppercut to his chin. Grayson tastes blood and spits it out onto the floor of the ring. They’re halfway through the second round, and he needs to start taking more hits if a knockout in the third round is going to be believable. But as he drops his blocks and softens his own punches, he notices that something isn’t right.
Dexter frowns at him, trying to figure out what the hell is going on. “Where the fuck is your game, Gray?” He speaks loudly enough for only Grayson to hear him. “Are you really that pussy-whipped? I mean it’s a nice piece of pussy, but if it’s enough for you to lose your mind over then I guess I really need to try it.” Dexter gives him a wolfish smile, and Grayson tries to keep a lid on his anger. If he lets himself go, then there’s no way he can control the outcome of this fight in the way that he needs to.
Dexter seems to realize that Grayson isn’t giving his all in the fight, and he’s looking at him suspiciously. He continues to try to goad him, calling him a pussy, a wannabe, and whatever else he can come up with, but it doesn’t have any effect.
Grayson looks back up to where Adriana is standing, her hands raised as if she’s ready to cover her face, as if she doesn’t want to see Grayson get hit again. Dexter follows Grayson’s gaze and smiles when he sees Adriana, nodding at her and blowing her a kiss.
Grayson knows that Dexter is doing it just to piss him off. Mission accomplished, he thinks, as he delivers a solid punch to the side of Dexter’s head.
“That’s more like it.” Dexter smiles at him through bloody teeth. It wasn’t fun for him, knowing that Grayson had been holding back. It probably wounded his pride to think that Grayson was letting him off easy.
Grayson reminds himself to hold back. Adriana is depending on him, and he can’t let her down.
“Looks like that’s the way to get your head back in the game, Gray.” Dexter flicks his eyes over again towards Adriana’s direction. “So, tell me Grayson, have you had her in that sweet little ass of hers, yet? I bet she’s so tight, but I guess I’ll find out soon.”
That’s when Grayson loses all control. Every rational thought in his brain is removed and replaced by anger and action. He can’t stop himself; he explodes. He punches through Dexter’s guard, hammering into his abs, getting in as many body blows as he can. Dexter doubles over caught off guard by how much strength Grayson has left. He tries to get in a few more punches, but Grayson goes through him like a freight train. It’s only in the moment that his fist connects with Dexter’s temple that Grayson realizes what’s about to happen, and he wants to take it all back.
Dexter’s body falls to the floor, his arms and legs splayed out around him, like a snow angel. The referee calls it: “TKO!” Grayson’s hand is lifted in victory, and the crowd is cheering like he’s never heard before. However, he’s still in a daze that’s slowly clearing. He’s won the fight, but he’s not happy about it.
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
ADRIANA
She sees Dexter go down and hit the mats, hard. She raises her arms, whooping and hollering, happy beyond belief that Grayson has won and that, above all, she doesn’t have to see him getting beaten to within an inch of his life. However, her mood changes abruptly, as the gun is prodded hard into her side. Grayson has won, but she knows what that means for her.
“Grayson! Grayson!” she yells as loudly as she can, but her voice is lost in the crowd. They are going completely wild because they’re about to witness the crowning of a new state champion. Everyone is on their feet, and they’re blocking Grayson’s view of her.
Mr. Elliott yanks her hard, pulling her along the row and towards an exit at the back. She tries to become deadweight, making it harder for him to force her to move, but he doesn’t break stride. He just lifts her up and carries her in a fireman’s lift. She kicks out and screams, but the crowd around her doesn’t pay any attention, probably figuring that she’s being carried off by security for being hysterical.
She does everything she can to slow him down, but it’s not enough. She knows that once they get outside, she doesn’t have any chance. Once she’s outside, there aren’t any witnesses to see what they do to her.
CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
GRAYSON
He doesn’t care that he’s just won the biggest fight of his life. All he cares about is that he’s just sealed Adriana’s fate. His eyes dart to where she had been sitting, only to find that the crowd is completely obstructing her from view. He has to get to her—now.
Grayson jumps out of the ring and tries to make his way through the crowd as fast as he can, but they’re slowing him down.
“Punisher, we love you!”
“Punisher, sign my butt!”
He ignores all of them, sweeping people out of his way, as he catches sight of Adriana on Morrison’s goon’s shoulder, heading towards the exit. Grayson knows that Morrison has lost a lot of money on the fight. He had been betting on Grayson to lose, but Grayson hadn’t fulfilled his end of the bargain. That means that Morrison isn’t likely to hold up his end. He won’t think twice about killing Adriana.
Grayson takes the stairs three at a time, rushing after them as fast as he can, cursing anyone who gets in his way. He barrels through the exit, skidding to a halt, as he takes in the scene. Morrison and his goon obviously imagined that Grayson would come after Adriana. They have her wedged in-between them, with Morrison’s gun in the foreground, making sure that Grayson can’t miss it.
“Let her go, Morris. We can work this out.” Grayson doesn’t even know what it is that he’s saying. All he’s thinking about is that he has to keep Morrison talking. If he’s talking, then he won’t be shooting.
The door behind him bangs closed again and Grayson feels rather than sees Tommy’s presence just to the side of him. “I told you I’d have your back, G.”
But the presence of another fighter has gotten Morrison all jumpy. Grayson can see his hand on the gun shaking. That’s the last thing they need…for the gun to go off by mistake, especially when it’s trained in the general direction of Adriana’s gut.
“Back off! Back off!” Morrison’s voice comes out half-strangled. “Get back or I’ll kill her right in front of you.” He clicks the safety off, emphasizing the point, and Grayson feels the closest thing to paralytic fear that he’s ever experienced in his life.
He focuses his attention on Adriana, not on the gun that’s pressed into her side. She smiles at him sadly, and that’s when he sees her split lip and the bruising to the side of her face. He feels his stomach clench at the knowledge that these men have hurt her, and he wasn’t there to protect her.
“Walk away, Grayson.” Her voice sounds confident, as if that’s really what she wants. “It’s over and it’s okay.” She smiles at him encouragingly, and his heart feels like it’s being squeezed into a fist. After everything that’s happened, everything that she’s been through, she’s still trying to tell him that he’s off the hook—for all of it. He may have just been announced the new state champion, but she was the strong one in the way that really mattered.
“I can’t do that, Adrie.” He doesn’t take his eyes off of her, afraid that if he does that it’ll be the last time he sees her. “I got you into this and I’m going to get you out.” He ignores Morrison’s sarcastic laugh at his words.
“That’s all very heartwarming, but we really must be going now.” Morrison pulls Adriana further away from Grayson, towards the street behind them and the car that’s waiting for them with the engine running. Grayson takes a step towards them, but Morrison shakes his head, looking meaningfully at the gun. “Kid, don’t tempt me.”
Grayson has run out of options; there’s nothing that he can do except watch as she’s dragged away. Exactly, Fletcher, he thinks, there’s nothing that you can do, but Adriana can do something.
&
nbsp; “Remember what I taught you, Adrie.” He shouts the words out to her, hoping that she’ll understand what he’s telling her.
She frowns at him, confused, and he thinks that he’s lost her, that there’s nothing more that can be done. He knows that when they get her onto the main street she is going to disappear and he won’t be able to find her. But then her frown clears, and he sees the light of understanding sparkle in her eyes.
What happens next occurs so quickly it’s hard to take it in. Morrison continues to drag Adriana back, but abruptly she plants her feet, throwing Morrison off balance and sending the gun skittering along the ground. Then, she executes the hip flip that Grayson had taught her on the goon, rolling him to the floor like a pro and slamming him into the ground, hard.
Grayson and Tommy move as one, rushing towards the two men. Tommy pins the goon down, using all his force to dominate him. As Morrison sees how the tide is turning, he decides to cut his losses and starts running towards the street, but he’s nowhere near fast enough. Grayson tackles him from behind, sending Morrison crashing to the ground, crying out in pain as his face hits the concrete.
“You fuck! You broke my fucking nose!” Morrison whines like a little bitch, as he tries to slow the flow of blood that’s rushing out of his nose like a tidal wave.
“I’m going to break more than that, Morris. Your nose is the least of your problems.” Grayson flips the man over, raising his fist, ready to smash Morrison’s head against the concrete.
Grayson sees the exact moment that realization dawns on Morrison. The fear in his eyes is palpable. “Come on, Grayson. Don’t be that way. You know I wouldn’t really have hurt her.”
Grayson shakes his head at the sniveling man underneath him. “It looks like you already have, Morrison.” Grayson looks over at Adriana, who’s standing with her back to the wall, watching them both.
“That wasn’t me. That was Mr. Elliott.” Morrison gives up his comrade in arms so quickly Grayson’s surprised it doesn’t make his head spin. “Kid, don’t hurt me. You’re not a killer.” Morrison holds his hands up in front of his face, looking as pathetic as any man whom Grayson has ever seen.
Grayson feels the conflict playing out inside of him. There’s nothing that he wants more right now than to let out all the anger that Morrison has made him feel over the years. He wants to make Morrison feel the fear and the pain that he put Adriana through.
“Grayson, don’t.” Adriana’s voice is quiet, but it carries over the noise in his head.
He takes in the plea in her green eyes and realizes that no matter how much he wants to hurt Morrison there’s something else that he wants more. He wants to be the man whom Adriana needs him to be, the man whom he knows he can be for her. That’s more important than any thought of revenge or selfish need of his own.
He looks down at Morrison and releases him in disgust. “I’m not going to hurt you, Morris, not physically at least. But you and your little friend here are going to go away for a very long time, a lifetime if I have anything to do with it.”
Grayson is vaguely aware of the sound of sirens as he walks towards Adriana, enveloping her in his arms. They hold onto each other, clutching each other so tight that it’s impossible to tell where one of them ends and the other begins.
CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
ADRIANA
Grayson’s kisses leave a trail of fire behind them, as he follows the line of her jaw, over her collarbone, paying particular attention to the sensitive area at the base of her neck. She breathes in deeply as his expert fingers dip into the softness between her thighs.
She gasps at his touch in her most intimate of places. His mouth covers her nipples, first one and then the other, circling them with his tongue, scraping his teeth against them, making her pussy ache with want for him.
“You’re so beautiful, Adriana.” Grayson looks up at her, and she feels the heat of her blush spread across her face. “It’s a little late for shyness, isn’t it?” He looks at her with that gorgeous smile of his that makes her stomach flip over.
She doesn’t think that she’d be able to reply—even if she had something to say. The way his fingers are stroking her slit is making it difficult to think about anything else, let alone form sentences. Grayson must see how turned on she is as she lifts her hips to him, squirming against his fingers and riding them as he teases her clit. He covers her mouth with his, invading her lips with his tongue, possessing her completely.
Adriana moans against his mouth, her fingers grazing the hard muscles of his pecs and then his abs, as she allows her hands to wonder down towards his happy trail. His erection is hard against her hip, and the knowledge that he’s as turned on as she is drives her crazy. She grasps hold of his shaft, feeling how swollen with need he is, and she starts moving her hands up and down the length of him.
As they touch each other, Grayson leans over her, pulling her bottom lip and biting it playfully. The action crosses the line between pleasure and pain. It’s exactly what she needs; it’s the catalyst to her explosion.
“Come for me, Adrie. Let go.” His whispers spur her on as his fingers sheath themselves inside of her, making her buck and cry out as her orgasm overtakes her. “That’s it, baby.” Grayson holds her to him as she shakes from the force of her climax, kissing her head softly and tenderly.
She looks up at him from under heavy lids, satisfied but nowhere near done yet. She smiles at him coquettishly and wriggles out from underneath him. “I love you.” She kisses him deeply, as she maneuvers herself to lie on top of him. “And I love your cock.” She raises an eyebrow at him as she takes him between her hands, guiding him towards her entrance, slick with her own juices.
“You have no idea how much it turns me on to hear you say that.” Grayson looks at her with eyes burning with desire.
“Say what?” Adriana looks at him in faux-innocence. “That I love your big, hard cock? That I love it when you’re inside of me?” She watches his appetite for her play across his features, and she wonders if she’ll ever get used to how damn gorgeous this man is and that he’s hers. “I want you to take me; I want you to love me.”
Grayson locks eyes with her, his hands on her hips, guiding her slowly down onto his shaft. She gasps as his tip enters her and then the rest of him inch by delicious inch. They don’t take their eyes off each other, as Adriana starts to move above him. She feels him penetrating her, again and again, filling her up.
“Adrie, God I love you.” Grayson reaches up to cup her face. His fingers trace the bruise that still hasn’t quite disappeared from her cheek, and she sees his expression darken.
“Stay here with me, Gray. Don’t go there.” She watches him, pulling him back from the dark place that he goes when he’s reminded of what happened to her and how things could have ended so differently.
She leans over him, her hair creating a curtain around them as she kisses him hard, sucking on his lip and distracting him from his gloomy thoughts. Her hips start moving faster, and Grayson picks up on her change in rhythm, driving into her harder.
They’re both moaning in pleasure at the exquisite contact. She tightens her pussy’s hold around his shaft, and she watches as Grayson’s eyes bulge. “Holy shit, Adrie.” He grabs hold of her hips and flips her over so that she’s underneath him. He circles her clit with his thumb, as he buries himself in her again and again.
Adriana squirms underneath him, arching her back and pushing up against him to allow him to get even deeper inside of her. “I’m close, Gray.” She can barely breathe she’s so turned on.
“Come with me, Adrie.” His words stimulate her—in time with his fingers and his cock—and she feels herself rising up and up and up. Pleasure overtakes her as she climaxes, crying out.
Grayson follows her a split-second later, calling out her name as he spurts inside of her, clutching her to him. Grayson collapses on top of her, breathing hard and planting soft kisses on her lips and along the remnants of the bruise on her cheek.
&
nbsp; “I love you, Adrie.” He whispers the words against her lips. Now that they’d started to say it, it was like neither of them could say it enough.
“I love you too, Gray.” She wraps her arms around him, feeling languorous and satisfied beyond measure.
“I don’t think I’m ever going to get tired of having you here, in my bed.” Grayson smiles down at her, looking at her as if she were the best thing he’d ever seen.
They hadn’t been able to get enough of each other—despite spending every day and every night since the fight wrapped around each other, barely inches apart. They have barely surfaced from Grayson’s bedroom for anything but food and water, and Adriana could safely say that she could have stayed like that forever.
But the time has come for the most momentous event in their relationship to date, more than her being taken and used as leverage over Grayson and more than him almost being beaten to within an inch of his life in the ring to save her. This moment was going to be more impactful than everything else they’ve been through; she was about to meet Grayson’s family.
MY PROTECTOR: The Valves MC Page 48