“How was your day, dear?” I asked between giggles and tickles.
“Oh, you know, lots of breasts, but none as great as yours!” He winked at me before placing his lips on my taut nipple. I felt a twinge of warmth stir in my sex. I couldn’t think of anything else, but my desire for him.
“Well, maybe there was this one pair…” he teased me.
“You’d better be joshing, mister! Go, shower time, be back in thirty, or we’ll leave you behind. No dinner, no dessert!”
“Bossy today, are you? Be right back.” He rolled to get off the bed. I made a final push and managed to shove him to the floor.
“I give, I give.” He held his hands up in concession, but we were both laughing.
“I just wanted to tell you something,” he said with such seriousness. I sat up in the bed and waited with anticipation.
“I can go through anything, as long as you’re the one I see at the finish line.”
His lips lingered on mine as he kissed me bye. He touched my cheek softly, dragging his finger down my neck before walking away.
Wow.
Moments later, my apartment was bursting at the seams with the twins, Monica, Cooper, and Mark. We drove to the restaurant and joined Zoe, Brent, Dad, and Gretchen. I’d hated that Zoe hadn’t been able to go with us to the bridal boutique, but we made plans to go after my appointment with Dr. Stewart.
Silently, my mind drifted, just hoping that Dr. Stewart would give me good news and that we were clear to start trying again. Thinking about it made me nervous; I didn’t want to disappoint Grayson. He was very open about wanting to have kids.
I would’ve been more willing to wait a while, but I didn’t want to disappoint Grayson and his longing to start a family and I was reluctant to push him on the issue. What if Dr. Stewart said that we couldn’t have a successful pregnancy? What if there were issues from the gunshots?
I felt my body tense up and began to shiver, unable to stop even with deep breaths. Grayson had his arm around my waist.
He whispered to me, “You’re shivering. Are you cold?” He looked at me with the most endearing eyes, so vibrantly blue.
“No, babe. I was thinking about what you said earlier at the apartment,” I whispered back at him and winked.
Wow. I was sure there was an Academy Award in my future. My act must’ve been convincing because he grinned an intoxicating smile and mumbled something about dessert.
The room was full, laughter swirled around us, and it was great to have almost everyone together for a pre-wedding dinner, all but my step-siblings and their significant others.
My dad made a toast to family, those that were with us and those that couldn’t be, and it was beautiful. Harrison made a toast to Grayson and me. It was simply heartwarming to see the twins together again without trying to rip each other apart. If there is anything to be grateful for from all the recent events, it was seeing these two together.
Part way through dinner, Harrison surprised us all by announcing he was relocating to Dallas to be closer to family and friends. Monica radiated her excitement. I thought they might be in love already. They were quite the attractive and charming couple, both very flirty with each other.
Dinner was fun, but the time flew by and it was late. We said our goodbyes and parted ways. The tugging feelings that I had when Dad and Gretchen left surprised me. I’d gotten used to seeing them almost every day. It was just comfortable.
Back at the apartment, Grayson and I were finally alone and both in a very playful mood.
“We still have that movie from RedBox. You want me to take it back?” he yelled to me while I was changing.
Hmm, movie or something else, what to do? I decided to play with him a bit. I ran back into the kitchen and grabbed the chocolate body paint.
“Go ahead and put it in. I’ll be out in a second.”
While he put the movie in, I dropped my clothes, held the bottle under the hot water to warm it, and painted myself with the chocolate. I loved it so much the first time an encore performance was due.
When I walked out into the living room with “Love Me?” painted across my tummy, he was shocked speechless.
He strutted across the floor quickly to me with bright, sparkly eyes and a devious grin. He leaned forward and barely breathed on my lips without making contact. When I felt the cold air between us, I sensed he had moved back without kissing me.
With my eyes open, he gazed into mine. “I’m yours, forever.”
He stripped off his clothes and took the chocolate body paint from my hands. I was surprised when he used the chocolate to write “Yes” on his chest.
With our bodies entangled, I knew I never wanted to be anywhere else.
CHAPTER SIX
“Good morning, sunshine. Did you sleep well?” Grayson’s hand grabbed my ass and pulled me close while he traced the pulse-point on my neck with his tongue. He was grinding his hips to mine, making it difficult to refrain from sex.
“Um hmm, last night was wonderful. How’d you sleep?” Squirming, I tried to free myself from his morning temptations. I had a full day planned. “Control yourself, Dr. Brooks, you have a very difficult patient scheduled first thing this morning. You can’t be late for work!”
“You’re my first patient, so if we’re late, no one will mind. Now get over here and snuggle with me for a few more minutes.”
I delighted in obliging him, but the minutes went too quickly, and soon we were out the door.
I followed Grayson in to the physicians’ parking garage. As I pulled my Jeep up next to his car, he got out, shaking his head. “We’ve gotta do something about your car, Alexandra. It’s past trustworthy, you know that, right?”
“I know, but can’t we discuss it later?”
“Do you know where your title paperwork is?”
“Fine, it’s filed in my desk. You’re relentless. No time for car shopping right now with the wedding. That’s a discussion for later, babe.” My mind was focused on getting my stitches out and receiving the all clear from Dr. Stewart, because I wanted—no make that needed—intimacy with Grayson in every way. I loved him and craved to be with him, sharing those special moments with him. His touch, his ability to satisfy my needs, the way he always held me after we made love, purely magical for me.
When we walked into the office, Millie stopped and made a big fuss over me. I hadn’t seen her since everything had happened. She gave me a big hug and just held me. When she released me, she wiped tears from her eyes. “I’m so glad to see you, love. My heart has been heavy with worry about you.”
“Oh, you’re so sweet. Well, see? I’m just fine and have been in great hands with him. We have big plans coming. Speaking of which, has Grayson given you the itinerary for the wedding? You’re still planning to come, aren’t you?”
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world. Thank you for inviting me. I’m so excited for you both.”
“Are you women going to gab all day, or can I get to work?” Grayson tried to play fierce, but we knew he was a softy, and we made fun of him when he wasn’t looking.
He and Zoe carefully removed my stitches and put on some little strips to finish sealing up the incision and wounds, four places all together. My hip looked like a patchwork quilt, but amazingly it was all less noticeable.
Grayson assured me I would barely be able to see them in six months. It was hard to look at them without revisiting the scene. I felt the emotional sting creep into my eyes.
“Come here, angel.” He held me tightly. His strong arms around me. I loved the smell of him, like clean cotton. “I love you. Everything’s going to be okay.”
I tried to hide my emotions from Grayson. I didn’t want to worry him. He had been so sweet and caring with me, and I wanted him to see how strong I’d become. “I love you, too.”
Millie knocked on the door. “Dr. Brooks, the surgery desk is on the phone needing you. Can you talk to them?”
“Go ahead, I’m fine. I’ll see you upstairs.”
On the way up to Dr. Stewart’s office, I prayed for good news. I’d been counseling with Tara every day, and we’d become very close. She reassured me that everything we’d been doing was completely normal and felt we were doing all the right things. Her opinion was that the wedding was a big distraction in a positive way for us. It brought our family together and kept Grayson and me focused on our relationship.
Secretly, my insides mourned the loss of our baby and my heart was broken in many pieces. Tara was the only one I confided to about my turmoil and my fears. I didn’t want to be a drag to everyone else. While a broken heart wasn’t visible from the outside, it was there. I would never forget what those horrible people did to me and what was taken from us.
My appointment at Dr. Stewart’s went well, and Grayson and I were happy with the good news. With hormone levels back to normal, she thought I’d actually miscarried earlier than the shooting. She informed us we could resume sexual relations if we wanted to, but would have to wait a couple more weeks before we could try to for another baby, and she really recommended that we wait until after the first of the year.
My soon-to-be-husband grumbled about condoms, especially for our honeymoon. He put up a good argument, beating her down, so she agreed we should be okay if we put off sex until the honeymoon.
Grayson gave me a wink and I knew what that meant. Oh, goose bumps. The man already had a plan. He made my heart flutter.
We went back to the office, so he could finish his work. Zoe joined me for an afternoon at the bridal boutique for her dress fitting.
“That dress looks amazing on you. You look absolutely beautiful in yellow, Zoe. Let me get your shoes.”
She gasped when she saw them. “Those are fabulous! I’ll have to practice wearing them, so I don’t fall off of ‘em during the ceremony!” She giggled. She loved the dress and the color was a gorgeous pairing with her blonde hair and dark eyes.
We were having lunch at BreadWinners Café when I could tell she wanted to know about our doctor’s visit. Finally, she just asked. “Alex, did Dr. Stewart have much to say today?”
“Everything looked fine, and the hormone levels were normal, which Dr. Stewart said was really quick. She thought maybe we actually lost the baby earlier than the shooting, which makes sense with all the trouble I was having the weeks before.”
I went over Dr. Stewart’s opinion with Zoe. As we chatted back and forth, I began to realize that Dr. Stewart had answered the ultimate question I’d struggled with…nothing I’d done had caused the miscarriage.
“Girl, you know how your brother is when he wants his way.” I gave her a quick look while rolling my eyes. She knew how her brother could behave.
“Brent is ready to try for a baby, but I’m still thinking about it. I’ve stopped my pills, but he’s bitching about condoms. I just haven’t decided on the timing. Maybe we can just share your baby!” We both giggled at the thought.
We talked over lunch about all the fun things we were going to do at the beach. We stopped by a few stores, and I purchased an outfit to wear out that evening. She and Brent were going to join us at a place in Fort Worth for dancing later that night. We had planned something totally different. I didn’t do much of that kind of dancing, but Billy Bob’s Texas in the Fort Worth Stockyards had been on my bucket list since moving to Dallas.
The shop stylist talked me into a Shakuhachi floral high-low sundress topped with a short denim jacket. I added a pair of Old Gringo boots with hearts and wings on them. I was worried my panties were going to show, not to mention the scars on my leg, but Zoe insisted they weren’t visible.
“Grayson is going to melt when he sees your endless legs in that dress.”
“You’re sure it’s not too short. I feel like my va-jayjay is on display.”
“Relax, it’s you. He’ll love it.”
I couldn’t wait to see what Grayson thought of the outfit. We tried to shop for clothes to take to the beach, but November wasn’t the time to find beachwear in Dallas.
“Looks like I just got my excuse to do some online retail therapy, yippee!” Zoe proclaimed. “I suggest you do the same. You’re not gonna find a bikini anywhere around here at this time of year. Go online.” She laughed.
“I’ve been thinking about getting a tattoo,” I blurted out.
She dug her heals in. “Does Grayson know that?”
I shook my head. “I want to get something to remember our baby. I was thinking about a flower and petals across my lower back.”
“I’ve got one there of angel’s wings. Something I wanted to do after my mom died. But I think you should talk to Grayson about it.”
“I tried talking to him about his before. He told me the cross on his bicep is for your mom. He won’t talk to me about the one on his forearm, said it was a long, sad story while he was away in the military. I thought it might be for a buddy he lost or something.”
Zoe just stared at me, like she was afraid to say anything at all, finally she laughed. “Well, they hurt like hell back there. I’ll go with you if you want, but I still think you should talk to him about it before you get one.”
“I will. I better get you back to the office, he’s going to be out of surgery soon.” I dropped her off at work and found my mind picturing Grayson’s face when I asked his opinion about a tattoo.
After conference calls and paperwork, I made arrangements for our trip to the San Antonio conference the week after our honeymoon.
Grayson had a late day at the office, since he pushed his schedule back for me to take my stitches out and go with me to Dr. Stewart’s. He was such a gentle physician, not just with me but with all of his patients. It was one of the first things that attracted me to him.
My mind went back to the first day I was in his office to meet him. I remembered the raw emotion he had for his patient that day. He was so torn up about having to give her the news that she had cancer.
Later the next week, I got to experience his bedside manner with the patients before we trialed my product in the operating room for the first time. God had blessed me with such a super, caring guy for a husband. How did I ever get so lucky? Thinking about my man made me miss him, so I decided to taunt him a little with a text message.
Me: Can’t wait to see u later! I picked up this sexy little #, can’t wait for u to see it. Who’s picking up dessert, u or me;)
Grayson: u dirty little girl, I am!
When the twins walked in all dressed to go out that night, I was able to spot which one was mine with no problem. The watch, the smile, the lips on mine, I knew my guy! Especially when I said the word “dessert” and Harrison just looked at me like I wanted a menu!
“Where’s the rest of the dress?” Grayson cracked at me.
“All there is, baby. You don’t like it?” I cracked back.
“I love it, but would prefer having those long legs all to myself. I’m not sure I’m going to be able to keep my hands in appropriate places while in public,” he teased.
“Hmm, we’ll see about that, mister. I’ll let you show me your moves on the dance floor.” I strutted away from him. When I turned back to look at him, his sexy grin made my stomach catch. I wanted to go out for fun, but I couldn’t wait to be back home to play with him.
We waited for Monica to finish her photo shoot, which was running late. When she finally arrived, we made our way to Fort Worth to meet up with Zoe and Brent.
Monica and Zoe tried to teach me this crazy dance to a song called “Wobble” by V.I.C. We danced and acted crazy. I watched Grayson give me those sexy “come here” eyes as he licked those beautiful red lips. My body quivered. His eyes told me what he had on his brain. When I didn’t leave the floor, he came up behind me, matching my moves. I could feel the happiness in his pants as he rubbed up against me.
“Keep this up and I’ll take you to the backseat of my car.” He put his hands on my arms while we danced and his skin was on fire. I liked teasing him.
Harrison and Monica
tore up the dance floor, and at one point I thought they needed a private room as well. Everyone in the room seemed to surround the dance floor and just watched them.
Zoe was a little party freak herself, but Brent was about as quiet as they come, so her brothers kept her busy. We decided to take it home after all of us danced our final dance to “Free” by The Zac Brown Band.
The night was a total blast. We enjoyed ourselves and it was great to have couple fun, which was something I’d never really experienced. We parted with Zoe and Brent and headed home with Monica and Harrison. They were about go back to Grayson’s place, when Grayson decided he would be cute and mention dessert again, causing Harrison to give us a funny look.
I threw Grayson under the bus and hinted to Harrison what Grayson gets when he eats all of his dinner. Grayson tried to elbow me and torture me with tickling, but I didn’t give in.
Finally alone, Grayson wrapped one arm around my waist and slung me up on the bar. “Ma’am, you’ve been torturing me all evening with this dress or more like the lack thereof. What’s under here?” He tried to peak under my dress.
“Hmm, not much!” I flipped the front of my skirt up for a second, which teased him with a view of my white lace thong.
He had my jacket off in less than a second. That was when he noticed I wasn’t wearing a bra either. He quickly slipped my dress off. My body became a quick display across the bar.
“You can’t wear this outfit ever again!” he said in between kisses and tantalizations with a huge grin on his face. “Unless, of course, you promise that I get to take it off like this. You’re breathtaking.”
“You didn’t like it?” I asked curiously. Surely, he was kidding.
“Like it? I loved it, but I’ve been so turned on that my dick is sore from having a hard-on for hours. For that, you’re gonna pay dearly.”
And pay I did, in a glorious night of passion. He took me to the edge of orgasm over and over again before he finally made good on his promise.
CHAPTER SEVEN
The Running Series Box Set: Books 1-3 Page 31