“Where are you going?”
Not even bothering to look at Grayson, I said, “Home.”
“Meg. Come on, what in the fuck is bothering you?”
Not even wanting to respond, I pulled open the door and quickly walked through it as I gave it a hard pull. It slammed behind me as I heard Grayson yell out and glass hitting the front door.
Keeping my tears at bay, I headed down to the parking garage and out to my car. Once I got in, I started it and headed toward my place. The moment I pulled into my parking spot, I started crying. Pulling out my phone, I ran my finger down the list of names and stopped on one. Hitting it, I dropped my head back onto the headrest.
“Hey, Meg! How’s the weather there? Dare I say it’s a chilly sixty-two here?”
Just hearing Lauren’s perky voice made me smile. “Hey, Lauren. You lucky bitch. It’s thirty fucking hell here.”
Lauren giggled. “What’s up? I figured you’d be skiing since it’s the weekend?”
I wiped my tears away and laughed. “When have you ever known me to ski?”
“Oh my glitter! What did you move to Colorado for then?”
I pressed my lips together to keep from sobbing.
“Meg? What’s wrong?”
“Gray and I had our fist fight and I egged it on. I don’t know why I did it. I was upset and I took it out on him.”
“Sweetie, it’s okay. Life isn’t always hot sex with ex-strippers. You’re going to have some ups and some downs.”
I rolled my eyes. “Do we have to keep bringing up the fact that Gray was a stripper?”
“Yes. Yes we do. Unless we’re around your parents, then no.”
“Lauren!”
“Okay! Okay! I’m sorry. So you picked a fight, I’ve done that before with Colt. It’s just something I think women do when they get hormonal or something.”
Pushing out a breath, I rocked my head back and forth against the headrest. “I’m not sure what’s going on with me to be honest with you. I’m up one minute and the next I’m pissed off. Gray noticed something about one of my patients and it was like some kind of switch flipped. I was so angry at myself for not catching it, but he caught it just spending the afternoon with the kid.”
“Meg, you’re not super woman, and no matter how hard you try to help each and every one of those kids, you have to realize some you might not be able to help at all.”
The realization of what Lauren had said hit me like a brick wall. “I know,” I whispered as I pushed my car door open and headed to my apartment. “That doesn’t make it any easier though.”
“I know, but the one thing you can’t do is take it out on Gray. I’m sure he only told you what he told you because it was something the kid felt comfortable sharing with him.”
Lauren’s words soaked into my brain as I stepped into my apartment and shut the door. Leaning back against it, I realized what an idiot I had been.
“I’m such a bitch.”
With a chuckle, Lauren said, “No you’re not. You weren’t prepared for it is all. Just think if there was a case Gray was working on and he had gone over and over the evidence and couldn’t find any clues and you walked up and pointed to a picture and said, hey there’s a license plate number. He’d beat himself up for looking over it. That’s what you’re doing right now and Gray just happened to be in the line of your fist throwing.”
Pushing off the door, I knew what I had to do. “Lauren, I love you so much. From now on I’m calling you when I need someone rational to talk to.”
“Oh my glitter! Are you for real? ‘Cause if you are, I’m totally rubbing that in Alex’s face!”
With a laugh, I shook my head. “Go for it. But I’ve got a hot detective who I need to go apologize to.”
“Oh! I have a feeling hot sex will be involved.”
Feeling my cheeks flush, I said, “One can only hope. Bye, sweets! I love you! Give Colt a big hug and kiss for me. Plan on coming to see me soon!”
“I will and yes! Ski trip!”
I rolled my eyes and said, “Bye, Lauren. Love you.”
“Bye, Meg. Love you more.”
Hitting End, I reached for the door and pulled it open only to see Gray standing there getting ready to knock.
He came after me.
I couldn’t help but notice how sad his eyes looked and that broke my heart in two. I did the only thing I knew to do, threw myself at him and kissed him like I hadn’t seen him in weeks.
Grayson wrapped me up in his arms as we spoke against one another’s lips. “I’m so sorry, Gray.”
“Baby, don’t ever walk out on me again.”
And just like that, I felt like shit. Gray’s father had walked out on him and here I did the same thing.
“I promise, I’m sorry. Gray, I need you!”
Those three words were all Grayson had to hear. I was in his arms as he moved into the living room. Placing me on the couch, Grayson ripped his shirt over his head and unbuttoned his jeans. I followed as I quickly stripped myself of my sweater, yoga pants, and panties.
“Fucking hell,” Grayson whispered as he lifted my hips up.
Our lips crashed together as we kissed like we hadn’t seen each other in weeks. Grayson pushed his pants down and pushed himself into me fast and hard, causing me to let out a gasp.
Burying his face into my neck, Grayson moved like he couldn’t get enough of me. My nails dug into his back as our breathing quickened.
“Do not come,” Grayson grunted as he pushed into me harder. I cried out as I felt the familiar feeling begin to build in my body as I squeezed down onto his dick.
“Fucking hell, Meagan. You’re . . . killing . . . me.”
His arm wrapped around my lower back as he pulled me even closer to him. His breath hot on my neck as I trembled with the anticipated orgasm.
“Gray,” I gasped as cold air rushed over my sweat-covered body. I loved how sex could be so raw with Grayson, yet so incredibly moving at the same time. I’d never experienced the feelings I felt with Gray with any other man.
“Oh God . . . I’m going to come, baby.”
His words were my undoing as I felt myself pulling out his orgasm while mine hit me hard.
Names were spoken against kiss-swollen lips as Grayson slowed his pace down. His lips moved along my jawline and across my neck. I could feel the twitching inside of me as I smiled and memorized this moment.
Grayson kicked off his pants and lifted me as he made his way to my bedroom. I wrapped my arms around him and asked, “Where are we going?”
“We’re taking a shower and then I’m holding you next to me all night and not letting go.”
My heart about burst with the amount of love I felt for Grayson. Pulling my head back, I gazed into his eyes and said, “If we ever fight, we make up like this. No walking away ever again.”
The way he looked at me had a surge of heat rushing through my entire body. Grayson slowly slid me down his body as he backed me up against the wall. With his lips inches from mine, he reached into the shower and turned it on as steam quickly filled the bathroom.
“Meagan,” he barely spoke as he closed his eyes and softly kissed me. When he broke the kiss, our eyes met and I could feel the love between us.
Grayson placed his hand on the side of my face and brushed his thumb across my skin. His eyes traveled down to my lips and back to my eyes where he held me captive with those piercing blue eyes. “Marry me.”
My lips parted open as my heart beat faster. “W-what did you say?” My mind was spinning. The way Grayson was looking at me was as if I was the very thing he needed to survive.
His smile grew over his face as he cupped both hands on my face now and looked intently into my eyes. “I want to spend every moment of every day being yours.”
My hands came up and gripped his arms as I pressed my lips into a smile while trying to hold back my tears. “Grayson,” I whispered as I felt a single tear roll down my cheek. “Nothing would make me happier th
an to be yours forever.”
Before I knew what was happening, Grayson had pulled me into the shower and had me up against the cold tile while he slowly made love to me.
Grayson
“YOU ASKED HER to marry you?” Derrick said as he shut his driver’s side door.
With a grin as wide as the Texas sky, I nodded my head. “I sure as hell did.”
“Why? You have hot fucking sex with her, anytime you want from the sounds of it. You both have your own apartments for when you need a break from each other, you have women falling at your feet all the damn time. Dude, what is wrong with you?”
I rolled my eyes and looked away as we walked into the jail. “Nothing is wrong with me. I love her and I want to know she’s mine.”
“Give her a promise ring or some shit like that. Don’t do it dude, take it from me. If you do this, you’ll be buying fucking BMW’s for her when all you want to do is take a hunting trip to Canada.”
With a chuckle, I looked straight ahead. “So what you’re telling me is you’d rather go on a hunting trip to Canada than make your wife happy?”
Derrick placed his hand on my shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “You know, Bennett, I’ve never known a guy to come on to the force, patrol for a few months, take the test for detective and get promoted as fucking fast as you did. Call it a shortage of officers if you will, but I’m inclined to think you’re just one hell of a smart guy.”
“I’m going with I’m one hell of a smart guy.”
Derrick laughed as I reached for the door and opened it. I saw him the second the door opened. Joshua Black. The guy from the murder scene was walking toward the front door. His head was down as he walked quickly.
“Joshua?” I called out as he glanced up and looked directly into my eyes.
“I’m sorry, do we know each other?” Joshua asked as he looked between Derrick and myself.
My eyes narrowed just a bit as something in my gut told me he knew exactly who I was.
“Detective Bennett. This is my partner, Detective Winn.”
Joshua’s face constricted as he thought for a moment. “Oh yeah, the murder outside of my condo. Have you gotten any leads on that? Find out any new information on who it might be?”
Derrick answered. “No, we’re no closer now than we were before.”
“Damn, that really sucks,” Joshua said as he looked between us.
“Yeah, it sucks,” I said. “So what brings you here?”
Joshua stood a bit taller. “I’m a lawyer, work for my dad,” he said as he rolled his eyes. “One of my clients was arrested yesterday.”
It was then I noticed he was dressed in a suit, but he wasn’t carrying a briefcase, which I thought was strange.
“Well, we’ll let you go. Have a good day,” Derrick said as he motioned for me to follow him.
“Um, yeah, good luck on the case, detectives.”
With a nod and tight smile, I said goodbye to him. “Have a good day, Mr. Black.”
The second we stepped into the elevator, Derrick and I looked at each other.
“Something was off with that guy,” he said.
I rubbed the back of my neck as I sighed. “Yeah. I thought so the first time I talked to him. Was it just me, or did it seem like he was fishing for information?”
Derrick laughed. “Oh he was fishing all right. I’m thinking we might need to find out a little more about this Joshua Black.”
An uneasy feeling came over me as I nodded my head and said, “Yeah, I think you’re right.”
Walking into Meagan’s office, I was immediately greeted by the receptionist.
“Gray!” Jennifer called out as she jumped up and flashed me a huge smile. “Would you like a cup of coffee or tea? Something to warm you up?”
I shook my head and returned her smile. “Nah, I’m good. Is Meagan busy?”
“I’m sorry, she’s with an appointment currently. They shouldn’t be much longer if you’d like to take a seat and wait for her.”
Clapping my hands together, I sat down in the chair and grabbed a magazine. “I’ll do just that.”
Jennifer giggled and then awkwardly looked around the office before she sat back down. I knew she had been looking for an excuse to walk off before she quickly gave up.
Ten minutes of mindless chatter with the receptionist was broken when a young girl about seventeen walked into the waiting room. Her eyes lit up and her cheeks instantly blushed when I smiled at her.
“Casey, your mom said she would be waiting in the coffee shop across the street.”
“Thank you so much,” the young girl said as she quickly high tailed it out of the office.
Jennifer glanced back to me and said, “You’re more than welcome to head on back there, Gray.”
With a salute of my hand, I stood and headed back to Meagan’s office. I slowly opened the door only to see her standing at the window, staring out. Quietly walking up to her, I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her to me.
“Hey,” I softly said as she continued to look out the window.
“I don’t understand why kids are so cruel to each other.”
I pressed my lips to the back of her head and closed my eyes. “Is everything okay?”
Meagan shook her head. “No.”
“Anything I can do to help?”
Turning to look at me, Meagan worried her lip. “That girl was a girlfriend of one the kids I council. She’s worried about him. He’s doing things to try to fit in and changing because he is so afraid if he doesn’t, they’ll bully him again.” Meagan looked away and shook her head. “She said she is going to break up with him if things don’t change.”
I placed my hands on her arms as she looked into my eyes. “Grayson, I’m so scared if she walks away from that boy, he’ll give up on everything and what if I can’t . . . if I can’t . . . save him?”
My hands cupped her face as I forced her to look at me. “Meg, all you can do is help guide these kids. You can’t save every single one of them.”
A tear rolled down her face as she whispered, “I have to.” I knew her experience with bullying was what was behind the driving force for her to want to help each and everyone of those kids.
I blew out a deep breath and reached for her purse. “Come on, let’s go grab a beer and a greasy pizza. My treat for my beautiful fiancée.”
Her lip twitched at the mention of fiancée and I could see the smile trying to appear. “We have one stop to make first though. Can you leave for the day?”
Quickly wiping her tears away, Meagan nodded her head and smiled big. “Yeah. I can work on my case notes tonight in front of the fire.”
“That’s my girl,” I said as I grabbed her coat while she gathered up a few files and put them in her briefcase. She reached for her purse and headed out the door and to the reception area.
“Jennifer, will you let Melissa know I’m going to be heading out early? If she needs me for anything, I’ll have my phone with me.”
The receptionist gave a smile as she said goodbye to us while I grabbed Meagan’s hand and led her down the street.
The temperature had warmed up enough that she didn’t need her coat.
“Where are we going?” Meagan asked as I rounded the corner and made my way to the little shop I’d been passing for the last few months.
Stopping outside the jewelry store, I turned to Meagan and grinned. “I need to put a ring on it, baby.”
Meagan’s eyes widened in shock as she slowly smiled. “A ring?”
Tugging her into the store, I laughed and said, “Yep. A ring.”
I’d catch heat for this when Derrick found out, but I didn’t give two shits. I wanted to see Meagan smile and more than anything, I wanted to see a ring on her finger.
Meagan
MY HEAD WAS spinning as I stared down at all the engagement rings.
My heart felt as if it was fluttering about in my chest. Is this really happening to me?
“So? Is there one you
like?”
My lip was going to be bruised and swollen by the time I picked out a ring. “Um,” was all I could respond with as Grayson stood there with a goofy grin on his face.
The moment our eyes caught, I couldn’t help but smile. “I can’t pick,” I said with a giggle.
With a smile that melted my panties, Grayson said, “Close your eyes.”
Snapping my eyes shut, I held my breath.
Grayson’s hot breath near my ear caused me to jump. “Breathe, baby.”
Letting out the breath I was holding, it felt good to take a moment after all the stress from work the last few weeks.
My entire body came to life as Grayson took my hand in his.
“Open your eyes, Meg.”
Slowly opening my eyes, I took in a shaky breath as I looked at Grayson down on one knee. A beautiful princess-cut diamond was in his hand as he cleared his throat. “Meagan, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
Everything about this moment was perfect. It felt spontaneous and real. It was Grayson reacting to his feelings, and that was more romantic to me than if he had planned some elaborate proposal.
Nodding my head, a sob escaped from my lips as I whispered, “Yes.”
Grayson slipped the ring onto my finger and stood. His arms twisted around me as he lifted me up while pressing his lips to mine. The entire store erupted into cheers as we got lost in our kiss.
Grayson set me down and gently wiped my tears from my face. “I love you, Meg. More than you’ll ever know.”
“I love you too. So very much.”
“Dare I say that was the most romantic thing I’ve ever seen!” the saleslady said as she clapped her hands in front of us.
Grayson frowned and said, “I could have made that better.”
With a shake of my head, I looked deeply into his eyes. “No . . . it was beautiful. Perfect. So very perfect.”
Still lost in each other’s eyes, the sales lady took my hand and checked the fit of the ring. “My goodness. It fits like a glove, like it was meant to be!”
“It was,” I whispered as I glanced down to the ring. It was breathtaking and I couldn’t wait to tell the girls and my parents.
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