Her Captivated Hero: A Black Dawn Novel Book 6

by O'Leary, Caitlyn

  Gray seemed to know how overwhelming Drake was because he stayed at her side. “Eat,” he whispered. She picked up the piece of cheese and took a tiny bite.

  “I hear you took a man out in one fell swoop with your stun-gun. Good going. You could be one of my sisters,” Drake grinned at her. He poured himself a glass of milk. “Gray, you want one?”

  “I’m going to grab a beer when dinner’s up.”

  Drake came over and sat in the seat Evie had vacated, then he frowned at her plate. “Why do you have a plate of food? Dinner should be up in a half-hour.”

  “She didn’t eat breakfast or lunch,” Gray explained.

  Drake scowled. “Well, that’s stupid. Aren’t you a doctor? You should know better. Eat.”

  Riya’s stomach clenched and she set down the cheese. The man was overwhelming.

  “Avery, back off,” Gray commanded. He sounded pissed.

  Drake looked over her shoulder at Gray, clearly confused. “I’m just trying to help.”

  “Your kind of help, we don’t need.”

  “I need to go to the bathroom,” Riya said, pushing away from the table. It was a lie, but she needed to get out of there…now.

  “Let me show you where it is,” Drake stood up.

  “You’ve done enough. I’ll show her.” Gray touched her elbow and gave her an encouraging smile.

  “You can just point, I really don’t need a guide.”

  He pointed to a hallway. “First door on the right.”

  Riya made a quick escape. She sighed as soon as she made it inside.

  Talk about testosterone poisoning. She ran cold water over her wrists, then used the toilet. She took a few more moments to calm herself. When she left the bathroom, it was just Gray waiting at the table. That she could deal with.

  He stood up as she got to the table, and pulled out her chair. There were those manners again. He stroked his hand down her back. “I threw Drake out of the house.”

  “What?!” He couldn’t be serious.

  “I’m kind of teasing, and kind of not. He’s an ox. He means well, but he’s an acquired taste. Let’s get some food in you.”

  “I’m really not hungry.”

  “Tell you what. Take a bite of everything on your plate, sips of milk in between. I even put the brownie on your plate.”

  She felt her lip twitch. Brownie. She really was hungry, who was she kidding? She needed protein. She’d been smelling those damn brownies in her car for over forty-five minutes.

  “You’re smiling. The potato salad is killer. Please, for me?”

  He stroked the end of her nose. She loved that. It made her heart lurch every time he did it. She grinned and picked up her fork and scooped up some potato salad. “You’re right. This is wonderful.”

  She watched as his blue eyes sparkled. “Now the turkey.”

  “I heard you the first time, Lieutenant. I’ll eat a little, and then save room for barbeque, okay?”

  “Okay.”

  “Gray are you hiding Riya?” Miranda called out.

  “Stay here and eat. I’m going to keep out the riff-raff.” Gray got up and walked to the screen door to waylay Miranda.

  Riya took small bites of her food, secure in the knowledge that she would have privacy.

  * * *

  “She’s as tiny as Evie,” Aiden said as he flipped one of the many steaks on the grill.

  Gray looked up and saw Riya joining the ladies where they were seated underneath the umbrellas. Well, they weren’t all ladies, there was also Dalton. He tended to hover around Aurora and their son, James.

  “Is she settling in okay, or did my idiot brother-in-law scare the shit out of her?” Aiden turned down the flame on the grill.

  “I thought she was going to hide under the kitchen table. But she seems to be settling in with Dalton.”

  Riya had taken the empty seat next to Dalton, and she was currently leaning in to listen intently to something he was saying. Aurora, Dalton’s wife, leaned over him to say something to Riya, which had her smiling.

  Good. Riya hadn’t met Dalton before, so it was good to see her feeling so relaxed with him.

  “Do you have any news on the women?” Aiden asked.

  Gray knew immediately who he was talking about. “Chantelle is now home with her sister in Montreal. Chantelle sent a ‘To Whom It May Concern’ letter thanking us for saving her.”

  Aiden smiled. “She’s good people.” He flipped four more steaks and put some hamburger patties on the grill.

  “Are we going to see the letter?”

  “It’s already scanned and in your e-mails. I’m surprised Dex didn’t bring a printed copy to the party.”

  Aiden shrugged. “What about Emily, the ambassador’s daughter?”

  “No word from any official channels. Wyatt did some digging. She’s refusing therapy, and isn’t talking.”

  “That’s not good. Where are they? Did Ambassador Hoag ever come back to the states?”

  Gray could hear Aiden’s wheels turning.

  “They’re in Temecula. I think we should leave it for a while.”

  Aiden didn’t say anything.

  “Seriously, we need to take it easy,” Gray counselled. “We don’t own this.”

  “Remember what happened with Evie’s sister, Chloe. This isn’t something that you let fester.”

  Gray rubbed the back of his neck. “I’ll think about it.” He looked over at Riya. Now she was holding Dalton’s son. It did his heart good to see her so comfortable.

  “Oh my God, you have it bad,” Aiden gloated.

  “Huh?” Gray turned to look at his friend.

  Aiden pointed his barbeque tongs at Riya. “You’re looking at her exactly like I looked at Evie.”

  “At least I know I’ve got a good thing, and I don’t have my head up my ass.”

  Aiden scowled at him. “Jesus, a man makes one mistake, and he never hears the end of it.”

  Gray raised an eyebrow, but he was smiling. It had taken a hell of a long time for his friend to actually laugh about this, considering Evie almost lost her life because of that mistake. Aiden saved her, but the cost had been high.

  “She’s special,” Gray said.

  “Griff filled me in. Asperger’s, right?”

  What the fuck?

  Gray stiffened, his focus went narrow. “That wasn’t what I meant at all. I meant she means a lot to me. When did Griff say that? Did he say it just to you?”

  “Calm down, Gray. He wasn’t being unkind. As a matter of fact, he was highly complimentary about her. He just mentioned that she had Asperger’s as well.”

  “What right does Griff have to lay some kind of label on Riya? Who the hell does he think he is? He’s only met her a handful of times.” But as soon as the words were out of his mouth, Gray knew the real culprit. It was Miranda, and he was furious. He saw Miranda talking to Piper Avery over near the dessert table.

  “Gray, calm down.” Aiden grabbed his arm.

  Gray shoved Aiden’s hand off. “Back off.”

  “I’m sorry I said anything.” His second-in-command was seriously contrite.

  Gray stalked across the yard. “Miranda, I need to talk to you for a minute.”

  She and Piper looked up at him in surprise. Then Miranda’s eyes narrowed. “Piper, I’ll be back to help set up the table.”

  “Let’s go over to the birdbath behind the scheffleras, shall we?” Gray asked tightly.

  “Sure.” Miranda led the way, not saying a word. When she got there she crossed her arms and looked up at Gray expectantly.

  “Riya’s supposed to be your friend. I can’t believe you’re talking behind her back.”

  “I need a better explanation of what you’re talking about before I can respond.”

  It was clear how she could be an effective project manager dealing with high level members of the Pentagon.

  “You’re going around telling people Riya has Asperger’s.”

  Miranda slowly nodded.
“She does. A lot of the scientists I work with score somewhere on the autism spectrum, just like most SEALs score higher on the Extraversion and Conscientiousness scale than most people.”

  “I don’t care about the Navy SEAL personality profile, I care about Riya.”

  He saw Miranda wave her hand and shake her head. Gray looked over his shoulder. He saw Griff barreling down on them. He nodded for him to join them.

  “What’s going on?” Griff demanded.

  “You told Aiden that Riya had Asperger’s.”

  “Fuck,” Griff grimaced. “I just wanted him to be aware that she needed to be eased into the group. I didn’t want her to be overwhelmed.”

  “She doesn’t need some damn label hung around her neck,” Gray bit out.

  “Do you have a problem with Riya’s diagnosis?” Miranda asked mildly. Her tone might be soft, but there was no mistaking the steel in her eyes.

  “I have a problem with her being harmed by people thinking less of her.”

  “And do you?” Miranda’s voice was even softer.

  “Fuck no. She’s perfect.”

  “Good answer, Big Man.” Miranda’s smile was bright.

  “For the record, I don’t require your approval,” Gray said in his officer voice. Griff took a step in front of his wife, and Miranda pushed at her husband.

  “Stay out of this Griff, you and your big mouth are in the doghouse. This is between Gray and me.”

  “Not likely,” he growled. He turned to Gray. “I’m the one you’re mad at, so talk to me, and quit badgering my wife. Not that she isn’t perfectly capable of cutting off your balls and feeding them to you.”

  Even though he was pissed as hell, Gray couldn’t hide a small smile.

  “Gray, Riya was the one who told me about her condition,” Miranda said easily. “That was almost two years ago when she first began working with me. She thought I needed to know. When she started to spend time at my house, I told Griffin.” She rolled her eyes at her husband. “Most people on God’s green earth have some kind of personality issue, including high-hand-ism, like you do, or big-mouthed-ism, like my husband. If we want to be frank, I seriously suffer from workaholism, and Griffin and Livvie have saved me from myself.”

  “Miranda, that’s all well and good, but we all know that autism is a huge ass label, it’s private.”

  “Goddammit, Gray, do you see anybody avoiding Riya?” Griff asked incredulously. “Fuck no. This is us. You need to get a fucking grip.”

  “I—”

  Griff grabbed his arm and pulled him past the schefflera. “Look. Do you see her?” He pointed to where Riya was now talking to Karen Avery and of all people, Drake Avery. “Does that look like someone who is being shunned? Fuck no.”

  Gray did a double take. Was that Drake leaning in with a gentle look on his face, holding his son out to Riya? He’d bet his bottom dollar that Aiden had said something to the man to get him to relax with Riya. It made him feel good to see that warmhearted interaction.

  “Where’s the trust, Gray?” Griff looked seriously confused.

  Gray sighed. “You’re right.”

  “Honey, he’s in love, you need to cut him some slack.”

  Gray’s gaze shot over to Miranda and saw her look of smug compassion. She put her hand on his arm. “I love the fact that you’re in her corner, but you need to remember, so are we.”

  Gray looked back over at Riya. She and Drake were now laughing. Then a shaft of sunlight hit her, and she actually glowed. He sucked in a deep breath.

  Love.

  He loved her.

  “Are we good?” Miranda asked softly.

  “We’re good.”

  12

  Riya sat back and listened to her radio about someone dancing on their own. She used to feel that way, and instead she had an over-protective male who was going to be opening her car door any second.

  Gray knocked on the window, and she unlocked her door, and he opened it.

  “I like that your car was locked,” he said as he took her hand and helped her out of the car.

  “What’s another word for over-protective?” Riya started walking with him up the path to her house.

  “Caring?” he suggested.

  She leaned against his side. When they got to the door, she fished out her keys and handed them to him. What was the point of fighting him on this? It was important for him to unlock the door and check her house. He went in and dealt with the alarm.

  As soon as the door was shut behind them, he pulled her into his arms.

  A slow burn had been building all day while she’d watched him at the O’Malley’s. Who was she kidding, it wasn’t watching him, it was the way he cared for her. He made her feel cherished.

  “I need my kiss,” he rasped out.

  “So who’s stopping you?”

  She loved teasing him.

  He slanted his mouth over hers, and magic sparkled all around them. Her hands slid up his chest, kneading his hard muscles, reveling in his strength. He pulled her even closer, so that she was trapped. She didn’t care, because his kiss had gone from a storm to a hurricane, ripping away all sense. Gray’s hand was tangled in her hair, guiding her head so that her mouth was exactly where he wanted it.

  Having Gray in charge aroused her. All of her erogenous zones flared to life. She squeezed her legs together to stop herself from squirming, but nothing could prevent the flame of heated response that gathered at her core.

  Did he just bite my lower lip?

  “Come back to me,” he demanded. Then he pressed stinging kisses along her jaw and down the side of her neck.

  Einstein tried to push himself between them, meowing his need for attention.

  “Nope,” Gray said looking down. “She’s mine. You get her most of the time. Tonight she’s mine.”

  Didn’t that sound nice? Actually a whole lot better than nice. It sounded absolutely wonderful.

  “Did you go away again?”

  “Hmmm?” What was he talking about?

  Gray was looking at her weird. He was waiting for her response.

  “No, I was just thinking how I felt about your usage of the word ‘mine’.”

  Gray winced. “And? What was your conclusion?”

  “I liked it.”

  He backed her up against the hallway wall, hands on either side of her head. “That’s good. Because you are. You’re mine.”

  She had to tilt back her head to look at him. “What do I get to call you?”

  He took his time answering. He moved one of his hands to cup her cheek, his rough thumb slid along her lower lip, sending shivers coursing through her body. “What do you want to call me? What do I mean to you?”

  She’d been going to repeat back the word ‘mine’. But then he asked that follow-up question. She hadn’t quite anticipated this. Then, intellect melted into emotion, wave after wave of exquisite memories coursed through her body. She trembled with need, with passion but most of all, with love.

  “You’re my lover.”

  Gray went blank for a moment, then he gave her a wicked smile. “Damn right I am, let me take you upstairs and prove it.”

  He stepped backwards, and she grabbed his shirt with both hands. “No,” she cried. “I said that wrong.”

  “What are you talking about? Of course I’m your lover.”

  “My love. You’re my love, is what I meant to say.”

  Gray stopped, his sapphire blue eyes blazed. He covered her hands with his. “Honey—”

  “I think I love you.” The words burst out of her. They still weren’t right. Dammit. Her fingers pressed into his chest through his sweatshirt. “I love you so much. You’re my love. You’re so much my love.”

  It was like the roof of her house had been ripped off, night turned to day and the sun was shining. She got it right. She loved Gray Tyler.

  “Ah, Honey, that’s what I meant when I claimed you as mine. I love you too.”

  * * *

  Riya’s ey
es shimmered like black diamonds in the dim hallway light. He needed her in the most elemental way. He needed to stake his claim. Letting go of her hands he bent to pick her up, but she laughed and darted out from under him and made a run for it up the stairs. “Come and get me, Lover.”

  Oh, he was going to get her. Gray slowly made his way up the stairs. He saw that Riya had pulled back the comforter.

  “Glad to see you hadn’t taken off your clothes.”

  She pointed to her sneakers in the corner. Then she grinned. “I left my socks on, though. I’ve kind of figured out you like my feet.”

  The woman was right.

  Scratch that, his woman was right.

  Gray closed the bedroom door, and came to stand in front of her.

  “Why’d you do that?”

  “No company until sleepy time. Einstein puts me off my game.”

  “Gray, I have never complained. You have blown me away.

  “Every.

  “Single.

  “Time.”

  That was actually great to hear, because she made him so crazy. He sometimes wondered if he was fucking things up when she was blowing his mind. He reached up and touched the strands of hair that covered her breasts. He gathered up the dark mass into a fist and enjoyed how she wet her lips in anticipation of what he would do next.

  Pulling her hair into a ponytail at the back of her head, he tugged so that her face was tilted upwards. She gave a soft pant.

  “You like this, don’t you?”

  “Yes.” The word wasn’t a sigh, it was a hiss.

  He tugged harder. Her eyes dilated, and her face flushed. It still wasn’t enough. He pulled just a little harder, and he exalted when he saw her squirm and squeeze her thighs together.

  “You’re wet for me, aren’t you?”

  She closed her eyes, then opened them. He couldn’t tell where her pupils ended and her irises began. “I need you so bad. I’m so ready for you.”

  She couldn’t say it. The woman who worked on a sex study couldn’t admit she was wet. He swooped in for a kiss. It was hot and needy. She sent him close to the edge. No woman ever excited him more. He’d always thought love was going to be a soft and warm emotion, not this elemental, explosive craving.