He was keeping a promise he’d made long ago. A promise that if he ever saw me falling off the rails of staying healthy and looking after myself, he would drag my ass to the gym and deliver food to my door…
Marching over, I opened up the hotel door, naked and not giving a single fuck. Sure enough, outside my door was a tray with protein and some fruit. There were also two large bottles of water. No note, but I didn’t need one. This was how Grayson cared, and clearly, he knew I’d been more focused on Billie than myself recently. Which was all good—she needed the extra attention. But I was also a fucking idiot with myself at times, and I couldn’t go back into the dark pit.
While Billie was great for me in some ways, she was also dangerous. I could lose myself in her; the obsession she created inside me was darker than I’d felt in a long time. How fucking odd that she made me feel both lighter than air and disturbingly obsessed.
I’d have to find a balance, and Grayson was reminding me how to do that.
Get my ass to the gym.
Ten minutes later, after I’d left a note for Billie and taken off with the protein mix in one hand and an apple in the other, I found my way into the hotel gym. It was empty, which was no surprise since Grayson would have either secured a private session or scared everyone the fuck away with his personality.
The clank of weights drew me across the room, and I breathed in the scent of sweat and disinfectant. This was a fancy hotel and they clearly kept it clean, but there was always an undertone of sweat in these places that could never be removed.
“About fucking time,” Grayson said as he lifted his head from the Smith machine that he was using. His eyes traced across me, taking in the protein I was finishing up, and a small smile graced his lips before his perusal paused on my eyes.
Fuck.
No doubt my morning with Billie was written across my face, and I recalled that blast of hot jealousy I’d felt when she said she’d kissed Grayson. I really hoped I wasn’t going to fight with my brother over his moment of weakness. Billie was both physically and mentally alluring, and I would have kissed the hell out of her too in his position, but it didn’t mean I was cool with what’d happened.
“Things moving fast with Billie,” Grayson said softly.
I swallowed hard before dropping the protein and apple core on the floor so I could set myself up with the free weights. Scrubbing a hand over my face, I let out a long breath. “I asked her to stay with us. I just… I’m not ready to let her go.”
Would I ever be fucking ready? That was the question of the day.
“I like her.”
There was a beat of silence after his words, and it wasn’t that I was shocked. Far from it, especially after Billie’s confession, but to hear Grayson say those words out loud… Grayson, who never stayed longer than a few hours with a chick and kicked them out faster than even Jace. Grayson, who made it no secret he gave zero fucks about anyone other than Bellerose members, suddenly had this air of vulnerability across his features, and I had no fucking idea how this was going to play out.
I didn’t want to take Billie away from him, but on the other hand,she was mine.
“She told me you kissed,” I said shortly, anger fizzling for a beat at the mental image of them together, before I remembered it was Grayson and I loved him like a brother. The need to beat the fuck out of him was only moderately strong after that.
“I kissed her,” he shot back before he resumed his next set of shoulder presses. “It wasn’t her fault.”
Protecting her too. His feelings were maybe more serious than I expected.
“I’m not giving her up,” I warned him, pumping the weights harder even though I’d barely warmed up. “So you’re gonna have a fucking fight on your hands if you’re not careful.”
Grayson was silent for a moment. “I’m not asking you to give her up.”
The weight almost slipped from my right hand, but I caught it at the last second. If he wasn’t asking me to give her up, then what the hell was he asking me?
“You want to share? Like one of your fucking romance books?” The thought was instantly appealing and also abhorrent. Dueling emotions hit me so hard and fast that it was no wonder I almost lost the weight in my hand again.
“I don’t share, you know that,” Grayson said with a whole lot more bite in his tone.
I turned toward him, needing to see his expression, but he had himself tightly locked down. No sign of his true emotions could be seen on his physical form. When he wanted to be, Grayson was made of damn stone.
“So, it’s a competition you’re after?” He didn’t answer immediately, and I was pretty sure I’d hit the fucking nail on the head. “You want us both to pursue her and see who Billie chooses?”
More silence. More confirmation.
Fuck’s sake. “This is bullshit,” I bit out. “I found her first.”
“She’s not a doll or missing piece of a puzzle,” Grayson shot back at me. “You can’tfind her first.Billie’s her own person, and she will ultimately decide. I just wanted to give you the head’s up that I’m throwing my own interest into the mix.”
A snort escaped me. “Arrogant of you to assume she’s not a piece of our puzzle. But you know what? I never expected to be able to keep her without a fight.”
