“Was that so hard to say?”
I pouted and turned up my nose. “A little, yeah.”
A calloused finger touched my protruding bottom lip. I turned to face Gray. His face moved close to mine—so close, it was an effort to focus my eyes. My gaze moved from his cognac eyes to his full lips, and my breath caught. The room was silent as my stomach filled with delicious anticipation.
A sizzle started in my chest the moment Gray’s lips met mine. My body tightened. Our mouths met for a moment before he pulled back and met my gaze. I closed my eyes to savor the moment and let out a small purr.
The small sound I made caused a visceral reaction in Gray. He grabbed my shoulders with firm, yet gentle hands, and crushed my lips to his. I opened my mouth to breathe, and he took advantage of my lips parting. His tongue flicked across my bottom lip. I tentatively stuck my tongue out to touch his. My nerves got the better of me, so I pulled my tongue back and closed my mouth. I pressed my hands on his chest. I didn’t want to get too carried away.
He rested his forehead against mine and pressed another closed-mouth kiss to my lips. “You kiss like fire. I shouldn’t play with fire,” he whispered.
“I won’t burn you,” I lied. I still didn’t know which of the three men to choose. If Gray grew attached and I didn’t do the same, he could get burned. “Tell me about your tattoo.” I asked, eyes on the bit of it that peeked out of his shirt.
To my consternation, he unbuttoned his shirt, slowly revealing his tatted chest. My lungs began to burn and a quiver started in a place I wasn’t ready to feel a quiver in. It was too soon for quivers. He removed his shirt completely while I stared at a massive scales of justice, complete with a snake twining around the sword. “It’s beautiful.”
I ran my fingers tentatively along the blade of the sword, straight down Grays’ chest. Goosebumps erupted all over his torso. I stared up into his dark eyes and exhaled through my nose.
It had been years since I’d been to bed with a man. He would surely treat me gently, respectfully, and lovingly, but I’d never jumped straight into bed with a man.You’re not starting now. I tried to look anywhere other than his toned chest or deep eyes, but couldn’t do it.
“I need to go,” I whispered. “I’m doing a tutoring session tonight at the GED testing center.”
He leaned in for one last soft kiss before buttoning his shirt up. “You’ve got a lot going on.”
I sighed as his chest and tattoo disappeared. “I don’t mind it. There’s plenty of time to slow down later in life. And, I don’t work full time like a lot of other students. It’s not as bad as it seems.” I sometimes battled guilt about how easy I had it. I wanted to help other people have it a little easier.
Gray smiled down at me. “You’re something special, Ellie. I’ll take you home.”
“Thank you,” I replied, a little uncomfortable with the compliment. “I had a wonderful afternoon.”
“So did I. I was glad to be your watchdog today.”
While Gray turned out the lights and got ready to leave, I texted Todd to ask if he and Rick would stay in my guest room for the night. I wasn’t ready to be alone after the nightmare with Mitch.
I pondered my situation the entire way home. What was I getting myself into? WasIplaying with fire? How badly could I get burned? I didn’t know the answers to these questions. And I was afraid to find out.
Chapter Eleven
The next two weeks were a blur. Todd and I had finals, and though I had a light course load, the professors demanded excellence. High scores were crucial to passing the classes with good grades. I managed to maintain a 4.0 GPA, and I didn’t want to lose momentum.
Finals week was all the more difficult by Mitch-centered nightmares appearing nightly. I started going to my therapist again. With the help of therapy, I worked through all my childhood emotional traumas, but the Mitch encounter effectively demolished the thousands of dollars of work done to my psyche.
My three potential suitors managed to find ways to make finals week less overwhelming, even belatedly producing the secret casserole. At the same time, they further confused and attracted me. They sent sweet texts wishing me luck, slipped handwritten notes under my apartment door, left care packages outside my door including bananas—brain food—coffee shop gift cards, puzzle books for taking breaks, and my favorite gum. All of which baffled me. After a lifetime of flying under the radar, as well as the residual effects of my stepfamily’s influence, I worked hard to deal gracefully and appreciatively with the sudden onslaught of attention and care.
The hidden benefit of the hectic weeks was while my lawyers did their thing and got my case ready, I was distracted by school, volunteering, and the three guys rotating in and out of my days. They took turns showing they cared about me, even though they spent plenty of time working on their case. I frequently forgot my nervousness about the trial as the first of the year approached. I’d have plenty of time to fret over winter break.
Gray made sure I didn’t cook dinner a single time during my studying and test-taking binges. He enlisted Todd’s advice, and every evening when I returned from class or the library, I found a delicious meal ready to heat up.
My favorites were the simpler ones such as vegetable beef soup, chili, and burgers. A few times when I walked in—brain fried—he stood in my kitchen cooking. Those nights he made something more complicated. His presence threw me the first time I walked in to an apartment that wasn’t empty, but once I learned he was there with Todd’s permission, I relaxed and enjoyed the pampering.
I liked to tease him for making fancy dinners—things like stuffed pork chops, filet mignon, and I finally tried his chicken mole. I was in heaven, except for the calorie count. He assured me he used fresh, organic, low calorie ingredients whenever possible to cut down on calories. The three of them treated healthy eating like a lifestyle choice, which I appreciated. There was nothing obsessive about it, but good choices were made.
Wes showed he cared about my stress levels through books. Several mornings I woke to find a new edition of his favorite series sitting in the hall. He started me on book one, and by the time I finished my finals, I had five.
It was an addicting series, and I couldn’t wait to dive into them and connect further with Wes. I stole a little time along the way and managed to read the first book. It was torture, forcing myself to wait until winter break to begin the next.
Arch relieved tension simply by being present. He must’ve watched constantly for me to come home every night; because not long after I set my stuff down, he came knocking to check on me. A few times he brought a small gift to show he cared, even though I didn’t have quality time to spare. He also took on Satan duties. He played with him, fed him, and took care of his litter box. The poor kitty didn’t even notice my neglect thanks to Arch.
Perhaps my favorite thing they did, however, was when Arch took on all my volunteer shifts at the animal shelter. It was a relief to know the animals would be taken care of without trying to juggle time there. He enjoyed it so much, he ended up signing up for shifts of his own for the rest of the year. I was proud to share the rewarding experience with him.
