"More champagne in the meantime?" he asked, turning back toward her.
She lifted her shoulder, and even that little gesture turned him on.
"No thanks. I think I"m good."
She pushed herself back against the pillows, giving him a flash of pink lace between her thighs. He swallowed a groan and discreetly adjusted himself before settling next to her.
"So tell me more about you and your career. What was L.A. like?" she asked him.
He rested his head back against the pillows, but the small bed kept them in close proximity. He needed this subject change and distraction.
He thought back to the early days in California. "L.A. was a crazy scene. I loved it at first. We played gigs and bars for very little money, hoping for exposure. Eventually Simon, our manager, spotted us, and the insanity started."
She rolled to her side and glanced up at him, clearly interested in his past. "The groupies and women?"
He winced but pushed on. "Yeah. I was eighteen, and everything was new and exciting." He knew that while he"d been young and stupid, enjoying life too much, he"d left her behind and hurt her in the process. "It"s not that I didn"t miss you ... I did. I just-"
"You had a dream, Grey. I don"t blame you for chasing it." He didn"t want her forgiveness, not when he should have, could have handled leaving better ... for both of them. But he"d wanted out of his parents" house as much as he"d wanted to play for a living.
He swallowed hard. "I saw you, you know. Everywhere I looked. The women didn"t mean anything. It was easy s.e.x just like the drugs and alcohol were easy. But when I closed my eyes, I pretended they were you."
Her eyes dampened, but he didn"t want to hurt her more by dwelling on the past. He"d just wanted her to know he hadn"t left and forgotten.
"What changed for you?" she asked.
"Milo got heavier into the drug scene, and things became clearer for me. I realized I loved the music but not the lifestyle."
He laid an arm over his forehead, staring at the ceiling. "Lola and I knew we were done long before we all agreed to call it quits. I reconnected with you ... or tried to. Then Milo OD"d, and all my focus had to go into being there for him. I didn"t mean to stop the gifts or texts, but it was a rough time."
"Grey," she said, her voice a light in the darkness that blanketed him whenever he thought of Milo.
"He"s okay. He"s still impatient, which is cool. He seems committed to getting better, finally." He held on to that bit of hope for his friend.
"Thank you for telling me." She reached out and touched his forearm, her soft touch a balm for the pain in his soul.
He glanced her way. "I don"t share with anyone," he told her. "Even Lola has to pull things out of me ... but it feels right with you."
"So that hasn"t changed either. Our ability to open up and talk to each other." A soft smile lifted her lips.
"Thank G.o.d for that." He grinned in return. "So how are your brothers and sister?" he asked, curious about her family.
"Olivia is amazing. Like I told you, she"s married to Dylan Rhodes. They both work for the Thunder. She"s pregnant and due in a few months. I"m going to be an aunt again!" The excitement in her voice was tangible.
"Again?"
"Yes. Ian has a baby girl. Rainey Noelle. She is the sweetest thing ever ... except that she has her daddy"s stubbornness. And Scott"s going to be a dad too. He"s with a woman who was already pregnant ... long story, but they"re really happy. Just Tyler"s still single. And me." She looked away at that admission, obviously not wanting to get into heavy relationship discussions.
Fine by him. He had a plan to build slowly. As long as she was here, he could live with that. "So your brothers are settling down, huh?"
"Yes, but not mellowing out," she muttered, and he caught the subtle warning in her tone.
"In other words, I"d better watch out?" Her older brothers had always been protective of Avery and Olivia, and clearly that hadn"t changed. Grey had a hunch the Dare brothers wouldn"t like him coming back into Avery"s life.
She nodded, indigo eyes as serious as ever. "I"d steer clear if I were you."
"I"m not worried about your brothers, sugar. If I run into them, I"ll deal."
"But-"
He placed a finger over her soft lips. "You"re worth it."
Her eyes softened, and she touched his cheek, her gaze warm on his. Desire flitted across her pretty face, her eyes darkening, her breath a short hitch.
His body still beat with awareness from their make-out session on the deck, the memory of her wet heat rocking over his c.o.c.k still teasing and testing his restraint. He wanted nothing more than to thrust into her hard and fast, now. And they were alone on this yacht, nothing stopping them from that kind of reunion. Which meant he was hanging on by a d.a.m.ned thread.
He removed her hand from where she"d been stroking his cheek. "I"m doing my best to be a gentleman." And he had a painful case of blue b.a.l.l.s to show for it.
"That"s sweet but unnecessary," she all but purred.
He pulled her wrist to his mouth and licked her hammering pulse.
She sucked in a shallow breath, trembling at his touch.
"A little while ago, you were still unsure of me and my life. I"m not going to screw up a second chance by f.u.c.king you tonight and dealing with your regrets in the morning." n.o.body would believe Grey Kingston was turning down s.e.x.
"I won"t have regrets," she whispered, but he could tell she wasn"t as sure as she sounded.
"You might."
She opened her mouth to dispute his words and sighed. "You"re probably right."
Her words hurt even if he"d already suspected as much.
"So what do you suggest?" she finally asked.
He blew out a long, frustrated stream of air and pulled himself together. "More get-to-know-you dates. More making out-but not tonight, on this bed, when you"re wearing nothing but my shirt and barely there panties I want to rip off with my teeth."
"Oh my G.o.d." She visibly shook at his p.r.o.nouncement, her nipples hardening beneath the faded tee shirt.
"Yep. Now you understand." He swung his legs over the bed and rose to his feet. "Let"s see if the rain"s let up."
"Good idea," she said in a trembling voice.
He walked out of the room and climbed up top, relieved to find the rain had slowed to a drizzle.
"We can head back to the car," he said as he returned.
"Good." She held her wet dress in one hand.
He left his jeans and shirt on board. He"d pick them up tomorrow. "What are you doing next Thursday?" he asked, unwilling to take her home without making plans to see her again.
"During the day I volunteer at the Miami Children"s Hospital with cancer patients."
He turned to her and stared.
"What?" she asked.
"You amaze me, that"s all."
Grey hadn"t known Avery when she"d donated bone marrow. He"d entered her life in high school. But she"d confided in him just how difficult that year and those afterwards had been, both the revelation that her father had another family he spent more time with than hers and the fact that he"d needed one of her full siblings to donate in order to save one of his other kids. Avery had been the best match, leaving her feeling used and hurt. Yet here she was, years later, donating her free time to help other children who were in her half sister"s position.
G.o.d, she was something else.
"It"s nothing huge," she said, deflecting. "I bring my iPad and makeup. I look through online magazines and sites with the girls and teach them how to feel better about themselves while they"re going through treatment."
"That"s cool. It really is."
She smiled at him, and it f.u.c.king lit him up inside. "How about afterwards? Want to meet Rep and Lola? They invited me over, and I know they"d love to meet you too. No groupies," he promised her before she could find that as a reason to say no. "Just some good friends hanging out."
"Okay."
He blinked. "Just like that?"
She studied him for a long while. "Just like that."
Avery spent Sunday doing laundry, cleaning the apartment, food shopping with Ella, and trying not to think about her feelings for Grey. She wanted distance from his hands on her body, his lips on hers before she could put things in perspective. And since Ella had so much to tell her about her job and the dinner with an up-and-coming designer, Avery managed not to daydream. Too much.
Of course Ella wanted details about Avery"s weekend, and she had to fill those in too. Still, she survived Sunday, and she woke up Monday knowing she had a full day"s worth of things to do to keep her busy. Before she could leave the apartment, she had to check her blog and answer messages. Another way to keep her mind off of Grey Kingston.
Except today"s blog extolled the virtues of her favorite Nars blush, and wouldn"t you know, it was called o.r.g.a.s.m. The well-known product had held a place on most Best Of lists in major magazines since the mid-2000s and was a cult cla.s.sic worth mentioning yearly. But today, it merely served to remind her that she had spent the night alone on a yacht with her gorgeous ex, and she hadn"t had one.
Nope, not an o.r.g.a.s.m to be found for Avery because Grey had decided to play things safe. At this point, Avery believed she might be thinking more clearly today if he hadn"t held back. If he"d let them both give in to the simmering s.e.xual desire that was so obviously between them. But he hadn"t. And she admired his restraint.
It also scared her because she"d been wearing nothing but his shirt and barely there panties that he, quote, wanted to rip off with his teeth. Her entire body trembled at the memory of his words. Her s.e.x clenched, empty and needy. If he"d been able to walk away from that desire, he had a wholly different agenda ... and she didn"t know if she"d survive whatever it was.
He wasn"t the easygoing Grey she remembered. He was more dominant in his speech, more frank about what he wanted. And that kiss? He"d controlled it and her, until she"d have done anything just to get more of him. But as much as she wanted him, as much as they had in common, she still believed there were too many differences to overcome.
She had a half a week before she had to worry about dealing with him again, and so she settled in front of the computer to work. On o.r.g.a.s.ms.
She answered some reader questions, going back over the weekend"s posts before turning to today"s blog. She pulled up the comments and began to read, startled and annoyed to find troll comments under a variety of different screen names. Words like s.k.a.n.k and wh.o.r.e greeted her, and she immediately deleted them, hoping she"d discovered them before too many viewers had seen them too.
She didn"t let them get to her. The Internet was full of mean-spirited people who took pleasure in bashing people under the guise of anonymity. She put the insults out of her mind and focused on discussing why the shimmery peach-colored blush worked on so many different skin tones, as well as answering the typical jokes about the product"s name in good humor.
Before she signed off for the morning, she refreshed the screen one more time to see if she had anything else to answer. The troll comments had returned, coming in heavier than before, this time adding names she wouldn"t repeat out loud alone, never mind in public.
So bizarre. And annoying.
She groaned and called her web people, knowing she needed to have them lock things down before the ugliness spread. They had to shut down comments for the day. And the whole mess took up the better part of her morning, forcing her to reschedule a nail appointment with a new salon she had hoped to feature in one of her local postings. Finally, she finished with the web hosting company and hung up the phone, praying they"d fix the site before the end of the day.
She headed over to an outdoor cafe for lunch, to meet her sister, Olivia, her sister-in-law, Riley, and her soon-to-be sister-in-law, Meg. When she arrived, the others were already at a table beneath a large umbrella.
"I"m so sorry I"m late!" Avery said, pausing to give each woman a hug and a kiss before settling into the empty seat between Riley and Olivia.
"Relax," Olivia said. "We are. It"s fine. n.o.body has to rush back to work."
"Yep, summer for a teacher means time off," Meg, a pretty and very pregnant brunette, said with a relieved smile.
"I"ve been working less and less hours," Riley admitted. "I really love being home with Rainey." She shrugged at the admission.
Avery grinned. "Your little girl is a handful."
Her sister-in-law pulled her long curls behind her and laughed. "Blame your brother for that part of her personality."
"And you?" Avery glanced at Olivia. "Don"t you have a job to do?"
"I can take time to be with my favorite people if I want." She patted her large belly. "It"s amazing how the men in the office will tiptoe around a deliberately whiny pregnant woman and give in to anything she asks for." Olivia grinned.
"You have no shame," Avery muttered.
"Nope."
"Can I get you a drink?" a waiter asked Avery.
She glanced around the table. The girls already had their beverages. "I"ll have an iced tea, please."
"So how was everyone"s weekend?" Olivia asked.
They went around the table, taking turns with their stories. Avery was grateful for the time to get her head on straight and decide what, if anything, she"d tell the women closest to her about Grey. After so many years of wondering about him and missing him, actually being with him this past Sat.u.r.day night had been surreal.
Her emotions had fluctuated all evening. She"d been wary at first, withdrawn during the influx of fans, then once they were truly alone, all her old feelings for him had swamped her full force. They meshed on a level she"d never experienced with anyone else. He understood the girl she was deep down inside, respecting what he knew of her insecurities. Any other guy would have responded to her blatant s.e.xual overtures and taken advantage of the obvious chemistry and desire pulsing between them.
Not Grey. He wouldn"t let proximity and need dictate his actions. Instead of making use of the bed, instead of taking their kisses to the next level, instead of peeling off the tee shirt he"d lent her and sinking deep inside her willing body, he"d called a halt. Because he knew, even if she"d been well past caring, that if they"d had s.e.x, she"d regret it the next day.
And she would have. Of course she regretted not sleeping with him too, but that was her needy body talking. She"d returned home from the boat on edge, her panties damp, her nipples hard and aching, wishing he"d at least taken the edge off with a nice climax. But instead, her rocker had played the good guy. And she hadn"t been able to use her vibrator to slake her need, because she"d known it wouldn"t have been as good as the real thing.
"Avery Dare, where the heck are you?" Riley asked, waving a hand in front of her face and bringing her back to the present.
"You"re flushed," Meg noted with a grin.
"We live in Miami and it"s hot out," Avery muttered, grasping for an excuse.
"No, that"s not a weather flush. It"s a guy blush," Riley said, eyeing her with curiosity.
Olivia pursed her lips. "You"ve been in your own head ever since the concert with Grey, and I"ve let you stew because you seemed to need time. But you seem lighter now ... and I want answers." Her sister nailed her with a determined expression that had Avery shifting uncomfortably in her chair.
"Maybe she doesn"t want to discuss things in public," the ever-diplomatic Meg said, taking a sip of her iced tea.