Let Go (20 page)

He meets her
stare, “She’s with Meyer, no worries.”

“I’m not so
sure Grey. I think you have a lot to be worried about.”

He moves
toward Red, ensnared in her trance again, ignoring Christina’s
double meaning. He knows she’s with Meyer and that should be enough
to deter him but his body betrays him. He closes the distance
quickly needing to be near her. How can one woman affect him this
much?

“So Grey,
Champ, how many nicknames do you have?”

“That’s it.
You can call me Greylan though.”

A wide smile
forms on her lips. She nods and slips her head back allowing the
amber liquid to slide into her lush mouth. His body awakens at her
movements. He needs to get himself under control or this woman is
going to be the death of him. He repeats over and over,
fighting
is the most important thing, fighting is the most important
thing
. Whatever she’s doing to him he wants to peel it away as
if it’s another layer of skin, and leave it behind. But as with
many of the things that haunt him, Red,
Meyer’s Mollie
, is
something he doesn’t think he will be able to get rid of so
easily.

As the bar is
closing Red stands glancing at her watch. She and one other couple
are the last of their customers. Greylan has tried to keep his
distance but he found himself time and time again drawn to her over
the past hour. He eyes her trying to gauge how drunk she is and if
he needs to help her to her hotel. The last thing he wants is to be
alone with her. He’s not sure he would be able to keep his hands
off of her. She looks up as if deep in thought. The green in her
eyes seems to glow in the light. He’s sure she’s feeling pretty
good from the whiskey. He asks, “Mollie, do you want me to help you
back to your hotel?”

As the
question leaves his lips he hopes she tells him no but he knows
he’ll do it anyway.

Her question
takes him by surprise, “Greylan, do you think that’s a good
idea?”

He shakes his
head at how shitty this is. He wants her more than he’s wanted any
other woman. He can only imagine how it would feel to have her
under him exploring every curve and line of her perfect body. He
looks down unintentionally at her full breasts peeking out of the
soft, pink v-neck sweater she is wearing. She laughs causing him to
glance away uncomfortably meeting Christina’s stare.
Caught by
both of them, fuck
!

Christina is
silently laughing at him, he can tell. He pleads with her to come
to his rescue with his stare but she shakes her head and continues
drying the glass in her hand. She nods her head to Mollie
encouraging him to take her home. He frowns in confusion, one
minute she’s warning him to stay away and now she’s telling him to
go for it.
Fucking women!

Finally he
answers, “No, I don’t think it’s a good idea but I’ll walk you
anyway.”

Disappointment
fills her features for a moment before she regains her composure
and tells him, “Well Greylan Pace, it’s been fun. I can make it
back by myself though, I’m a big girl.” She looks past him to
Christina and smiles half- heartedly.

Dammit!
He struggles with whether he should escort her back or just let her
go by herself. Before he can make any decision she is out the door.
Her red locks are the last thing he sees before she disappears into
the dark.

“Grey, what
the hell was that?”

He turns to
Christina’s amused tone, “What do you mean? You warned me an hour
ago and now you tell me to go for it. I don’t know what the hell to
do.” Anger seeps into his last words.

She smiles
enjoying every minute of this. Not so long ago she was asking
Greylan for advice about Jonathan.

“Grey, you
want her right? So you should go for it. You always struggle with
your decisions and I know why. I watch as you overthink things. I’m
sorry you have to suffer like that but this shouldn’t be something
you mull over. Go after her and enjoy it.”

He glances to
the door longing to follow Red but knows that if he goes after her,
any relationship he might have established with Meyer is gone. He
directs his attention to picking up the empty beer bottles along
the bar and pushes her out of his mind. He’s already an ass for not
walking her to the hotel.

Christina
walks over to him and punches his arm. He looks at her shocked by
the force and the remaining sting. His hand comes up to squeeze her
arm as he teases, “Have you been working out? That was quite the
punch.” She shakes him off and snatches the bottles from his
grasp.

“Greylan Pace,
don’t be an asshole. Go and make sure she got back to the hotel
alright. If you aren’t going to pursue her the least you could do
is make sure she’s safe.”

He glares
knowing exactly what she’s doing but also knowing she’s right.

She adds,
“That’s an order or else you’re fired.”

He’s about to
ask her about closing up but the door behind him opens. He looks
back expecting Mollie but Jonathan walks into the room. He is tall
and thin with dark skin and hair telling of a Hispanic heritage.
Nothing like who Greylan had pictured Christina would end up with
but he knows she loves him. Jonathan’s presence gives him an out he
wasn’t expecting. He turns to Christina one last time and she tells
him, “Grey, I’m serious, go.”

As he leaves
the bar his feet start in the direction of the hotel only blocks
away. He knew how short the distance is which is why he didn’t
insist on walking her. But as he walks through the shadows, the
anger at himself grows. He should have gone anyway to make sure she
got there safely, yet another reason for Meyer to hate him. Shit,
if anything happened to her, he’d hate himself. As he passes the
next store front a voice that sets his whole body on edge states
playfully, “It’s about time. I was starting to have some doubts. Of
course always the gentleman, though.” Her speech is slurred and
he’s pissed he let her get this far without him.

He slows his
pace as he comes face to face with her. She forces her hand out and
states, “Let’s start over. I don’t think we got off on the right
foot. Hello, my name is Mollie Andrews. And you are?”

His hand
grasps hers, his voice firm as he responds matching her light tone,
“Greylan Pace. It’s a pleasure to meet you Mollie Andrews.” He
pulls on her hand guiding her body closer to his own. As he looks
down into her eyes he knows that there’s no turning back. He’s
going to do this regardless of the consequences. He wants her too
much and he can see that she wants him just as much. He lowers his
lips in a light brush touching hers. Slowly he presses his mouth
exploring her lips with the tiniest of contact pulling back just
inches and closing the distance again. Her hand trails up his chest
skimming the muscles beneath his T-shirt. His hand still grasping
hers tightens in an attempt to keep himself from devouring her but
she withdraws her palm from his to join the other one in an assault
on his body. This makes him want to touch every inch of her but he
pulls back carefully moving his hands to cup her elbows. She
withdraws her hands apprehensively looking up into his face as if
searching for something. He knows what she sees, all the
conflicting emotion swirling through his mind.

He whispers,
“Mollie, I don’t think this a good idea. Meyer is my oldest friend.
We have our differences and haven’t seen each other in so long but
I can’t do this to him.”

Her lips
spread, lifting at the corners, “Greylan, that is very noble of
you, I’m impressed.” She leans in to his ear skimming the delicate
skin with her lips before admitting, “I know you aren’t with
Christina, she told me tonight and I’m not with Meyer. I never
was.”

He moves his
head away to look into her clear, needy eyes. He wants to question
her and ask why they are here together but decides that he really
doesn’t want to know. Instead relief spreads as he realizes that
there really is nothing holding him back from having this beautiful
woman. His heart starts hammering in his chest. But he knows she is
in no condition right now and he wants the first time he touches
her to be amazing.

He grabs her
hand and gently pulls her toward her hotel. She follows slowly with
a dazed look across her face. He smiles at how much of a
lightweight she is but it’s just one more thing about her that he
likes. As they reach the lobby she turns to him shyly and asks, “Do
you want to come up?”

He grasps both
of her hands in his and positions them against his chest. He shakes
his head slightly loving the timid side of her shining through,
“Mollie, I want nothing more, but when you and I make love, it will
be something I want you to remember and tonight,” He looks down to
their hands, “It’s not the right time.”

A fleeting
moment of disappointment crosses her features but it’s gone before
he can focus on it.

She carefully
removes her hands from his and slides them up to his shoulders. He
lowers his face near hers and brushes her cheek with his before
meeting her lips again. This time he briefly touches them with a
promise for later. As he turns to leave he has to focus on each
step he takes, forcing himself not to run back to her and regret it
later. No regrets he tells himself.

The next
morning a soft knock on his door wakes him up. The first thing he
realizes is that he didn’t wake up from a nightmare. It happens
rarely but he’ll take what he can get. Another knock sounds against
the wood of the door. He slides on a pair of sport shorts and moves
to the door putting his hand through his hair.

When he opens
the door the most beautiful sight greets him. Red is standing
there, perfectly. She’s dressed in jeans hugging her body and a
long sleeved, black t-shirt. A sure smile spreads on her lips as
she asks, “Are you going to ask me in?”

He nods,
backing up unsure whether he should wrap his arms around her or
lead her into the apartment and offer her a drink or something. An
awkward feeling moves through him because he wants nothing more
than to touch her but if she’s here for a different reason, he
would be crushed. He’s reluctant to move for fear that the alcohol
was doing the talking last night. If she is with Meyer, whatever
friendship they might have salvaged, would be gone if he acts on
his feelings.
What the hell is happening to me? She’s under my
skin; I’ve done a shitty job of fighting it.

She turns,
taking a step toward him. Her smell, sweet and clean wafts up to
his nose. He moves backward hitting the wall with his naked back.
She smiles and asks playfully, “Greylan, are you scared of me?’

His eyes
widen, this is a side he has yet to see,
playful Red
. His
blood speeds up, he likes this version of her. He wants more.

“No,
definitely not scared, Red.”

Her eyes go
wide, “What did you just call me?”

He smirks,
“Red, I think it fits you.”

One more step
and her hand is skimming his bare abdomen. His skin tingles in its
wake.

“So you get to
call me a nickname that I wasn’t even aware of, and I still have to
call you Greylan?”

“Red, you can
call me anything you want to.”

Slowly, he
leans forward and pushes his lips softly into hers. A soft moan
escapes her mouth as she opens it welcoming his tongue. He deepens
the kiss his whole body responding to this incredible creature. He
moves his lips with hers restraining his hands. He knows once he
touches her he’ll be done.

He breaks the
kiss and looks into her deep green eyes, “Mollie, I need to know
something.”

“Oh, now it’s
Mollie
, should I be worried?”

It takes so
much restraint not to pull her into him. He moves his body back
against the wall and questions, “What is the deal with Meyer? I
told you last night that I can’t do that to him. If you are with
him in any way, I can’t. It’s going to kill me but I won’t.”