Shattered (33 page)

I returned her smile before scurrying through the restaurant, flashing light smiles at all of the wondering eyes focused in my direction. I probably looked like a crazy mad woman with my wind-blown hair and my inability to catch my breath, but I didn't care. I just wanted to get where I belonged--I wanted to get to Grayson.

Swiftly opening the door to Grayson's office, our eyes locked, blue to grey as I stood, still working to catch my breath that was now lost as Grayson's eyes lay locked on me.

"Dallis? What are you doing here? Why didn't you call?" he asked, looking at the clock on his desk.

"I did," I said through hurried breaths. "I called you as soon as I left the hospital, but you didn't answer. I sent you a text, too."

Grayson reached into his desk drawer and pulled out his cell phone. Looking at it and then back to me he mumbled, "I'm so sorry. I threw myself into work and lost track of time."

I rushed him. I threw my arms around his neck and wrapped my legs around his waist. Mashing my lips against his, I kissed him with every bit of passion that was stockpiled within me. I ransacked my fingers through his still messy hair, giving him every bit of me that I had previously withheld from him.

A sparkle went off in his beautiful cerulean blue orbs. "Are you okay?" he asked, smiling as he held me away from him while staring into my eyes.

"Yes. I'm more than okay," I replied.

"What happened up there?"

"Everything. Everything happened. You were right--Colby was holding a piece of me that belongs to you. He still held the doors of our past in his hands where I was concerned. He was still very much a part of me."

Grayson stood me up and sat on the top of his desk, pulling me in between his legs. "You figured it all out? You did all this in one meeting?" he asked, lowering his gaze.

"There was nothing to figure out. It was staring me in the face all along. I just wasn't ready to face it."

"And seeing Colby made you ready?"

I quickly closed my eyes and then reopened them, staring into Grayson's piercing gaze. "I had no choice. The second I saw him, it all came rushing to the surface. I thought I was going to go in there and rip him to shreds--give him every piece of bitterness and hurt that I had been harboring for him, but I couldn't."

"So what became of all this?" Grayson asked, looking genuinely confused.

"I finally realized that focusing on what makes me happy is so much better for me." I paused for a second and held Grayson's chin in my hand. "I love you," I said, watching as  adulation filled Grayson's eyes as he stared down on me. "I've realized that I love you, but even more so, I've realized that I'm in love with you and I don't want to spend another day not telling you and not living it."

Grayson quickly grabbed me and swiftly lay me down on his desk. Reaching up and wrapping my arms around his neck, I pulled him down and kissed him hungrily, like I had been deprived of food and he was my last meal. After a minute or so, he gently pulled back and smiled at me through soft pants. "I've been waiting to hear those words come out of that beautiful little mouth of yours."

"Well, you've heard 'em. And now you're probably going to get sick of hearing 'em because I'm going to make sure they cross my lips and enter your ears every single day."

A wicked smile caressed Grayson's lips as he leaned down and kissed me. Standing up, he held me in his arms and walked us over towards the door.

"Where are we going?" I asked running my fingers through his hair.

"Home," he whispered seductively after biting down on his bottom lip. "There are a few other things I want to hear pass through those lips of yours that my customers have no business hearing."

I puckered my lips and lowered my gaze. Finally emptying myself of the residual feelings left lingering for Colby, and embracing the love I had for Grayson opened up a new side of me. In a way, I could feel the tiny specs of my shattered heart beginning to fuse back together with every passing second that I lay in Grayson's arms. I was finally Dallis again and it felt so good to be whole.

To be--
me
.

Epilogue

4 Months Later

The movers were beginning to frustrate me. Being an instant gratification kind of girl, I wasn't too thrilled that they seemed to be moving at a snail's pace. "Hey, those boxes are clearly labeled. Follow the directions, please?" I instructed, not hiding my annoyance in the least bit. Grayson came walking into the house, whistling and looking the polar opposite of me; then again, he
was
the polar opposite of me.

"Chill out," he said smiling in my direction. "It'll all get done."

"I know. But seriously, they've been working well beyond the amount of time I thought this move would take."

Grayson smiled at me, breaking into a full on laugh as he stood watching me blow steam. "Do you want me to tell them to just drop everything and get out? Because I can." I gave a half grin and shook my head. "Alright, then just relax." Grayson wrapped his arm around my waist as he leaned in and kissed me. I watched him walk away into the kitchen area where more boxes were being unloaded.

Folding my arms across my chest, I tried to keep warm while the movers worked, keeping the doors open to allow easy access to enter and leave the house. Grayson and I had finally had enough of the two house thing and wanted to have a place to call our own. We found a nice, roomy house in the Queen Anne district, not too far away from where our old homes were. I saw the rental sign while out on a run and it appeared to be out of our price range, but I took down the information anyway and made the call. Grayson was beyond thrilled at the showing and said if I loved it as much as he did, that we'd make it work within our budget. Luckily, the owners were willing to work with us since they were frequent visitors to Ada's and ended up slashing $250 off of the monthly rent, making the home fit right in our price range.

The charcoal grey exterior gave the home a very subdued look, but the kick ass red door was what sold me. Looking at it, I knew that it was the home for us. This house was much larger than Grayson's place and didn't require the sharing of walls like my old place.

It was an all-around much better fit.

"I've got something for you," Grayson said, startling me from my thoughts and handing me a small gift bag.

"What's this?" I asked, looking wildly curious.

"Just open it," Grayson said, smirking at me.

Pulling the tissue paper out, I reached into the bag and found a purple t-shirt that read,
Girlfriend of a Husky!
I looked up and found Grayson grinning at me. "You expect me to wear this?" I asked, feigning disgust.

Grayson took the shirt from my hands and held it up to my chest. "Oh, you're going to look so hot in this."

"No I won't. I'm a cougar. We don't like dogs."

"Oh, you like dogs," he said, swallowing me in his arms, "In fact, I think you love dogs."

"Ahem," a voice came from the hallway, breaking our intimate banter. "We're all done, sir. I'll just need your signature on a few forms and then we'll be on our way."

Grayson swiftly kissed me, then followed the mover out to the truck. Strolling the house, I found myself in the downstairs guest bedroom that was now filled with the remnants of our parents. Grayson's only stipulation, when it came to finding a house together, was that we had to have adequate space for a guest room and a separate room designed for the memory of our parents. He said it was important to him that we incorporated them into our shared home and I completely agreed. Our moms had played a large role in our bond and Grayson and I often joked that they played matchmaker from up above, like any good moms would do.

As I walked out and into the front entryway, Grayson stepped back inside, shivering from the brisk wind that easily tore through his cut off tank top.

"You wouldn't be so cold if you just wore a hoodie like most normal people, ya know?"

Grayson's stark blue eyes landed on me as he furiously rubbed his arms, trying desperately to bring some warmth back into his body. "No. I wouldn't be so cold if my super amazing, yet incredibly stubborn girlfriend would put on her housewarming present and nothing else." A sly grin crossed his lips. "That would totally fucking warm me up. It'd probably cause me to explode."

"I have a better idea," I said. "Why don't I break in our new fire place, using my beautiful new housewarming gift?" I ran back to where the shirt had been left, prompting Grayson to run after me. I grabbed the shirt, only to have Grayson wrap his arms around me from behind, effectively locking my arms down while pulling the shirt from my hands. The feel of his cool skin against me made me want to take him in my arms and not let go.

Grayson turned me around and removed my shirt and bra before placing the t-shirt over my head. He stepped back from me and held his chin, pondering as he took in my look.

"Well?" I asked. "Is it what you had in mind?"

Grayson's lips puckered a bit as his eyes lowered. "Not exactly," he said, slowly making his way back over to me. I watched him intently as he dropped before me and unbuttoned my jeans. I stepped out of them, kicking them away as they hit the floor. Grayson looked up at me and smiled, but didn't say a word. He gently rubbed his fingers up my legs until he made his way up to my panties. Hooking his fingers around the hem, he slowly pulled them down, rubbing my legs as he worked them off of me. "Now this is what I had in mind," he said before standing and scooping me up into his arms.

We took the stairs by twos. Grayson wasted no time getting me into the bedroom and onto the bed. I helped him remove the tank top that he was wearing and gently traced the lining of the tattoos that covered his chest. His heart was beating a bit faster than normal, and as I stopped near it, he grinned at me, saying, "I told you I might explode."

I shook my head as Grayson dropped down between my thighs and used his slick tongue to wet me. I tensed at his touch, trying to bring my legs up but unable to, as Grayson used his hand to hold them down. He licked and sucked me into submission, causing my body to wring with excitement and pleasure as his tongue stroked and lapped me until I could hardly contain the growing orgasm inside of me. My hands gripped his hair and guided him to the spots that sent the most intense sensations through me. Holding on to him, I wanted to own him, but with the force of the licks of his tongue and the compliance of my body to his touch he owned me, and I was quite okay with that.

My legs began to convulse as the sensations rippled through me. Grayson moaned a muffled, "No," as I began to lose the feeling in my toes. He removed his mouth from me and sat on his knees, licking his lips as he unfastened his jeans and slid them down. "You aren't coming until I'm inside of you," he said parting my legs with his own. I grabbed onto his arms, pulling him down towards me. He was toying with me. After feeling the brink of my orgasm and watching me squirm with delight, Grayson was deliberately making me yearn for what I wanted and desperately needed at the moment. "You have no self-control, babe."

His bright blue eyes gleamed as he looked at me, lying tortured on the bed beneath him. I bit my lip and pulled him down even further before whispering in his ear, "Fuck me." Grayson pulled back a little and smiled. He grabbed his rock hard cock and gently slid it into me, sending pulsating sparks of pleasure throughout my entire body. With just the entrance alone, my throbbing walls signaled an intense orgasm on the way, but just as Grayson began to work his cock through me, I worked feverishly to hold it off.

 Our bodies beat against one another as Grayson slightly picked up the pace, groaning pleasurable sounds with every stroke that he sent gliding into me. My muffled groans gave way to piercing shrieks as he continuously raked over the same, wall crumbling spot that literally broke down all lines of defense and gave way to an all-consuming orgasm that ripped through me. My hands tugged at Grayson's hair, causing him to slam his hips down on my now numb body. After a few more thrusts, and numerous inaudible, yet sexy moans later, Grayson stilled and came inside of me, sealing us together for what felt like an eternity.

I breathed hard as I held onto him and waited for the feeling to enter back into my body. After catching his breath, Grayson propped himself up and looked down on me, smiling. "See… I think this cat actually does like dogs."

Smiling back at him, I nodded. "I guess not all dogs are bad."

"Nope. Especially not this one."

We lay in bed together, Grayson holding me as I rested my head against his chest. I swirled my fingers around the lining of his tattoos, which had become a favorite of mine whenever I could get him with his shirt off.

"When is Miranda coming to decorate this place?" Grayson asked.

"She'll be here Thursday, but you'll be at school. It'll be all done by the time you get home."

"Sweet. I can’t wait to see it. Should be a nice distraction from these damn exams I'm having to take."

I had convinced Grayson to go back to school and complete his degree requirements. He wasn't too far off of his B.A., but after leaving school to take care of his sick mom, he just never went back. Using his mom as my ammunition, I told him that she would have wanted to see her only child finish college and that we could add his degree plaque to the parent's room if he wanted to when he got it. That seemed to seal the deal. The very next week, Grayson was in the admissions line re-enrolling at U-Dub.

"Will you even be home?" Grayson asked, looking down at me while playing in my hair.

"No. I'll be shooting promo pics with the Sounders, but Miranda and her crew will come in here and get it all done."

"Good. And make sure to tell Miranda that your first Sounders pictures need to go in the downstairs room. Your mom would be so proud of those. I know I am."

My gig with the Sounders had turned into a full-time thing. I still did my own freelance work on the side, but after being offered a full-time job as a secondary photographer for the team, I pounced on the opportunity. Grayson was so proud that he made a section at Ada's to showcase my work with the team, and even had me sign a few of them like I was a big deal. The customers seemed to like them and Grayson was always pointing them out to people, so I didn't fuss. His pride in my work excited me, so I let him show it off to anyone who was willing to listen.