The Original Crowd (59 page)

I felt a soft kiss and laced our fingers together.

“I’m glad you’re back,” I said softly.

“Me too.” His voice was slightly muffled as his breath tickled my skin.

“It was hard seeing everyone,” I noted.

The trip, seeing his father, and spending time with his brother. I knew that he needed me right now.

“Yeah,” he breathed out.

For now, I would leave it alone. Instead, I said, “Mandy’s really excited about moving here.”

“Carter’s excited, too.”

I rolled onto my back and met his gaze, both of us adjusting to still stay in each other’s arms.

“She’s kind of afraid of you.” I had to say it. Tray would notice, he’s not dumb.

Tray shrugged. “As long as she doesn’t try to poison you against me, I don’t really care.”

“You could be nicer, you know.” In some ways, Tray had stopped caring about his reign in Rawley. It was his job, he took it upon himself, to take care of what was his. Rawley was his. But after everything that happened, with Galverson and Jace...he’d become content with only talking to me, Carter, Bryce, and Grant. Amber and Jasmine stopped coming over to the house and after Mandy returned from one of her stints in rehab, she’d stopped considering Tray as a friend.

The publicity had been crazy once everything was out in the open. It was the biggest drug-bust in years and the headlines focused a lot on Tray’s family. The media was fascinated with Tray and his family. A father who’d been the police chief turned drug lord. The eldest son a DEA agent. And the youngest son, the one who brought it all to a head.

It hadn’t helped that both sons were gorgeous and had the same charismatic ‘fuck everyone’ attitude.

Tray stopped caring about everyone when everyone became obsessed with him.

Like I said, he’d turned to me and a select few. Most of my teammates and friends couldn’t understand why I was with him. They all saw what Mandy now saw. A tough dick capable of being ruthless. Which he was and it’s what he showed the world, but they didn’t see the other side of Tray.

Tray shrugged. “Mandy and all your other friends are scared of me because they don’t understand me. I really don’t give a shit to sit and let them analyze me or explain myself to them. It’s been almost four years that we’ve been together. You’d think it’d be enough for them to know that I love you and I make you happy.”

“You used to be a friend to her,” I only said. .

Tray sighed, and pulled away slightly, but he kept his hand still laced with mine.

“It’s just…it’s too much, Taryn. I’ve got Chance on my back, those fucking agents keep tailing me, and I swear I saw one of Lanser’s old men watching me yesterday at the conference. I’ve got enough just trying to survive without having to focus on making your friends like me.”

I sighed and moved to straddle him. Tray watched me lazily, his hands automatically resting on my thighs. He moved them up and down. One hand slid to caress my stomach.

I loved it when he did that.

He sat up and moved against the headboard, pulling me with him.

His hand moved to cup my breast, then caressed down against my curves before moving back up to fondle me again.

“You took care of that. You have insurance.” I wasn’t talking about health insurance.

“Yeah.”

“And you’re on surveillance because Chance doesn’t want anything to happen to you.”

The problem was that Tray hated feeling caged and being watched made him feel caged. But it had been like this for three years, and it
was
getting better.

“Yeah.”

“So let’s go party tonight and you could try to forget about the world on your shoulders. For one night, maybe,” I suggested, grinning lightly as he grinned back and tucked me closer against him.

One quick adjustment and he slid inside.

He slowly thrusted upwards, and remarked, “I’d like to start forgetting right now.”

Oh…fuck.

I sighed into his mouth and I couldn’t help but reflect.

I had survived so much. Life. Brian’s death. Jace’s separation from my life. And right now, Tray and I were surviving together.

But we were doing pretty damn good.

We had persevered and we were still fucking conquering.

www.tijansbooks.com