The Running Series Box Set: Books 1-3 Page 18

  Grayson’s tone was sharp. “What else, Alexandra, what news do you need to break to me?” He wasn’t smiling. He might have had a few ideas of what I wanted to say, but the truth was probably not on his list, I was certain.

  “Grayson, we need to talk, but not here. Can we get something to go, maybe go back to my place?”

  We were in front of the restaurant, and the few patrons in the bistro and the staff were beginning to look at us peculiarly.

  He seemed to relax, if only a little bit. “Let’s go back to my apartment, if that’s okay with Cooper. Then he’ll be free to enjoy his evening. Sound good?”

  I could only nod yes, but I was comfortable with that. Cooper must have been more than fine with it, because he hugged me goodbye, did the brotherly one arm hug with Grayson, and bolted for the door. I’m sure he was ready for this to go one way or another. Lately, we’d had nothing but drama.

  We ordered soup and a couple of sandwiches and made our way back to Grayson’s apartment. We were both quiet as we walked.

  At Grayson’s place, I put on some music while he poured a couple of glasses of wine. I didn’t know what to do. If I said I wasn’t drinking, he would know, but then he did deserve to know…but the words wouldn’t come to me.

  I took the glass of wine, but didn’t take a sip, rather I took in a deep breath of courage and went for it.

  “Grayson, since returning to Chicago, I haven’t been feeling well.”

  He started to interrupt me, but I stopped him.

  “No, it’s nothing to be concerned about really, not in that way anyway. Grayson, I’m pregnant. But don’t worry, I don’t expect anything from you.”

  Grayson cut me off with the most glorious kiss, so deep he almost knocked me off the bar stool.

  It felt so good to be in his arms. I forgot how I loved the smell of his body. I missed his touch. His kiss was so delicious, his powerful lips overtaking mine as his tongue possessed my mouth. His arms were gripping me tight like fear was keeping him from letting go. Finally, after a few minutes, he let go and helped me sit on the sofa, then sat close beside me so he could look into my very surprised eyes.

  “Alexandra Elise Morrison, I love you!” he started by saying, causing me to blink in shock. “I’ve been such a fool. I should have told you before, before you even told me. I knew it from that first time we danced. Having a baby with you would be a gift. I came to Chicago with the purpose of bringing you home, but the timing was wrong for you, and the emotion was raw for both of us. I had to give you that space to find your way back to me. I couldn’t be happier about the baby. Please say you will stay here, so we can work this out.”

  He looked at me with tears in his glistening eyes, so endearing, so vulnerable at this very moment. I wasn’t sure how to respond, but I was completely sure of how I felt about him. I knew I had loved him from the very beginning.

  “Grayson, I love you. I want us to spend time together right now and work through our issues. I want to try and find some harmony, for our baby’s sake. The most important thing in the world to me now is getting this baby to a healthy delivery.” I could tell the news made him happy; his utter joy was visible in his piercing blue eyes.

  “I’ve waited for you to come home, watching every day to see if you were back in town, never leaving my phone because I was afraid you might call and I would miss it. I love you so much it hurts.” Grayson kissed me again, this time less desperate, more caressing. He held me gently, afraid of either breaking me or scaring me off, almost as though he wasn’t sure I was actually here and that this was all real.

  And I was completely happy. All of the anxiety I’d felt melted away in that kiss. This was where I belonged. Coming back here was like truly coming home.

  “I want you to move in with me,” he said, making my breath catch in my throat. The man who had only just learned to tell me he loved me wanted a commitment that important? “Let’s spend some time together as a couple and find that harmony you’re talking about. I want to be here to experience this pregnancy with you and—”

  I reached up to his mouth and shushed him. “Grayson, there is so much for us to talk about, but right now, there is only one thing that I want…and that’s to be with you.”

  Grayson pulled me onto his lap for another deep kiss for only a moment before standing up, hoisting me easily in his arms as he stood. He kissed me again, still tender, but still full of need, as he walked down the hallway toward his bedroom.

  As he looked down at me with loving, gentle eyes, I knew I was in the right place. He kissed me tenderly on my lips, my neck. He stood me up next to his bed then slowly removed my blouse then slipped the straps of my bra down on my shoulders, so my nipples were partially exposed, gently nibbling at the round of my breasts. Reaching around to my back, he unhooked my bra and let it fall to the floor. “You are so beautiful. Your soft skin is so sweet to touch. I love your smell, your taste.”

  Nervously, I tugged at his shirt with unsure hands, pulling it up and over his head. I began to explore his body, rummaging through his hair, finding his lips with mine. He smelled so good, just like I remembered. How I had longed to inhale him all those nights when I was alone.

  I unhooked the button on his jeans and lowered the zipper, pushing his jeans and boxers to the floor to expose his beautiful strong, masculine body. As we began to kiss somehow more passionately, I could feel the heat from between my legs, my body responding to him, my nipples hard and sensitive, and my heart beating for two. I thought about our baby and began to crave Grayson even more.

  He unzipped my jeans and let those drop to the floor, too. I thought I saw a momentary flash of concern as my jeans fell off my bare hips and a look of worry as he took in my underweight frame. He reached around my waist and picked me up, stepping out his jeans to head to the shower.

  We explored each other’s bodies with lips, tongues, and gentle kisses, more sure this time of who were to each other. As desire took hold of us both, we grew more aggressive, and as he pushed his erection into me, I could feel the heat building up deep inside me.

  I knew this was right. This was where we belonged, together. He bit hungrily at my chin and my neck, trailing his way down to my breasts as the warm water poured over us. His arm was around my waist, holding me close as we moved against each other, the intensity climbing for both of us. His other hand clutched at mine and held it against the wall of the shower.

  I kept my legs wrapped around his waist as he pushed in and out of me, reminding me of the longing I’d felt for him ever since that first night together. I couldn’t hold back any longer and moaned as I climaxed around him, pulsating so tightly it felt like an explosion coursing out through the very center of my body. My nipples and sex were both so sensitive to touch and movement that it seemed impossible for there to be any other sensation, but he pushed in and out of me even faster until he reached his own climax deep inside me. He held me still as he erupted into a quiet moan that was almost painful with need.

  We were still for several minutes, unable to move, the warm water running down over us, steam filling the shower.

  Grayson was the first to speak and the first to move. “Alexandra, I have ached for you for weeks. You can’t know how glad I am you’re here with me. I love you so much!” he whispered quietly against my lips as tears filled his eyes. “Please don’t leave me ever again. Please say you’ll stay here. Whenever you feel like running, say that you’ll run to me and not back to Chicago.”

  This was a conversation we needed desperately to have, but it wasn’t the right time or place.

  “Yes, I’ll stay,” I answered after a long silence. “Eventually, I’ll stay.”

  He questioned me silently, his expression pleading with me without having to say a word.

  I reached for a towel and stepped out of the shower, drying myself while I carefully avoided looking at my underfed frame in the foggy mirror. Then I put on the T-shirt Grayson had provided for me.

  He leaned down
to speak to me while I had my head upside down, drying my unruly hair.

  “What did you mean ‘eventually’?” he asked tentatively.

  “Well,” I said, stalling to make sure I phrased it without hurting him, “I need to go back to Chicago to work for a few weeks and to get my things. And I’ll need to see my doctor again.” I stood upright and tenderly kissed his neck, trying to entice him into avoiding a full blown conversation.

  “Alexandra, we can get you in with an obstetrical team here in Dallas. We can have your records sent back here.” He turned into Mr. Bossy again, a side of him I couldn’t swear I found endearing.

  I could tell this was just going to be a way of life with him when it came to my health. “Grayson, we can talk about all that later, let’s just enjoy the evening. Please?” I said as I started kissing him again to quiet him and bring his mind back to what we had been doing in the shower.

  He picked me up, carried me into the bedroom, and lowered me gently onto the bed, biting me lovingly, sucking my breast, my neck, before working his way down to suck on my sex and enter me with his tongue. His mouth explored all of my body while whole new sensations flooded through me, making me whimper from the pleasure and the newness of it.

  I followed his lead as he took my hands and showed me what felt best to him. I saw a rowdy side of him I’d never seen before, and I loved it. He entered me again, and only a few strokes later, we both climaxed together, experiencing the pulsing of the other’s body in complete amazement. The euphoric moment couldn’t last.

  “Alexandra, what the hell happened to your leg? Did he do that to you?” Grayson barked, turning my leg lightly to examine the mark closer.

  “What are you talking about, this bruise?”

  “Yes, on your leg, what happened?”

  “Well, I fainted when I walked into the obstetrician’s office today and caught the chair apparently. What did you think happened?”

  “I thought Harrison might have done that to you!” His voice so concerned, but accusatory toward Harrison.

  I diffused his anger with what I quickly realized was my most effective ally and gently took him into an embrace and kissed his bare chest, one leg thrown possessively over his hip.

  “Just so you know, Harrison never laid a hand on me. I don’t know what it is about him you’re not telling me, but we’ll discuss it later. What I need to do now is eat something, if you don’t mind.” I climbed off the bed and headed for the kitchen.

  Grayson followed. “There are some dark things about Harrison you don’t know, but we’ll discuss him some other time,” he promised, giving me a quick kiss before reaching to pull a pot out of the cabinet to reheat our long-forgotten soup. He reached past me for some bowls and plates, but couldn’t resist tracing a finger from my collarbone down over one breast, teasing it lightly through the threadbare material of his old shirt.

  “Alexandra, you’re so thin. Did you eat anything the entire time you were away?” Tracing the other breast playfully, he said, “The only thing bigger on you are these.” As he leaned in to suck on my breast through the thin fabric.

  “It’s going to be a very fun nine months if you keep that up!” I said with a shudder, doing a little teasing of my own as I dragged my fingernails lightly up his thigh.

  After dinner, we snuggled on the couch, listening to music, satisfied from our lovemaking and a cozy dinner.

  “Hey, Red, how is my little boy doing in there?” he asked, as he rubbed my belly with soft strokes.

  “Your little red-headed daughter is killing me,” I moaned. “Everything I eat comes back up!” I darted off down the hall to endure morning, evening, and all day sickness.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  After my spell of sickness, I returned to the living room and found Grayson on the phone. It was Cooper checking on us to make sure everything was okay. I knew he was worried, and I hadn’t even looked at my phone since we’d got to the apartment. Grayson and I went back to my place to get my things.

  “Alexandra, would you feel more comfortable staying here at your apartment?” he asked nonchalantly, like it didn’t matter to him either way.

  “Well, actually, I would, but what about you, are you okay with it?”

  “I’m comfortable wherever you are, because that’s where I want to be. I’ll just run home and grab a bag and come right back.” He kissed me quickly and turned to go, but came back and kissed me again, longer this time.

  I went to lie down on top of my covers and get comfortable to ease the nausea that was returning. Lying still in the lamplight, I smiled as I remembered Grayson’s passionate declaration of love. It was more than I could ever imagine after some of the worst few weeks I’d ever endured. Our lives were changing so quickly before our eyes. I got lost in my emotions, fully engulfed in sobs that wracked my body by the time Grayson returned.

  “Why are you crying?” he asked fearfully, kneeling beside my bed and gathering me in his arms.

  “Oh, I’m fine! I’m sorry if I scared you, but I’m crying because I’m happy! I love you so much, Grayson, and I didn’t expect you to be so excited about the baby.” I sniffled a little against his shirt, but a tiny part of me was reveling in the scent of him, the scent I had missed so much.

  “Darling, you will learn to trust my love. I promise to never let you down again!” he murmured against my lips after lifting my chin to feather his kisses lightly against my mouth. His kisses turned more passionate, as if he was craving me again. He ripped off his shirt, my shirt, bra, and jeans, leaving me in just my panties and him in his boxers.

  As he hovered over me, his kisses trailing down my body to my belly, he removed my panties, then spread my legs and started to suck on my clit, playfully at first, then more greedily. He teased one finger inside me. The movement and stimulation and the heat from his breath together were more intense than I could handle. My hips tilted up to him, all on their own. I felt warm fluid release from inside my sex, climaxing in his mouth. As he clenched his finger inside me, I screamed out his name from the full pleasure of it. “Grayson Brooks, whatever you are doing, please don’t stop!”

  “Glad to be of service, ma’am!” He kissed his way back up to my mouth.

  I could taste myself on his lips, and the flavor was different, but exciting. To know we both could enjoy my orgasm in such a stimulating way was thrilling. This was sex like I had only previously read about, but never experienced. It was far greater than anything I could have imagined. I only prayed Grayson would be patient with me and teach me to satisfy him as much as he satisfied me. He kissed me hungrily, and I could tell he still wanted more of me.

  Grayson removed his boxers and climbed in the bed with me, pulling the comforter over us. As he took me in his arms, I could feel his erection on my hip, and I knew he still needed more, as much as I wanted him again, too.

  Rolling me onto my back, he took both of my hands, reaching my arms way above my head, and held them there tight. “Is this too aggressive for you?” he asked in a whisper against my neck, concern for me making him cautious.

  “No, this is the most exciting night of my life. I’ll stop you if I can’t do it, so please, please, don’t stop. Show me what you want me to experience. I want to please you. I want to learn from you. I love you, Grayson.”

  His happy grin melted into a more serious expression, his eyes burning with a look I’d never seen before. “I love you too, Alexandra. You can’t imagine how it felt to think I might have heard those words for the last time. And then to have you find your way back to me. It’s almost not real.”

  He held my arms above my head with one hand and bit my breasts hard, just short of painful. With his other arm around my waist, he pushed his erection into me, hard, forceful, pulling almost all the way out after each thrust, then grinding into me.

  I squirmed with pleasure, pulling against his hands, but he didn’t let me go, just continued to thrust into me hard and steady, all the while restraining my hands. I could feel his shaft sw
ell inside me, so tight, and the friction was exhilarating, causing me to climax just as he reached his. I could feel him pulsing inside me and the warm result of our lovemaking coming over us. As he pulled out, I grimaced, disturbing him a little.

  “We may be overdoing it a bit. You may be sore tomorrow. I just got carried away with needing you, I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t apologize. Our lovemaking is beautiful, and I have loved every bit of it with no regrets.” I snuggled into his chest, and he caressed me, holding me tight.

  “I’m so happy you’re home. I love you. You, and now our little baby, make me complete!” He spoke as if he was still trying to convince me he was happy and we were enough.

  I awoke in the wee morning hours desperately needing to run to the bathroom as nausea welled up inside of me again. Grayson’s legs were so entangled with mine and his arms wrapped around me so tightly, there was no way to get out of bed without disturbing him.

  Slowly, I wiggled out of his arms and then his legs as he rolled over. Quietly, I managed to get out of bed without waking him.

  As I went to the bathroom, my heart dropped. I saw that there was some blood, not a whole lot, but some.

  Oh, no, please no, please not a miscarriage. How can this be happening? Was it the lovemaking from last night that caused this? Surely not, most women didn’t even know they were pregnant this early. I had to wake Grayson up.

  “Grayson, Grayson, wake up! I need you!”

  “Alexandra, what’s wrong?” My calling startled him, and he raced into the bathroom.

  “Grayson, I’m spotting! Could I be having a miscarriage? Do we need to go to the hospital?” By now, I was crying uncontrollably. “Please don’t let anything happen to our baby!”

  “Shhh, you have to relax. Sometimes spotting happens early in the pregnancy, and it means nothing. Let’s go to my office and look at the ultrasound.” His voice was so calming; he knew just what to say and how to say it.