The Running Series Box Set: Books 1-3 Read online

  “I will never ask you to give up your career, but I will tell you that anytime you want to stop working, I will support you. I can take care of you. I love you, and I want you to be completely fulfilled. If working makes you complete, that’s fine with me. But if staying home and raising our kids together is what you would want, I’m ready for that, too.”

  I didn’t miss the way his eyes twinkled as he talked about “our kids”, and that made me smile. The thought of having a real family, something I’d never really known, was so unreal. The one thing that Grayson and I both had missed growing up was a complete family. Something both of us wanted in our future and had almost within reach was right in front of us.

  “I think you would be happier if I didn’t go back to Chicago. But I need to know, is it about me having a career or is it because of Harrison?”

  He answered almost too quickly. “It has nothing to do with Harrison. A part of me is dead when you’re not around. You put excitement back in my life. You make me feel whole, filling up my head, my heart, even my bed!” He tried to laugh, but I could see he was trying to tell me he was half empty when I wasn’t around. It was the same feeling I had when he wasn’t with me.

  The pizza arrived, ending any chance of finishing such a serious conversation. It was impossible to have a heartfelt outpouring of emotion while eating extra cheese.

  Deep inside me, though, I knew what was wrong with me. All I had ever wanted was right in front of me, begging me to be his, begging me to give us a chance. And what was I doing? I was blowing him off for a career, half in Chicago, half here, and that came with no guarantees I would have anything to show for it.

  After all, Grayson was ten years older than me; he’d had longer to want or long for a family. Now, he had the opportunity to have it with me. I had no problem finding confidence and strength when it came to my career. I just needed to find that same strength in my ability to make a family with Grayson.

  Playing with the new layers in my hair as he walked past me, Grayson smiled and asked, “Deep in thought again, angel?”

  “Oh, you know me, thinking about the usual stuff. You, me, showers, sex.” I thought I could catch him off guard.

  “Oh, you’re getting a shower all right…a cold one! Now calm those raging hormones and eat, before I tie you to the sofa and make you rest!” This side of Grayson, the man who could be so relaxed and comfortable, was wonderful. But underneath the surface, I could tell he was forcing himself to be on his best, restrained behavior, and it was killing him, too.

  I turned the football game on and was stuck watching the Dallas Cowboys, but at least the pizza and salad made up for it. It was the first meal I could remember stuffing myself on since the accident. Grayson and I shared barbs back and forth about the game.

  After halftime, Cooper made his way back home with Mark, Monica, and Emily, one of the shoot stylists, joining him. We all watched the game, and it wasn’t long before we had each taken sides. It was especially fun that it naturally turned into a guys-against-girls fan fight.

  It was a fun, peaceful time just being together. Grayson was relaxed and happy that I was eating so much. I caught a glimpse of what our life could be like as a couple, just hanging out with friends.

  I wanted more of that; my heart longed for it. I enjoyed just laying on top of Grayson on the couch, watching the game while he rubbed my back, and feeling connected in a strong, protective way.

  “Alexandra? Alexandra, are you going to sleep on top of me all night?” In my semi-consciousness state, I could sort of hear Grayson mumbling underneath me.

  “I’m so comfy,” I muttered with my face pressed against his chest. I only hoped I hadn’t drooled on his shirt. “I have Squishy Boyfriend Syndrome. It’s paralysis from slipping into a pizza coma. I can’t move. I guess that means you’re stuck being my mattress the rest of the night.”

  He somehow managed to laugh and yawn at the same time. “Okay, Red, I’ll show you a mattress! But before I take you to bed, I have something else in mind for you!”

  Grayson led me into the bedroom and closed the door behind us. He took me in his arms, twirled me around to the bathroom, putting me down by the shower. “I want to play in here. You up for a lesson?”

  “Ah, yes, Professor Brooks, please warm the water!” Oh, let the passion begin.

  Only the lamp was on in my bathroom, but I could see the twinkling in his eyes. Grayson wanted me. He removed my clothes, deliberately peeling off one piece at a time. It still felt strange to have someone just stare at me, and my instinct was to wrap my arms around myself, but the look of pure adoration on Grayson’s face made me bolder.

  He began teasing my body in ways that were new to me but left me excited to find out what he would do next. He sucked at my nipples playfully, then turned me so I faced away from him. Pulling my hair to one side, he tasted my neck with his warm tongue, then moved down to kiss my shoulders.

  I quickly turned around and undressed him, unable to wait any longer to feel his skin against mine. My fingers explored the hard lines of his chest while I kissed him breathlessly. I reached down to unbutton his shorts and boxers, letting his erection release into my eager hands, enjoying the smooth strength of him.

  We stepped out of our clothes and into the warm water. It felt so good to be in his arms, completely safe from the world, experiencing the emotional and physical effects of being in love.

  As we teased and tantalized each other, Grayson took his thumb and massaged my clit, then knelt down and gently started sucking me until I was able to achieve my release. My body gave way to trembling from the exhilarating sensation. What this man could do with his mouth was a gift.

  After my body calmed from the aftershocks of my orgasm, I slipped out of Grayson’s arms and slid down his body to see if I couldn’t cause some trembling of my own. Taking him into my mouth, I teased the tip of him with my tongue while I stroked him with my hands. I was tantalizing him and smiled to myself when I heard his sharp intake of air.

  He moaned with his head thrown back, completely enraptured. “Please, don’t stop, that feels so damn good.” He thrust into my mouth before pulling out quickly and exploding all over my breasts. Then he pulled me up to him and held me tight. “Alexandra, you’re amazing. You’re turning into quite the little nymph!”

  “And I’m more than happy to be your student,” I said with a sexy grin. “You have a few talents of your own, you know. To think, if we’d been doing this all along, we might not be pregnant!”

  “Make no mistake. There is no replacement for being inside you, and I can’t wait until Tuesday when I can have you all night, so rest up. You’ll need your strength for what I have in mind!” He gently popped me on my bottom as we finished up our shower and made our way to bed.

  Cuddling in bed while we talked about everything and nothing, I could tell Grayson wanted to discuss something more. “Just say it, Grayson, whatever’s on your mind.”

  “I was trying to figure out if Cooper would take in Mark or one of his stylist friends as a roommate when you move in with me, at some point in the future of course, whenever you were ready.”

  “Actually, I wanted to talk to you about that. I’m ready to do it now. I thought maybe I’d move in with you when I get back from Chicago.”

  I could see his huge grin, even in the dark with only the streetlights coming through the curtained window.

  He squeezed me tightly for a moment. “My lease is up in November. What do you think about looking for a house to live in? As a family?”

  “I love that idea. Our lease is up in December, so that gives Cooper time to find either find a roommate or go to a single apartment. I’ll let him know in the morning.”

  “Speaking of mornings, it’s almost morning already. Go to sleep my little minx, or I might not be able to stop myself from taking you back to the shower.” He kissed me so sweetly I hated to break the kiss.

  I could have lived in his arms, his lips pressed against mine, forever. />
  “I love you, Alexandra Morrison, and I promise to never stop telling you that, ever again.”

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Waking up when Grayson’s alarm went off, I realized I had slept all night without having to get up, as we were all tangled and nestled together. Sleeping with Grayson gave me the warmest, coziest feeling, and I was glad he liked to spoon me. I slept so much better wrapped in his arms.

  “Good morning, my dear. How am I so lucky that you are absolutely beautiful when you first wake up? How are you feeling this morning?” He nuzzled my neck.

  “I feel like I need a shower!” I announced, laughing as realization dawned on his face.

  “Well, come on, you dirty little girl. Let’s get you a shower!” As he led me to paradise first thing in the morning, all I could think about was how lucky I was. I wanted him, all of him, and I couldn’t wait until we could be together again.

  “What does your schedule look like today, babe?” I asked as I tried to wrangle my unruly hair this morning into a pony tail, and he was getting dressed in scrubs for work.

  “I am going to the gym for a quick workout, and then I have patients starting at eight thirty, a tumor conference at noon, and then I should be back here by six o’clock, if not before,” he replied, giving me a questioning look.

  “I wanted to talk to Coop about the apartment lease situation, and I also wanted to see what time to have dinner ready.”

  “Alexandra, if you get stir crazy, we can go out, or if you are okay to dine in, we can order out this afternoon. I’ll pick it up on my way home. That way you can stay here and relax. Just call me or text me, and I will do whatever you want, my pet!” Giving me a big bear hug and kissing my neck, he said, “You make me so happy. I love you so much!”

  “I love you too, Grayson!”

  We headed to the kitchen to make breakfast, and I made him coffee and toast.

  “Alexandra, are you joining me?”

  “I’m having yogurt, fruit, and oatmeal. Oh, and some juice, since the coffee police is sitting at my bar!”

  “Well, that makes me the sex, shower, food, and now coffee police. I’m glad to be so gainfully employed!”

  We both laughed loudly enough to wake Cooper, who stumbled into the kitchen yawning and scratching at his toned stomach. Gay or not, I could do worse than to wake up to Cooper walking into the room shirtless.

  “Hey, I’d love to tell you two to get a room, but you kind of already own this one. Y’all are Texas-sized happy and way too loud!” he complained jokingly as he tried to put a T-shirt on and grab coffee at the same time.

  “Cooper, funny you should mention that. When you’re more awake, I want to make arrangements for our lease and go over some ideas I had with you,” I said, thinking I may have to go easy on him.

  “Alex, I have it under control. It just so happens Monica needs a place stay in December since her roommate is getting married.” He paused, placed the back of his hand to his forehead, and did a Hollywood-esque starlet swoon against the countertop. “Whenever you bail on me, there will be someone to pick up the pieces of my broken heart. And ‘Scene!’ Now, can I get applause for my fake tears?”

  “Well, Cooper, I can honestly say it’s never a dull moment with you,” Grayson said, punching my roommate in the shoulder.

  “Well, to be totally honest, doc, there hasn’t been a dull moment around here since you came into the picture either,” he said jokingly.

  What a fun way to start the day.

  Grayson kissed me bye, and my heart sank in my chest when I realized I would be without him all day. This was a life that would take some getting used to, but I’d fallen asleep last night thinking about Grayson asking me to stay home with our kids. The idea brought a smile to my face and tears to my eyes. Family. Without a doubt in my mind, I knew this was something I had been searching blindly for my whole life. I couldn’t wait to tell the world we were going to be a family. The thought of it left me smiling to myself secretly.

  My phone beeped with a text from Grayson. Missing you already, angel. I love you, GT

  I responded, I love you too +1! p.s. please tell me you are not driving!

  Grayson texted again. No, at gym, shower b4 going to ofc…wish YOU were here!

  I decided to not answer him for a minute, so he could ponder his “shower” comment as much as I was. I sure would like to be there with him in the shower. Memories of my splendid weekend with the incredibly sexy Dr. Brooks were interrupted by Drew calling me.

  “Hi, Drew. How are you this morning?” I asked in a cheerful, but professional voice.

  Cooper rolled his eyes and smirked at the business-like change in my tone.

  “Alex, I got your message this weekend, and I probably shouldn’t be bothering you, but I’m concerned. Are you okay? Please tell me it’s nothing to worry about?”

  I listened carefully to see if I could gauge his mood from his tone of voice. I didn’t hear anything other than concern.

  “I’m fine really, but we do need to talk. I’m glad you called.” Taking a moment to breathe and find my words, I simply said, “Grayson and I are going to be parents. I’m pregnant, Drew.” Whew, that had just happened. At least it was out, blurted or not.

  “Alex, wow. Well, I mean, first of all, congratulations to you and Grayson. I couldn’t be happier for you; he’s a very lucky man!” His excitement seemed genuine enough.

  “Thank you. The doctors told me I would need to be off my feet for a couple of days, but I’m in Dallas. I came in for the weekend and had a slight scare, so I’m resting for a few days and not traveling, if you’re okay with that. My plan is to head back to Chicago on Wednesday, finish out the next few weeks there with those meetings, and then relocate back to Dallas.” I waited while holding my breath. Drew had pulled so many strings for me so far, some for my physical health, and some just for my mental well-being. I was very afraid I might have burned my bridges with him and PMC.

  “You can do whatever you need as far as time off, but if you want to relocate back, go ahead and do it this weekend or as soon as you are ready because I have a surprise for you.” He sounded coy, his voice thick with real enthusiasm.

  “Well, originally, I was going to try and keep this under radar for the first trimester, but you know how I seem to be a drama magnet lately. But I do want to try and keep it private, if that’s okay with you? Also, I don’t plan on—” I started to gently let him know I had decided to be a stay-at-home mom to our tiny bump, but Drew interrupted me.

  “We’re expanding at PMC, Alex. The beta test with you and Jennifer has worked out judiciously. The numbers you two are posting are over target by sixty percent. We’ve decided to go full launch and will be placing a Marketing Director to run our launch. That would be you, Alex, if you want the position. I am going to overnight you the packet, so you can take a look at the job description and compensation. I’ll attach the basics of it to email as well with an agreement. If you decide to take the position, sign the offer and send it back to me.

  “The job will be something you can do remotely. And now with your news, that ultimately will provide you more time at home. The travel will be manageable with a little one for a long time. It will also mean a promotion for Jennifer, which I can call her about after you accept the offer. This is a great opportunity for you, Alexandra, many congratulations for a job well done. You are well-deserving because your performance in such a short time has been beyond measure. Take your time mending this week and just look over the offer when you get it tomorrow. I don’t need an answer for at least a week, so give it some thought. I would hate to lose you.”

  “Wow, I don’t know what to say. I’m really at a loss for words. I mean, thank you for the kindness and especially for the support over the last few months with everything that has happened. And yeah, I was about to tell you I wasn’t sure how I would be able to continue this position once the baby comes, but with this opportunity in front of me, it’s possible I may change my mind. I
f traveling is mostly for conferences, I could figure that part out, and the position is truly my dream job.”

  “Normally, we would not promote before an employee has one year under her belt; however, this is an unusual situation, and you’re perfect for the role. Take your time, get some rest, and let’s touch base next week. In the meantime, if you need anything from me, please give me a call, and Alex, truly, I couldn’t be happier for you and Grayson!”

  Wow, that really had just happened. My dream job offer had dropped in my lap when I was about to let him know I would be leaving. The stars must have been aligning for me. I decided to text Grayson and let him know how my day was going.

  Missing you luv, just had a great talk w/Drew, he has made me an offer, we can discuss over dinner. Order in whatever u want me to eat :) LU+1, AM

  Grayson wrote back, I’m not a great texter, what do all those characters mean?

  Seriously, I must fill him in. L means love U+1 is YOU plus one (our baby) Love you too plus our baby

  He responded, T U 4 educating me Zoe just taught me this :) Love YOU+1

  I wanted to be good and rested when Grayson came home. I went to lie down and saw Grayson’s T-shirt on the bench and decided to put it on. It smelled like him, and I was carried off to sleep by warm thoughts of him.

  I wasn’t sure how long I’d slept, but I woke up feeling rested and excited that Grayson would be here soon. I thought about Drew’s offer for me to go back to Chicago, get my things, and come home. I couldn’t think of any better surprise than to show back up on Wednesday.

  Grayson wouldn’t expect me to go and come in the same day. If I packed quickly, I could be back before dinner. I jumped up and called Dad’s pilot to see if he could pick me up on Wednesday at noon and return me later that evening. I hadn’t ever taken advantage of the luxury of having a pilot at my beck and call. When I’d turned down my dad’s conditions for help with college, namely to let him pick the school and my major, I always had to fly commercial. Now, though, it was comforting to know I had Dad’s perks available.