Page 116 of Crossover

I wiped the tears from my cheeks. “Yes,” I answered, my throat thick with emotion. “I want to see it, Grams.”

But first, I wrapped my arms around Grayson. Holding him tight, I trembled in his embrace, my heart overflowing with love and gratitude as I whispered, “Thank you.”

64

IVY

“Do you have to go?” The thought of having him leave my side caused my ribs to tighten.

Which was silly. Not just because I had an errand to run, too, but because we’d only be apart for a few hours, tops. That shouldn’t incite any negative feelings.

Hello, independent woman.

“Won’t take me long.” Grayson tucked a stray piece of hair behind my ear. “You can come with me if you want?”

Lying in our brand-new bedroom with the sun rising in the sky, I couldn’t believe this would be my view each morning—Lake Michigan, tiny specks of boats with the pastel painted sky, all of it visible. Major props to the builders of this place for putting in an entire wall of windows on this side of the room.

I kissed his chest, his skin warm, the scent of last night’s lovemaking lingering in the air.

“No,” I sighed. “I’m going to the hospital today to beg for my job back.” This time, with the head of the department. Pleading with my boss hadn’t worked.

Grayson studied me, looking like he was trying to be careful with his word choice. “You know you’ll never have to work a day in your life if you don’t want to.”

A warmth spread through my chest as I caught the hesitation in his voice. He knew me so well—my fierce independence was both my strength and my weakness. His carefully chosen words told me he wanted to support me without smothering me, and that understanding made my heart swell.

“You’re very sweet.” I leaned up and brushed my lips against his. “But I like my career; helping people every day gives me purpose.” I pulled back and propped myself up on my elbow. “What about you? Have you had any second thoughts about leaving the CIA?”

Grayson mirrored my position, his bicep trying to escape his skin as he drew his knuckles along my jawline.

Gah, his touch. Would it always do this to me?

I hope so.

“Not a single one.”

His voice carried a resolute strength that awed me. The unwavering certainty of abandoning a huge part of his identity would be hard for anyone, but he somehow made it seem effortless.

“Is it scary?” I trailed a fingertip down his chest. “Letting go of your career and life’s purpose?”

His knuckles ghosted along the contour of my throat, a featherlight touch that left a wake of goose bumps in its path. With delicate precision, his fingers found their way to the hollow at the base of my neck, pressing against my pulse point. Could he feel my heartbeat quicken under his touch? His eyes, intense and searching, sure as hell seemed to sayyes, locking with mine as if he were reading the very rhythm of my life through his fingertips.

“I have a new purpose,” he whispered. “My purpose is you now, Ivy. All the breaths that my lungs will ever breathe belong to you. Every beat of my heart is yours. From the moment I wake up to when I close them at night, I live for one thing and onething only—to fill every second of your life with as much joy as this world can hold.”

He smiled, undoubtedly feeling my heartbeat accelerate even more.

How have I gotten so lucky?

“My life cannot possibly get happier than it is right now,” I murmured.

As our lips met, I felt Grayson’s mouth curve into a smile against mine. He drew in a long, deep breath—as if savoring the very essence of our kiss—before his tongue breached my entrance. The familiar dance of our mouths engulfed a fire within me, sending a jolt of heat between my thighs, which started to drum with desire so intensely, it ached.

Grayson’s lips trailed kisses along the sensitive line of my jaw, each press of his mouth imprinting onto my skin like a tattoo. When he reached my throat, he paused, his breath hot and heavy over my jugular.

“What if you get bored?” I asked breathlessly.

Grayson trailed his fingers down my collarbone before palming my breast. A fresh surge of electricity hummed between my legs as he circled the bud with his thumb, grinning as I began to whimper.

“Ivy, life with you could never get boring.”

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