Page 23 of Deceiving Grier

I didn’tnotwant to. Whatever misgivings I’d had about the man when he’d first moved in, I’d definitely warmed up to him. Slob habits aside, Sawyer had turned out to be a good guy. I’d liked that he’d been concerned about Jett leaving with the guy from the bar, and when I told him my darkest, most humiliating secret, he hadn’t laughed or made me feel like a freak.

And the fact that he was hot as fuck didn’t hurt.

Really, Sawyer was an ideal choice for something like this. We were friendly enough that I trusted him not to make fun of me or ask me to do something I didn’t want. Conversely, he wasn’t a close enough friend to make things awkward after.

“I want this,” I said, my own voice low and rough as if I’d been gargling gravel.

Sawyer nodded. “How drunk are you?”

“I’m not,” I told him, honestly. Between the long walk home in the cold air and the seriousness of the conversation, whatever buzz I’d had when we left the bar had gone.

“Okay,” Sawyer said, letting his hand fall away from my face and letting go of mine with the other. “Go take a shower and warm up. Your skin is like ice. When you’re done, if youstillwant to do this, meet me in my room.”

If I still wanted to do this?Why did he keep asking? Did he maybenotwant to go through with it? Had he made the offer on a whim, and now he was having doubts? Maybe he didn’t really want to be with me at all, and this was some kind of pity fuck for him.

“Doyouwant this?” I blurted. “Me? Do you wantme?”

A slow, predatory smile curled his lips. “Miller, you have no idea how badly I want you.”

He leaned closer, and his mouth brushed mine in a soft whisper of a kiss. My lips parted automatically, something inside me already craving more. Sawyer let out a soft groan that sent a hot shiver over my skin. His hand grasped my waist, dragging me closer, his head tilting to deepen the kiss. Our bodies flush with each other. I wrapped my arms around his neck and drew him even closer still. He swept his tongue inside my mouth and slid it alongside mine. Need slammed into me like a fist, stealing away my breath and leaving me lightheaded.

Sawyer broke the kiss first, dragging his mouth from mine, but he didn’t move away. He turned his head to the side so the rough stubble on his face scraped my cheek. His panting breaths whispered against my ear while I struggle to get my breathing under control.

Finally, he eased back. “Go have a shower, and if you change your mind, there arenohard feelings.”

I nodded, wishing he’d stop trying to give me an out. It left me feeling uneasy, as though maybe we were both making a mistake.

I went upstairs to the bathroom I shared with Jett. There was a full bathroom on the first floor that Jett and I rarely used leaving it almost exclusively to Sawyer. Tonight though, I might have used it instead of going all the way upstairs. A part of me worried that the farther I was from Sawyer, the more likely I would be to lose my nerve and hightail it to my room, pretending none of this happened. But all my personal things were upstairs.

Once under the hot spray, I realized how cold I’d really been after the long walk home. I’d just been too distracted by everything that had been going on to notice. Now though, the warm water sluiced over my skin, loosening some of the tension gripping me.

When I climbed out of the shower, I wrapped a towel around my waist and rubbed my hair dry with another before turning to the sink. I brushed my teeth and replaced the sour beer aftertaste in my mouth with mint. Clean, I glanced at the pile of my clothes on the floor, the same ones I’d been wearing at The Dunes that no doubt smelled faintly of sweat and booze. There was no way I was putting them back on.

My room was just across the hall. Icouldchange into a fresh pair of jeans and a clean shirt, or maybe pajama pants. Would I look ridiculous going downstairs to have sex fully dressed, as though I was some uptight prude? Whatwasappropriate attire for a no-strings sex date?

I snorted and rolled my eyes at myself. I was getting too deep in my head, and nothing had even happened yet. With the towel still wrapped around my waist, I opened the door and stepped into the hall, but hesitated before moving.

What should I do, go to my room and pull something on or just go down to Sawyer’s room as I was? Maybe he expected me like this, and that’s why he’d told me to shower first. Even if he didn’t, I knew I was avoiding going into my bedroom, just as I knew why.

I wanted this to happen. In fact, I couldn’t think of anything I’d wanted more in a very long time, not since I left for school. But a part of me feared that once shut away in my bedroom, behind my closed door and in my safe, comfortable space, I wouldn’t let myself out again. If I got in my head, really let myself play out all the things that could go wrong, all the reasons for having sex with Sawyer were a terrible idea, I would lose my nerve. And I didn’t want that.

I tightened my grip on the towel around my waist, drew a deep breath, and squared my shoulder before starting back downstairs. My face burned, and an uneasy mix of excited anticipation and awkward embarrassment knotted my insides.

Outside Sawyer’s room, I quickly knocked on his closed door before I could change my mind. The door swung inward, and Sawyer filled the opening. He must have showered too. His hair was damp and curling a little at the ends. He’d changed into a blue plaid pair of pajama pants and an old gray Henley t-shirt fraying at the cuffs. And I felt like a complete ass standing there in nothing but a towel.

“I’m… I should… I’ll go and put something on.” As I turned away, Sawyer’s hand shot out and grabbed my wrist.

“Don’t.” His gaze hungrily traveled over my body, and my breath lodged in my throat. “Fuck. You’re so hot.” His words, low and filled with awe, shivered over my skin. Something pulled in my gut, and my cock started to thicken.

He dragged me closer, pulling me flush against him and catching my mouth with his in a kiss that turned my legs soft. Vaguely, I heard his door click closed softly behind me, shutting me in with him while simultaneously shutting out the rest of the world. I pressed closer, kissed harder, wrapping one arm around his neck while clutching my towel for dear life with the other hand. When his lips parted, I immediately took advantage, letting my tongue sweep inside his mouth and tasting the mint from his toothpaste.

Sawyer finally broke the kiss, a slow predatory smile curling his mouth that I felt all the way down to my now hard dick. My heart slammed against my chest, a mix of nerves and anticipation.

This was really going to happen.

“Come on,” he said. He was still holding my wrist, and when he turned to the bed, he tugged me along behind him. It didn’t occur to me not to follow.

He sat on the edge of the bed, pulling me down onto his lap so my back pressed against his chest. We were both grown men, and I was even a couple of inches taller, so I probably should have felt ridiculous sitting on his lap in nothing but a towel while he was still fully clothed. But I didn’t. I was too caught up in the sensation of his hands dragging down my chest and over my lap, down my bare legs. Warm tingling trailed in the wake of his touch like an invisible charge humming beneath my skin.

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