Page 28 of Morally Grey

“You, Grey. I need you.” She turns to face me. “We’ve only known each other for a few weeks, but I need you. You’ve given me someone to come home to each day, and you’ve given me hope. That’s something I haven’t had since I was a little girl. But I can’t have you.”

“What are you talking about?” I pull her against my chest and hold her. “I just invited you to run away with me. That wasn’t out of politeness. I want you with me too.”

She pulls away and holds me at arm’s length, then pushes the passports into my hands as well. “No. You want your wife, and I’ll never be her.”

As she turns and walks toward the house, my stomach drops into my feet. I stuff the passports into my pocket, and my hand collides with the mask. Closing my eyes, I grip the fabric and listen as the door to the house clicks shut behind Briar.

She’s right. How can she want to be with me when I’ve never given her a chance to be withme? Every intimate moment we’ve shared has been facilitated by a middleman: this mask.

I grit my teeth and toss the mask into the fire before rushing into the house.

Briar stands in the kitchen beside the coffeemaker. Her auburn hair slides off of her shoulder as she turns to look at me. I step forward and take her upper arms into my hands again, but I won’t release her this time. I don’t care how much she struggles. She has to hear me.

“I want you, Briar. Without the mask. I don’t want a barrier between us anymore, and after I fuck you, I want you to promise that you’ll never hurt yourself. Ever. And then I want you to promise that you’ll come with me.”

“Let go. You’re hurting me,” she says as she struggles, but I don’t release her.

“No. Not until you listen to me. I’ll never be able to let go of the grief I feel for the life I once had, but when I found that note—” My throat closes off, and I can’t continue. But I have to. “The wound had begun to close, and the same person who stitched me up had wrenched me open again. When I walked into this house, I had every intention of putting the card on the table and leaving without any fanfare, but I couldn’t. Not without asking you to come with me.”

She relaxes in my grip and looks at the floor. “Grey, it was fun while it lasted, but?—”

I grab her hand and place it against my jeans. “I’m not wearing the mask, little psycho. I don’t need it.”

Her grip firms around my erection, and for a moment, I fear my cock will panic and recede inside my body. Instead, a rush of pleasure ratchets my spine straight, and I suck in a breath.

“I want you to touch me like that,” I whisper. “I want to fuck you without the mask, and then I want to sleep until we need tocatch that plane. That’s all I want. Not the money. Not the old life. Just you.”

She bites her lip and looks up at me. “Then take me.”

I step into her and press my mouth to hers. Without any hesitation, I devour her and inhale her every breath. Her nipples pebbles against my palms as I touch her breasts. White heat pulses between my legs, and I want to give her every hardened inch of myself.

Gripping the hem of her shirt, I step back and pull it over her head, wanting to see every glimpse of her bare skin. She tries to cover herself, but I move her hands.

“You want me without the mask, and I want to see you. All of you. I want to touch and commit every inch of your perfect body to memory. Let me see you, Briar.”

Instead of simply lowering her hands, she takes a deep breath and removes her pants, then her bra and underwear. Under my scrutinizing gaze, she strips until she’s bare.

Raised scars crisscross her body. I’ve felt these marks, but I always figured they were stretch marks and she was embarrassed. This is so much worse. These marks weren’t caused by a natural occurrence. Whatever happened to Briar, I’m not sure it was natural at all. Nor was it consensual.

I get on my knees in front of her and pull her body closer. With my hands around her thigh, I place gentle kisses on the scars near my fingers. I turn her body, replacing every painful bit of abuse with kindness and attention.

“You’re beautiful. Your scars are part of that beauty, little psycho. They’re proof that you walked through hell and came out on the other side.” I kiss a long, thick area of raised skin on her ass. I can’t imagine what it must have been like, trying to sit down at work with a wound like this after enduring abuse to the point that it caused you to lose your pregnancy. “Never hide your body from me again.”

I rise behind her and place my hands on either side of her on the counter, boxing her in. Her full ass presses against my cock. I reach up and ease her auburn hair over her shoulder so that I can see her face.

“Promise me, Briar.”

She offers a nervous laugh. “I hate making promises, but that seems to be all you want tonight.”

I position her hands on the counter, then begin unfastening my belt. When she tries to turn around, I stop her.

“Hold that counter, and don’t let go,” I say. I hurry and finish undressing.

When I step behind her again, my bare skin meets hers, and she sucks in a breath. I press my palm on her lower back, then glide toward the back of her neck. My fingertips drive into her hair, and I snatch back her head. As a small whimper leaves her throat, my cock jumps against her ass.

“You wanted all of me, so that’s what you’ll get, but I expect something in return. I want all of you, too. And if you’re going to be mine, I want to know that you’ll protect what’s mine. Do you understand what I’m asking you?”

She nods her head.

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