Page 51 of (Un)Rivaled

I shouldn’t have been surprised Gray changed his mind. I wasn’t the woman people pined for, the one who lingered in the back of their minds. Even with my family, I was always there for them, but beyond Calla, they put in no effort to do the same. The only person who paid me specialattention was David, and that was because I refused to bend to his will.

My feet suddenly stuttered to a stop, and my hand flew to my mouth. Nausea flowed through me, and I almost emptied my stomach. What if this was about Calla? Was Gray still in love with her? When they dated in high school, I thought they were serious, but Calla insisted that wasn’t true. She said they were better off as friends, never really falling deeply for each other. But what if that wasn’t the case with Gray? What if he couldn’t have the sister he wanted, so I was nothing more than a consolation prize? And now that he had a moment to clear his mind, he knew this whole thing was a mistake.

“Devyn.”

I flinched at the sound of my voice, finding Gray staring down at me, barely an inch of space between us. God, it hurt to look at him, to know I’d allowed myself a moment to pretend, to imagine this incredible man could be mine. But that was never meant to be my story.

“Whatever you’re thinking right now,” Gray whispered, “don’t. This has nothing to do with you. I…” He snapped his mouth closed and took a step back, running his hand over his beard. “I didn’t think any of this through. We made a mistake–”

“It’s fine.” I tried to step past him, trying to keep my face from showing the depth of my pain. “Just give me a minute to grab my stuff, and I’ll get out of your life again.”

“Shit,” he hissed, grabbing my arm. “Please, Devy. Don’t leave like this.”

Suddenly, my temper snapped, and I yanked my arm from his grip. “Don’t leave like this?” I laughed bitterly. “Are you serious, Gray? An hour ago, you asked me to stay married to you like it wasn’t completely insane. But when Iactually start to think it’s a good idea…” I shake my head. “Forget it.”

Gray stood in front of me, his eyes flaring with something I couldn’t place. “You were going to say yes? You wanted to give us a shot?”

“Does it even matter?”

Gray’s jaw tensed so hard, I thought he might crack a tooth. For a moment, hope blossomed in my chest, like this was just a moment of doubt. God knew I’d had one when Gray first suggested we try to be together.

But that ember was smothered when he shook his head. “No, I guess it doesn’t.” His steely eyes met mine. “I never meant to hurt you.”

“You didn’t.” The lie burned on my tongue. “You didn’t hurt me. This is the right move. It never would have worked between us. Maybe this was the closure I needed, and now I can find someone else. I’ve wasted enough time pining after you, Gray. I’m moving on, once and for all.”

“Moving on?” Gray’s nostrils flared. “You’re my wife.”

I ripped the ring off my finger and dropped it to the floor. “A mistake I’m going to remedy as soon as I get home.”

TWENTY-SIX

After holding Devyn downstairs for a little while longer, we walked back up together, finding Elsa happily waiting for us. Her tail wagged as Devyn got closer, and she instantly snuggled into her side.

As I closed the door to the basement, Devyn exhaled slowly, crossing her arms over her chest. Now that the spell between us had broken, I could see her walls fortifying. She glanced around the space, trying to find some excuse to keep her distance. It wasn’t going to happen.

I crossed to her with three long strides, crushing my lips to hers. God, how the fuck had I gone so long without a taste of her? Kissing Devyn was indescribable. It was like coming home after a long stretch away. It reminded me of when I was playing ball on those rare occasions I would get to come back into town for a couple of days. Crossing the border of Saint Stephen’s Lake, I could always feel myself start to relax.

But that sensation was nothing compared to having Devyn in my arms.

She matched the ferocity of my kiss, moaning in theback of her throat when I pulled her off the ground. Shit, just that little noise made me hard. My cock had been stiff as a rod since our lips touched downstairs, and now, it was almost painfully throbbing. I needed Devyn, needed to fuck her until she forgot about our past, about my fuck-up, about everything other than the way I made her feel.

When I shifted my hands to her perfectly round ass, I ground her against my cock, needing her to know exactly how much I wanted her. Her eyes widened when she pulled away. “Is that all for me?”

“Only ever you,” I muttered, holding her so close, I thought I might combust right here and now. God, I needed to get my head on straight.

Devyn chuckled and kissed my lips once again. “Bedroom?”

Fuck yes. God, just the idea of Devyn spread out on my bedspread was enough to make me see stars. But looking at her now, her eyes drunk on lust, I couldn’t help but pause, hating there were still secrets between us.

“I want that, Devyn, more than anything,” I sighed, dropping my forehead to meet hers. “But maybe we should wait.”

Her eyes searched mine. “Are you having second thoughts?”

“Not in the fucking least,” I said, capturing her lips once more. “I want you, baby, more than I have ever wanted anything in my whole goddamn life.”

“Then why?” she asked, her voice almost trembling.

God, that cut so deep, I thought I was actually bleeding. Knowing I was the cause of her insecurity made me hate myself even more. I reached out and brushed some of her hair from her face. “I don’t want there to be any secrets between us, Devyn, not if we’re going to cross this line.”

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