Page 55 of (Un)Rivaled

“The same reason you didn’t tell me: I wanted to keep you safe.” I shook my head. “Little did I know, you were already playing Watson to my sister’s Sherlock Holmes.”

“This is…” Gray shook his head. “This is amazing, Dev. I can’t believe you did all this on your own.”

“Thanks, but that’s not entirely true. I had a lot of help. One investigator at the firm did a lot of the actual digging; I just put the pieces together.”

Gray’s eyes flicked to me. “And you’re sure you can trust him? Collin is in David’s pocket?—”

“Oh, yeah, I’m well aware of that fact.” I grimaced. “I trust Tomas. There’s no way he’d ever sell me out.”

“Holy shit,” Gray whispered, unable to hold back his grin. “I can’t believe this. We might actually have him, Dev. We might be able to take him down.”

I walked over to him and lowered into his lap. Gray’s hands rested on my hips as I wrapped mine around his neck. The relief in his eyes was enough to make my heart burst. “And this will be even better because we’ll do it together, just like we should have from the start.”

He studied me, his hands tightening on my hips. “You have no idea how good that sounds, Devy. But if you need space–”

“I don’t want space,” I said, shifting closer to him so my chest pressed against his. “I’ve had enough space to last a lifetime.” I dragged my fingernails through the hairs on the nape of his neck. “Now, I want you as close as possible.”

“God, Ace,” Gray sighed. “You have no idea what you’re doing to me right now. Plus, this whole vengeance thing you’ve got going on…” He hissed a sharp breath as I rocked my hips over his length. “You gonna judge me if I said it’s turning me on?”

“It’d be a relief,” I joked. “I thought you’d get pissed at me for not letting it go.”

“Never,” he blurted. “I’d never judge you, especially after learning more about what he’s done. But I’m not happy you’ve put yourself in danger. Ace, if anything happens to you?—”

“I’m being smart about it. Trust me, I’ve spent a long time looking into his world. If David hasn’t figured it out yet, he’s not going to.” I leaned forward, pressing a light kiss to his lips. “But enough about my fucked up family values, not when there are lot more things I want to do with you tonight.”

Gray brightly smiled back at me. “Oh yeah? What kind of things are you thinking about?”

I shifted against him again, relishing in how his grip tightened on my skin. “I think it’s better if I show you. Maybe in your bedroom.”

“Fuck yes,” Gray said, suddenly standing with me still in his arms.

I chuckled as he rushed toward the primary bedroom. “Gray, slow down!”

“Not gonna happen, Ace. I’ve waited a long time to have you at my mercy. I’m not taking any chances now.”

Grayson wasn’t joking. From the moment we crossed into his bedroom, he was a man possessed, only focused on one thing. He dropped me onto his carefully made bed and stood at the edge, staring down at me with a tense jaw and fire in his eyes.

“Take off your clothes,” he said, his voice low and guttural.

I didn’t think. I just reacted to his domineering tone, wanting to see if I could make him break like he did in the shower. As my clothes fell to his floor, Gray took a sharp breath, his eyes roving over all me. Without a word, he shifted my arm, rubbing his thumb over the tattoo I’d gotten for him. “Mine,” he said, more to himself than to me. “If we do this, there’s no going back, Devyn. You’re my wife. You wear my ring. And if you ever think about sending me those papers, I’m going to bring you right back here and remind you where you belong.”

My throat dried up at his words, and I judged myself when they turned me on so much. I was used to being in charge, to being the one barking orders. If anyone else spoke to me like that, I would destroy them. But coming from Gray, all I felt was desire, the inside of my thighs becoming slick with need for him.

I sat up on my haunches, reaching out to touch him. But before I could, Gray’s hand went to my neck, not tightening but holding me in place. “Not until I hear the words, Devyn. Tell me you’re mine, and I’ll make you come so hard, you’ll see stars. But I’m not doing this if it means you’re going to run from me.”

I swallowed, looking up at his steel eyes. I expected a pang of fear, some sort of shadow of doubt from our past,but nothing came. I wanted to be his, wanted to wear his ring and call him my husband, in truth. “I’m yours,” I whispered. “Only yours.Yourwife.”

“Fuck,” Gray hissed, his fingers tightening on my skin. “You have no fucking clue what hearing that does to me. Good thing you’re all I want, because you’reruiningme, Devyn.”

“Just returning the favor.”

With that, Gray dragged me up, letting go of my neck in favor of my thighs. His tongue tangled with mine, as if memorizing my taste. There was nothing delicate or apprehensive about this kiss.

It was a claiming.

Just as I moaned into his mouth, Gray dropped me back against the bed. He shifted down to his knees and removed his shirt. Before I could say anything, he gripped my thighs, dragging me to the edge of the bed. As his tongue lapped at me from top to bottom, my head fell back, groaning at the sensation. How had it only been a couple of hours since his tongue was last inside me? It felt like it was too long, as if I couldn’t function without his mouth making me feel this way.

As his fingers entered me, I squirmed, already feeling my orgasm building inside me. But as my walls clenched around his fingers, Gray stalled. Sitting up on my elbows, I glared at him. “Why did you stop?”

---