NESSA

Showing up outside Grayson's door in sweatpants would have been an excellent way to spite him and his ridiculous request—no, demand—for me to wear a skirt.

But my curiosity wore out over my spiteful nature, and when I waltzed into his dorm the next night without bothering to knock, my outfit was complete with a white tee, sneakers, and a flowery mini skirt that bounced when I walked.

Grayson immediately smirked at seeing me standing there, wearing what he'd requested. And that smirk did things to the pit of my stomach. As usual.

But also as usual, I played it off.

"I can't believe I actually listened to you, but here I am."

His smirk widened. "I'm not surprised in the least."

Cocky ass.

Crossing the room to meet me by the door, Grayson lifted one of his enormous hands and cupped my face with it. So warm, so oddly soft. "Thank you for coming over," he murmured. "I've missed you this week."

God, he was a cocky ass, but he also knew just the way to melt me into a puddle. There was no way to deny that. And damn, I'd missed him, too.

Spending last weekend with Grayson was amazing. But now that we'd made our little deal, there was absolutely nothing that would keep me from falling hard and fast for him. And that was terrifying, absolutely terrifying. Because all I could remember about love right now were the parts that hurt.

Distracted by my thoughts and Grayson's tenderness, I hadn't noticed the black box in his other hand until he stepped back and thrust it toward me. "Here, this is for you."

Brows drawing together, I studied the box before glancing at Grayson, who gave me an encouraging nod.

I froze when I opened it. Tissue paper spilled onto the floor, revealing an abundance of black lace.

"You did not buy me lingerie," I deadpanned, blinking up at him.

"Actually, I did."

And he seemed rather proud of it, rocking on the balls of his feet. A wolfish grin took over his face.

I stared up at him. "Friends don't buy friends things like this, Wilder."

Placing one hand on the door behind me, Grayson leaned in. Smile, gone. Eyes, bright and heated. "I've already made it pretty clear that I don't want to be your friend, Adler."

Being around Grayson was like riding that rollercoaster that Rory always dragged me onto at Great America. Wild and twisty, it was exhilarating from the moment we stepped on. But stepping off always made me feel like the ground was falling away.

I didn't want to lose my footing, but I also didn't want to give up all the somersaults. All the butterflies and little thrills and shivers down my spine.

When I didn't do anything in response except stare at him, Grayson licked his lips and nodded to the box in my hand.

"Now, can I help you put it on?"

That got a reaction out of me.

"What?"

He laughed, pushing away from the door. And me.

"Relax, Adler. How many times do I need to remind you that I'm not going to tear your clothes off? I just want to show you why I bought it for you."

I shook my head in confusion. "I figured you bought it because after the gala I said I didn't have anything like this."

Grayson considered that. "Partly."

"Partly?"

"That was partly the point."

"And the other point?"

He cocked his head to the side, dragging his gaze down my front.

"Let me show you," he said, hands now toying with the hem of my skirt, reminding me of that night in my bedroom.

He was more cautious, though. More careful. Eyes watched me for permission. And I wanted to give it to him. Because shit, the last time Grayson said he wanted to show me something, he set me on top of that piano and nearly blew me away. Not that I expected lingerie could do that for me, but still. Curiosity hummed within me.

I nodded.

Intent laced in his expression, he nodded back. "I'll keep my promise, okay?"

"Okay."

And then the smirk returned. "Both of them."

My stomach somersaulted like I knew it would. I was free-falling on a Great America roller coaster right now, and I had to bite my tongue to keep from squealing.

His touch brushed against my legs as he searched beneath my skirt. I held my breath as Grayson hooked a finger into both sides of my underwear, slipping it off. His eyes never left mine as he lowered to the ground. I gripped his shoulder as I stepped out of my cotton pair and into the black lace.

He kept his promise annoyingly well. His long fingers barely even touched my legs as he slid his gift over the curve of my hips. The fabric snapped lightly against my skin as he released it, and even though my skirt had bunched up, leaving me exposed, Grayson's grey-blue eyes didn't stray from my face.

But even though he'd kept his gaze from wandering, he wasn't unaffected. His breaths were as heavy as mine as we sucked in the thick air between us. I couldn't care less about the lingerie right now; it was hard to even register that I had anything on. He made me feel bare.

Our heated moment lasted three more heartbeats before Grayson spun on his heel, walking back to his bed. He flopped onto it, and I frowned at our sudden distance.

"I'll let you try the rest on your own," he said. "This is all I need."

"What are you talking—"

My breath, my words, everything was whisked away as my knees buckled at the sudden pleasure exploding between my legs. My back to the door still, I slid halfway down it and grabbed onto the handle. I needed something, anything, to hold on to.

"You—" I gasped, throwing my head back to look at Grayson. He was still lounging on his bed, watching me.

Smiling, he lifted his phone in the air, waving it a bit. "Me."

I moaned as vibrations five times stronger than the piano coursed through me.

And then it stopped.

A dull ache replaced the pleasure.

"I can't believe you," I breathed, pushing myself up again.

Mischief and desire danced in his eyes. "Can't you? I told you we had unfinished business."

He was right. It was par for the course when it came to Grayson. But still. This was beyond what I ever expected him to do.

"You can't just do that without warning, Grayson."

He gave me a sheepish look. "Sorry, darling. Couldn't resist giving a little tease."

"Of course you couldn't," I said, still trying to catch my breath.

"Honestly I thought you would have felt when I slipped it in place."

"I was a bit distracted," I huffed before shifting on my feet. I supposed there was a little more weight than usual between my legs.

"Distracted, huh?"

With the way he was looking at me, I couldn't decide if I wanted to smack him or kiss him. But either way, I felt the heat rising onto my cheeks.

After taking a long moment to study me, Grayson flicked his eyes flicked up again, piercing me with their depth and heat. His voice dropped.

"Adler."

"Yeah?"

"I want to do more than tease you now. I owe you that after last weekend."

"I—"

I choked on my immediate attempt to tell him off. Because god, I needed more. I'd be lying if I said I hadn't imagined what would have happened last weekend if Grayson hadn't been so restrained. If he'd finished what he started.

Because hell, he'd started something. And it was rearing and ready to go inside me.

I hated to give him so much satisfaction, though.

Pushing off the bed, Grayson strode toward me. He resumed his favorite position. Him, caging my body between his arms. Me, pressed against the door. We weren't touching, but I honestly could have been fooled otherwise. His presence so close to me was all-consuming.

"Nessa," he murmured. "I want you to come alive."

"You know, I do have my own vibrator," I said hotly, arching a brow.

He chuckled, and it was husky. "Good."

"Good?"

"Because this one is staying synced to my phone, so you'll need another when you're not with me." Grayson winked, and I felt my flush grow deeper. "And besides, you having your own helps me prove my point. What I've been trying to get you to understand." He looked down at his phone before looking at me, raising a brow. "Now, where were we?"

I swallowed, searching Grayson for some sort of reassurance. And it was there. He encouraged me with eyes that housed a hunger I recognized. Because I felt it, too.

My voice was throaty, sultry when I answered him. "You were going to make me come alive. That's where we were."

He searched my face for a long moment before giving a gruff response. "Fuck, that's what I thought."

And then, with a quick swipe on his phone, I was soaring again. Gasping, I looked to the ceiling as I got punched in the clit with heavenly vibrations.

A breathy yes slipped between my lips.

"God, yes," Grayson emphasized, and I could feel his eyes on me.

I didn't care, though. I didn't care about anything beyond the whole-body pulsing that I'd been craving since last week when Grayson had swept me away. He was still sweeping me away.

I panted his name, my head tossed back. "God, Grayson."

His body pressed closer to mine. Hot breath hit my ear as his gravelly voice murmured in it.

"Next time you say my name like that, I'm gonna need you to look at me."

I nodded. I couldn't manage much else.

And Grayson seemed to know it. When my knees buckled a second later, he caught me swiftly, hooking his arms beneath me and hoisting me up.

"Wrap your legs around me, Adler."

I did, and Grayson took a step in, securing me between him and the door. His hands found mine. Our fingers laced together, and Grayson lifted them above our heads.

We were anchored.

And I was staring at him.

And he was staring back.

He was a force, remaining still except for shallow, quick breaths and the occasional lick of his lips, dart of his eyes.

And I was squirming against him, writhing in response to the electric jolts of sweetness that had my toes curling. My lips parted, sounds stuck in my throat as I dug my fingernails into the back of Grayson's hand.

"Let it out," he whispered.

A moan slipped out of me at his encouragement.

"That's it."

Blue-grey eyes danced in anticipation, and I met them with mine. Drowned in them. Let them urge me on. Because shit, I could tell he wanted my high just as much as I did.

"Grayson." His name was the only thing I could seem to get out of my mouth, but he didn't seem to mind.

"Oh god," he groaned through gritted teeth, and this time, his fingers gripped mine tighter. Dropping his head, Grayson's intoxicating heat overtook my senses as he caged me in. My eyes rolled back before snapping forward again as Grayson lost a bit of his control. He bucked his hips into mine, slamming me against the door. Slamming the vibrator against my clit. I barely caught a scream from escaping, biting down on my lip hard.

"Adler," Grayson rasped, smirking as I flexed my hips against his, needy and desperate. "I need you to do something for me, darling."

I wanted to tell him to shut up because I couldn't fucking do anything right now. All I could do was chase my release and revel in the hard feel of him against me.

But when Grayson opened his mouth again, all he said was one word. One dark, low word. But it was all that I needed.

"Come."

Crying out, my entire body broke free from the spell it had been under ever since Grayson had put me on that piano a week ago. Shattering, shaking pleasure hit every single nerve within me. And then, as it drained away, I was left limp and panting.

Grayson swept me away from the door, carrying me to the bed.

But it hadn't stopped, and oh god—

"Make it stop, Grayson," I cried, clawing at his arm. "Shit, make it stop."

Chuckling, he whipped his phone out of his back pocket and ended the torture. I collapsed on the bed with relief.

For several long moments, we were quiet, both of us catching our breaths. Grayson walked to the window, leaning on the ledge without sparing me another glance as he tried to recover. He dipped his head, closed his eyes. And I waited, wondering if I should do something. But then he cleared his throat, walked back over, and lowered onto the bed beside me.

He brushed my hair out of my face.

"That was...fuck."

"Yeah." My cheeks flushed red, and Grayson's dimpled smile grew.

"So...better than flying solo?" He raised a brow and then whistled. "I mean, if you get that wild by yourself, Adler, then goddamn—"

I cut him off with a punch.

Which he caught. Weaving his fingers with mine like he had earlier, he held on tight.

"You're so beautiful when you light up," he whispered.

And that was when I realized I was wrong.

The spell that Grayson cast on me hadn't been broken. I was still riding the rollercoaster. Still flying up and down the track. Still reeling from...him.

And none of this started at the gala. It started long before that, from the very moment my lips had touched his. And if I had to guess, this feeling—this twisty, curvy, wild feeling—it wasn't going anywhere.

Neither was he.

No, this was just the kickoff.

💗

yeah, I don't know what to say.
xoxo amelie