NESSA

I smiled shyly at Grayson when I got in his car the next day.

The grin he gave me in return was absolutely not shy. It was knowing and cocky, and I felt myself go crimson as my eyes zeroed in on his curved lips, remembering the things they did to me last night.

"Oh, Nessa," he said with a satisfied sigh as he turned his attention to the road. We pulled out of the parking lot, and I squirmed in my seat. At this point, just his presence, so hot and close to me, was turning me on. It didn't matter that I spent all night wrapped up in his arms. I still wasn't used to it.

"Yeah?" I hated how breathy I sounded.

"Nothing. Do you need anything to eat before we hit the road?"

I shrugged. "I think I'll be fine until we make it home."

He smiled. "So just a caramel macchiato, then?"

"Grayson, you know I'm riding home with you because I want to and not just to get free coffee, right?"

His eyes twinkled. "And you know it was never about the coffee, right?"

"Oh no, it was definitely about the coffee."

He laughed, shaking his head as he kept his eyes on the road. "Pretend all you want, Adler."

"I'm not pretending," I mumbled, but Grayson was unbothered as he pulled into the closest drive-thru and ordered for me. When I tried to pull out my wallet from my purse, he refused to take it. Sighing, I accepted the warm drink, breathing in the rich scent.

Grayson was quiet until we got onto the highway. And then he tapped his finger on the steering wheel and tipped his head to the side.

"Tell me what else you like."

"What else I like?"

"Yeah, I need to know what else you like to eat. And drink. I know your pizza and coffee order. I know you'll put down a cheeseburger and fries like a champ. And I know you like your drinks mixed with whiskey. But that's all I know, and we can't live on that alone. What's your favorite food?"

My stomach flipped at his implication. We can't live on that alone.

"Anything my dad makes, probably."

"Shit, Nessa, that doesn't help me." A little laugh. "Tell me what your dad makes."

"Klepe are my favorite. They're like dumplings."

"Dumplings?" Grayson frowned, probably realizing it would be pretty hard to find dumplings near campus.

"Yeah." I smiled. "Bosnian dumplings. A recipe my dad brought with him when he immigrated to the US to be with my mom."

Grayson glanced over at me with interest. "How did they meet?"

"Well, my mom spent the summer backpacking through Europe in the late 90s. Only she didn't make it very far because she met my dad, and then he wouldn't let her go anywhere else." I laughed. "That's the short of it."

There was a short silence before he followed up with, "What's the long of it?"

My chest squeezed because I could tell he actually wanted to hear more.

"My dad was born and raised in Sarajevo. I don't know what you've heard about the war that took place there in the early 90s, but he lived through it." I paused, taking a sip of my coffee and then staring down at it. "Both of my grandparents were civilian casualties."

Grayson's soft voice wrapped me in a hug. "I'm really sorry, Nessa."

I cleared my throat. It wasn't like I ever knew my grandparents, but their absence still created an ache in my chest. Partly because of the way my dad missed them. It made me realize that if I'd known them, I would have loved more and been loved more.

"My dad, he fled to the sea after the war and found a job working tourist gigs. That was how he met my mom," I said. "He was her guide."

Grayson was quiet, and I glanced over to find him smiling.

"What?"

He shook his head. "Oh, nothing. That's just how my parents met, too. My mom was my maman's whitewater rafting guide when she was on a trip to Colorado."

A breathy laugh slipped through my lips. "Really?"

"Really." He nodded. "They compromised on living in California because Mom wouldn't leave the West coast, and Maman needed to live closer to the bright lights and big cities."

"Where was your maman from?"

"New York," he said, "but my grandparents are from France. Maman never lived there, but you can still hear a slight accent when she talks. And it is definitely in how she acts."

He chuckled, and a grin emerged on my face as Grayson wormed further into my stupid, annoying heart. I nearly opened my mouth to say something embarrassing—like how I wanted to meet his moms someday—but stopped myself just in time.

Grayson was equally quiet. His lips were still tilted in a slight smile, face still warm and open. And then he spoke softly.

"Every time I learn something new about you, I realize how much sense you actually make."

I frowned. "What is that supposed to mean? That I didn't make sense before?"

"When I first met you?" He choked out a dry laugh. "Half the shit you did and said didn't make a lick of sense to me."

"And yet, you kept trying."

His grin grew. "Of course."

"I think that makes you the crazy one."

"Maybe."

At this point, I was seriously concerned that my heart might actually burst. And it didn't help that Grayson took that opportunity to add, "I don't think it's crazy that I trusted your dad, though."

I whipped my head around to stare at him. "What?"

Grayson kept his eyes on the road.

"When I left your house that night that you kicked me out..." I winced, but he kept talking. "Your dad could tell something happened. I'm sure he read it all on my face."

"Oh god, what did he do?"

"He stopped me before walking out the door and told me that for having such a big heart, yours was awfully hard to reach. And then he gave me a little warning glare and said if that was what I was after, I shouldn't give up."

Yep, this was it. This was the moment. Last night I'd given up and fallen into Grayson. And today, I was falling for Grayson.

Especially when he said his next words.

"I'll never give up on you, Wednesday Adler Elez. Which," he said sternly, "brings me to my next topic of conversation."

"What?" I asked, not even caring that he'd called me Wednesday.

"You need to sing."

"What?"

I didn't even know how to form normal sentences anymore.

Grayson sighed, strumming steadily on the steering wheel again. Like a metronome to a song that I swore would kill me if it stopped.

"You're really fucking good at it," he said. "And even if you don't want to major in music, I wish you'd give yourself the credit you deserve. I know you dream of songs like I do, and I'm not going to give up on you finding that."

Swallowing down the lump in my throat, because no one had ever tried to tell me I was fucking good at anything, I tried to joke.

"You dream of songs? I figured you just got into music so you could tell girls you had experience with double-tonguing. And fingering."

Shaking his head with an exasperated smile, Grayson glanced over at me. "Look who's the one with the dirty thoughts now."

I rolled my eyes. "Shut up."

He winked. "Hope you packed your vibrator since I won't be around to do the work for you this week."

A smug smile tugged on my lips because I was about to say something that would send a little shock through Grayson Everett. And that didn't happen often.

"I didn't just bring it home. I wore it home."

Too late, I realized that was probably a bad choice to say while we were in the car. Grayson made this weird noise in the back of his throat, his hands gripping the steering wheel tight. We accelerated.

"You're wearing the panties I got you?"

I shrugged. "Almost all my clothes are in the laundry pile I'm bringing home with me. And I was getting ready so fast. Didn't even think to take the vibe out."

At my words, Grayson casually flicked on the blinker and took the nearest exit off the highway. We were about twenty miles out of the bay area, surrounded by a flat, empty, and dry landscape. Not a damn thing in sight.

"What are you doing?"

He didn't say anything. Pulling over onto the shoulder at the top of the empty exit ramp, he plucked his phone out of his pocket. I set my coffee down in the cupholder.

"Grayson..."

I should have known this was where his mind would go, but I hadn't even thought that far. I'd just wanted to give him a little tease.

Inching his sunglasses down, he looked at me over the top rim. "Next time you say my name, it's going to sound a little different."

His thumb tapped his phone, and suddenly I was reeling. And fuck, he was right.

Because as Grayson put the car into drive again, I moaned his name and grabbed his arm so hard that I was sure I'd be embarrassed about it later. He froze, and I trailed my fingers over that veiny forearm to cover his hand with mine on the gearshift. Gasping from the pure pleasure between my legs, I forced the car back into park.

"No way," I breathed before leaning back in the chair with a moan.

No way was he just going to drive away while bringing me to an orgasm in the seat next to him. I wasn't going to be his little highway show. As much as he'd probably like that, I had something better in mind.

"No?" Grayson asked. "Do you want it to stop?"

Even though he asked the question with sincerity, he grinned wickedly. Because he knew from the expression on my face what the answer would be.

"No, but I want you to stop. Because if I'm going to come on the side of a highway, then you're going to come with me."

"Nessa," he warned, his eyes going wide a second before they rolled back. He groaned as I ran my hand over his growing erection, which strained against his jeans.

I was all too happy to help him out, unzipping his pants while he sat back and watched. Heavy, hot breaths hit the side of my face. I squirmed as heat came at me from all directions. His hand squeezed my thigh, and a moan tore through my lips.

Smokey gray eyes swirled as I looked up at him for permission.

"Fuck, okay," he breathed, using his free hand to cup my face, swiping at my mouth with his thumb. "I can't resist you."

With a smile, I slipped his briefs down and let his heavy cock fall into my hand. Holy shit. Biting my lip, I stroked him slowly, and my heart flipped as Grayson let loose a loud groan.

"Look at that pretty little hand," he murmured.

I looked. Precum glistened on his head, and I bent down to lick it. Fingers tangled into my hair as he swore.

The shift in position left me gasping. Sweet vibrations assaulted my every nerve ending, but I still managed to focus on the task at hand, sucking Grayson between my lips and working him up and down. My mouth watered.

The grip on my hair tightened, and so did the ache between my legs.

Sucking even harder, I took out my pent-up neediness on him. I needed to move. Making a throaty sound as I continued to take him in, I had half a mind to crawl on his lap right here on the side of this highway.

But then I got distracted by Grayson's low growl.

"That's it, darling. Moan on me."

He was guiding my head now. Lightly. Not enough that I was afraid he'd push me too far, but enough that I could tell how much he wanted me to go deeper.

So I did.

"God, yes. That's exactly where I want to be."

My eyes watered, but I'd never been so turned on. His gravelly approval sent jolts of pleasure straight to my clit, adding to the merciless torture. I wished I was at an angle where I could look up to see his expression. Last night he wanted to watch me come, and now I understood. I wanted to see that hot desire in his eyes.

But I settled for the satisfaction in his voice. It was equally hot.

"Hey, Adler," he breathed, shifting his hand so that he was stroking the curve of my jaw with a finger while I swirled my tongue around his head.

All I gave him was a moan in response. It seemed to be enough because his harsh whisper hit my ear again.

"You better fucking come with my dick in your mouth. Because goddamn, I've dreamed about that."

I gave in. Because I was so done trying to ignore how Grayson made me feel when talked dirty and showed how much he wanted me. All of me. With an unashamed cry, I let my high sweep over me, and Grayson dug his fingers into my skin as he fumbled with a warning.

"Shit, I'm gonna—"

He didn't even finish his sentence before releasing into my throat with a sated sigh. I didn't mind, though. I took all of him before swallowing and sitting up to find his goddamn phone to turn off the torture.

Once I could relax again, I fell back into the seat, breathing hard. Grayson slumped, too, looking like he was in shock. His chest heaved as hard as mine, and one of his hands was tossed above his head.

"I'm sorry," I said, feeling uncertain about his expression. He whipped around to face me. "I'm sorry if that wasn't the best. It was a little awkward because of the car, and it's been a while since I've done that—"

"Fuck, Nessa." He let out a dry laugh. "Would you cut it out?"

I zipped my lips.

"First of all, that was amazing," he said. "Second of all, I'm selfish. So I'm definitely okay if you've been reserving that mouth for me."

I rolled my eyes, giving him a little shove. A wolfish grin appeared on his face as he zipped up his pants again.

"Not everything is about you, Grayson."

"But that's a little bit about me, right? That you haven't been with other guys?"

"Lately, yes," I admitted. "But before, I was just too mortified after what happened when Madie walked in on me with Bren."

When Grayson was quiet for a full ten seconds—a rare occurrence—I realized his eyes were bugging out.

"Did you say Bren?"

💗
We will never escape chapter seven of IBWU, sorry.

xoxo amelie