Page 17 of Grayson

“Shut up,” growled Grayson.

“I meant no disrespect, Grayson,” said Rowe. “You don’t know this about me but my father was in a car accident when I was sixteen. He lost the use of his legs and, well, and other things. My mother didn’t even wait to see if he could rehab. She left. Said that I was old enough to take care of him.”

“Fuck, brother. I’m sorry,” said Grayson.

“Don’t be. It taught me a lot about my father and a lot about women. Good women and bad women. My old man fought back. He walks with a cane now but he walks. And, he’s remarried. Met an amazing woman, a nurse that helped him recover.

“When my mother found out that he could walk and perform again, she was knocking on the door. He turned her away because all she really wanted was her share of the lawsuit money from the accident.”

“That’s fucking cold, Rowe,” frowned Kai.

“Yep. But my old man knew who was worth keeping and who wasn’t.” Rowe just looked away, not saying anything.

“That girl. The one in South Carolina. That’s why you walked away from her,” said Grayson.

“I overheard her conversation with her friends. She was staying to see if I would be killed in action. Too bad she was too stupid to realize if we weren’t married, she’d get nothing. I walked out the next day. Blocked her calls.

“See,” said Rowe, “Jennifer is a good one. She doesn’t want to hurt you, Grayson. She wants to feel capable enough to take care of the man who stole her life and then allow you to give that life back to her.”

“When did you all get so fucking smart about women?” he laughed.

“Oh, we’re dumb as a box of rocks, as Mama Irene would say,” laughed Hunter.

“Who’s Mama Irene?” asked Jethro. The older men just laughed shaking their heads at the younger men.

“You’ll find out one day. Just know that if she tells you something, it’s gospel. Believe it all,” said Moose.

Jennifer was walking back toward them. She stopped in front of Grayson but stared at her father and the other men.

“I-I’m sorry, Grayson. I didn’t mean to just walk away. I know that you need to keep me safe. I understand that. All I’m asking is that you understand what I need as well. I need you to understand what I’m feeling.”

“I do,” he said pulling her against his chest.

The other men smiled, slowly walking away from the couple. He rubbed big circles around her tiny back, brushing the hair off her shoulders.

“Can I ask you something?” he whispered. She nodded. “When it happened, when he… Were you hurt? Did he harm you?”

“Yes,” she whispered. “But I’m recovered. I’m fine now and there’s no reason to believe that we can’t have a normal, healthy sex life.”

“I wasn’t worried about that, Jennifer,” he said pulling back, holding her face between his big hands. “I was worried I would hurt you, too. I would rather shoot myself than to harm you or make you have memories of that night.”

“I-I don’t think I will. I mean, I don’t know, Grayson. I’ve not been with anyone since then. I kept hoping that one day I would come home and you’d be there for me. Waiting.”

“I’m here for you baby but I’m not waiting. You and I need to make this real. You need to see me, Jennifer. I don’t want you afraid of me.”

“I’m not afraid of you. I know you’re a big man. I could feel it, I could see it when we were in my room. But how do we do this with all these men around us?” Grayson laughed, kissing her sweetly.

“If you haven’t noticed, all those men have discreetly disappeared. Maybe we should too.”

Jennifer could only smile as she led Grayson to her room again. He shut the door, locking it and then set his weapon on the small desk. He kicked off his boots, then his shirt.

She stared at him, the rippling muscles of his chest making her suddenly warm from head to toe. He had a sexy patch of hair in the middle of his chest and several tattoos she’d never seen. She pulled her t-shirt over her head and smiled at him as he stared at the lacy black bra.

“Fuck,” he growled. She slid the jeans to the floor, stepping out of them only to reveal the matching lace panties. His mouth was suddenly as dry as the desert.

Jennifer’s small hands fumbled with his trousers, then he held them still, kissing her ear lobe.

“Let me,” he said breathlessly. He unzipped, pushing the trousers down, then his tight boxers. He could hear her breathing more rapidly from across the room. She held one hand over her left breast, the other instinctively touching herself lower.