Worth Every Cent Read online

  But the moment didn’t last for long. His eyes flew open and his hands wrapped around my body, cupping my ass and forcing me to fall into his rhythm. And before I knew it, I was on my back, gazing up at the ceiling as his hand snaked into my panties.

  I gasped when he slid two of his fingers inside of me, knowing damn good and well he’d won our little argument.

  And it was an argument I was woman enough to concede to.

  Chapter 17

  Grayson

  She felt tight. Warm. The rippling sensation around my fingers made my cock ache to be within her. My thumb pressed against her clit as sweat dripped down her skin, tantalizing my tongue and teasing my eyes. She squirmed for me as her hands pushed her panties and her shorts down her legs. Her want to get naked for me rose the temperature of my core to blazing heights. I crooked my fingers and rubbed against that spot. My eyes locked with hers and I watched her gasp. Whimper. Murmur the sweetest of obscenities. She bucked into my palm, riding my fingers as my thumb pressed deeper into her body.

  “Harder,” Michelle said breathlessly. “Harder, Gray.”

  I thrusted into her body with my fingers as my lips bent to capture her nipple. She arched into me as her heels dug into the dusty carpet of Anton’s house. How beautiful the rush of pleasure over her face was. How sensuous the deep crimson red of her skin became. I took it all in. Felt her body tremble in the palm of my hand as I caressed her towards an edge she wanted to tumble off. Her juices dripped against my skin and my mouth salivated for them.

  “Grayson! Oh, yes!”

  Her hands rushed to my hair as her pussy clamped down onto me. She shoved my face into her tits, and it was a place I knew I could die happy in. I tasted her sweat on my tongue, kissing and nipping at her skin so she could wake up with my mark on her body. Her legs shivered and her body bucked. Her warmth overtook me, sucking me into her orbit and refusing to let go. I moaned into her tits, feeling her shake with the vibrations.

  Then I slowly inched my fingers out from between her decadent thighs and licked her arousal off my skin.

  “Oh my gosh,” she said, breathlessly.

  “Mm, mm, mm. How good you taste,” I said.

  I ripped her up off the floor and her lips came crashing up to mine. I ripped her shirt over her head as she barreled me into the wall, her hands sliding along my sweating skin. I grabbed her wrists and twisted her around, pinning her between my bare chest and Anton’s window.

  “Did you think you could win this?” I asked. “Did you really think you had it in you?”

  She shoved me away from her before running and lunging at me. I caught her in my grasp, fisting her ass cheeks as her hands raked through my hair. She pulled my head back and brought her lips to mine, nibbling on my lower lip as I walked down the hallway. I pressed her to the wall, feeling her pussy dripping onto my abs. She unraveled her legs and tried to get down, but I held her steady to me.

  I refused to put her down onto the ground.

  Her hands dropped to my pants as she wiggled around, slipping her sweating skin against mine. She finally dropped to her feet and took my pants along with her, exposing the rest of my body to her. I fisted her hair to bring her back up, but the second I moved her she slid my cock between her lips.

  My eyes bulged and my hand fell to the wall as my knees quaked.

  “Michelle. Oh shit.”

  “Mhm,” she hummed. “Oh, yes.”

  “Don’t talk with your mouthful,” I said.

  “Okay, Bossman.”

  My leg jiggled as she slurped and sucked. She hollowed out her cheeks as my balls filled with a want for her. They hung low as her hand came up to play with them. To cup them and roll them around as I stepped out of my pants. I pressed my other hand into the wall, keeping myself upright as I thrust my hips against her face.

  But I didn’t want to explode down her throat.

  I didn’t want my end to be on the tip of her tongue.

  It took all the energy I had to step back from her. I fell into the opposite wall as she scrambled onto her feet, then she ran at me and crashed our lips together. She pinned my hands at my sides as a triumphant smile crossed her face. Like she thought she had won.

  “Got you,” she said, with a giggle.

  And oh, if she only knew how true that statement was.

  She had me. Every version of me. In every way she could have ever wanted. I stared into those beautiful green eyes and watched that dazzling smile grow upon her reddened cheeks. But my cock was dripping and my balls ached for a need only she could fulfill. I loved the fight in her. How she wanted to desperately prove she was my equal.

  She didn’t have to worry about that, though.

  I could never see Michelle as anything other than incredible.

  I moved my wrists as her eyes widened and I barreled her back into the wall. And that time, I was out to deliver no mercy. I fisted her hair and backed her down the hallway, guiding her towards the leather couch this entire fight had started on. I whipped her around as she squealed, bending her over the arm of it as her ass pressed against me.

  She looked so beautiful with her ass in the air and her face pressed to the genuine leather.

  I slid my cock into her effortlessly and watched her shake. I rolled into her, keeping a steady pace as her pussy fluttered around my cock. She gripped the side of the couch and pushed back into me, her ass meeting my hips and sinking against my skin. My eyes traced her back. Took in the deep dip in her spine and the lavish dip of her waist. I rose my hand up and smacked her ass cheek, listening as her beautiful yelp filled the edges of the room.

  “Damn, Grayson. Do it again.”

  A devilish grin spread across my cheeks before I did as I was told.

  I released her hair and slid my hands down her back, watching goosebumps appear upon her skin. How submissive she was. How open she was to new sexual experiences. The idea of training her—of exposing her to things she probably hadn’t dreamed of—sent my blood pumping wildly. I snapped my hips against hers, watching her naked body conform to mine. Her skin glowed and her mouth dripped moans that pushed me into the clouds. Her pussy fluttered and pulled me deeper, forcing my chest down to her back.

  “Michelle,” I said into her skin. “You feel so damn good.”

  And before I could control it, my cock burst against her walls.

  I slammed myself into her, shaking as I unloaded myself into her body. Her legs gave out and her back arched as her face dug into the couch. I found her hand and threaded our fingers together, feeling her quake beneath me as her pussy milked me for all I had. We came together, bent over the arm of Anton’s couch while dust flew around our heads.

  The room tilted so fervently I had to close my eyes in order to enjoy the searing hot pleasure rushing through my skin.

  We laid there, panting against one another. I didn’t want to leave her. I didn’t want to pull away from her. But the second she started to shift, I forced myself off her. I wrapped my arms around her and helped her to her feet, taking in the soaked sounds of my cock slipping from between her folds.

  I helped steady her upright before the doorbell rang.

  “Oh shit,” I said with a chuckle.

  “You have to answer the door. I can’t answer it like this,” Michelle said.

  “No,” I said as my eyes raked down her body. “No, you cannot.”

  She picked up her clothes and rushed down to the bathroom as I pulled my jeans onto my body. I went to let the furniture cleaner in, then I went to go get cleaned up myself. Once the furniture was cleaned down, there wasn’t much we could do. Which meant the only other thing to do was make us up some lunch.

  Or an early dinner, depending on when we actually sat down to eat.

  “What’s for dinner?” Michelle asked.

  I peeked around at her and watched as she sat at the kitchen table.

  “I figured I could cook us up some chicken and vegetables. Maybe open another bottle of wine. There’s still four bot
tles of that vintage in the box in the pantry.”

  “Oh, that wine is so good. Sign me up,” she said.

  “Not as good as you,” I said with a grin.

  The furniture cleaner left around three, and after that we sat down to eat some dinner. I poured her a tall glass of wine before I sat down, pouring myself one in the process. We sat silently while we ate, with nothing but Michelle’s lecherous hums filling the kitchen. I felt my skin tingling and my cock throbbing. Even with the rich smells of dinner, the only thing that caught my nose was the faint smell of our sex that still lingered in the air. The tension between us sizzled. Crackled. Caused Michelle to blush every single time our eyes met.

  “I should get going,” she said. “I’ve got the evening shift tomorrow.”

  “Does that mean I could convince you to help me finish staging the house tomorrow morning?” I asked.

  “I don’t see why not,” she said.

  “Then I’ll pick you up around nine.”

  We finished dinner and she was adamant about clearing the dishes, then we hopped into my car and I took her home. The idea of seeing her again bright and early tomorrow already had me excited for the day to come. I reluctantly drove her back to Cecily’s, though I had half a mind to tell her she was staying with me whether she liked it or not.

  “Thanks for the ride,” Michelle said.

  “Thanks for the wonderful afternoon,” I said with a wink.

  She blushed, then leaned over to kiss my cheek. But I wasn’t having any of that bullshit. I turned my lips into hers and caught them, and the second I felt her lean into my touch I wrapped my arm around her. I pulled her close to me, pressing my tongue through her lips. I curled my fingertips into the tendrils of her hair, feeling her moan as I pulled her head back. I kissed down her neck, leaving her a shaking mess in the passenger’s seat of my rental car.

  Then I released her and watched as she panted and closed her eyes.

  “See you in the morning,” I said.

  Her glassy-eyed look shot fire straight to my groin.

  “Yeah. See you then,” she said.

  She pushed out of the car and I watched her all the way into Cecily’s place. Then I pulled away and went to go grab some things in town. I parked my car in front of the pharmacy so I could go in and get a few toiletries, then I crossed over to the grocery store to grab some things for us to have for lunch tomorrow. I placed everything in my car and walked by the liquor store, debating on whether or not to have something a little stronger than wine with Michelle tomorrow.

  So I headed in to see what their selection was.

  I laughed when I got to their wine shelves. My meager stock of wine was displayed front and center at the lowest price offering my vineyard afforded. I wondered if anyone in Stillsville knew who owned the wine on display. In the foggy glass case that was meant to showcase it. On a whim, I grabbed a bottle of it. The older vintage didn’t have nearly the type of flavor palette my newer ones did, but I wanted Michelle’s opinion on it anyway. The irony of a town that hated me selling my wine front and center brought a joy to my soul I couldn’t even speak of. But when I paid for the wine and walked out, I ran into someone that sucked the joy right from my body.

  I ran straight into my dad.

  At first, he didn’t even look up at me. Just barreled past me and made a beeline for the cheapest vodka on the shelf. I stood there in the doorway of the store, watching him as he limped heavily down the aisle. He made his way directly to what he wanted, grabbed it, then limped back up to the cash register.

  And the second he lifted his eyes, he saw me.

  I waited for him to say something—anything—to the son he’d lost all those years ago. I almost begged him to say something so I could lay him out on the floor. Instead, he squinted his eyes really hard—as if he couldn’t believe what he saw—then blinked and looked away.

  He didn’t say a damn word to me.

  Didn’t even say my name.

  He paid for his liquor and shoved past me in the doorway, pushing his way out onto the sidewalk. I turned to watch him as I stepped out of the store, wondering if I should go after him. Did he recognize me? Did he even know who the hell I was?

  But before I could take a step towards his limping body, I stopped.

  If there was even the slightest possibility he did know who I was and simply decided to ignore me, I wanted no part of it. If there was the slightest chance he knew who I was—or that I was in town—and didn’t even bother to reach out, I knew it would only anger me more. I stood there and watched him get into his truck before pulling out and driving off, and the idea of him knowing me and not speaking with me made my heart ache.

  It didn’t make me angry and it didn’t make me want to kill him.

  It only made me hurt.

  Chapter 18

  Michelle

  I knew the second I slipped into Gray’s car the next morning that something was wrong. He seemed somber. Quiet. Nothing at all like the vibrant man I’d spent my day with yesterday. I watched him for a little bit before turning my eyes out the windshield, racking my brain for something I could use to cheer him up a little bit.

  “You know, it’s really entertaining to work at a diner sometimes,” I said.

  “Mhm,” Gray said.

  “At my last shift, there was this little old man that kept falling asleep at the table. He kept drooping and shaking himself away. Drooping and shaking himself awake. Until finally, he drooped over and landed straight on his face. In his soup! The man was snoring in his soup. I have no idea how he didn’t drown himself.”

  I looked over to see if my story got a reaction, but all Gray did was nod his head.

  “Anyway, I went over and shook him awake, then offered him one of my rags so he could wipe his face down. But before he even took my rag, he fell asleep again. I had no idea what to do, so I just lifted his head, moved the bowl of soup, and started cleaning him off myself. It wasn’t until Dr. Luke came over and told me the guy had narcolepsy that I understood what was going on.”

  “Narco Ned,” Gray said.

  “So you do know him!” I exclaimed. “Apparently, everyone does. And everyone in the diner was waiting to see what my reaction would be to him. Once he finally woke up, he thanked me for helping him. But I didn’t know what to do except suggest he get something other than soup.”

  I looked back at Gray and watched a small grin twitch his cheek.

  It was better than nothing.

  “It’s hard, getting to know a new town’s quirks. Everyone knows everyone except me, and when I don’t know someone they get offended almost. And Stillsville seems to have more quirks than most,” I said.

  “I warned you that first morning about my hometown,” Gray said through his laughter.

  Oh, that sounded so good to my ears. I was glad I could get him laughing. To get whatever was on his mind off it for just a moment. We pulled up to Anton’s house and got to work, and I decided to keep the mood a little more subtle. Sure, there were the playful jabs and the cracked jokes, but I only had a few hours to help him finish things before the showing. Plus, I had to work that evening, and I hoped to get a nap in before I had to go to work.

  “This room could use a little more lighting,” I said.

  “Yeah, I was about to say it looks a little dark with the clouds rolling in overhead,” Gray said.

  “I’ll go into the attic and try to find something. Maybe you could walk around the other rooms and see if it’s possible to steal a lamp or two from there.”

  “You sure you don’t want me going into the attic?”

  “I’m sure,” I said. “I’ll be right back!”

  I struggled a little bit to get the attic staircase down, but once I was up there the searching was easy. Until I tripped over my own two feet. At least, I thought I’d tripped over my feet.

  It wasn’t until I looked down that I realized I’d actually tripped over a photo album.

  I sat down on top of one of th
e boxes and picked it up. Part of me wondered if this was the photo album Gray had opened up during our first trip up to the attic. I smiled at the faded front cover and ran my hands over it. So many memories trapped between its pages. I opened the front cover and began flipping through the photos, but instead of finding smiling pictures and happy memories, I found something that made tears rush to my eyes.

  Pictures of a tall, gangly teenager with his arms covered in bruises. Pictures of the tall boy running around with his shirt off. I could see every divot of his spine and every rib in his ribcage. His shoulder blades jutted out and every muscle was defined from hunger. I ran my fingers across the pages, taking in the anger the boy’s eyes held. Page after page, I flipped. Finding more bruises and more scars, watching that small boy grow up before my eyes.

  The photo album slowly told the story of the small boy, who transformed from that gangly teenager into a sullen, bruised kid. And from there, he morphed again into a filled-out football player. A massive boy with fire in his eyes and clenched fists that looked all too familiar.

  A picture fell out of the back and I picked it up, taking in that small boy again. He was hunched over a fire, picking at it with a stick while he hugged his knees. His hair was greasy and his back had what looked like fresh bruises on it. Tears dripped onto the picture as I turned it over, and I brought my hand to my mouth when I read the name on the back of the picture.

  ‘Grayson MacDonald, 2000’.

  Oh my gosh.

  The gangly little boy was Gray.

  “Did you get lost up there?”

  His voice ripped me from my trance, causing me to slam the book closed.

  “Sorry. They were pretty buried,” I said. “I’m coming down now.”

  “You okay? You sound like you’re crying.”

  “The dust. It’s thick up here. I think it’s finally getting to me. I’m coming down!”

  I set the book back onto the floor and quickly grabbed the two lamps in the corner. I wiped at my eyes one last time, then drew in a deep breath. But I couldn’t get my mind off those scars. I didn’t recognize them. And as I conjured memories of Grayson’s body, I couldn’t recall ever touching them, either. I handed the lamps down to Gray and took another second to gather myself, then started down the steps.