Page 145 of Lessons In Grey

My cheeks burned. “Of course, baby,” I replied, very aware of the questioning looks on the faces of her friends.

Her eyes filled almost immediately. “Is it okay if they spend the night? Is that okay?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. “Would you mind sleeping on the couch?”

I grabbed her face between my palms, Sirius purring loudly at the touch of her humans. “I will leave if you need me to leave or I can be the best host you’ve ever seen.”

She swallowed, tears slipping down her cheeks. “Host, please.”

I nodded and pressed my lips against hers, tasting the salt against mine own. I found her eyes again and smiled. “I love you, Snowflake. Go, you four women relax, and I will get you desert and drinks.”

She sniffed and nodded, wiping her face on the cat who only cared that she was being loved on. “I love you too,” she told me, causing my smile to widen.

We both turned to the couch, Emily pausing in her pursuit of it when we caught sight of Ash gaping, her eyes wide and shining.

Syn’s brows furrowed and she looked from us to Ash and frowned. She hit her shoulder and turned back to us. “It’s the first time Emily’s said that, it’s not a big deal, I promise.”

First time?

My chest tightened as Emily’s face burned. I guess I owned that too.

38

Emily

December 8th, 2021

Islowly reached for my phone, checking the time. It was just after 1am.

I glanced over my shoulder, staring into the darkness at Ash and Syn who were spread out across the bed, sleeping peacefully.

It had been a long night. A night of talking about Charlie and mom, about reliving old memories.

I don’t think I had ever done that. I couldn’t remember ever talking to them much about Charlie in the last year. It felt good, relieving.

Something much needed.

But now I needed something else.

I quietly folded the blankets back and carefully crawled out of bed in nothing more than Grey’s boxers andone of his old t-shirts.

He had been so gracious this evening. Getting us anything that we wanted, joining in with our conversations, letting us have our time, even when we retired early to the bedroom, but now I missed him.

I crept barefoot across the room and quietly opened the door, sending one last glance to the two women and cat sleeping soundlessly in my bed. Any normal guy’s wet dream, besides the cat, I guess.

I stepped into the living area, lit only by the lights left on the tree, which cast a colorful glow of reds, greens, blues, and pinks across the room. My eyes grazed over the stack of boxes half hidden behind the tree. These last few days, I had simply thought they were more decorations with nowhere to put them, but now I knew that if I turned even one of those boxes, the names of my family would be written in black across them.

My eyes shifted back to the couch where Grey was sleeping on his back, snoring softly, his mouth hanging open, his limbs sprawled, no shirt to be seen.

I couldn’t help but smile. I loved watching him sleep. He looked so…normal.

I walked over to him quietly, lowering myself to my knees beside his head, watching as he shifted a little, snapping his mouth closed, scratching his chest. Fuck, I loved him.

I never thought it possible, tofeellove again. It was a sham, something used to shatter others, but not with him. With him, it was different.

He was so perfect, so beautiful, so very mine.

I licked my lips and slowly leaned over, keeping my eyes locked on his closed ones as I slowly leaned in, my heart racing in my chest. This was dangerous. He was a trained killer, his instincts could kick in, but I trusted him. I trusted that, even in sleep, he would know it was me.

He would always know it was me.