Until You (Off-Limits)

Aria is quiet as we walk into the apartment, her expression telling me she didn’t expect to return here. I leave her suitcase in the corner as she walks to the window, just like she did the very first time she walked in here.

I follow and stand behind her, my hand covering hers. Aria tenses and turns around, finding herself trapped between the glass and my body. She looks up at me, and I hate seeing the insecurity in her eyes. I hate knowing I put it there.

I place my index finger underneath her chin and tilt her face up as I lean in, slowly, carefully. Her eyes fall closed before my lips brush against hers, and she inhales shakily as I bridge the distance between us, my lips meeting hers.

Aria rises to her tiptoes, and I deepen the kiss, taking my time with her. I push against her, and she moans, her hands finding their way into my hair. By the time I pull away, we’re both panting. It’s been so long since I last kissed her. “I missed you,” I whisper against her lips, leaning in for another kiss. She tightens her grip on me and kisses me back, her movements slow and passionate.

I’m rock solid by the time she pulls away, her forehead against mine. “I missed you too, Grayson. You have no idea how much.”

Her hands run over my body and I lean in, pressing a kiss right below her ear before moving on to her neck. A soft moan escapes her lips, and I smile. Her hands tremble and she presses them flat against my chest in an effort to hide it.

“Tell me what you’re thinking,” I whisper.

She looks so vulnerable, so hurt. “I’m wondering if you want me, Gray. You chased me down at the airport and asked me to stay, but I’m having a hard time believing what you said. I don’t want to be led on again. If there’s something you want from me, please just tell me. There’s nothing I won’t do for you, so please don’t use me. Don’t think you need to be in a relationship with me to avoid letting Noah down.”

What the fuck? I’ve been so busy focusing on my own pain I never thought about how my behavior might have reopened old wounds of hers. Every time I pulled away from her physically, she must have been reminded of Brad. Fuck. I can’t believe I made my girl question herself like that. Even worse, I was too blind to see what I was doing. I still remember the way she cried as she told Noah and me what he said about her, and all this time I was reminding her of that, making her think I feel the same way Brad did.

I cup her cheeks and look into her eyes. “All I can think about is wanting you naked, my dick buried deep inside you. I’m scared I want you too much, the way I did when you wrapped those beautiful lips around my cock. I want to fuck away every crazy thought going around in your head, but I’m scared I’ll be too rough with you. That’s all it is. My biggest fear is hurting you. You make me lose control, Aria, and I don’t ever want to see you in pain. But at the same time, I’m a selfish bastard, and though I tried, I just can’t let you walk away — not even when I know there’s every chance I’ll end up hurting you.”

She nods and moves her hands to the buttons of my shirt, taking her time undoing them. “But baby,” she whispers. “I like it rough.”

She looks into my eyes as she undoes the buttons, as though she’s assessing my response, and I bite down on my lip when her hands move to my suit trousers. “Can you feel that, Nyx?” I ask her. “Does that feel like I’m messing around with you? Like I don’t truly want you?”

She shakes her head, her eyes lit up with hope. I lean in to kiss her, my hands tugging at her clothes. She deepens the kiss and raises her arms for me as I pull her dress over her head. She stands in front of me wearing nothing but black lace, and I swallow hard. “Fuck.”

Whatever she’s seeing in my eyes seems to put her at ease, because she smiles at me, a hint of satisfaction in her gaze. I raise my hand to her face and brush her hair out of the way. “You’re so fucking beautiful,” I whisper.

Aria grins and rises to her tiptoes, her lips finding mine. When she kisses me like that, I fucking lose it. I lift her into my arms and push her up against the window, eliciting a moan from her. The way her hands move over my body, the way her nails graze over my scalp as she buries her hands in my hair, deepening our kiss. Yeah… fuck.

She pushes her hips against mine, grinding up on me as I kiss her, and I know I need to be inside her. “I need you,” I whisper, and she nods.

The type of desperation I feel doesn’t allow me to carry her to our bedroom. Hell, I don’t even manage to get us fully undressed. Instead, I shove my underwear down and hers aside, loving the way she squirms when the tip of my cock presses up against her.

She moves on top of me, trying to get me in deeper, and I grin as I pin her against the window. “You want this cock, huh?”

“Please,” she says, her eyes glazed over with lust.

I chuckle as I push the tip in, loving the way she wants me. My girl… yeah, she’s the one. She’s perfect in every fucking way. She wants me. I don’t need to worry about forcing my desires on her. She wants me as much as I want her. “You want more, baby?”

Aria pushes against me, and I grab her wrists, pinning them above her head. She stares me down, her eyes filled with passion, her lips half open.

I look into her eyes as I slam into her, watching her eyes fall closed in delight. Fucking hell. “Always so wet and tight, Nyx,” I whisper, holding her by her hips as I fuck her slowly, deeply, never taking my eyes off her.

“I love you, Grayson,” she says, and I grin as I increase the pace, thrusting into her the way I know she likes. I watch her every expression, every sigh, every moan. Yeah, she wants this as much as I do.

I listen as her pants get quicker, her moans higher, and I shift her in my arms, fucking her at an angle I know she can’t resist. I watch my girl come all over my cock, taking me right along with her.

Aria and I collapse against each other, and I carry her to the sofa, lying down with her on my chest. She pulls the blanket she bought for the sofa over us, and I wrap my arms around her, trying to calm my raging heart.

Aria pushes up against my chest to look at me, and I bury my hand in her hair. “I really thought you didn’t want me, Gray,” she whispers. “I thought you didn’t know how to tell me that you were done with me, that maybe you feared harming your friendship with Noah.”

I shake my head and cup her cheek, my thumb brushing over her lip. “Baby, I’ll always want you. I won’t lie to you and say I’m no longer scared because I am. I’m terrified I’ll hurt you, but I’ll work on that. I… I’ll go see a psychologist, Ari. I know my issues are all in my head, I know it. I’ll get better. I’ll do anything to make sure I don’t break your heart again. Anything.”

She nods and presses a kiss to my cheek before lying back down in my arms. For her, I’ll go to the ends of the world if need be. The issues I’m facing… they can’t affect her. I need to make sure of it.