Page 14 of All That We Keep (Always Yours #3)

This time when I kiss him, I walk him back until his shoulders hit the wall, Grayson’s hands fisting in my shirt as he gives in. When we break apart to breathe, there’s worry in my Alpha’s expression. "I really don't like the idea of you guys meeting with Kai."

I rest my forehead against his, still caging him against the wall with my body.

"It might be one of the only real clues we can find about what's happening with Hearthstone.

He's the one direct connection we have to their operation right now, and Ward is too close to the official investigation to have access to anything useful. "

Grayson's hands tighten on my shirt, the tension in his body increasing.

"I know the logical reasons, but I just..

. I can't feel you the way I can feel Luther through the pack bond.

Luther's happy right now," Grayson continues, his voice taking on a worried edge.

"Really happy, content in a way that comes through the bond clearly.

But you..." He trails off, his ocean-gray eyes searching my face for something.

My eyes widen as understanding hits me. "Are you worried about me?"

The question hangs in the air between us, the vulnerability in Grayson's expression becoming clearer as he struggles to answer. "Is that so hard to believe?"

I've spent so many years being self-sufficient, handling my own problems, that the idea of someone caring about my wellbeing still feels both foreign and necessary.

"I want my bite on your shoulder, Grayson," I say, the words tumbling out before I can second-guess them. "Or hell, yours on mine. I don't know how any of that works between our designations."

Grayson chuckles softly, his hands moving to rest on my chest as he looks up at me.

"Hey, breathe. As much as I'd love for you to take me right here in the very place where you thought you'd end up alone, you're right.

We don't have time, and it feels a bit weird being this far away from the rest of our pack. "

Grayson leans in for another kiss, a groan tearing from my throat as it becomes more demanding.

His lips travel down from my mouth to my jaw, then to my neck, each touch sending electricity through me.

When his teeth latch into my shoulder briefly, I stagger forward with the intensity of the sensation, both of us pressed against the wall of my sparse apartment.

"What..." I start to say, but the words die as something shifts in my awareness. "I can feel you."

There's a connection that wasn't there before, a thread of awareness that lets me sense Grayson's emotions and physical state in a way that's completely new. It's not as strong as what I imagine the full pack bond with Luther feels like, but it's definitely real.

Grayson smiles against my neck, his breath warm on my skin. "Just temporary, but when you come home tonight?" He pulls back to meet my eyes. "I want a real one. From you, to me. Me, to you. All of it. It feels like the only thing missing in our pack."

"Well, Luther hasn't offered me anything like that..."

A laugh bursts from the Alpha. "I don't think he ever would, honestly. You two probably won't ever have that kind of relationship, but would you accept the pack bond? Would you take Luther's mark as pack family?"

I frown slightly, trying to understand what he's suggesting. "There isn't a pack bond, not that I know of. Luther's never mentioned anything like that."

"No, we've never needed one before because it was just the three of us," Grayson explains, his hands moving to frame my face.

"But I want you to be family, Maceo. Not just kind of here, not one foot in and one foot out.

I want all of you. Everything." He pauses, studying my reaction.

"Would you wear Luther's pack bond, or is that too much to ask? "

"I would gladly tell the world that I'm a Keller.”

Grayson throws me a smile as he pulls me into another a kiss, much softer than the other ones, tasting me, directing me, each touch rippling through the temporary bond in my shoulder. Fuck, it feels good.

"We're out of time," Grayson says reluctantly, pulling back from our embrace. "We need to go. Luther is starting to worry about the meeting with Kai."

As if summoned by his words, Grayson's phone starts ringing. I dip my hand into his back pocket to retrieve it, the casual intimacy of the gesture making him bow his head to my shoulder with a soft sound of pleasure.

I answer without looking at the caller ID. "Yeah?"

Luther's voice comes through the speaker, carrying amusement mixed with authority. "I love what I'm feeling from Grayson through the bond right now, but we have a deadline. So unless you are literally knotting our little Alpha, get your asses back here."

I can't help but laugh at Luther's directness as he hangs up without waiting for a response. "Why did he know it would be me answering your phone?"

Grayson grins, his cheeks still flushed from our encounter.

"Because he was giving us the benefit of the doubt that I would be too far gone to answer coherently.

" He straightens his clothes and moves toward the door.

"Let's go. Fuck, he's going to have my ass for making him worry." I frown, wondering if Luther is going to be mad, Grayson sighing and then rushing back toward me. “Maceo, he’s going to have my ass in a good way. Let’s go.”