Page 20 of Pretty When It Burns (When The Lights Go Down #1)

Chapter seventeen

"Comedown (Slowed and Reverbed)" - Toby Hobart

Mia

Rylee and I return from a morning full of spa treatments.

Rylee insisted that I need to be prepared for anything and everything Grayson could plan for us.

As a result, I’ve been thoroughly waxed, plucked, manicured, and pedicured by the time we get back to the house.

We enter through the garage door and find everyone hanging out in the dining area, but Grayson is nowhere to be found.

“Hey, baby,” Eric calls to Rylee. “Get a drink from the fridge and come join us, girls.”

“Actually,” Grayson says, entering the room carrying a single white rose—my favorite. “I’ll be stealing my woman for the rest of the day. Sorry, guys.”

He takes my hand and leads me back out through the garage door.

“Where’s my big, romantic gesture, Eric? I want roses and whatever else they’re doing, too!” I hear Rylee whine before the door closes behind us.

I have to laugh.

“Eric’s not really the big, romantic gesture type, but I am,” Grayson says with a wink, opening the passenger door of his Camaro and handing me the rose.

Oh, this is definitely a date.

My heart is racing just as fast as it did when Grayson kissed me for the first time in his bedroom. I still can’t believe that not even a week and a half ago, my life was completely different.

“Are you gonna tell me where we’re going?”

“Hell no,” Grayson chuckles. “I will tell you this, though—it’s the first place the guys and I went the night we moved into the house. And I know this isn’t technically your first night here… but it’s your first night here with me, officially. So I want this to be one of your LA firsts too.”

I don’t think my heart rate can pick up any quicker, but it does.

I wonder if Grayson has any idea of the effect he has on me.

He’s every bit of who I fantasized about when we were growing up, but somehow better.

I still can’t believe out of all the women he could choose from, he’s really picking me.

At last, we arrive at our destination and I realize—we’re hiking up to the Hollywood sign.

I can’t think of anything more perfect to do on our first official night together. He puts the car in park and rushes to open my door for me. He then opens the trunk and pulls out two backpacks, the lighter of which he hands to me.

“You, beautiful, are in charge of the blanket,” he says, flashing that devastating grin I love. “You just let me worry about the rest.”

I don’t think I could stop smiling even if I tried, because it’s bold and iconic. Just like him.

The hike is quiet but charged, our hands brushing every few steps, the whole distance taking us about an hour.

When we reach the top and the letters of the sign tower over us, the view takes my breath away.

It’s indescribable—it feels as if we hiked to the ends of the earth and can now see the entirety of the massive city in one fell swoop as the lights of the life below us twinkle in the distance.

Once we find a spot to set up, I take the blanket out of the backpack and connect the portable speaker to my phone.

As I get situated, Grayson unzips his backpack and begins unloading all sorts of delicious looking food and a bottle of white wine.

He pulls a wine key from the pocket of his gray cargo shorts and uncorks the bottle with ease, pouring us each a glass.

“Cheers,” he says. “To us, and to your first official night in LA.”

Our glasses clink and I take a sip from mine, grateful for the cool burst of citrus after the hike.

Grayson drains half of his before setting it aside—like he’s got more important things to taste.

As soon as his glass hits the ground, he moves across the blanket with his dark, broody eyes locked on mine.

He’s in my space, one hand slipping into my hair while the other arm sneaks around my waist and pulls me against him.

“Hi,” he smirks, his face just centimeters away from mine.

His lips brush against mine with a teasing hesitation and a little tug on my hair.

But then his lips crash into mine—hot, demanding, like he’s starving and I’m the only thing that’s ever satisfied him.

My body ignites on contact, every nerve in my body sparking as I melt into him.

I gasp as he nips at the bottom of my lip before his tongue plunges into my mouth like he owns it.

Feeling my already-racing heart push into overdrive as I whimper into his mouth, the world around us is completely erased.

“God, I’ve been thinking about this all fucking day,” he murmurs against my ear, as if he’s reading my mind. “The way you sound when I touch you… the way you taste on my fingers… I could lose my goddamn mind over you.”

His words land like a lightning strike in my core, and I moan a little louder than I intend to as he trails kisses down my jaw, landing at the base of my neck. My body responds instantly, feeling my nipples tighten underneath my shirt and the wetness filling my panties.

He hasn’t been the only one losing his mind waiting for our next moment alone together. I’ve been craving his touch since this morning in his bed. I haven’t stopped thinking about it, not even for a second.

He runs his hands underneath the thin fabric of my white cotton shirt to feel the fullness of my breasts, and I love the way his warm, calloused palms feel against the softness of my skin.

I try to banish the voice of my ever-present subconscious reminding me how long it’s been since I’d let anyone in like this. But with Grayson, none of that fear matters. Before him, I didn’t think I’d want anyone close again.

But now? I don’t think I’ll ever get enough.

“You have no idea what you do to me, sweetheart,” he whispers huskily. “It takes all the self control I have not to get hard the minute you walk into a room. Touching you like this? Fuck. I’m trying to be good, baby. I swear to God, I am.”

I feel the warmth of his breath against me, sending shivers down my spine as his fingers continue to get tangled in my hair and his lips find mine again. He kisses me like he can’t get deep enough, can’t stop even if he wanted to—and God, I don’t want him to.

“Maybe I don’t want you to be good,” I say breathily—because it’s true, I don’t want him to behave.

I want him to take me right here in the middle of this fucking park.

The lights below cast an iridescent glow against the night, but all I can see, all I can feel, is him.

I practically crawl into his lap, straddling him without hesitation. Wrapping my legs around his waist and pressing down to feel the thick, hard length of him beneath my black Nike shorts, my fingers thread their way into the dark waves of his hair.

He was in charge for our first night together in Dallas, but I want to be the one in control this time. I rock my hips, slowly at first, testing, teasing—and the way he groans into my mouth makes me want to forget about control and lose it all right here.

Grayson’s hands trail down my arms, slow and intentional. His touch leaves a trail of fire on my skin, leaving behind a warmth that settles deep within me. He slips one hand into the lining of my shorts and brushes his knuckles against the soaked fabric.

“Christ, Mia,” he growls, the possessiveness dripping from his voice. “You’re fucking soaked for me.”

I cry out, shameless, needy, not a care in the world about how loud I am as he presses his thumb against my clit with perfect pressure and moves in slow, intentional circles.

I lean in, pressing myself down further onto his hand and letting my teeth tug on his bottom lip—just enough to make him lose it a little.

“I want to touch you,” I whisper as I pull back to look him in the eye. “I want to make you feel good, too.”

“Fuck, sweetheart,” he breathes. “You don’t have to ask.”

Sliding my hand between us and slipping it past the waistband of his shorts, he sucks in a breath as I wrap my fingers around him and stroke—slow, firm, intentional.

He’s thick and hot, pulsating in my hand, and the sound he makes when I run my thumb over the tip of his cock goes straight to the vault of things I’ll never forget.

“If you keep touching me like that, we’re going to end up naked in this park,” he warns, voice tight, wrecked—but the teasing edge is still there.

Good.

I move to undo his shorts, aching to give him more of the same pleasure he gave me that night back in Dallas.

But then—a sharp flashlight beam cuts across the otherwise dark sky, followed by the sound of voices nearby.

We both still.

Grayson lets out a growl of tense frustration, forehead dropping on my shoulder, and I let out a breathless laugh. I can’t believe how caught up in the moment we’d gotten, even as I’m still trembling in his lap.

“That was almost… problematic,” I say, my voice a little shaky.

“The real problem,” he says, eyes blazing. “Will be if you don’t let me finish this later.”

I bite my lip and my cheeks flush.

“It’s probably good we got interrupted,” I say softly, still catching my breath.

“I know.” He stops, swallowing hard, composing himself. “I know this is fast. I know this is a lot. But you have to believe me—this isn’t just sex for me, Mia. This is more. So much fucking more.”

After the amazing date the night before, I woke up the next morning on an incredible high.

Grayson had gotten up early, I notice, as his spot next to me in his bed is empty.

I don’t worry, though, as I faintly hear music coming from the floor above where the band’s practice room is.

I know Eric will be with Grayson upstairs, and Rylee is by herself, too, in his room across the hall.

I slip through the door to find her awake and scrolling through her phone.

“Hey,” I say as I crawl into the bed with her, just like we used to do at our apartment.

“Hey,” she grins. “How was last night? Was it magical? Brandon told me what Grayson was doing and, oh my God, it sounded so incredibly romantic. I had no idea he had it in him to pull off something like that!”

“It was everything,” I reply dreamily, remembering every amazing detail. “Everything I didn’t even know I wanted.”

She squeals and demands every detail. Of course, I give her all of them—every last one.

“Oh, my God, I cannot believe you didn’t have sex up there!” Rylee exclaims. “If it had been Eric and me… Ooh, girl. We might be in jail right now.”

“Some of us have a little more self control than others,” I huff, rolling my eyes playfully.

The smile already on her face grows even larger, if that’s possible.

“In all seriousness, I’m so glad it went well for you guys,” she admits. “Because things are going really well with me and Eric, too.”

I sit up and hug her tightly before heading back across the hall to Grayson’s room. When I walk into the attached bathroom and begin unpacking my makeup bag to get ready for the day, I notice there’s a note waiting for me taped to the mirror.

I’ll never get tired of this. His ability to make me smile in an instant. I hope that feeling will never go away.

He could get tired of you, my subconscious reminds me. There’s still a chance this won’t work.

But at this moment, I don’t care what my subconscious thinks.

If my life falls apart, c’est la vie.

I’ll figure it out like I always do.

After applying a quick version of my morning makeup routine, I look myself over once more in the mirror. Satisfied, I leave the room again, this time in search of Grayson.

I find him with the rest of the band, along with Rylee and Johanna, in the living room.

“There she is,” Grayson announces upon seeing me. “Now that you’re here, we can discuss the plans for this weekend.”

“What’s going on this weekend?” I ask as Grayson wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me into his lap.

“That is a fantastic question,” Tony grins.

“We’re going to San Francisco tomorrow for a show at a music festival,” Brandon tells us, the excitement clear in his voice. “Then, the next day, we’ll be flying to New York to start the first leg of our next tour!”

San Francisco and New York City… two places I’ve never been before.

It’ll be more traveling in a matter of days than I’ve done in my entire life. I wonder how many other amazing places I’ll get to see because of touring with Grayson and the band. Even through my career, I’ve made a habit of staying close to home until now.

I’m truly in for the ride of my life.