Page 14

Peyton

When I woke up this morning, I’d seen Clay’s message from last night and immediately I wanted to see him, but they were at practice and then gearing up for tonight’s game. I didn’t want to distract him from what I knew was important.

I didn’t respond to his message. Instead, I’d waited until everyone had left for the game, then I left a note letting Mom, Lorelai, and Knox know I was going out with some friends and wouldn’t be back until morning. I’d come to Clay’s building and waited outside until someone came along and I could sneak in. I took off to his floor and parked myself in the hallway, waiting for him to come home.

I glanced at my watch. It was just after eleven. The game finished half an hour ago. They’d won, allowing them to advance to the second round of the playoffs. Part of me had wished I’d gone to watch them play, so I could be a part of the excitement.

I jumped when I heard Clay’s voice coming down the hall. I quickly got up, brushing off my pants and straightening my shirt. I knew Knox had to head straight home after the game because he was taking my mom to see another condo early in the morning, so I knew he wouldn’t be with Clay.

As the voices got closer, I looked up in time to see Clay and Dylan coming down the hall, neither one of them noticing me at first. They were laughing and talking about the game, and then Dylan made eye contact with me. It was then Clay looked up, surprised at seeing me here.

“Peyton? How long have you been—”

“I…I shouldn’t have come,” I said, wanting to bolt as Dylan stood there looking between the two of us.

“Clay, how about I see you in the morning?” Dylan said, placing his hand on his shoulder.

Clay nodded, still looking in my direction. “Sure thing. Thanks for the lift.”

“No problem. Peyton, good to see you, as always,” Dylan said, before he turned and made his way back toward the elevator.

“What are you doing here?” Clay asked, pulling his keys from his pocket and slipping one into the lock.

“It was stupid of me to come without warning you. Fuck, now my brother is going to—”

“Don’t worry, Dylan won’t say anything. Come on in,” he said, holding the door with one hand and waiting for me as I looked down the hall in the direction Dylan had gone.

“How do you know that?” I asked, still looking down the hall in the direction Dylan had gone.

“Trust me, okay. I know. Come on.”

I walked into Clay’s apartment and waited while he shut and locked the door.

“Here, give me your coat,” he said, waiting while I slipped out of it. He hung both our jackets in the closet and then placed his hand on my lower back, guiding me into his living room.

“Want something to drink?” he questioned as I took a seat on his couch.

I nodded and watched as he made his way to the fridge, where he grabbed two bottles of water and returned, sitting down beside me.

Immediately, we both spoke, only for us both to stop and smile at one another.

“Go ahead,” he urged, taking my bottle of water and cracking the lid for me.

“Thank you. I got your message this morning. I thought it would be best if I came to see you instead of messaging.

“I’m glad you did. I’ve been wanting to talk to you as well. First, I want to say I am sorry for panicking yesterday.”

“No, it’s okay. I don’t blame you. I wasn’t exactly calm myself.”

“It’s understandable,” he said, placing his hand on my upper thigh and squeezing.

I looked down at his hand, then met his eyes, placing my hand on top of his.

“You really want to be a part of this?” I questioned.

He nodded, his eyes on mine, before they fell to my lips. “I do,” he whispered, leaning forward, his lips grazing mine. “I don’t want to miss a thing.”

A wave of warmth filled me as I leaned forward, meeting his lips. I closed my eyes as he ran his hand through my hair. I shifted on the couch, kneeling on the couch as he sat back a bit, tapping my hip.

I straddled his lap, just like I’d done the first night, resting my hands on his shoulders, and leaned forward, kissing him as his hands travelled down my back, until they were resting on my ass. He gripped my cheeks as he kissed me deeper.

I could have gotten lost in his kiss, but all I could wonder was how he was going to be a part of everything when I was going back to Vermont in a couple of days. I placed my hands on his chest and broke the kiss.

“What is it?” he asked, knowing something was on my mind.

“This is how we got into this mess.” I giggled.

“Uh-huh, I know.”

His eyes met mine, studying them. “What else?”

“Clay, how is that going to work, though? You’re here…and I’ll be back in Vermont in a couple of days.”

“You mentioned something about you moving here.”

“Yes, but—”

“No buts. Until then, I’ll be there when I can. Most of it for now will have to be via text or video chat, at least until the season is over. I’ll try to be available whenever you need me to be, minus game time and practice, of course, but once you are back…”

“Once I’m back, what? Once I’m back, I’m sure my mother will have told my brother and I’ll be under lock and key. You’ll never get near me.”

He smiled. “Peyton, I’m not afraid of your mother. She actually likes me, and I’m sure it will be a relief for her to know that it isn’t Tor’s, and as for your brother, he’s going to have to face the fact that you aren’t a kid, and that shit happens between two consenting adults.”

“Try telling him that.”

“I plan on it. I’ll take his beating, I’ll take his words, but he’s the one who is going to have to face the fact that I…”

Clay stopped speaking and swallowed hard as he looked at me.

“That what?” I questioned, watching him as he now averted his eyes.

When he said nothing, I placed my hand on his cheek and turned his head toward me.

“Clay…what is it?”

He swallowed hard, then licked his lips before raising his eyes to mine.

“Peyton, you need to know that I haven’t been able to get you out of my mind. Ever since the first night we were together. What you told me should really have scared the hell out of me, but once you left last night, I realized it was more a leg jerk reaction than truthfully being scared.”

“Really?”

He nodded and smiled softly.

“Once I realized it, all I wanted to do was hold you and have you here by my side. I felt like an absolute piece of shit knowing you were at your brother’s, alone and scared.”

My body flooded with heat as I leaned forward and wrapped my arms around him.

“Please, you don’t need to feel like a piece of shit. I probably should have handled things a little differently. I’m used to being with guys—”

He placed his fingers on my lips, stopping me from going any further, the look in his eyes so intense and full of need.

“You aren’t with those guys anymore, Peyton. You’re with me now, if you’ll have me. I’ll never treat you as a second option. From here on out, you are my main priority. I’ll do anything for you, and I hope I’ll never let down.”

I could feel my eyes burning at his admission. In less than six weeks, I’d gone from having someone who treated me like garbage, who stole, cheated, and lied to me, to a man who sat here, wanting me to be a part of his life and wanting to be a part of mine.

When I felt the tears slide down my cheeks, he brushed them away with his thumb before meeting my lips with his. Then, with his arms wrapped securely around me, he lifted not only himself but me as well from the couch and carried me down the hall to his bedroom, just the way he had the very first night I’d been here.

He kicked the door closed behind us and carried me over to the bed where he put me down. Without a word, he walked over to his dresser, opened one of his drawers, and pulled out a Dominator’s T-shirt, and gently tossed it to me.

“For you.” He smiled.

“For me? I don’t understand.”

I was certain he was bringing me down here for sex, only when he turned to look my way, I saw none of that in his eyes.

“Yes, for you, to wear to bed. It’s late. You need your rest, I need mine, and I want you to spend the night in my arms.”

I watched as he headed toward his closet. It felt weird that he didn’t want to have sex. I’d never spent the night with any guy without sex. Actually, that was the only time I was in their bed. After that, they’d drive me home and drop me off, or they’d simply leave.

I sat down on the edge of his bed and slipped my jeans off, neatly folding them and placing them on the floor, then slipped my shirt over my head, removed my bra, and then slipped the shirt he’d given me over my head.

“I’ll be right out,” he muttered, and I turned to see him enter the bathroom, returning only a couple of minutes later. “There is a new toothbrush on the counter for you, along with a set of towels for you in the morning.”

He pulled back the covers on his side of the bed and crawled in. I sat there, unsure of what to do. This was a foreign concept to me. When I felt his hand on my hip, I glanced over my shoulder at him.

“Are you getting in?”

I stood up and went to pull back the blankets, but he beat me to it. He tapped the mattress, waiting for me to slip in. I crawled in and laid down while he dropped the covers on me, then slipped his arm under my neck and slid up against me, resting his arm around my waist.

“Comfortable?” he asked quietly before placing a kiss on the side of my neck.

The heat from his body enveloped me. I closed my eyes and placed my hand on top of his.

“Very,” I answered, allowing my body to sink into the soft mattress while welcoming his warmth.

I could feel him move away and was about to say something when the light went out, bathing the room in darkness. I felt him pull me a little into the centre of the bed, against his body.

“You warm enough?”

“Yes.”

“You’re sure, because you are shaking.”

Yep, I was, there was no denying it, but it wasn’t because I was cold. It was because I’d never in my life been treated this way, and I wasn’t sure how to react.

“I know, I’m sorry…”

“Don’t be sorry. Is something wrong?”

I was quiet. How was I going to tell him this was new to me, so new that I didn’t know how to react. Maybe I should have just come out with it, be more like Clay, say what was on my mind.

“Can I share something with you?”

“Of course. No secrets with us.”

“I’ve never been treated this way before.”

“What way?” he questioned, rubbing my shoulder as he pulled me a little closer.

“Spending the night without being expected to…”

I could feel his body tense. He rolled up onto his arm, and I could see him looking down at me.

“Peyton, I’m so sorry that has been what you’ve gotten to think is acceptable,” he said, looking down into my eyes. “Please, from now on, I want you to remember that part of your life is over. If there is ever anything you don’t want to do in any aspect of our relationship, especially in this bedroom, there will never be questions asked.

“As for tonight, this is what I want right now. I need this, and I think this is what you need as well. You need to know that I am here for you, and I want to let you know I am here for you without the confusion of adding sex to it. Sex complicates things, and it’s not the way I want to deal with our situation. That doesn’t mean I don’t want to either, so before you get too far into your own head and start thinking that I am not interested, know I am interested.”

I couldn’t help it as more tears slid down my cheeks as he pressed his lips to mine in the most tender kiss I’d ever experienced in my life. Somehow, I knew without a doubt in my heart that Clay meant every word he’d said, and the moment he wrapped his arms around me, I knew this was where I wanted to be, regardless of the flack I was sure would come our way.