16. Jade

CHAPTER 16

JADE

M om leans closer to me, reaching into the bowl of popcorn and tossing some of the kernels into her mouth. "So, do you want to tell me about the man you've been blowing off movie night for?"

My cheeks warm as I pick at the popcorn. "It's nothing. Just a guy from work that I've been seeing. It's nothing serious, so there's no need for you to start worrying about it."

"I'm always going to worry about it. I don't think you've ever learned the art of taking time for yourself and figuring out how to be happy."

"Ouch." I give her a teasing smile, but the words do sting. I've spent so much time over the last few years building my life to what it is. All those relationships I could have been forming and getting my heart broken over were put on the back burner.

I wanted to build something that was going to outlast me, and I have.

Mom hums and eats some more popcorn. "I don't think you're being honest with yourself right now. If this man meant nothing to you, you wouldn't be spending time with him instead of watching rom-com movies with me."

"It's not like that between the two of us." I sigh and stretch my legs out, putting my feet on the coffee table.

"Then what is it like? This is the first guy you've even mentioned around me since you were in school."

"That's because there hasn't been anyone memorable since college."

Mom eyes me like she doesn't quite believe me. "If you don't want to talk about him, you don't have to, but it seems like this man is starting to make a pretty big difference in your life."

"I wouldn't say that he's making a big difference. Just a difference."

She laughs and shakes her head. "If you're being this avoidant about him, I would say that you've got it bad. Maybe even worse than you had it for that guy in college. What was his name?"

"Grayson." I swallow hard, squeezing my eyes shut and bracing for my mom's reaction. "It's the same man I'm seeing now."

Mom's hand flies to her mouth before she starts laughing. "Oh, no. How did the two of you end up together?"

"The company I'm doing all that work for belongs to his father."

"So, you're dating the boss's son? That's scandalous, Jade."

My entire body ignites as I roll my eyes. "Mom. It isn't like that at all. We just happen to be spending time with each other."

"Sure, if that's what the kids are calling it these days. You know, at least in my day, we had the decency to say that we were sleeping with each other."

"Mom!"

She cackles and puts the bowl of popcorn onto the coffee table, muting the movie before turning to me. "All right, so tell me all about this Grayson. You were pretty tight-lipped about him back in the day, and I want some of the details now."

I bury my face in my hands, laughing as she tries to pry them away. "You don't want to know any of the details from when we were in college. We were horrible to each other back then."

"Well, something must have changed for the two of you to be getting along so well now."

"I think we just got older and got a better understanding of what both of us were going through back then." I nestle deeper into the cushions, staring at the couple on the screen. "It's not going to turn into anything more serious than that though, so don't get your hopes up."

Mom scoffs. "I'll get my hopes up all I want. I think it means something that he's the only man you've ever come home talking about, even if you don't think that it's going to go anywhere."

I sigh, grabbing the remote and starting the movie again.

Her hand smooths through my hair. "One of these days, you're going to see that you're worthy of every ounce of love a man has to give you, and you're going to feel like that piece that's been missing is finally home."

I doubt that.

It's late at night when I get home, and a dark figure is sitting on the porch. I keep my keyring in my hand, the keys poking out between my fingers.

The man stands, turning beneath the light enough that I can see his face.

Grayson nods to the keys in my fist. "Planning on shanking anyone?"

"I was thinking about shanking you, actually," I say, tone teasing and light as I unlock the door to the building. "What are you doing here? You weren't out here waiting for long, were you?"

"A couple hours." He stuffs his hands in his pockets as he follows me into the elevator, and I hit the button for my floor.

"Grayson! You should have called me. I would have told you when I was going to be here."

He shrugs as the doors slide open to my floor. "I'm willing to wait for you."

It feels like there's more to his words than I care to unpack right now, so the moment I unlock my door and drop my things inside, I rise on my toes and kiss him.

Grayson's hands fall to my hips, hauling me against his body as he kicks the door shut. One of his hands leaves me long enough to lock the door before it's back on my body, slipping beneath my shirt.

Tingles race across my skin, radiating from his touch outward. I moan as his tongue slides along the seam of my lips, encouraging me to open my mouth.

My hands roam up his chest before sinking into the hair at the nape of his neck.

Grayson sighs into the kiss as it turns soft and slow while we walk through my apartment, making our way to my bedroom.

He flicks on the light, stepping back as his gaze rakes up and down my body.

I keep my gaze locked on his as I reach for the hem of my shirt, pulling it over my head. I toss it to the side before my thumbs sink into the waistband of my shorts.

Grayson reaches out, stopping me. He kneels in front of me, kissing his way across my lower stomach while his fingers fumble at the button.

When he finally undoes it, he takes his time sliding the shorts down my legs, kissing my thigh with every inch of skin he reveals.

Arousal pools between my legs as he stands and pulls off his own shirt.

I pull his shorts down, leaving him in nothing but black boxer briefs that show off every inch of the cock straining toward me.

Grayson swallows hard, tension crackling in the air between us. "I don't know if I've ever told you how beautiful you are."

"I think you tell me all the time with the way you look at me." I step closer to him, taking my time to commit his muscles to memory as my hands climb higher up his body.

He groans, leaning into my touch. "You drive me crazy. You know that?"

"That's a really nice way of saying that I irritate the living hell out of you at times."

He chuckles, lips skimming over my jawbone. "Yeah, it was, wasn't it?"

I laugh, but it turns to a moan as he sucks on the sensitive skin beneath my ear. "You're not going to spend all night teasing me, are you?"

His fingers skim over my clit, pressing through the silk and rolling it in a circle.

My hips rock into his touch as his mouth returns to mine. Our tongues tangle as he pulls my thong away from my body. His fingers push into me as he walks me backward toward the bed, each step causing more friction between us.

He groans and twists his fingers, driving them deeper before he pulls out to lower me to the bed.

He hovers over me, his tongue tracing patterns on my skin as he kisses his way down my body.

Grayson's hand squeezes my thigh as he lifts my leg up over his shoulder. He nips at my inner thigh, getting closer and closer to my pussy but never quite touching it.

I roll my hips, hands fisting the sheets beside me as I try to get his tongue exactly where I need it.

He chuckles and flips us over, grinning up at me as I straddle his lap.

I lean forward, his cock sliding against my wet pussy, the tip pressing against my entrance.

As I nip and suck at his skin, his fingers weave through my hair. He guides me back to his mouth, his smile pressing against my lips as he claims me.

I roll my hips, grinding against his hard cock until the tip slips into me.

Grayson gasps as he pulls away to kiss my neck. "You're teasing me."

"I know." I plant my hands on his chest and sit up, sinking a little slower down his length.

He lifts his hips off the bed, taking control into his own hands. My back arches and my head tilts back as he presses deeper into me.

"You feel so damn good." Grayson's fingers press deeper into my hips as he rocks me harder against him.

My nails dig into his skin as I rock my hips in time with his. Each scrape of my clit against his body sends waves of pleasure rolling through me.

"More. More." I lean forward a little, grinding harder against his body as I ride him.

He groans, holding me tighter, guiding me faster until it feels like I'm on the edge of a ledge and about to fall over.

"I'm going to come." I pant as I rock faster, needing to feel him filling me. I need him pressing deeper inside of him until it feels like I can't take anymore.

One of his hands leaves my hips, his fingers circling my clit. Each pass has me lurching, pussy clenching down around him before relaxing.

He holds his fingers against my clit, groaning as I ride him.

"Come for me, Jade. I want to feel you all over my cock."

I come hard, shivers running through my spine as he keeps thrusting. His thrusts slow, his hand sinking into my hair as he pulls my head back. I arch my back, changing the angle until he's stiff and his fingers are digging so hard into my hips that I'm sure there's going to be bruises there in the morning.

His cock throbs as my inner walls pulse hard around him, clamping down hard as he comes.

I swirl my hips as his breathing speeds up. He holds me hard against his body, his release filling me before he pulls out.

As I fall to the bed beside him, my chest heaving, he loops an arm around my waist. He pulls me closer to him, pressing a kiss to my temple.

The gesture is too tender for what we are to each other, but it's nice. For a moment, I think I could find myself getting used to it.

Which scares the hell out of me.

Right now, I shouldn't be curling into his embrace and putting my head on his chest. I shouldn't be glad that he waited outside until I got home instead of calling me and going back to his own house.

I should be thinking about what happens when the project we're working on finally comes to an end and it's time to say goodbye to him.

Instead, I'm nestling deeper into his side, considering telling him the truth about how I feel.

His soft snores fill the room as I look at him, falling deeper with every passing moment.

I can't tell him, though.

We agreed that this was going to be a no-strings-attached situation.

And now, I'm lying in bed beside him, thinking about attaching more strings. I'm considering the future we could have, but even as I do, I start pulling back.

We have an expiration date, and there's nothing I can do about that.