CHAPTER TEN

Luca

We were in bed, still tangled in the sheets and each other. I felt like I was trying to come down from some sort of euphoric trip. It was the sex, but it was more than that. It was Grey.

Everything about him destroyed me. Being here, in his space with his attention on me, it was fun and light and heavy all at once.

I’d said one night, and he said that was all he needed. But the reality was, I wasn’t ready to say goodbye. So I closed my eyes, breathing him in, allowing myself one small moment to acknowledge that I didn’t want to leave, that I didn’t want to go back to my empty hotel room and climb into cold lonely sheets. One small moment of sadness and regret, and longing. Then I sat up, refusing to be the girl who held on too tight after agreeing to let go.

I tapped my phone screen to check the time, shocked to see that I had missed calls and texts from both my mom and dad. “Uh, Grey? Did your parents call you? Mine have been blowing up my phone.”

“My parents have been calling and texting since we left the gallery. I have death threats. And I think I’m out of their will.” He trailed his fingertips up and down my spine, making chills dance along my skin. “Do you think yours know all the ways I completely defiled you? Maybe my parents ratted me out in a last-ditch effort to stop us.”

I snorted. “I doubt your parents would do that. How would that conversation even go?” I ignored the voicemails and went into my texts. “It’s the weather.”

“The weather?” He leaned over the side of the bed, grabbing his cell from his pants pocket. “Shit.” He launched himself off the mattress and opened the curtains covering the floor to ceiling window. “Luca, you’ve got to see this.”

I wrapped the comforter around my still naked body, padding across the cold concrete floor to stand at his side. “Wow. I’ve never seen it snow like this.” The street was blanketed in white, inches of pristine snow was covering every surface available. “Have you?”

“Occasionally we get snow, but this happened so fast. It must’ve looked like a snow globe out there.” He pulled me into his arms, kissing the top of my head. “The view in here was pretty fucking spectacular, don’t get me wrong. But I’m sort of bummed we missed that.”

“Same.” I rested my cheek against his skin, staring out the window. There was something about snow at night. It made the silence softer somehow. “Maybe we should check in with our parents. You know they have to be freaking out thinking we’re on the road in this.”

Call us over dramatic, but Texas infrastructure wasn’t built for snow or ice. We were rarely prepared for any kind of wintery precipitation. Which meant roads closed down and everyone stayed put until it began to melt and temperatures reached above freezing.

“Mmmm. I’m pretty sure mine are freaking out that I’ve gotten you naked.” He slipped his hands inside my blanket, cupping my ass to haul me into his arms. “Which, I have.” He turned away from the window and laid me back down on the mattress, leaving the curtains wide open so we could enjoy the view. “Call yours first.”

I raised my eyebrows. “You going to lie on top of me while I make this call?” He shook his head, and then started to kiss his way down my body before settling between my thighs. “Are you serious?”

He nipped at my skin in response. “I told you I would take my time after I fucked you senseless.” His kisses turned downright sinful as he moved to my thighs. “You better hurry, because it’s going to be super difficult to have a conversation once I really get going. Trust me.”

I had every faith that he was telling the truth. Grey knew how to make me feel good. He’d proved that already. I dialed my mom, but it was my dad that answered on the first ring making my position much more awkward. “Please tell me you’re safe at the hotel and slept through our calls, texts, and knocking on your door.”

I winced, they’d already made it home and tried to check on me. I felt like a guilty kid, caught with their hand in the cookie jar. “Grey and I got stuck at the studio. We’ve been, um, looking through some of the art his mom has in storage and lost track of time. I’m sorry, I thought you guys would still be out on the town.”

“Everything shut down, it’s snowmegadon out there.” My dad sighed, and I could picture him rubbing his forehead. He did that when one of his kids was stressing him out. “How did you two not notice?” He sounded mildly suspicious.

Grey’s tongue darted out to flick my clit, making me jolt. His breath tickled me as he whispered, “She keeps the paintings on the bottom floor where there’s no windows. It’s like a basement.”

“We’ve basically been in a basement the last hour. We checked our phones and saw all the missed calls.” I bit my lip, trying to stay silent as Grey’s tongue traced my center. “Are you guys okay? Everyone make it home?”

“We’re back the hotel. Grey’s parents are staying at the gallery. They didn’t want to chance driving farther.” He paused and I could hear my mom’s muffled voice in the background. “Your mother wants to know if we need to come get you? Is it safe where you are? Do you have heat? Electricity?”

I snorted softly at their dramatics. “Yes. We’re perfectly safe and warm here. I think I even saw a kitchen on the main level.” I glanced passed Grey’s head to the kitchenette where my water glass still sat. “Don’t worry about us. You two stay at the hotel and I’m sure as soon as the sun comes up, the snow will melt enough for us to meet you at the gallery.”

“Okay, let me know if anything changes. I love you.”

Grey slipped one finger inside me, making my bye sound much more like a gasp. I tossed my phone to the side and reached down, grabbing his face and pulling him up to meet my eyes. “You need to call your parents.”

He smirked. “I’d rather make you come on my tongue and fingers. Then my cock again.”

“Same.” I groaned as he stroked my inner walls. “But at least let them know we’re okay, That we’re safe.”

“I think they know me well enough to know I had condoms stashed in my car.” The car. I was wondering where that box had come from.

“Charming.” He needed to be armed with a full box at all times? I wasn’t sure how that made me feel, but I certainly didn’t want to think too hard on it while part of his body was literally inside me. “This winter storm granted us one whole night alone in this bed. Call your parents, and then we don’t need to do anymore talking until the sun comes up.”

“I like the way your mind works, baby.” He gestured with his head toward his cell resting beside me. “Would you mind? My hands are busy.”