I stare, and he stares back. I let it all bleed across my face. All the hope and the worry and the relief and the giddiness.

“Why did you come back, Gray?”

Gray sighs. “Because I can’t do this when I’m five thousand miles away.”

He kisses me, and I’m swept up in sensation. I didn’t forget what it felt like to be kissed by him, but I forgot what it was like to experience it firsthand. To not recall a single fear or thought or dream and simply sink into a cloud of bliss.

We kiss and kiss. Until I’m out of breath and my lips feel swollen. I expect him to escalate things. When he doesn’t, I do. But he keeps his hands on my waist, up until I move my own downward. He snags my wrist before I make it halfway down his chest.

“I don’t—this isn’t—I just…” He groans and closes his eyes for a second. “You deserve better than this, Evie.”

“Better than what?”

“Me.”

“I want you.”

I reach for his jeans. This time, he doesn’t stop me. I unzip the denim and pull his cock out of his boxers, gripping the length in teasing strokes. He thrusts in my hand.

“Someone’s eager.”

“It’s been a while.”

“Has it?” I keep my tone detached even though I’m anything but. A while as in days? Weeks? The length of time we’ve been separated?

Rather than answer, Gray finally decides to become a willing participant. He flicks a strap off my shoulder so that the lace of the bra droops. His gaze turns hungry—predatory—as he studies my chest. But there’s also something tender and familiar and dangerous. He’s looking at me like he cares. Like this means something.

His right hand dips downward, pulling my underwear to the side, not even bothering to pull it off. He lines the head of his cock up with my entrance, then pauses. “Do I need…”

And…we’re back to the dancing around if we’ve been with other people game.

“You tell me.”

“I haven’t been with anyone else, Evie.”

I do an atrocious job of keeping the shock off my face. I convinced myself he would have. Conditioned myself to nod and smile in response to the admission. “Since you left?”

“Since we first hooked up.”

I suspected, but the confirmation still comes as a surprise. “Why?”

He doesn’t answer. He teases my entrance with his hard length, and I can no longer think straight. “You didn’t answer my question.”

“You think I’ve been with anyone else?”

“It’s fine. If you have.”

The words say one thing. His face says another. Still, the two sentences royally piss me off.

“Oh, it’s fine, is it?”