I laugh, shaking my head. But then I take the humor out of my voice. “I’m serious. I want to be with you, and that means being with you when you’re acting like yourself. All the time.”

His hands move down from my wrist, and he takes hold of my hand.

My eyes fix on his.

“I’m still sorry.”

“I know you are,” I reply softly. Then I slide my fingers between his.

I see the surprise in his eyes and then watch them soften. He curls his fingers around mine, gripping them tightly. “Let me take you home,” he says. And I know he means to use his time alone with me well.

“We need to talk.”

“I know,” he replies. “We can do that at my place.”

“I do mean talk, Grayson. That isn’t code for sex.”

“Talk,” he says, laughing. “I got it.”

“Seriously. It’s going to be about things you probably won’t like and you have to promise not to throw me out of your house again.”

His brows push together. “I won’t ever do that again. That was a terrible idea, and I don’t make the same mistake twice.”

“I’m glad to hear it.”

“Let me take a quick shower first. Then we can get out of here. I’ll drive us back to my place.”

For all the times I’ve fought it, I know that I want Grayson more than ever right now. More than I’ve wanted anything in my life.

And I’m tired of fighting it. Fighting him. So I settle on letting him take the lead so we can see where we end up. But I pray that I didn’t just make a terrible decision.

Chapter 21

I step into Grayson’s house, remembering my visit there yesterday. That was the first and only time I had been here. And it didn’t go so well. I’m hoping this one turns out better.

“Can I get you something to drink?” Grayson says. He takes off his jacket and hangs it on the coatrack in the hallway.

I remove my own and hang it up, putting my bag away with it. “Water would be good,” I say, and follow behind him, my heels clicking on the wooden floor. I really should have taken them off at the door.

“You don’t want something stronger?”

I’m standing with my hand against the wall, reaching down to remove my shoes. When I look up, I see Grayson’s eyes slide down my body to the foot I just freed from my heels. Something that smolders like lust ignites in his eyes. And it sets off a heat inside of me. Swallowing, I place my first shoe down and then quickly remove the other.

“Water’s fine.” I don’t think alcohol would be a good idea around him, especially if one look is already setting me on fire. We have a big problem on our hands right now. And we have to address it first if we want Tyler to stay safe.