*Keera*
I took in my reflection in the mirror, noting how tired I looked. It had been a long day, starting right from the minute I’d stepped out of my room and seen Ria walking out of Grayson’s. Even now I wondered why she had been there. I wasn’t sure I could bear her entering and exiting Grayson’s bedroom whenever she wanted now that we were sleeping together. Was that even what this was? Were we now sleeping together? Telling myself it had been a one time thing was no use. Even while I was alone and freshening up, my thoughts were still of Grayson.
And it had almost gotten me in trouble.
Ginny had noticed how distracted I was when she had come to say hi to me. She’d been asking how I was feeling and whether or not I’d sustained any injuries but my mind had been somewhere else the entire time. I knew she’d seen Grayson walk downstairs with Ria and the little time I’d managed to get my mind off Grayson, I’d spent it debating whether or not she was going to connect the dots. If Grayson and I chose to get into a casual relationship, then we had to hide it from everyone. It would be a little difficult keeping it from Lexi, but I could easily keep it from everyone else.
Except Ginny.
She knew me better than anyone else. Worse, she knew Grayson better than anyone else too. Would we be able to keep our arrangement a secret from her? There were so many reasons why we shouldn’t be thinking about crossing the line in the first place. Aside from the fact that it was forbidden for a werewolf to get involved with a human, Grayson was Alpha. I couldn’t even imagine how his pack would turn against him after they found out he’d broken one of their own laws. Not to mention I also had my team and Trevor to think about.
Trevor, who I was suspecting had feelings for me.
Our situation was the perfect poster for a major disaster and we knew it. But would that change anything? No. No, it wouldn’t. I was too far gone now. We were too far gone now. Just remembering how he’d moved inside of me had my fists tightening with desire. I’d busied myself all day with fixing the cameras to get my mind off him. Josie and I had gotten the job done with a little help from Jax. Grayson had, rather fortunately, been too occupied to join us. Thankfully, the cameras hadn’t been difficult to install after we’d understood the instructions.
I washed my mouth and then my face, drying my hands with a towel and stepping out of the shower. I walked to the nightstand beside the bed to take a look at the time. It was a few minutes to midnight which I somehow knew was still early for Grayson. He’d be awake. I gave myself a second to reconsider my decision before turning off my room light and leaving the room, locking the door behind me.
I’ve gone mad.
I’ve gone mad.
The words kept repeating themselves in my head as I covered the distance from my room to Grayson’s room. He’d propositioned me earlier, right? I was finally ready to give my answer. I got to his room door, lifted my hand to knock on it and then froze midway. Suddenly I could feel the confidence seeping out of me. What was I doing? Was I really putting my job and everything else on the line just so I could roll around beneath the sheets with Grayson? Was he that irresistible?
I was too scared to answer my own question.
Luckily, I didn’t have to because Grayson’s door was suddenly pulled open. He was surprised to see me. That much was evident on his face. “Keera?” He spluttered, looking behind me to check that the hallway was clear. His obsidian eyes met mine, a worried eyebrow arched over them. “Is everything okay?” I swallowed and nodded. I started pointedly at his bare chest, tracing his tattoos with my eyes and willing myself to say what I wanted to before I completely lost the nerve.
3. 2. 1.
“I agree,” I blurted out, my eyes widening. I pressed my lips together like I could take back the words and stop them from ever leaving my mouth. Grayson drew back, his left hand moving to grip the door frame as he stared down at me. He lifted his other brow, a silent indication he didn’t understand what I was going on about. “To your proposition,” I added, clarifying. “We can start seeing each other.” They were the exact words he’d used.
He ran a hand over his mouth, his eyes turning a shade darker. “Start seeing each other,” He repeated slowly like he still needed a moment to grasp what I was trying to say. “You mean you’re ready to see where this goes?” He asked, gesturing between us. “You’re willing to give it a chance?” See where this goes? I already knew where it was going.
Nowhere.
We were attracted to each other. So what? It was understandable. People got attracted to people, not to mention that the close proximity we found ourselves in definitely also had something to do with it. It didn’t mean either of us were allowed to make things out to be more than they were. We could never work for obvious reasons. No, I wasn’t giving anything a chance. I was simply… “I’m simply choosing to live in the moment,” I finally replied.
His eyebrows narrowed but he didn’t push it. “I can live with that,” He affirmed, circling his arm around my waist and gently pulling me to him. He closed the door, sliding the deadbolt in place and staring deep into my eyes like he was searching my soul. “Think we should make some rules?” He whispered against my lips.
I ran my hand down his chest, feeling his muscles ripple beneath my touch. My body relaxed from finally touching his. It was a little scary how strong my attraction for him was. He could just stare at me and I’d be complete mush. We definitely needed to make some rules if we were hoping to handle this whole thing smoothly. “Yeah,” I whispered back, lifting my arms so he could pull my shirt over my head. “No one has to find out,” I pointed out.
“Agreed,” He seconded, slipping his finger into the waistband of my pants and taking them off. We had to be as subtle as we could be. There wouldn’t be any PDA, we weren’t going to discuss our arrangement with anyone, we weren’t going to answer any prodding questions if they arose and we weren’t going to be closer than we needed to. We couldn’t afford any close calls.
We were going to keep it all beneath the table or better still, behind closed doors. We had too much on the line to be careless about this. “We’re going to be exclusive,” He said, giving me a term of his own.
It was one I gladly agreed to.
“That’s fine,” I confirmed. At least I didn’t have to worry about Ria. I helped him take his sweatpants off until he was standing in just his boxer briefs. He unsnapped my bra, sliding it off my shoulder and letting it fall to the floor. He cupped my ass, wordlessly asking me to jump. He carried me to the bed, kissing my lips, my neck and then taking one of my nipples in his mouth. All the air left my lungs when he tugged on the hard flesh, caressing my waist with lazy circles of his thumb.
“Do you have a condom?” I breathed, suspending the rule making for later. He froze above me, lifting his head to give me a look of agony. He didn’t have a condom. Well damn, I deflated. I threw my arm over my face, feeling the frustration prick at my skin. I’d come all this way for nothing. I should have asked if he had protection the second he touched me. Now I was turned on out of my mind and he wouldn’t even be able to fuck me.
He rose above me, finding my lips with his and giving me a kiss that turned my insides to liquid. I shivered when I felt his finger slide beneath my panties. He massaged my clit with finger, the rough pad of his thumb creating a delicious friction between my legs. I instinctively bite down on my lower lip, my chest rising and falling as my pleasure mounted. I knew it wasn’t going to take long. He circled his thumb faster, the tip of his fingernail gently brushing my hard nub.
He took my nipple in his mouth, gently pushing two fingers inside of me. “Fuck, Grayson…” I moaned, lifting my hips from the bed to match his movements. I pulled at his hair when he molded my breast with his free hand, his tongue twirling madly over my sensitive flesh. His fingers moved faster, in and out, their movement becoming increasingly sloppy. I grazed my hips wildly in the air, beads of sweat forming on my forehead with how much I wanted to let go.
And then I did.
***
The surveillance monitor had been set up in the conference room. I wasn’t comfortable with the fact that the council members had as much access to the conference room as my team and I. There was just something about the killer’s MO that didn’t seem right with me. I wasn’t ready to voice my opinions yet.
Not when I didn’t have solid evidence.
I did a three sixty in my chair, reaching for my parfait and keeping a close eye on the huge screen in front of me. Everything was normal. People were going about their daily activities as usual. Grayson had gone to inspect the pack borders with some of the warriors. Ryan had also said something about them having a collaboration with some of the packs around us. Something about getting as much people on their side as they could before it was too late.
I furrowed my eyebrows when I detected suspicious movements from one of the cameras. I leaned away from my seat and towards the screen, realizing it was Elena’s assistant, Dahlia. She was walking around the pack but there was just something off about her. I looked even closer. Bingo. It was the way she kept looking around her. She took three steps and turned to make sure no one was following. Three more steps and she was moving her head from side to side to see if anyone was watching her.
What exactly was she up to?
I instantly searched her for the sign of any weapon but I couldn’t find any. She had on a hoodie and her hands were tucked into their pockets. I was more on the side that she had something in them when she brought them out of her pockets. They were empty. She wiped them down her pants and then tucked them back. Still keeping a close eye on her, I reached for my phone, ready to put a call across to any member of the team if the need arose.
She suddenly stopped walking.
My heart stopped beating as well. She tilted her face and stared at the reflecting mirror of a gift shop. I squinted my eyes, my fingers flying over the control buttons as I tried to figure out what it was she was staring at. I felt a weird chill creep up my spine as I zoomed in on the image. She’d been staring at the reflection of the CCTV camera behind her. There could only be one reason she’d tried to be subtle about it.
She knew someone would be watching.
And she definitely had something to hide.