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It was better just to keep his distance. From his father, and from Terra.
Which was exactly why, for the first time in his life since Allie was born, he didn’t make a beeline for the door at exactly five-thirty, desperate to get home to his daughter. He wanted to see Allie, sure, but he needed time to process what the hell he’d just witnessed, and what the hell he was feeling and thinking because of it.
Terra Payton had gone up against Bart Radden and defended Gray, for no other reason than because she was the only person who seemed to realize how fucking hard he tried. How hard he was trying. How hard he worked.
Somewhere along the way, he’d let a small piece of his guard down, and Terra had seen through him and his prickish defences.
It freaked him out. Mostly, because somewhere along the way he had started seeing Terra a little differently, too. She wasn’t just the kid he remembered growing up, and she sure as hell had a backbone that would put a grown man to shame. And she’d won over Allie, which Gray supposed was the part that cut through his heart the most.
But defending him against his father was a pretty damn close second.
He tinkered with a motor he had torn apart for another hour after the garage closed. He didn’t make any further leeway with it, his thoughts too consumed by Terra and his feelings, but he managed to stay at work longer than his father, so he figured that was a plus.
By the time he got home, Gray knew Allie would already be asleep. It was dark outside, and the window into her bedroom didn’t have a glow of the bedside lam
p shining through the curtains. It made his chest ache that he wouldn’t get to see her until morning, but it was Terra he needed to talk to tonight. His mind wouldn’t settle until he did.
He let himself in and could hear her bustling about in the kitchen, undoubtedly cleaning up after her and Allie’s supper.
“You’re late,” she said in the hushed voice before he’d even made it fully around the corner. Gray leaned against the doorframe, smirking, but she didn’t turn to face him, instead continuing to wipe down the counter.
“Had a few things to finish up at work.”
“You should have called. I was just about to text you and make sure you were all right.” She turned finally, her eyes steely from her annoyance.
“Aww, sweetheart, were you worried about me?” He might have sneered about it, but he had to admit, her concern was kind of nice. He couldn’t remember the last time someone called to check up on him.
“Don’t be a jerk about it.” She made to turn away from him, but Gray reached out and grabbed her wrist.
“Tell me why you did it.”
Terra’s eyes narrowed. From his request or his touch, he wasn’t sure. “What?” she snapped.
Gray spoke slower. “Tell me why you defended me,” he said. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“Well, somebody had to.” She said it with so much conviction, like it was the most logical explanation in the world.
“I thought you hated my ass.”
“I can hate you and still think you’re a hard worker, Gray.”
“You can.” He pushed away from the doorframe, stepping closer to her. “But I don’t think you actually hate me. Just like I don’t hate you.”
Terra’s eyes widened, but she jutted out her chin defiantly as she looked up at him, now only inches apart. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” The way her bottom lip trembled and her gaze kept deviating to Gray’s mouth betrayed her. She took a step back, but there was nowhere to go. Her lower back touched up against the kitchen counter, leaving her trapped between it and Gray’s strong, muscled body.
“Prove it.” Gray’s blood pulsed through his veins like wildfire. He wanted to hear her admit it—that he wasn’t the only one using his false bravado to get through each day.
“Prove what?” she snapped, hands clutching the edge of the countertop on either side of her.
“Prove you don’t like me, Terra.”
“And how the fu—”
His mouth was on hers before she had a chance to finish her exclamation. Terra let out a muffled sound of protest, her hands instinctively coming up against his chest.
She didn’t push him away. Instead, she let Gray kiss her hard and passionate, their tongues tangling intensely and tasting each other’s mouths with unbridled curiosity.
Gray had never kissed someone with so much unexplored need in his life. If there was any chance he’d been wrong about Terra’s desire for him, the way she kissed him back quashed any doubts he might have harbored. He pulled away, feeling a smug sense of satisfaction at the way her chest heaved with each breath she took.
