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Grayson sits up, seemingly urging whoever is driving to go faster. “I love you,” he says. “I love your smile, your wicked intellect, your heart. I know I don’t deserve you, Aria… but I’ll spend every waking moment for the rest of my life working on being a better man. That still might not be enough, but Aria, I swear, if you give me a chance, I’ll never stop trying. I’ll never stop doing whatever I can to make you happy, to make you smile.”
The camera shakes, and Gray appears to be on the move. “I know I’ve hurt you. I know you think I don’t care, and that I didn’t notice you in the last couple of weeks. Baby, have a look at the contents of my phone.”
The screen flashes with what must be hundreds of photos of me, one after the other. Some are of me at work, some at home. They’re all photos of me doing the most mundane things, all of them taken without me even realizing it. There are photos of me doing simple stuff like working on my laptop at home, some of me standing by the coffee machine at work, then there are selfies of the two of us, with me asleep on Gray’s chest.
“I’m desperate, clearly, because at this point, I don’t even care about the world knowing how obsessed I am with you. I’m so fucking in love with you. Even when my fears were at their height, and I was convinced you’d leave me, I wanted to capture these moments to cherish for the rest of my life. But you know what, Aria? The memories aren’t enough. I need you. I love you so much that life has no meaning without you, and I know you love me, too. I know it, Aria. I know you do, and that’s enough. So long as you love me, we’ll make this work. I’ll do anything to have one more chance. I know I’ve hurt you, but I’ll spend the rest of our lives earning your forgiveness.”
There’s a commotion around the corner, countless people murmuring and stepping aside, revealing Grayson walking up to me. His eyes meet mine, and he puts his phone away, the video cutting off.
“Aria,” he murmurs, pausing in front of me. He grabs my hands and holds them tightly. He sinks down to his knees and looks up at me. “I’m begging you. Please stay. I’m not asking you for your forgiveness. All I’m asking for is a chance to earn it.”
I look into his eyes, completely thrown. “Grayson, why are you here? Why now? The screens… what were you thinking?”
Everyone’s eyes are on us, and countless phones are pointed at us too. I glance around, flustered.
“You turned your phone off, and I was scared you’d get on that plane. I had no choice. I couldn’t let you go. I couldn’t care less about the repercussions I’ll face for hacking into the airport’s systems.”
My heart twists painfully, and I swallow hard. “You’ve been letting me go for months now,” I whisper, and he shakes his head.
“Never, baby. I know it seemed like that to you, but I never stopped loving you. Will you give me a chance to prove it? I’ll do anything.”
I stare at him, trying to assess his sincerity. The desperation in his eyes; that can’t be fake. “Can you promise me you’ll communicate with me? Promise me you’ll actively work on overcoming the challenges we’re facing. I don’t think this’ll get better without therapy, Gray. Promise me you’ll do whatever it takes, that you won’t shut me out again when things get hard. Promise me, Gray.”
I expected him to hesitate, but he doesn’t. He nods and tightens his grip on my hands. “I promise. Anything you want me to do, I’ll do. All I want is to be a better man for you, Aria. There’s nothing I won’t try. Please, just tell me you’ll stay.”
The pleading look in his eyes has my heart racing. I’ve doubted him for weeks until I was certain we were at a point of no return. I thought he gave up on us. But maybe it’s not only his vision that was clouded by insecurity and fear. Maybe it was mine too.
I smile at him, my eyes filling with tears. “Then yes, Grayson. I’ll stay.”
67
Grayson
Aria is quiet as we walk into the apartment, her expression telling me she didn’t expect to return here. I leave her suitcase in the corner as she walks to the window, just like she did the very first time she walked in here.
I follow and stand behind her, my hand covering hers. Aria tenses and turns around, finding herself trapped between the glass and my body. She looks up at me, and I hate seeing the insecurity in her eyes. I hate knowing I put it there.
I place my index finger underneath her chin and tilt her face up as I lean in, slowly, carefully. Her eyes fall closed before my lips brush against hers, and she inhales shakily as I bridge the distance between us, my lips meeting hers.
Aria rises to her tiptoes, and I deepen the kiss, taking my time with her. I push against her, and she moans, her hands finding their way into my hair. By the time I pull away, we’re both panting. It’s been so long since I last kissed her. “I missed you,” I whisper against her lips, leaning in for another kiss. She tightens her grip on me and kisses me back, her movements slow and passionate.
I’m rock solid by the time she pulls away, her forehead against mine. “I missed you too, Grayson. You have no idea how much.”
Her hands run over my body and I lean in, pressing a kiss right below her ear before moving on to her neck. A soft moan escapes her lips, and I smile. Her hands tremble and she presses them flat against my chest in an effort to hide it.
“Tell me what you’re thinking,” I whisper.
She looks so vulnerable, so hurt. “I’m wondering if you want me, Gray. You chased me down at the airport and asked me to stay, but I’m having a hard time believing what you said. I don’t want to be led on again. If there’s something you want from me, please just tell me. There’s nothing I won’t do for you, so please don’t use me. Don’t think you need to be in a relationship with me to avoid letting Noah down.”
What the fuck? I’ve been so busy focusing on my own pain I never thought about how my behavior might have reopened old wounds of hers. Every time I pulled away from her physically, she must have been reminded of Brad. Fuck. I can’t believe I made my girl question herself like that. Even worse, I was too blind to see what I was doing. I still remember the way she cried as she told Noah and me what he said about her, and all this time I was reminding her of that, making her think I feel the same way Brad did.
I cup her cheeks and look into her eyes. “All I can think about is wanting you naked, my dick buried deep inside you. I’m scared I want youtoo much, the way I did when you wrapped those beautiful lips around my cock. I want to fuck away every crazy thought going around in your head, but I’m scared I’ll be too rough with you. That’s all it is. My biggest fear is hurting you. You make me lose control, Aria, and I don’t ever want to see you in pain. But at the same time, I’m a selfish bastard, and though I tried, I just can’t let you walk away — not even when I know there’s every chance I’ll end up hurting you.”
She nods and moves her hands to the buttons of my shirt, taking her time undoing them. “But baby,” she whispers. “I like it rough.”
She looks into my eyes as she undoes the buttons, as though she’s assessing my response, and I bite down on my lip when her hands move to my suit trousers. “Can you feel that, Nyx?” I ask her. “Does that feel like I’m messing around with you? Like I don’t truly want you?”
She shakes her head, her eyes lit up with hope. I lean in to kiss her, my hands tugging at her clothes. She deepens the kiss and raises her arms for me as I pull her dress over her head. She stands in front of me wearing nothing but black lace, and I swallow hard. “Fuck.”
