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He dropped a hand and quickly buttoned his pants back up when he realized what disrupted her perusal.Whoops, forgot about that.
He really liked her eyes on him and puffed his chest out a little more. After shutting down any feminine attention he may have received over the past year, he found himself ready to embrace some from Aubrey.
“Hope you don’t mind me joining you.”
“Not at all. I was hoping you would.”
Gray stood a little taller.
“It’s so beautiful down here. But in a rough, unrefined kind of way.”
She was right. Even though their bungalows sat on the beach, they were at the base of a huge cliff, out of sight of the twisting road above. And it wasn’t just flat, sandy beach. It was wilder, the combination of rocks and ocean breathtaking.
Her words struck a chord. Gray often considered himself to be rough and unrefined. Not beautiful, of course, but he wasn’t completely unfortunate looking. Just big and gruff and lost. Also, broken beyond repair.
But, standing there with Aubrey, he wondered if that could be changed. Could she help him heal? No one else had been able to—not the doctors or Zane or anyone he’d talked to after losing his brothers. Hell, he couldn’t even figure out how to help himself, so how would anyone else?
So, why did this little woman with the indigo eyes give him hope? What the hell was it about her that made him want to try?
“I just joined the team a few weeks ago, so I haven’t lived here long, but, you’re right.” He studied her heart-shaped face, searching her eyes as the sun rose, sparkling over the water. “It’s incredibly beautiful.”
You’re incredibly beautiful,he wanted to say.
As if she heard his thoughts, an adorable blush colored her cheeks.
Dammit, he didn’t want her to leave yet. But he didn’t see how he could expect her to stay longer or why she would even want to. Maybe he should just enjoy the last few hours they had together and not overthink it.
Then he would say goodbye to the only light that had touched his life in a year.
Chapter Nine
“Walk with me?” Gray asked, and Aubrey nodded.
She was glad when they started walking down the beach, side by side, because it was too hard to ignore his very impressive body when they were facing each other. Or, the way his pants hung low on his hips, revealing the waistband of his black boxer briefs. Well, until he’d hauled them back up and buttoned them. Try as she might, she couldn’t stop staring. At his rippling muscles. Or his multiple tattoos. And that fascinating strip of dark hair that disappeared into his boxers.
Biting back a little sigh, Aubrey wondered what it would be like to touch all those hard muscles. To let her fingers roam over his firm pecs, broad shoulders and, God Almighty, those ridged abs. She’d never seen anything quite like them.
Gray’s body was sexy, masculine perfection and Aubrey suddenly had the urge to head to the nearest gym. As much as she hated working out, she made sure to exercise a couple of days a week. It not only helped her keep off the weight she’d worked so hard to lose, but also upped the endorphins that helped her fight the depression that resulted from Garrett’s untimely death.
After her brother died, Aubrey didn’t know what to do with herself. She’d been twenty-four and working at the local hospital. Depression had hit her hard and she struggled along aimlessly until she discovered a newfound comfort in cooking. Maybe it was focusing and learning a new skill that helped her through her long days. She would read through recipes, go to the grocery store and buy ingredients, and then spend hours preparing a meal or dessert that only she ate. The end result was twenty-five extra pounds and a dip in her self-esteem.
Back then, loneliness ruled her life. Cooking and food only helped so much. And her parents couldn’t handle the loss of their first child. Garrett had been the Golden Boy, and Aubrey was an afterthought. Even years after his death, nothing had changed. Aubrey knew they still mourned him, visited his grave constantly and kept his childhood bedroom untouched, almost like a shrine.
Without anyone to lean on, Aubrey tried dating. She should’ve known better. Mentally and physically, she wasn’t ready to have a relationship with a man. But being so lonely, so desperate for someone’s attention and touch, led her to create an online dating profile. After a couple of okay dates, she met Scott.
Aubrey clenched her jaw. There were some things she’d never forget. Her date with Scott topped that list.
“Zane said he’d get you a ticket home today,” Gray said, slanting her a sideways look.
Aubrey startled out of her memory, shoving aside thoughts of Scott, but her shoulders slumped for a different reason. She didn’t want to go back to Indiana. It hardly felt like home anymore. But, she was grateful Gray had gotten her back to the States. Even though she wasn’t ready to leave him yet, she couldn’t very well stay there and hang out. “I’ll pay him back. Or you?”
“Don’t worry about it.”
She could feel his piercing stare and when she glanced over, his amazing amber eyes seemed to suck her in and, for a moment, she couldn’t catch her breath. The intense way he was looking at her made everything react—her heart fluttered, her tummy contracted and her neglected nether regions perked up. Perked up? Hell, who was she kidding? They were ready to throw a party and send Gray’s cock a personal invite.
“I want to pay you back,” she said quietly, hoping he had no idea what was going on in her head. What was happening to her body.
Stop thinking about bodies,she reprimanded herself. Was no sex the past four years turning her into some kind of predator?Good God, Aubrey, calm down. There will be no fiesta with Gray’s privates.
