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“In fairness, I’m resisting that urge. And isn’t that what counts?” I said. He leaned in and kissed me, his laughter filling my mouth like sweet cream, rich and absolutely delicious. “Seriously, you don’t have to pretend. You gave her up for me, and I love you for it, but I don’t want you to bottle that stuff up. We both know what that does to a person. It’ll be uncomfortable at first, but if you ever want to, you can. I want to know about it.”
“To know what?”
“About your life while I was gone. The little things. The big things. All of the things. What you liked about her, what you hated about her. Particularly what you hated about her.” I laughed as I tucked the end of his tie through the loop. “What you were like together.” The words felt bitter on my tongue. They were true, in their own way. They were meant for him. The thought of him shutting out an entire part of his life, never to be spoken of again, well, it broke my heart. I wouldn’t allow myself to be the cause of that. “What were you like together? I only saw bits and pieces when she would come to see you at work.”
Gray sighed and shook his head. “We never had what you and I have.”
“What do we have?”
“Do you even have to ask? Everything. We’re everything. Me and Sarah, we were like the pink rock in the ring I showed you—”
“It was my ring,” I said with too much heft in my voice.
He shook his head. “Her ring.” Before I could object, he held a finger up, asking for the chance to explain himself. I nodded, but judging by the look of fear in his eyes, he knew he had mere moments before I rolled my body all over him to mark him with my scent. “It was pretty enough, that ring. It had all the components of something beautiful. A nice enough foundation. A little shine to it, right in the center. But it was just for show. It gives the illusion of beauty. Just enough shine to fool everyone. And yeah, sometimes it caught the sun at just the right angle and the light shone right back up at me, too. But when that shine wore off, what was left to look at? Something I tried my hardest to appreciate, but never really wanted. It deserved to be appreciated.Shedeserves to be appreciated.” He leaned forward, pressing his lips to my ear. “But me and you? Me and you, Kent, we’re like diamonds. Timeless and solidified. Untainted.” He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me against him. “When I get you your ring, you’re going to know it’s yours. You’ll know it because when you look down at it on your finger, it’s going to be just as beautiful as you are.”
“Th-that,” I stuttered, wiping tears from my eyes. “That is the most ridiculous thing that I’ve ever heard, and you should be embarrassed right now.” I grabbed his face with both of my hands and pulled him to me, giving him a kiss befitting a god—because that’s what he was to me. My God. My heart. My eternal soul.
“Don’t,” he warned. “If you make me cry before church, I’ll never forgive you. Not for the rest of my life.”
“Then I hope you’re mad at me for a really, really long time.” I kissed him again, gentler this time. “You’re sure you don’t want to just stay home?”
“I’ll only be gone a few hours.”
“But I’m home, Gray.” I pressed my lips to his neck and slid my hand down his back. When I reached his ass, I ran my fingertips up and down his crack. His body shook, a moan escaping as I pressed into the fabric that hid him away from me. “I came home to you, remember? You said God gave me back to you. Surely he wants you to enjoy the fruits of your labor.”
“You’re the Eve to my Adam right now, you know? Tempting me with your forbidden fruit.”
“I don’t like that,” I said, taking a step back. I folded my arms across my chest and glared at him. “You leave Eve out of this. She’s suffered enough.”
“Here we go.” Gray nibbled on his lip as the corners of his mouth curled.
“Yes. Here we go. Poor Eve. Just wanted a little taste of that—” I leaned in, nipping his earlobe with my teeth. “—delicious fruit.”
“Please don’t sexualize Genesis, Kent. You know that makes me nervous.”
I rolled my eyes. “So, Eve took a bite. So what? Adam did, too. You never hear anyone laying into him at Sunday service. No one forced him to eat the damn fruit. No one put a knife to his neck. Hell, he didn’t even have a lying little snake to tempt him.”
Gray pulled away from me and frowned. “It’s sexist. That’s why.”
I crinkled up my nose at him. “Look at you. A few good dickings and I’ve turned you into a liberal.”
“Bite your tongue,” Gray said, looking scandalized. He gnawed on his bottom lip, staring past me like he was checking for chips in the paint on the wall.
“Spill it.”
He blinked a few times before looking over at me. “Huh?”
“You’re hiding something. I can tell. I know these things,” I said, rather cheerfully. “Come on, tell me.”
He shook his head. “Honestly, it’s nothing.” He stood up from the bed and walked back to the dresser, checking his hair for the twentieth time that morning. I swarmed behind him, tapping him on the shoulder. With a sigh, he rolled his eyes and turned to face me. “Fine. But you can’t tell anyone. Especially Daddy. I know he’s okay with us being together, but I’m pretty sure this would break him.”
My eyes bulged. “Okay, well now youhaveto tell me.”
Gray sighed like the weight of the world was on his shoulders. “It’s about politics.”
“Oh no,” I said, holding my hands up, warding him away. “You’re not going to rope me into your ridiculous little league of Log Cabin Republicans, Grayson Elijah Collins. I’m not voting against my own interests. Not happening.”
He snickered. “I love it when you use my full name. Makes me feel like you’re going to pull me over your lap and give me a spanking or something.”
