Letting Go (Thatch #1)(37)
WHEN I WOKE up, Grey was in my arms with her head curled under my chin. One of her hands was pressed to my chest while her other arm was wrapped around my back, keeping us locked together. The arm underneath her was asleep, and I was afraid to stretch out since one of her knees was locked between both of mine. It had to be the most uncomfortable position I’d ever been in; but it was perfect, and I would’ve stayed like that for hours if she hadn’t woken up and started moving.
I waited to see if she would start to freak out over our position, but long seconds passed before she moved her head from under mine so she could look at me—her eyes widening when she found me awake.
“How long have you been up?”
“A couple minutes,” I mumbled, and tightened an arm around her. “When did this happen?”
Grey’s cheeks filled with heat, and I couldn’t help but smile from the sight of it. “Uh . . . well, it was cold, and you were on top of the comforter.”
She and I both knew she could’ve gotten under the covers on the side where she’d been lying when I’d fallen asleep, but if she was going to use that as an excuse to reproach me, then I’d swear that she’d had no way of getting under. Anything if it meant she ended up in my arms voluntarily.
“Are you mad?” she asked hesitantly.
“Are you kidding?” Brushing my lips against hers, I left them there when I said, “ ‘Mad’ is the complete opposite of what I am right now.”
She smiled against my mouth before kissing me again, and soon the teasing kisses changed into something more. The hand that had been resting against my back started clinging, and the hand on my chest curled against the material of my shirt like she was trying to pull me closer when there was already nothing between us. When her hands released me only to start searching along the bottom of my shirt, I rolled us over so Grey was on her back and pulled my shirt over my head before tossing it away from the bed.
Her hands were everywhere—lightly traveling up my stomach and chest, across my shoulders, down my back. This was something I’d dreamed of for years, and never thought I would experience—and for a second, I wondered if I was still sleeping and would wake up and find her on the other side of the bed. Her fingers trailed over my abdomen, and a low groan sounded in my chest when she moved them just inside the top of my jeans.
Sitting back, I took in her flushed cheeks, swollen lips, and hooded eyes, and knew I would never forget the way she looked right then. Dipping my head down to her stomach, I pushed the bottom of her shirt up slowly, my mouth following the movement. Her breathing deepened and her hands moved up to gently grasp the back of my neck as I continued to move upward. I pushed the shirt just past her breasts, and let my lips linger on them for a moment, then Grey was pulling me up and crushing her mouth to mine. I settled myself between her legs, and had to clench my fists against the comforter when she moved her hips against me so I wouldn’t tear off her shorts right then.
“Jag,” she breathed against my mouth, her hands trailing down to the top of my jeans again. “I want . . .” She trailed off.
“Tell me—”
“Jagger?” a female voice called out from below the loft, and Grey and I both froze. “Your car is here, where are you?”
“Charlie,” we whispered at the same time, and Grey’s eyes were no longer hooded or dark with need; she looked terrified, and one hand was quick to grip at Ben’s ring when she realized the position we were in.
I turned my head and pushed myself off her so she wouldn’t see how much that action killed me after the last ten minutes.
“Jag?” Charlie yelled from the hallway.
“Yeah! Be down in a sec.”
I caught sight of Grey just before I pulled my shirt on, and wished I hadn’t. She’d already fixed her shirt and was sitting up on the bed, her eyes wide as she stared straight ahead, not seeing anything.
“Grey.” I waited until she looked up at me, and held my hand out to her. “Come on, let’s go downstairs.”
She nodded and mumbled something too low for me to hear as I pulled her off the bed.
Just before we hit the top of the stairs, I looked back at her and whispered, “I’m sorry.”
Not waiting for a response, I jogged down the stairs and wished I could go back to sleep when I saw my sister’s face. She was staring at Grey with a look close to betrayal, and once again, I was left not understanding my sister at all.
“Hey,” I finally said to break the tension coming from each girl. “I didn’t know you were coming back so soon.”
Charlie finally looked over at me, her voice soft and unsure. “I told you I’d be back tonight.”
“We just woke up. I don’t even know what time it is.”
Charlie didn’t say anything, and Grey finally shook off whatever she’d been wrapped up in to say, “Did you have fun?”
“Um. Yeah, it was—well, I’m glad to be home. But I should leave.”
“Charlie,” I grumbled at the same time Grey said on a laugh, “What? No!”
Charlie took a step back and pointed behind her. “No, really, I should. I should’ve called or something so I wouldn’t interrupt anything.”
“You didn’t,” Grey assured her, and my eyes darted over to her. “Jagger stayed up drawing all night, so we fell asleep after lunch. We just woke up, you weren’t interrupting anything.”