A Matter Of Justice (Grey Justice #4)(47)
“Shh. Irelyn, darling, I’m here. I’m here.” Grey’s soothing voice broke through, and she realized she was saying Grey’s name over and over.
“It’s so silly to cry over something I never even had. I just…” She shook her head. “I wanted to give him the same chance you gave me.”
“I know, baby. I wish you could have, too.”
“Let’s not talk…not tonight.” She put her mouth on his. “Tonight…just tonight. Let’s be us again. Irelyn and Grey. Let the world disappear.”
She could feel the controlled strength in him as he growled, “You’re not too sore? I don’t want to hurt you.”
“You won’t. You couldn’t.” Her mouth pressed hotly against the warmth of his naked chest. “I’m empty without you.”
Propping himself up on his forearm, he said softly, “Then let’s see what we can do about that.”
Grey started out slow. His body, hard and throbbing, urged him to ignore everything other than the need for release. It had been so damn long, and he had missed her, missed this, so damn much. None of that mattered now. Irelyn was in his arms where she belonged. She needed him, his comfort, his strength. He would give her whatever she desired.
Gently, he kissed her neck, her face, tenderly exploring, always moving. Irelyn was a passionate, generous lover, but tonight he wanted her to lie back and let him give her the pleasure she deserved. He wanted the shadows in her eyes to disappear. He wanted to ease her heartbreak.
When she tried to put her arms around him, he pressed them down. “Let me love you, darling. Close your eyes and relax. Let the world fall away.”
He could feel the tenseness in her as she fought her natural instincts. She wanted to give, participate. He’d gladly accept her participation another time. Tonight was for Irelyn, for her pleasure. He wanted her to take.
Skin, hot and silky soft, fragrant from her shower, tasted sweet against his tongue. He started with a trail of kisses down her long, slender neck, then moved down her body, stopping at succulent sweet spots, nipping and licking. Gasping out breaths of arousal and need, Irelyn arched her body on a cry as he covered her nipple with his mouth and suckled hard. A hundred years, or a thousand, would never be enough time to spend making love to his beautiful, sexy temptress.
“Grey…I need…”
“Shh. I know what you need. Let me give you that.” His mouth moved lower, loving her needy sounds. Her hands caressed his head, her fingers combing through his hair as she urged him on. He circled her belly button with his tongue, whispered against her warm, taut stomach. “I’ve missed you…your taste.”
“Missed you, too. So much.”
When he moved lower, she opened her legs with a welcoming sob. Glorying in her scent, her taste, Grey kissed then gently lapped at her. When he felt the surrender as her body gave itself up to the pleasure, he allowed himself to indulge. Thrust after thrust with his tongue until her body stiffened and she cried out his name.
He held her for a long while afterward, listened to the soft sounds of her sleeping, treasuring her.
Irelyn put herself at risk more times than he cared to remember. Most of the work she did with the Grey Justice Group involved strategic planning and training. She was an invaluable member of the group, and they missed her expertise. But Irelyn never felt like she was doing enough. From firsthand experience, she knew about abuse and neglect, of injustice. She often took it upon herself to right those wrongs, in her own way. He aided her when he could, always supporting her need to do more. But tonight, he could have lost her—that had come home to him more than at any other time. If he had, his life would never have been the same. Did she know that? Did she have any idea what she meant to him?
Exhausted in mind and body, he felt himself finally drifting off and tightened his arms around the warm woman beside him. She was home at last.
Chapter Twenty
Alone in his study, Grey listened to the predawn quiet of the city he’d come to love and admire. When he and Irelyn had arrived in Dallas, they’d possessed little more than their dreams and the clothes on their backs. They’d both worked their asses off to create their empire. Even though the Grey Justice name was the recognizable brand, he would not have been as successful without Irelyn. She was a combination of intelligence, wisdom, and incredible strength of will. Through sheer perseverance, she had overcome so much.
He remembered their first meeting as if it were yesterday. He’d been all of seventeen, a little on the shy side, with a head full of so many dreams he could scarcely contain them. His parents had been the finest people he’d ever known, but they hadn’t understood his need to break away from tradition. Generations before him had stood for justice and equality. To have their only son want to do something different not only bewildered them, it also frightened them. Breaking away from what they’d always known—duty, honor, and service—was foreign to them.
Looking back, he could understand their reservations, and he wished he’d been able to ease their concerns. He hadn’t wanted to reject their core beliefs, he’d just wanted to go about them in another way.
If he had listened to his parents, followed their lead, they might still be alive. That hurt more than anyone could fathom. But he had wanted to go his own way, do good in different ways. In the end, they’d all paid a terrible price.