Stuck-Up Suit - Vi Keeland Page 0,38
decision.”
“Are the doubts you’re having because of the situation with your father?”
“Partly. I haven’t really analyzed it too much, though. I just don’t feel absolutely certain that motherhood is in the cards for me.”
He looked pensive upon my reply. Maybe that wasn’t what he wanted to hear, but I didn’t want to lie to him. It was how I’d always felt.
Looking over at him, I asked, “Are you taking me home?”
“I wasn’t planning to.” A look of disappointment washed over his face. “Why…do you want to go home?”
“I just thought maybe with everything that happened with Lil—”
“You thought I’d want to be alone? No. I don’t want to be alone, Soraya. I’m tired of being alone. I want you in my fucking bed tonight. We don’t have to do anything. I…just want to hold you while I fall asleep. That’s what I want if that’s okay with you.”
Even though it scared me, I wanted nothing more.
“Okay. Yeah.”
Graham never had a chance to cook his pasta dish. Since it was late, we stopped for takeout Szechuan and brought it upstairs to his condo. We passed the paper containers back and forth to each other as we sat with our legs crossed on his living room floor watching General Hospital.
“I could get used to this,” he said, slurping a noodle into his mouth. An uncharacteristically boyish charm shone through his face in that moment.
My heart clenched. Tonight was the first time that it really hit me that things were getting serious between us. As much as his question about whether I wanted children had rattled me earlier, I realized there was no going back. I needed to see where the tide took us. As Lil said, it would be better to get hurt than to never know.
After we cleaned up, Graham quietly led me into his bedroom. I watched as he pulled his sweater over his head. Admiring the tattoo that Tig had inked onto Graham’s side, I licked my lips, wanting desperately to taste his skin.
He walked to the bathroom and returned with black pajama pants on then tossed a blue t-shirt at me.
“I want you to sleep in my shirt.”
He watched intently as I unbuttoned my blouse. His mouth looked like it was watering, and his eyes were glued to my chest as I threw the t-shirt over my head.
I got into his massive bed, my body immediately sinking into the plush, memory foam mattress. This bed was fit for a king—or a Morgan.
He got behind me and enveloped my body in his arms. His breathing slowed, and I realized he was falling asleep, calm as a baby. I soon followed suit.
***
IT WAS 4AM WHEN SOMETHING woke me up. Graham was turned to me with his eyes open.
“I love watching you sleep.”
My voice was groggy. “If I knew you were watching me, I wouldn’t have been able to.”
He chuckled. “What woke you up?”
“I don’t know. Maybe it was just my intuition.”
“You know what I think?”
“What?”
“I think you wanted to peek under the blanket.”
“And here I thought the dirty bastard in you had taken the night off.”
“Never. He’s always here, even when he’s quiet.” He laughed, and his smile nearly melted me. He locked his fingers with mine. “Seriously, though, I think something’s weighing on you.”
“How do you know?”
“Your eyes.”
“Your grandmother told me I shouldn’t be afraid of getting hurt.”
“She’s a wise woman. You should listen to her. But can I tell you a secret?”
“Yes.”
“You terrify me, Soraya.”
“Likewise.”
“But that’s the very reason that I just know.”
“Know what?”
“That this could be the real thing.”
The real thing.
“I need to learn to stop worrying about tomorrow, just enjoy today,” I whispered.
Graham brought my hand to his mouth and kissed it. “No one knows what’s going to happen from one day to the next, but if the world were to end tomorrow, there’s no place I’d rather be than right here with you. That tells me everything I need to know.”
When he pressed his lips into mine, it felt different from any of the other times he’d kissed me, more passionate, almost desperate. It felt like he was releasing all of the pent up tension in his body into me. What started off slow and sensual soon turned wild and frenzied. No longer able to control the need for him, I made a conscious decision to let go of all of my insecurities, even if just for this moment in time. Here in this bed, I felt safe. That was all that mattered.
As if he