Bewitching You (33 page)

If only he could get this under control.

Chapter Nineteen

The sun started rising, finally. The light poured through the slits in the blinds and took shape across Gray’s broad chest, his chiseled jaw, powerful lips, and sleeping eyes. At some point in the early morning, he’d exhausted himself and had fallen asleep.

After massaging, kissing, licking, and suckling every inch of her body. Eating her up like candy, it seemed. He’d savored her, made love to her, talked to her, and repeated the process for hours upon hours. The man had enough stamina to satisfy ten women.

However, Sofia was only one. Although she was completely satiated, she was also completely worn out. Kind of like a sex hangover.

She stretched out her weary arms and legs and yawned. She hadn’t been able to fall asleep like Gray, hadn’t really wanted to descend into dreamland. Sometimes a girl needed a break from saving people’s lives. Sometimes the responsibility was all too overwhelming.

Sometimes
it was easier to have this moment in time with this person without knowing what the future held.

She sat up and squelched the urge to run her fingers over his magnificent body. Truth was, if he woke up at that moment and wanted more, she’d give it to him. She’d do anything for him, to him—whatever he asked, she’d say yes. And she’d be happy to do it.

But he was sleeping soundly, and the whirlpool bath was calling her name. She slipped from the bed, tripped over one of his colossal shoes, redeemed herself, checked to make sure she hadn’t disturbed him, and then quietly closed the bathroom door behind her.

Gravity was not her friend at times. However, a hot bath was. She sat at the edge of the cold-tiled tub and started the water. Of course, a man didn’t have bottles of bubble bath lying around.

In fact, she was pretty sure she’d been the first person to use this most excellent tub. The shower next to it, on the other hand, had water spots galore on the glass door. Sofia poured a capful of the manly-man scented shampoo into the running water and wondered if Gray had a housekeeper or if he did the cleaning himself.

She had a ton of questions for Gray. Some of them she’d gotten answered the night before, in between being thoroughly explored. His favorite color was brown, of course. He’d spent half of his childhood growing up in the heart of San Francisco, the other half in Indianapolis. Two different worlds, he’d said, and he hoped to one-day move back to San Francisco. Sofia had told him she’d love to see it with him since she’d never been. He’d smiled at that and made love to her again.

Then he’d asked her about her painting and if she wanted to pursue it as a career. Sofia had needed to think about that. Painting as a hobby was one thing, as a career it was something she wasn’t sure she had the courage to do. Gray had told her he had every confidence she could do whatever the hell she wanted to do in life, and she’d succeed at it too. In response, Sofia had straddled him, taking the driver’s seat for once.

He hadn’t been disappointed.

Sofia sank into the hot water and soaked her tender body. The jets and the warmth felt so good that she nearly fell asleep a couple of times. It wasn’t until Gray walked in that she fully opened her eyes.

Without a word, he stepped into the other half of the tub and sat down. He plunged his head under the water and then he surfaced, scrubbing his hands over his face and hair.

He gazed at Sofia for a moment before asking, “Last night was too much again, wasn’t it?”

“I don’t know. Are you usually that…intense?”

“No. Never. Not that many times, not as passionately.” He pressed his palms to his bloodshot eyes. “With you, it seems like I can’t get enough. Even right now, I’m holding back from touching you because I know I won’t want to stop.”

Her heart stuttered as his penetrating gaze swept over her again.

“Do you think it’s possible to love someone too much?”

Any other time Sofia would’ve laughed his question away. She would’ve been flattered and happy to know he loved her so. But his tone wasn’t that of adoration—it was of worry. Did he wish to stop loving her altogether?

“No,” she said. “Love me as much as you want. I’ll love you back tenfold. I promise.”

“But, Sofia, I don’t want to—”

Before he could say another word, Sofia slid into his lap and pressed her lips to his. She kissed him until he kissed back, wrapping his arms around her waist and gathering her against his hard body. His tongue thrust into her mouth, and she eagerly accepted it, showing him she could handle whatever he delivered.

“Sofia,” he whispered.

“Don’t talk. Just kiss me.”

But he stopped anyway. “Sofia, the doorbell’s ringing. I better get it.”

~ * ~

Penny slapped at Laura’s hand when Laura pushed the doorbell for the third time. “They’re probably still sleeping. Whose bright idea was it to drive over here first thing in the morning?”

“I’m worried.” Laura pressed the doorbell again. “If they’re not at your house and they’re not here, then where the hell are they?”

The sound of a deadbolt turning got Penny’s undivided attention. This was sure to be exciting, meeting Sofia’s love for the first time. If he looked anything like his twin brother, Sofia was one lucky girl.

The door opened halfway, and Penny’s question was answered. The twins were identical, although this one had shorter hair, which was nice. His jeans didn’t have any holes in them. His t-shirt was black, stretchy, and showing off his muscles. And naturally, this one was alive and thriving.

She read his thoughts while Laura did the introductions.

The image of Sofia in a tub of water vibrated from his mind.

Well, maybe it was best to block the thoughts for a bit. She didn’t want to invade anyone’s privacy too much.

“It’s nice to meet you.” He shook both their hands.
Very polite
. “I’m Gray Phillips, but I’m guessing you already know that since you’ve found where I live.”

“That’s right, dear.” Penny passed by him into the condo. Everything was clean and tidy, except the mess in the dining area. Hmm. What had happened there?

“Is Sofia here?” Laura passed him as well and poked her head around.

“Yes.” The young man shut the door. “She’s, um, getting dressed. I’ll go get her. Make yourself at home.”

Penny and Laura both watched him closely as he disappeared down a hallway.

“He’s handsome,” Penny whispered.

“Yeah, I bet he thinks he can get any woman he wants. I don’t trust him for a second.” Laura huffed and frowned. “Oh, God. I bet they’ve slept together.”

“Do you think?” Penny rolled her eyes. “It had to happen sometime.”

“I know that, Mother. I’m the one who foolishly told her to go do it.”

“Oh,
really
? Do you think she wouldn’t have if she hadn’t had your permission? Don’t be naïve, Laura. She’s not twelve anymore.”

Laura tapped her foot on the hardwood floor. “Can we stop bickering now? They’ll be out any second, and I don’t want Sofia to worry any more than she’s going to already.”

“You really need to give her more credit.” Penny plopped down on one of the leather sofas and let out a breath. This was not going to go well. She could feel it in the air. Something was amiss. Something was terribly wrong.

~ * ~

Gray shut the bedroom door behind him. Sofia was lying on the bed, wearing nothing but his dress shirt, unbuttoned. She gestured for him to come hither.

His body reacted instantly, but his mind knew better. “Sugar, I’d love to, but you might want to see who’s waiting for you in the other room.”

She jolted up. “Who?”

“Your mother and your grandmother.”

“Oh, my gosh. Shoot. How did they find me?” She quickly began buttoning up.

“I don’t know. Have you called them recently?”

“I was going to, but, you know. We were busy saving lives and all that other stuff.”

Gray watched her fumble with the last button. He couldn’t help but lift her chin up and kiss her just once. “Can we finish what we started in the tub when they leave?”

She smiled halfway. “Yes, I’d love to. I—” She finished buttoning. “I wonder what they want.”

“We can go find out,” Gray offered. What was she nervous about? Did she think they’d object to him? “Are you going to tell them about moving in with me?”

“Yes. That’s a good idea. I—” Her hands trembled as he took them in his.

“What, Sofia? Tell me.”

“They have special abilities too.”

“So, they have premonitions like you?” Gray wasn’t sure what was so horrible about that. He’d already proved he was supportive of Sofia.

“Not exactly. Just don’t let my mom touch you, and try to think of Rodney Dangerfield a lot. Okay?”

“Excuse me?”

“I’ll explain later. Trust me.”

Gray held tight to Sofia’s hand as she led him to the living room. Her mother and grandmother stood as soon as they saw Sofia. He searched through his short-term memory for their names. Laura and Penny? Yes, that was what her mother had said. They all had the same eyes. Big and blue. He’d known right away when he opened the door they were related to Sofia in some way.

“Sofia,
what
are you wearing?” Laura asked as she gave Sofia a hug. “No bra?”

“Oh.” Sofia blushed and glanced at Gray. “I need to do laundry.”

“You look happy, dear,” the grandmother said, getting the next hug. “Your face is glowing.” She winked.

Gray rolled some of the tension from his shoulders and sat with Sofia on the loveseat. At least her grandmother seemed to like him. The mother, however, couldn’t spear swords from her eyes any faster. He took Sofia’s hand and squeezed.

Tension was thick in the air.

“So,” Sofia started with a hint of uncertainty in her voice. “I’m sorry I left your house unattended, Nana. We had to leave in an emergency. But I left a bowl of food and water for Sam. Is everything okay?”

“It’s fine, dear. I went home last night. Sam seemed well taken care of. Thank you for doing that for me.”

“Sure. Anytime.” She cleared her throat. “You all met Gray, right?”

“Yes, dear.”

“He stayed with me at the house for a couple days. We kept having car troubles. It was the strangest thing.”

“That’s unfortunate,” Penny said, but still grinned.

“It was, but, well, we’ve fallen in love, and now I’m going to move in here with him.”

Laura sat up straight at the edge of the couch. “No, you’re not.”

“Oh, yes, she is,” Penny countered. “She’s a grown woman, and they’re in love. See?”

“Mother.” Laura gave her a stern look. “Spill it.”

Penny let out a sigh and set her eyes on Gray. “Dear, would you mind if we had a moment with Sofia? We won’t be long.”

~ * ~

Sofia knew this conversation wasn’t going to go well. Not with the way her mother glared at Gray, and the way Nana was being overly cheerful.

“What’s going on?” Sofia asked, as soon as the bedroom door clicked shut with Gray behind it. He hadn’t appeared altogether happy about having to leave the room in his own home, but still he’d whispered he loved her in her ear and kissed her cheek before stepping away.

“He seems like such a dear.” Nana clapped her hands together. “I’m happy for you, Sofia.”

“What’s going on?” Sofia pointed the question to her mother. “Why wouldn’t you approve of me moving in here? I love him, and he loves me.”

“Oh, Sofia.” Laura sat by her and took her hand. “You don’t have a clue, do you?”

“About what?” Sofia panicked. “What is this about? Gray? How did you figure out where he lives, anyway? What are you two up to?”

“Sofia, take a breath,” Laura said. “Nana will explain it all to you.”

Sofia looked at her grandmother expectantly. “Well?”

“Dear,” Nana started slowly, “I noticed you were in the shed to get the toolbox. Did you happen to see my magical goodies?”