Embrace (Two Hearts Book 2) Read online

  I lay my cheek against the cool wood of the desk and spread my legs a little further, giving him better access. When he enters me on a quick hard thrust, it takes everything I have not to cry out. Biting my bottom lip so hard, I swear I taste blood, I fight back my urge to vocalize my pleasure.

  I don't know how thick, or how thin, the walls are and I certainly don't want to draw any unwanted attention, so I fight every instinct I have to scream, to moan, to plead Zayne's name. I have never been taken from behind like this before and there is something so animalistic about it.

  Like we are wild animals, taking full pleasure of each others bodies, the way nature intended. Zayne begins pounding into me so hard and fast, I have to grip the edge of the desk to prevent myself from sliding over the top.

  He's punishing and rough yet somehow gentle and loving at the same time. Even though his thrusts are violent and relentless, I don't miss the way his hand skirts across my shoulder blade or the way he brushes my hair gently away.

  It doesn't take long until we are both to the brink, fighting our cries of pleasure as we find our releases together. I claw the desk so hard, I swear my nail marks will forever be etched into the wood. It takes several long moments for our breathing to start to return to normal and for Zayne to slowly soften still deep inside of me.

  “Grace.” He whispers against my back, gently kissing up my spine.

  “I want to tell Alec.” The words I have been wanting to say for quite some time, literally just fall right out of my mouth without so much as a thought.

  “What?” He asks, confused. Pulling back from me and quickly gathering his things from the floor.

  “I want to tell Alec.” I repeat, turning towards him.

  At first I think I've pissed him off but when he reaches out and hands me my panties, a cute little grin across his face, I immediately relax. Okay, so he's not mad.

  I patiently wait while he takes a moment to put his clothes back on and I can physically see the wheels turning in his head. As he retrieves his tie and drapes it around his neck, his eyes finally meet mine, as if he's finally decided how to respond to my request.

  “Okay.” He says without any further elaboration.

  “Okay?” I question, not sure if he's agreeing because he wants to or because he thinks he has to. Both are very different and have the power to alter the course of this relationship in completely opposite ways.

  “I think we should.” He says, his smile growing at the wide eyed, shocked expression that I can feel plastered across my face.

  “You.... You do?” I stutter, for whatever reason expecting a completely different response.

  “Don't look so shocked.” He says, stepping towards me and wrapping his hand around the back of my neck, pulling me closer to him.

  “I'm sorry I just.. I just didn't expect you to agree so easily.” I say, an apologetic expression making a brief appearance across my face.

  “If it means that I can kiss you whenever I want Grace, then I will gladly tell it to the world.” He smiles, leaning his face down to mine. “Because all I can think about are these lips.” He teases, running his tongue along the bottom one.

  “Oh yeah?” I whisper, gently slipping my tongue into his mouth.

  “Uh huh.” He responds, pulling me against his body so tightly that I can feel his erection already returning.

  Hearing him say he's ready to take this to the next level, feeling his body react under my touch the way it does, it's all almost too much to bare. But then when I hear his whispered words against my lips, I realize I now know what people mean when they say that something makes them melt.

  “I'm in Grace. I'm all in.” He whispers.

  And melt is exactly what I do.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  I'm nervous. I don't know why I'm so nervous. It's just a phone call. A phone call to my brother inviting him to dinner. Something I have done several times and yet, this time is so much different for one very main reason, Zayne.

  So as I stumble through my words, I try to remember that no matter how scared I am to share my news, at the end of the day, it's just Alec. My oldest brother, my protector. The man who would move mountains for me if he could.

  He loves me, I remind myself. He just wants me to be happy. But then, how do I tell him that the only thing that would make me happy is knowing that I can be with Zayne without having to hide it from him? Will he approve? Will he surprise us both and give us his blessing? Or will he turn his back on me or worse, on Zayne?

  Not knowing how he will react is the hardest part. I know my brother well, but to say that this is completely new territory for us is a bit of an understatement. We have never approached a topic about me dating, let alone dating his best friend.

  So after the plans are made and Alec has agreed to meet me tomorrow night for dinner, I hang up the phone feeling both elated and like I am going to vomit at the same time. I immediately call Emma for support but like most times when I call, her phone goes straight to voice mail.

  Zayne is with Alec, I know because they were at lunch when I called, so I can't call him. I can't talk to Ian or my mom until Alec knows because I can't risk one of them leaking the information before I have a chance to tell him myself, so my family is out. Carver is at work, and based on the note he left me this morning, will be there until the late evening hours.

  After running through a list of all my closest friends and family, I can come up with only two people that are separate enough from my family to talk freely too but also close enough to me that I feel like they will at least care about the mental breakdown I am currently experiencing.

  So with that, I settle on heading to Vitos. It's a Friday and while I know that Saving Solice will be bringing in a full house tonight, it's barely after three in the afternoon and the bar is probably completely empty right now. Honestly, I don't know why they even bother opening before seven or eight. The amount of customers they get through the day are few and far between.

  Jake says it's because they always want to be available for their clientele and honestly, I think him and Becca don't have much else to really do. He has made the bar such a big part of his life, and I know from simply being around them, that they rarely do anything outside of the small run down establishment.

  When I push my way inside just twenty minutes later, I am not surprised to find only two people sitting at the bar and Becca playing on her phone behind the counter. She looks up when she hears the door creak and her face immediately lights up when she registers it's me.

  She sits a bar napkin in front of me when I take a stool towards the end of the bar. “Thank god you're here. I am so bored.” She whines. “What are we drinking?” She asks, emphasizing the word we.

  “Considering it's early afternoon and you are working until three in the morning, I say we keep it light. How about a Mimosa?” I grin when she curls her nose up.

  “Um no.” She laughs. “It's been a hell of day already.”

  “Okay then what would you like?” I ask, cocking my head to the side and peering at my quirky, pierced and tatted friend.

  She taps her finger to her chin like she really has to weigh out options with this decision and then finally meets my eyes. “Three wise men.” She says, her smile widening when she realizes I have no idea what that means.

  “Holy crap Grace. You work at a bar and you don't know what the three wise men are?” She laughs, shaking her head at me.

  “For the record, I don't actually work behind the bar and liquor is not my specialty.” I remind her.

  “Fair enough. The three wise men are; Jack, Jim, and Jose.” She says. “Oh my god Grace. Jack Daniels, Jim Bean, and Jose Cuervo.” She sighs dramatically.

  “Like all together?” I gawk, unable to believe that anyone would choose to drink such a concoction.

  “Oh honey. You have so much to learn.” She laughs, grabbing two short glasses and sitting them on the bar in front of me before turning and retrieving a bottle of each liquor she
named.

  “Of course you drink them together. Why have one when you can have all three at the same time.” She says, her voice dropping low and sultry.

  I laugh, not able to contain myself, my voice echoing off the walls of the small bar and drawing the attention of the only two customers my way.

  “Sorry.” I mouth, clearly having agitated the one closest to me. He's an older gentleman, maybe late fifties. With black hair that has tiny white strands peppered through out. He looks tired and worn and for a moment, I can't help but wonder who he is. What's his story and why is he here drinking in the middle of the afternoon.

  “Earth to Grace.” Becca pulls my attention back to her and I have to peel my eyes away from the man.

  People watching has always been a habit of mine. I often wander the streets and ponder the very same things I was just thinking about the man at the bar. Everyone has a story, I can't help that I am interested in knowing what the story is. Strangers just, well they fascinate me. Simply because I do not know them.

  “Sorry.” I say, looking back to Becca who already has our two glasses filled to the brim, obviously having given each man a place in each glass.

  “What are we toasting to?” She asks, picking her glass up off the bar.

  “Well, I officially have a literary agent.” I say, not able to contain my smile. Only Bec doesn't smile. Instead, she looks at me like I have three heads.

  “Huh?” She says. Reminding me that if you are not part of the literary world, you probably have no idea what that is or what the purpose of a literary agent is.

  I decide to break it down the easiest way I know how to. “Okay so a football player has an agent right? One that helps negotiate his contracts and get him sponsor deals and stuff right?” I ask, making sure she's following.

  When she nods her head that she's with me, I continue. “Well a literary agent is kind of the same thing, only for a writer. It's the first real step to becoming published.” I say, smiling widely when realization dawns on her face.

  “Oh my god Grace, that's amazing!” She squeals, holding up her glass. “To you Grace and all your upcoming successes being a big time fancy writer.” She laughs.

  We clink glasses and I try to prepare myself for the burn that is sure to come mixing three very strong liquors together. Sure enough, the moment the liquid hits my throat, I feel like it's burning a hole straight through my neck.

  Catching my expression, Becca quickly saves the day by grabbing a bottle of water and twisting off the cap, sitting it in front of me just in time for me to chug half the bottle.

  “Wow.” I say, wiping the traces of liquor from my lips.

  “Now give me something else.” She smiles, proceeding to refill our glasses.

  “Oh no, I'm not drinking anymore of that.” I shake my head adamantly, my eyes still watering from the burn.

  “Just one more....” She pleads, sticking out her lower lip.

  “You don't need me to drink in order for you to drink.” I say, laughing at her still pouty expression.

  “Yeah but drinking while I am working with no real excuse is kind of hard to justify. Give me another reason to take a shot.” She laughs when I roll my eyes at her.

  “You're ridiculous, you realize this right?” I ask, not objecting when she shoves another full glass into my hand.

  “And you love me for it.” She winks, holding up her shot glass.

  “We're telling Alec.” I say, watching her eyes widen in a slow settling shock.

  “Shut up!” She says, her smile growing wide. “How the hell did this come about?” She asks, sitting her glass back down on the bar so that she can get the story before we drink.

  I spend the next ten minutes filling her in on my visit to Zayne's office yesterday. Of course, I leave out the details of our romp on the desk and just briefly graze on that part. By the time I am done, her expression only makes me even giddier about reliving the words he said to me just twenty-four hours ago.

  “I'm in Grace. I'm all in.” Even just thinking about it gives me goosebumps all over my entire body.

  “Well that is certainly cause for celebration.” She smiles, once again lifting her glass. I reluctantly follow suit and immediately regret it when the liquor once again burns like fire down my throat and then slowly settles in my belly.

  I immediately make a grab for the water and empty the contents in one large gulp. Before I even sit the empty one down, Becca has a fresh bottle waiting for me.

  I throw her an appreciative look before taking another long gulp, trying desperately to cool the burn. Becca laughs lightly at me but waits patiently for me to right myself before we continue our conversation.

  “So.... What are you going to tell Alec? I mean, have you figured out what you're going to say or how you are going to even start the conversation? Are you going to just jump right into it or try to ease your way in?” She hits me with multiple questions, pushing herself up onto the cooler that sits behind the bar so that she can sit eye level with me.

  “Well. I haven't really figured that part out.” I say, making it quite clear that I need her help in that one sentence.

  “Okay so listen.” She says, leaning against the bar. “I don't know that there's any good way to do this so if you're asking my opinion, this is it. Just say it.” She says, as if it's just that simple.

  “You think I should just sit down with him for dinner and casually say, oh by the way Alec, me and Zayne have secretly been fucking for weeks behind your back and we're just now telling you. You're good with this right?” I say, my voice clearly a mocking tone.

  “Well don't say it like that.” She laughs, clearly finding my predicament amusing. “I was thinking more like, just tell him how you feel. I mean, he's your brother right? He loves you right? Shouldn't he be happy that his sister has found someone that makes her happy, no matter where she found it?” She asks.

  “I wish it were that easy.” I voice my concerns. “But Alec knows Zayne better than anyone and his past, well let's just say that Zayne is not the type of man that my brother would probably ever want me getting involved with.” I say on a shrug.

  “Right, but if Zayne is his best friend, then surely he sees the good in him as well. From what you have told me, he trusts Zayne more than anybody. That has to stand for something.” She says.

  “You know what, you're right.” I say, realization finally dawning.

  “I am?” Her eyebrows shoot up like I am the first person to ever admit this to her.

  “Alec loves Zayne like he's family. If anyone can see past the mistakes he's made, it's Alec. I still don't know how he's going to react, but I think maybe it won't be as bad as I have been thinking. I mean, why wouldn't he want me to be happy and for Zayne to be happy?” I say the question more to myself than to Becca.

  “Not to mention that he has been seeing your best friend as well.” She reminds me. “Be a bit hypocritical if he tries to turn around and say you can't date his.”

  “You're right again.” I say, smiling widely when her face once again registers shock at my words.

  “I'm liking this being right thing.” She says, shaking her head in approval.

  “Seriously though Bec. I have been so worried about his reaction to this but at the end of the day, it's my life not his. If he can't accept my decisions then that's his problem not mine. He is guilty of the exact same thing and instead of freaking out when I found out about him and Emma, I wished them luck. Because I love them both and I want them to be happy, whether that means they find happiness together or apart, I just want them both to be happy and loved.” I say, now rambling.

  “So he should want the same for me and Zayne.” I conclude, feeling a large amount of weight lift from my shoulders.

  “You're the best.” I say to Becca. Her expression reads that she didn't do anything and that I figured it all out on my own, but she led me there. She pointed me in the direction that I needed to go.

  “I think another shot is in or
der.” I say, laughing when her face morphs into elation.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  “Sorry, it's kind of my fault.” I hear Becca chuckle as I lift my head off the bar to peer up at an amused looking Zayne.

  “I never thought I would see the day where you would call me, completely hammered in the middle of a Friday afternoon.” He laughs.

  I wrinkle my nose up at him. “For the record, I am not hammered.” I manage to get out with only a hint of a slur. “I just have a really, really good buzz.” I laugh when Becca snorts her own laughter.

  “Come on.” He says, wrapping his arm around my waist and sliding me off the bar stool and into his chest.

  The moment my feet hit the ground, I sway, but find my balance pretty quickly. Peering up at his incredible face, I can't contain the sigh of contentment that escapes my mouth.

  “What?” He asks, a sweet smile pulling up his lips.

  “You are just so damn beautiful.” I say, reaching up to trace the back of my hand down his strong jaw line. “It's unfair really.” I pout, letting my hand drop.

  “Isn't that supposed to be my line to you?” He lets out a light laugh and shakes his head at me. “You're coming home with me.” He states, not giving me an option. “You can tell me how unfair it is when I have you tied to my bed and your body is all mine.” He says so quietly that only I can hear his words.

  “Bye Becca.” I say, suddenly more than ready to get the hell out of here. Zayne laughs again, clearly amused by my enthusiasm to take him up on his offer.

  “Bye.” Becca laughs, throwing up a half wave as she pours a drink for one of the now four customers sitting at the bar.

  Zayne throws his arm over my shoulder and leads me outside. The moment the sun hits my face, all I see is bright and blurry. I have to stop and give my eyes a moment to adjust before I feel certain that I can actually see where I am going.