"Grey!" Ricardo, a tall, slender man with salt-and-pepper hair, stepped over and pulled him into a one-armed hug, patting him on the back. "It's good to see you."

"Same," Grey said.

"Your mother is over the moon. She's so happy you're here."

Grey did his best not to squirm. Though he knew his stepdad wasn't trying to make him feel bad or uncomfortable, he did. There were still things that needed to be said between them.

"So tell me how things are going for you," Ricardo said. "Is the band really splitting up?"

Grey nodded. "We reached the end. It's hard to explain, but we're all ready to do our own thing."

Ricardo reached into a cooler and pulled out two beers, handing one to Grey. They popped the tops, and he took a long, cool drink.

"I can understand that. You should be proud though. You went out and accomplished your dream. Not many people can say they did that."

Warmth filled Grey's chest as Ricardo gave him the words his own father had always denied him. "Thank you," he said, infusing his tone with emotion and meaning. "So how are you? How's Mom?"

"Living the good life, thanks to you." He gestured to the backyard with the nice-size patio, a pool on the side with a spa. Where they sat, there was a barbeque built into a stone wall. "Put this in myself," he said with pride.

Grey grinned. "The house looks fantastic."

"I'm glad you pushed us to move. Your mother is so much happier here. Good neighborhood, nice friends. Thank you," he said, not for the first time.

Grey shook his head. "Don't. Don't thank me. I'm glad you're happy. It's all I wanted, but back then I wanted ..." He trailed off, the words sticking in his throat.

Ricardo put a weathered hand on Grey's shoulder. "No need, son."

"There's every need." Grey's voice caught, the word son still echoing in his head. "Back then I wanted you to be different. I didn't want you to be a janitor. I wanted you to have aspirations and dreams."

"Nothing wrong with wanting more," the older man said. "I was happy with a decent job that fed my family, but I respect what you accomplished."

He didn't get it. "I was embarra.s.sed," Grey said, needing to say the words, to purge them and the awful feelings from his brain. "I acted and treated you like my father treated me, and that's unforgiveable."

Ricardo led him to a set of chairs, and they settled in. "When I met your mother, you were an angry, hurting boy. You had good reason. I don't imagine it was easy for you to go to school while your stepfather cleaned up everyone's messes. Your reaction was normal for a teenager. Even more normal for one whose father messed up his head."

"Even later, when I insisted you move, I wanted you to live where I thought you should. I didn't understand or respect who you were or what you wanted."

"You wanted to make our lives better. How can I fault you for that?"

"How can you not? Worse, I haven't been home in too long."

Ricardo leaned back in his chair, his long, tanned legs stretched in front of him. "You're here now, yes? And you see what's really important in life?"

Grey inclined his head. "I hope so."

"Then your mother and I did our jobs. Whatever we instilled in you back then, what you rejected because you didn't understand, you now accept. With age comes wisdom. Only by living life can you figure out what's truly important."

"Do you see why I fell in love with this man?"

His mother's voice took Grey by surprise. He'd been so focused on listening to Ricardo's wise words he hadn't heard the women join them. He glanced at Avery and his mom, wondering how much they'd heard. From the dampness in his mother's eyes, too much. And maybe enough.

"You chose well, Mom," Grey said to her for the first time.

"I know." She smiled and kissed her husband's cheek. "There's something to be said about marrying for love," Susie said. "And learning from past mistakes. Can we move on and just enjoy our day together?" she asked.

Grey nodded, knowing he'd learned so much from these two people in front of him and hoping he could use it to make his life as happy as theirs obviously was.

He rose and walked over to Avery, slipping his hand into her smaller, softer one. "Everything good?"

She nodded. "Your mom's amazing. And that kitchen? Grey! It's so great. State-of-the-art."

"It's the one thing she let me gut and do from scratch in the house. She loves to cook."

"Well, you should see what she has ready to put on the grill. You'd think she had a week's notice that we were coming. And the desserts? To die for."

He grinned. "That's my mom."

The rest of the evening pa.s.sed quickly. They reminisced about Avery and Grey in high school, bringing him back to the reason he'd returned home. The woman who was currently helping his mother bring dishes into the kitchen from the patio, where they'd eaten dinner. In the short time he'd been back, he'd realized Avery still understood him in ways no one else did. She saw the fragile boy beneath the rock star persona and supported him. That was what Avery meant to him, did for him.

The chemistry was a bonus and had only grown stronger over the years. Watching her in that s.e.xy dress, her hips swaying as she walked, her cleavage covered due to the higher halter but hints of her full b.r.e.a.s.t.s teasing him beneath the material, Grey decided family time was over.

"We need to get going," Grey said, rising to his feet.

"Grey! I haven't finished helping your mom yet." Avery shot him a chiding gaze that only served to make him hotter.

"You two go. We're finished here," his mother said.

Glancing at the mostly cleaned table, Avery nodded. "If you're sure."

"You two have better things to do than hang out with the old folks. I'm just so happy you came by."

"And I'll come again, Mom. I promise." He rose and hugged his mother tight. "I love you, Mom."

"I love you too."

Grey said good-bye to his stepfather, and Avery made her rounds too. Finally, they were in the car, driving home.

"Things went well, yes?" Avery asked.

"Very." Although he and his mother hadn't had an in-depth conversation, she'd heard what he'd said to Ricardo, and in his heart, Grey knew she understood how he felt.

"Someone was in a hurry to leave though." Avery turned her head, and he caught her gaze for a moment before returning his focus to the road.

"And you wonder why?" He placed a hand on her knee and inched his fingers up her silken skin, reaching slowly higher until he encountered lace.

He wondered what color it was, and he accelerated, wanting to find out faster.

"Grey," she said, her attempt at reprimanding him turning into a moan as his fingers slid over her s.e.x, and he discovered her panties were already damp.

"Problem, sugar?" he asked, stroking the lace covering her slick, hot flesh, and his c.o.c.k jumped inside his shorts.

"You need to drive," she said, her voice hoa.r.s.e with desire.

He swallowed a moan of his own. "Good thing for you I can do two things at once. And do them both well."

His gaze remained on the road, but the rest of his senses were attuned to her. He pressed his thumb over her c.l.i.t, and her thighs parted, giving him better access.

"Do you want to know why I left so quickly?" He didn't give her a chance to respond. "I'll tell you. Because I watched you all night, so sweet and pretty as you helped my mom, and all I could think about was messing your hair with my hands, hiking up that dress, and taking you hard and fast. You want that too, don't you?"

She arched her hips, her p.u.s.s.y thrusting against his fingers, so needy.

He wanted her at his place, and that's where he was headed, but first he had to hear her come. He gripped the wheel with one hand, his teeth clenched so hard his jaw ached.

With his free hand, he slid his fingers beneath her panties and encountered bare flesh. "f.u.c.k, you're wet for me." He stroked her s.e.x, lubricating his fingers, gliding back and forth over her c.l.i.t.

He caught sight of his exit and managed to take the correct one, her heavy breathing beating a rapid cadence in his ear. He toyed with the tiny bud, alternating between tweaking between his thumb and forefinger and soothing with slick strokes.

"Grey, G.o.d, harder, so close. So close." Her hips bucked rapidly against him, and she grabbed his wrist, shoving his hand hard against her s.e.x.

She was frantic and he couldn't focus. Couldn't get her off without killing them both. He didn't know what the f.u.c.k he'd been thinking. He'd just needed to feel her so d.a.m.ned bad.

"Hang on." He swore and removed his hand.

She whimpered and began to stroke herself with no help from him. f.u.c.k that. "Do not come without me," he ordered.

"Seriously?" Her gaze met his, a heady mixture of disbelief and desire filling the depths.

"Yes," he bit out, pulling over to the side of the road not far from his apartment.

She was still stroking herself when he shoved the gearshift into park, removed his seat belt, and maneuvered his body closer so he had more room, more leverage.

"Hands on either side of your lap," he said in his deepest, most commanding tone.

She balled her hands into fists at her sides, and he relaxed a bit.

He leaned across the console and kissed her hard, at the same time sliding her panties down to her knees. He pushed two fingers inside her tight channel, gliding in and out, pressing hard on her c.l.i.t with his thumb.

Her body, already on the edge, convulsed immediately, gripping his fingers as she came. "Grey," she cried out and rode out her climax, a sight so f.u.c.king beautiful it was seared in his memory forever.

When she fell back against the seat, limp and sated, he pulled her dress down, covering her s.e.x. With her sweet p.u.s.s.y out of view, he hoped he'd make it home without dying first. He'd broken into a sweat himself and pushed his hand hard against his c.o.c.k to calm himself down before he could even think of driving again.

Without warning, a knock sounded, and both he and Avery jumped in surprise. He turned to see Rick gesturing for him to roll down the window. He'd forgotten about their shadow, and clearly Avery had as well.

Grey shot her a wry glance, made sure she really was covered up, and hit the window b.u.t.ton. "Hey, man."

Rick rested an arm on the top of the car and leaned down to look inside. "Just making sure everything's okay here."

"We're good. We just had something to discuss."

Rick treated him to a knowing smirk. "Well, you might want to keep moving before someone notices you."

"Right," Grey muttered. "You're off duty till morning," he informed the man.

Rick tapped the top of the car and headed back to his vehicle.

"Oh my G.o.d," Avery said on a horrified moan. "If he'd come over a few seconds sooner ..."

At the thought of another man seeing Avery undressed, Grey's protective instincts rose to the surface. "And that's another good reason to head home." Along with his aching c.o.c.k and the driving need to bury himself deep inside Avery as soon as humanly possible.

Chapter Eight.

Avery wasn't a multi-o.r.g.a.s.m girl, so she was surprised she was aroused again by the time they reached Grey's apartment. Of course, she'd immediately noticed how hard he was from giving her pleasure, and she wanted to reciprocate. She wanted to hold his hard, stiff length in her hands and taste his c.o.c.k with her mouth. She'd never had these thoughts about any man before, and for sure they'd never aroused her to the point of needing to come again so soon.

Grey was about to turn into the parking garage and waved as Rick pa.s.sed them, his job for the night complete. Grey parked in the underground garage. He came around to her side before she could even get her door open.

"I'm not sure I can wait much longer," he said, and pulled her out of the car.

"Grey!"

He lifted her into his arms and strode to the elevator. The private elevator that led directly to his floor. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held on.

"You're spoiling me," she murmured. "I mean, a girl could get used to this kind of treatment."

"That's the point."

She rested her chin on his shoulder, her cheek against his, and blocked out his words. Short term. She couldn't allow herself to get attached to her musician.

Not hers. "G.o.d."

"What's wrong?" he asked as the elevator opened and he let them into the apartment, kicking the door shut behind them.

She slid down his hard, toned body, her b.r.e.a.s.t.s and nipples feeling every hard ridge and plane of his chest. Her fingers itched to touch bare skin. Indulging her desire, she pulled up his shirt and slid her hands along his flat stomach and six-pack abs.

He groaned, his body shaking beneath her touch, and a thrill slid through her. She didn't have much experience, and a lot of it came from Grey, so the knowledge that she could make him tremble more now than years before did things to her female ego. She sc.r.a.ped her nails up his chest until she reached his nipples, drawing her fingers over the distended peaks.

"Are you trying to push me over the edge?" he asked, leaning forward and nipping her on the ear.

She moaned and arched into him. "Maybe."

"Maybe it's time to turn the tables." He pulled her dress up and over her head, leaving her dressed in flimsy panties and a barely there bra.