Chapter 3
I woke up to the feeling of being moved. I was vaguely aware of the fact that someone was unbuckling my seatbelt and then picking me up. I opened my eyes. Grayson had placed me on his lap, my legs on either side of him, straddling him. He set my head against his chest and wrapped his arms around me again.
I was suddenly aware that I was on a plane again. My heart rate began to pick up. How long had I been asleep for? I tried to move back to look at Grayson but he just tightened his hold on me.1
"Nuh-huh. Not so fast. You're not going anywhere." Grayson said calmly. He kissed my forehead. "Go back to sleep, Belle."
And, yet again, I was out like a light.
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I dreamt of hands going up and down my back and waist, playing with my hair, kneading my hips. I dreamt of sweet kisses being left on my ear, my nose, my forehead. I dreamt of touching fireworks and then watching them travel up and down my body, and then, finally, exploding in my chest, leaving a warm glow by my heart.
But mostly, I dreamt of his forest-green eyes.
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When I woke up for the second time, the only thing I was aware of was how warm I was and how at peace I felt.
Everything felt so... right.
I nuzzled myself deeper into the warmth and focused on the small firework that kept traveling up and down my back. It felt amazing. I let out a deep sigh.
I suddenly felt someone sigh and kiss my forehead. My eyes opened. Where was I?
I looked above me and saw Grayson. He had one arm around me, his hand running up and down my back, playing with my hair. The other was holding out a cell phone, texting someone. His face was scrunched together as he concentrated.
Oh, my God. I was in his lap.
My back straightened and his eyes suddenly snapped to mine.
He smiled. "Morning, beautiful," he said.
He really had a thing for pet names.
I scrambled to move away from him. He gripped my hips. "Where do you think you're going?"
I seemed to remember him putting me in his lap. I glared at him. "Why am I in your lap?"
He shrugged. "You kept moving towards me in your sleep, trying to put your face in my neck and whimpering. So, when the seatbelt light turned off, I moved you where you wanted to be." He said all of this so nonchalantly. I felt the blood drain to my face as I thought of me crawling towards him in my sleep and then immediately heat up as I remembered his lips on my neck. Sensing where my thoughts were going he said, "Not that I minded." He smirked. Smirked!
I scoffed and tried to shove his hands off of me so I could go back to my seat. "You can stay here if you want. Really, it's fine," he said.
"No, really, it's not," I said, finally succeeding in getting out of his vice grip. I quickly went back to my seat, letting out a breath of relief when I finally sat down. I was beyond embarrassed. Why did I have to be so weird in front of the first guy that I've been attracted to in years? "I'm sorry. I usually have personal boundaries. I don't know what's wrong with me today." He just waved me off, saying that it was no big deal. "How long was I asleep for?"
He looked at his watch. "About eight hours."
I gasped. "I was asleep for eight hours?" I yelled.
He nodded his head, a smile appearing on his face.
"You let me sleep on you for eight hours?" I asked, completely and utterly mortified. He nodded again. "Oh, my God." I put my hands on my face.
"If it helps," he said, "I fell asleep too for a while. It was the best sleep of my life."
I looked at his smirking face and narrowed my eyes."You know, when you changed seats with the guy who was supposed to be next to me, I was actually relieved. But maybe it would've been better to sit next to the creepy guy who stared at my boobs. Maybe I wouldn't have crawled into his lap in my sleep."
It was supposed to be a lighthearted joke but when I looked at Grayson, I could tell that he did not take it lightheartedly. His eyes were back to black, his jaw was clenched, and there were veins popping out of his neck and forehead. He looked absolutely murderous.
I gasped. "Oh, my God. Are you okay?"
He didn't respond. Instead, he closed his eyes and gripped the sides of his chair roughly, breathing in and out deeply.
For some reason, I felt myself become really worried. I didn't know what was happening but I wanted Grayson to be okay. I wanted to comfort him. "Can I do anything?" He said nothing. "Grayson?" I tried again.
When I said his name, his eyes snapped to mine, the blackness startling me. I deep rumble came from deep in his chest as he grabbed the back of my neck and brought my face towards his roughly. He stuffed his face into my neck and began breathing deeply. His entire body was shaking. "I love it when you say my name," I heard him say. His voice sounded deeper now, rougher. It was nothing like how sweet and tender it had sounded earlier.
He moved back and looked deep into my eyes. I knew that I should be frightened by how black his eyes were. I mean, he looked possessed. But, somehow, I found myself liking his black eyes almost as much as his green ones.
"Stay here," he said darkly. "Don't move."
I nodded my head, not wanting to go against his orders when he looked so deadly.
I watched him get up and make his way to the front of the plane and through the small doorway that lead to the first-class section. I leaned back in my seat. Maybe he just had to go to the bathroom.
But then I heard people screaming and yelling and the flight attendant was running up the aisle and people were getting out of there seats. So, immediately, I stood up and ran to the first-class section, wanting to see what all the commotion was about. Something was telling me to go out there.
When I entered the first-class section, the scene in front of me made all the color drain from my face. Grayson was standing in the middle of the aisle, holding the man who was originally sitting next to me up in the air by his neck. Was he trying to kill him? There were people surrounding him, trying to get his attention, pulling on him to try to get him to stop suffocating the man. But Grayson wasn't moving. He was like a statue.
Grayson was trying to kill him.