All The Wild Ones | Wildfire Series

Poco-a-Poco

GRAYSON

As I led Nessa into my room, I thanked my lucky stars that it was somewhat clean.

A few books were strewn on my desk, one small pile of laundry in the corner, but that was it. Sheets were clean, garbage wasn't overflowing. Manageable.

After throwing my jacket over my desk, I turned to watch her enter. Everything about Nessa was hesitant, absolutely nothing like how she'd acted less than an hour ago. Settled on that baby grand, her head was thrown back, eyes blazing, legs spread. It was so easy to imagine her riding me like that.

Fuck, I needed to stop my mind from going down that rabbit hole. I'd already had to tuck in one hard-on tonight.

With a critical eye, Nessa watched me as she hovered near the door. I sighed.

"You can stop looking like you're afraid that I'm going to rip your clothes off and come on in."

The skepticism in her expression twisted into recognizable arousal, and I immediately knew I shouldn't have said that. I really, really shouldn't have said that. Because now I imagined a completely different scene, one where I slammed the door, pushed her up against it, and tore that dress off. And if I had to guess, Nessa's mind was in the exact same place.

This girl wanted me. We had that connection, and she knew it. Her body did, anyway. But I saw the hesitancy in her heart.

No wonder my friendly gestures had turned her off at first. No wonder they'd convinced her that I was only interested in using her. Jaxon, or whatever the hell his name was, bribed her into bed, into falling in love, took what he wanted, and left.

I hoped we met someday so I could break his nose.

Nessa stepped into the room, closing the door behind her with a gentle click. She looked around for a moment before clearing her throat and fanning a hand in front of her face.

"It's hot in here."

I turned to dig through my closet so she wouldn't see my smirk. The heat had nothing to do with the temperature in the room.

"Go crack open the window," I said anyway, pulling out some clothes for us both to change into.

There was a rustling, and when I spun back around, she stood at the window, staring out of it. A light breeze drifted in through the small crack, and her dress rustled against her legs.

Everything about her was...holy hell. I needed to thank Madie and Bren for occupying her room tonight because the idea of getting Nessa to myself for the next few hours was heaven. Even if I couldn't touch her. Even if we were just sleeping.

"Here are some clothes you can wear," I murmured, tossing the sweats on my bed.

Clearing her throat again, she peeked over her shoulder. "Can you uh—unzip me?"

Alright, maybe this wasn't quite heaven. No, it was some kind of test to see if I'd even make it past the pearly gates one day.

"Of course."

She moved her hair to the side, and I slipped one hand between her skin and the dress to grip it. The other began working the zipper down, revealing more smooth, olive-toned skin. And no bra.

A hushed goddamn slipped through my lips.

It was all I said, but Nessa must have been able to hear my thoughts. Shyness swam in her voice. "I don't have any fancy lingerie, and wearing my normal boring things didn't feel right with this dress."

"So the next best option is to wear nothing at all, huh?"

Nessa shrugged, and I had to bite my tongue to keep from asking if she'd gone without underwear, too. That slit in her dress had been so high on her leg earlier. One little slip on the piano, and—