His Sweet Revenge

Chapter 40.

My eyes flutter open. It's still dark outside and my neck hurts as I look around. The clock on the bedside table reads three-fifteen. I've only slept for about an hour. Grayson sits on the edge of the bed by the footboard.

His back is bare. I can see the curve of his spine and the muscles in his back.

I crawl over to him and he turns his head in my direction.

"Hey," he whispers. "Did I wake you?"

I slide my hand over his back and feel his warm skin against my fingers, on my knees next to him. "No." I place a kiss on his shoulder. "What are you doing awake?"

He reaches for me, placing his hand over mine on his shoulder. "I couldn't sleep."

I kiss his jaw and hear him release a breath. Then I work my way down his neck, over his throat, and listen to the way his breathing changes.

I stop, pull away, and grab the chain around his neck in my hand.

I can't believe it took me this long to remember him. To realize it was him. When I realized what Grayson's father's name was, it all clicked into place shortly afterward. I was in the police station, looking at James when it dawned on me.

"Mike. It was you. You kept it after all these years?"

He smiles slightly, looking me in the eyes. "Of course I did. Someone took it for a long time, though. But I never forgot about it. And I never forgot you. You were kind to me. Probably the only one who was in the whole town. I never wanted anything else in this world more than I wanted you."

My heart aches. I kiss his collarbone. "Why didn't you ever tell me?"

Mike was a scrawny kid. Tiny with blonde hair. I was surprised he was fourteen because, at the time, he looked younger than I did. And Grayson is the complete opposite now. Dark hair. Stronger. Different.

"We were just kids, Layla. It wouldn't have changed anything. I wanted you to know me for who I am now."

Mike spent the summer with me, tucked away in Grandpa's office. I don't remember a lot of it. A lot was going on that summer. And the summer after that, I didn't even realize he was gone.

It was a hard summer. But that's no excuse. I should have remembered. I should have remembered his eyes when I first met him at Hale's place.

I was always attracted to him. From the very first moment that I met him. And I couldn't understand why. Layla, this is my nephew Grayson. And I thought he was a stranger. A stranger I wanted to have for reasons I couldn't put my finger on.

And maybe what I felt for him prevented me from ever being fully present in my relationship with Liam. Good for that.

But he remembered me. He always remembered me. He kept the chain. The one I gave him on the last day of summer that year. He kept it. He kept me.

I use his shoulders for support as I slide onto his lap, straddling him. He cups my face in his hands, inspecting my neck, turning my head from one side to the other.

He clicks his tongue at the sight of it. I must have started to bruise.

I lean back slightly and listen to the slight groan that escapes his lips. I reach out, placing a hand on his body. Feeling his bare chest against my palm, letting it travel down his stomach.

"You're so different now," I whisper.

"I had to be." His voice is husky, I can almost hear his desire. "Do you think they'd be able to bully me now?"

I laugh slightly, shaking my head, staring down at his body. "No. They'd be stupid to even try. You're perfect, Gray. Every inch of you is perfect. It always was."