Until You (Off-Limits)

“Didn’t you used to work for Torsis, that little boutique firm?” Laura asks, sounding excited. I’m surprised she walked up to my desk at all. In the last couple of weeks we’ve only spoken a handful of times. She always keeps to herself. I initially thought she just didn’t like me until I realized she doesn’t hang out with the rest of the team either. It’s only Gray she ever really speaks to.

I frown and nod at her. “I did.”

She laughs and hands me her phone. “You got out just at the right time, then. Some dude named Brad single-handedly caused the demise of your old firm. Did you know him?”

I nod, reading through the article in shock. Torsis is on the brink of bankruptcy and facing multiple lawsuits due to the delivery of faulty software. Looks like they managed to trace it all back to Brad.

Impossible. I worked on a lot of these projects, and I know everything was working flawlessly when I left. What happened?

My hand is shaking as I hand Laura back her phone. “What a moron,” she says, laughing. “Such a large-scale scandal is rare. I can’t believe how lucky you were to leave when you did. That Brad guy must be a moron.”

“He is,” I say, my eyes turning toward Grayson’s office. He is a moron, but I worked closely on many of the projects named in the article. This couldn’t have happened unless it was orchestrated. I watch Gray through his open office door, my heart starting to race as I think back to his bruised knuckles the day after Brad broke my heart. Could it be?

I smile at Laura and rise from my seat. “Excuse me,” I tell her, my legs barely holding me up as I walk to Gray’s office, hesitating in his doorway.

He looks up at me, his lips tipping up in a smile. “Aria.”

I walk in and close the door behind me, my hands shaking. Gray rises from his seat and walks toward me, meeting me halfway. “What’s wrong?” he asks, his voice tinged with worry.

“Did you hear?” I whisper. “About Torsis?”

Something flickers in his eyes, and my heart starts to hammer in my chest. I swallow hard as I gather my courage. “Was it you?”

Gray tenses and raises a hand to my face, his expression unreadable as he brushes my hair out of the way before cupping my cheek, his thumb tracing over the edge of my lips. When he looks at me this way, my heart can’t help but race.

“Yes,” he says, taking a step closer to me, and I place my palms on his chest. Gray raises his other hand to my face and cups the back of my head, his fingers threading through my hair. The way he’s holding me… it’s intimate, yet his body is barely touching mine.

“Brad was a fool to mess with you,” he tells me, his thumb stroking the edge of my lips. “A fucking fool. When I saw those tears in your eyes… there’s no way he was going to get away with what he did. No fucking way. No one hurts you and gets away with it. No one. Not on my fucking watch. I will never sit there and watch your heart break, Ari.”

The way he looks at me, the intensity in his eyes… no one has ever made me feel as special as Gray unknowingly does. I never asked him to do any of this for me, and I never would have expected it. He took my pain and avenged me as if it were his own, never even telling me how much he’s done for me.

I rise to my tiptoes, Gray’s hand slipping away as I press a kiss to his cheek, my lips lingering. His hand wraps around the back of my neck, his thumb resting on my throat as my body melts into his. He turns his face just a little, and my lips brush against his.

I swallow hard and pull away to look into his eyes. The way he’s holding me, one hand around the back of my neck and the other wrapped into my hair… I doubt he realizes how that affects me, how intimate it is.

“Thank you,” I whisper, barely able to hold his gaze. The intensity he’s looking at me with has my body responding in ways it shouldn’t.

I slide my palms up, enjoying the feel of the muscles underneath his shirt as my arms wrap around his neck. I lean in to hug him, my body pressed against his. Gray holds me tightly, and I can’t help but wonder if this feels the same to him.

“Would you have told me if I hadn’t found out?” I murmur against his shirt, my forehead resting against his chest.

Gray tightens his grip on me and rests his chin on top of my head. “No.”

I chuckle. I can’t help it. “Grayson,” I whisper. “You’re amazing. I don’t know how you did it, but I’m grateful. I shouldn’t be. I shouldn’t be so vicious… but the thought of Brad and my manager not getting away with how they treated me makes me breathe easier.”

He presses a kiss on top of my head, and I lean back to look at him. His eyes find mine, and I wish I knew what he’s thinking. Sometimes, when he looks at me this way, I could swear there’s more between us… that I’m not just his best friend’s little sister.

I take a step away, Gray’s hands falling away. “I’ll get back to work,” I murmur, and he nods. I feel his gaze on me as I walk away, and I’m giddy as I head back to my desk.

I catch Laura staring at me, her gaze moving between me and Gray’s office, her curiosity apparent. I can’t help but blush, and she smiles as she looks away. I hope I didn’t just start false rumors about Gray and me. I have a feeling he wouldn’t appreciate that at all. Not just because of his private nature, but also because of who I am.