Selina's breath caught when she felt the warmth of his mouth against her skin. Gray's focus had narrowed completely. Nothing existed for him right now except her. A soft sound escaped her lips.His tongue moved slowly across her nipple, already stiff at his touch. Her back lifted off the bed and her breath left her in a rush. Shivers ran all the way down her spine. Gray's mouth was warm and completely unhurried, drawing a quiet sound from her with each pass of his tongue, each soft pull. He was patient with her, working thoroughly in a way that made thinking difficult.His hands held her steady as he moved to the other side, tracing a slow path across her chest without ever fully leaving her skin. She felt his tongue circle her other nipple, teasing rather than giving her what she wanted, and instinctively she shifted toward him. Gray lifted his head. "Do that again," he said quietly, "and I stop." Selina went still immediately. She gave a small nod, her expression stripped of eve

It was the best night Gray had had in a long time.He blinked awake early, the soft morning light pressing through the gap in the curtains. For a moment he didn't move. He lay there on his back, staring at the ceiling, feeling strangely light. His body should have been tired after everything — and it was, a little — but underneath that was something that felt close to rest.Beside him, Selina was still asleep. Her breathing was slow and even, her hair loose and slightly tangled from sleep. One hand rested on his stomach. She looked completely at ease. Gray turned his head and looked at her. A small smile came without him deciding to."Last night was something else," he thought. Before the thought could go anywhere, the door erupted. BANG. BANG. BANG. "Brother! Sister Selina! Are you awake?! Hello?!" Gray nearly came out of his skin. Beside him, Selina's eyes snapped open and she let out a short gasp, sitting up fast. "What's happening?" she mumbled, still half asleep. "Lily," G

Gray arrived at the Davenport Building just past eleven in the morning.He stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for one of the upper corporate floors — the one that led to Chloe's office. As the elevator climbed, he leaned back against the mirrored wall and let the quiet of it settle around him.It had been a while. Weeks, maybe closer to a month, since he had last seen her. Their most recent meeting had been a dinner at a restaurant, and after that, nothing — no calls, no messages, just the occasional piece of news that reached him secondhand through other people.From what he had heard, Chloe had taken on a more significant role in the company while continuing her studies on the side. That didn't surprise him. What surprised him — in the best way — was that she was managing both without losing her footing. He thought back to their tutoring sessions, to the version of her that had sat across a desk from him struggling to make sense of the material. She had come a long way

Gray sat alone in his office that afternoon.Sunlight pressed through the window and spilled across his desk, landing squarely on the folder Chloe had handed him. He hadn't opened it again yet. His gaze just rested on it while his mind stayed elsewhere."Mr. Davenport wants to talk to me," he murmured.He leaned back in his chair. The thought had been circling since he left the building. Not with any particular anxiety, more like a quiet curiosity with a thin edge of caution underneath it.The last time he had met Chloe's father was the day Jonathan Davenport had introduced him to the company's board members. That felt like a long time ago now. They hadn't spoken since. From what Gray had gathered through the usual channels, Jonathan was still busy, still running things well."I wonder why now," he thought.His fingers tapped lightly on the armrest. The store was the most likely answer. The expansion had been getting attention lately, and Jonathan Davenport was not the kind of man who

"Gray, do I even have the right to be jealous when we're not... even together?"The words had slipped out before she could stop them. Selina felt it the instant they left her mouth. The shift in the air, the sudden weight of something she hadn't intended to say out loud.She looked away immediately, her hand moving to her glass as if the question had belonged to someone else.Gray didn't speak right away. He just looked at her. The teasing had gone out of his expression, replaced by something quieter. He let the silence sit for a moment, searching his mind for an adequate response.Then, from nearby, came the soft notes of a piano drifting in from somewhere deeper in the restaurant."Good evening, sir, ma'am. Are you ready to order?"Both of them turned. The waiter stood beside the table, notepad in hand, professional smile in place.Selina straightened immediately, smoothing her hair back. "Ah, yes," she said quickly. "I think we are."Gray cleared his throat and looked down at the