Page 18 of Adored by the Grumpy Ghost (Mapletown Monster Mates #1)

“So, I was okay?” Winston asks, shaking me from my memories of Kyle.

His expression is shy as he waits for my answer.

He rubs the back of his neck nervously. Winston is a tree of a man, but right now he looks like a lost little boy.

Shy Winston is probably the most charming version I’ve seen thus far.

“You mean the kiss? It was better than okay. It was,” ––I sigh heavily as I remember how hot it was, how wet it made me––“incredible.”

He smiles as his gaze dips to the floor. “I thought I did it wrong. Or not the way people do it nowadays. It’s been over a century since I’ve kissed anyone.”

I chuckle at his admission, relieved that I wasn’t the only who spent the evening obsessing over it. “I can assure you that your kissing game is still very strong.”

I reach out to pat his arm, but he grabs my wrist and pulls me against him.

“Natalie,” Winston rumbles, and fuuuuck me, that voice alone makes my pussy clench. He pulls my hand up to his face and presses my fingertips against his lips. “I want to do it again. Will you let me?”

I practically melt where I stand. Who knew seeking consent could sound so hot?

“Yes,” I mutter. My voice oozes with desperation, but I don’t even have time to feel embarrassed before Winston’s mouth crashes into mine, hot with need.

Our teeth gnash against each other at first, but then we find a rhythm, our tongues dancing, twisting as he walks us over to my bed.

I push the suspenders off his shoulders and pull his shirt free from the rigid tuck it’s always in. “Take this off.”

His laugh is husky as he follows my command, tossing the shirt behind him.

“Mm,” I moan as I run my hands along his chest, then his abs, tracing every dip and curve of his muscled upper body, eager to learn it. “You are also quite dazzling, you know.”

He kisses me long and deep, then presses his forehead against mine as he whispers, “Glad you think so.”

A shiver rips through me as his hands cup my breasts, lifting them, testing the weight, then rubbing both nipples into hardened peaks through my shirt. “What’s this?” he asks, eyeing a stain in the center of my t-shirt.

“I spilled a shot of rum.”

He shakes his head, an amused expression softening his features. “How can one person be so messy?”

“I came out of the womb knocking shit over. What about you? How can one person be so stubborn?”

Winston’s face falls. “I wasn’t always like this. Neatness was the only way I could show I belonged. Like I was one of them . That, and speaking eloquently with an authoritative tone. I was told that these behaviors would fool enough people in their social circles into thinking I came from wealth.”

Them? “Your wife and her family?”

He nods. “I didn’t have money, or class, but if I kept things tidy, and lost my cool when they weren’t, they’d treat me like I almost fit in. Stomping around looking for someone to yell at seemed to be my ticket in with the wealthy white men in the area.”

“The path many mediocre white men take to the top,” I add.

I wrap my arms around his neck and pull him close, rubbing the tip of my nose against his. “You can be as messy as you want around me.”

He looks skeptical. “I might be too far gone. Old habits die hard, or so I’ve heard.”

“That’s okay, too. Just be who you are. Be you. That’s who I want.”

“And what if who I am,” he pauses, tracing a finger along my jaw. The green of his eyes darkens as he stares at my mouth, “is a man aching to taste you?”

The mattress hits the back of my legs, and I fall onto it, lying back. He drops to his knees in front of me.

“Take off your clothes, Natalie.”

His gaze remains locked on my body as I remove my shirt, then my pants.

Any self-conscious thoughts that pop into my head are easy to ignore under his heavy-lidded gaze.

It feels like a caress. He doesn’t skip over my tummy, either, like Kyle used to.

Winston’s attention is focused on every jiggle and roll as I remove my bra.

“Fuck,” he groans as he takes me in. “You are marvelous .”

He crawls over me, and I suck in a breath as his lips close around my nipple.

My back arches and my fingers get tangled in his hair as I hold him against my chest. I feel his tongue flick against it, sending a jolt of electricity down to my toes.

His hand works my other breast, squeezing it and plucking my nipple until it aches in the most delicious way.

“Yes,” I whimper, my nails digging into his scalp. I’d worry about hurting him, but he’s dead already. Plus, with his grip tightening and the way he’s growling against my chest, I think he likes it.

His mouth moves to the other breast, giving it equal attention, and my clit throbs.

God, I want all of him right now, but I don’t want to rush this.

I want to let him worship me with his mouth.

I deserve to be worshiped. Every woman does, and I can’t even remember the last time I was, so it’s my turn, and I’m taking it.

Winston releases my nipple with a soft pop, and moves down between my breasts, leaving soft, tender kisses along my skin. He pauses before reaching my stomach. “I want to kiss you here, Natalie. May I? Please?”

“How could I deny a begging man?” I say with a teasing grin.

He shoots me that winning smile, that incredible dimple emerges and I feel like I’ve been given a gift.

Perhaps it’s this moment, or maybe it’s just him.

Sure, he may act like a cranky old man most of the time, but there are so many other layers to Winston.

I’m eager to peel each one away to see what I’ll discover next.

His hands stroke over my belly, his lips following suit, and I prop myself up on my elbows so I don’t miss a moment.

He’s taking his time as he kisses up and down and around my belly button, telling me without words how much he adores this part of me.

Seeing it, the way he’s caring for me, I start to believe him.

Tears sting my eyes, but I blink them away before they can ruin the moment.

His fingers trace the edge of my underwear, and he dips between my legs, running his nose along my seam as he takes a deep inhale.

“You smell so fucking good.” Quickly, he pulls my underwear down my legs and tosses it aside.

“Open wider for me,” he commands, his palms pressing against the insides of my knees. “Let me see all of you.”

For someone who was worried he forgot how to kiss, he clearly remembers how to do everything else. He’s so confident. Determined.

His pupils expand as he spreads the lips of my pussy. “You’re so wet, Natalie. Is this all for me?”

He doesn’t let me respond before he runs his tongue from the bottom of my seam to my clit, making my body buck. He chuckles, the sound reverberating through my clit as he laps at my center. I cry out, my body already shaking. We’ve only just begun. It usually takes me forever to orgasm.

There’s always that part at the beginning where I need to tell myself to relax and get out of my head so I can actually enjoy it. Then the part where I wonder how I look from that angle, and if my lower half has been properly groomed. After that passes, I start to get into it.

But Winston has me skipping those stages, and I can feel my climax starting to build at the base of my spine. If I had known a ghost could get me off this fast, I would’ve been summoning spirits with a Ouija board every night instead of swiping through dating apps.

“You taste amazing,” he whispers between licks. “I knew you’d taste divine, but this… Fuck .”

When his head dips back down between my thighs, he devours me like a ravenous beast.