Page 54 of Falling for a Grumpy Hero
LILA
R ain whispered on the rooftop, a steady patter like distant applause. It wrapped around the house in a gentle rhythm, splattering against the windows and merging into a chaotic percussion that surged and softened on the whims of the wind.
After a frantic dash back to Ford’s house in the heavy downpour, we’d grabbed quick showers to warm up, had one last drink for the night with my parents, and then we’d all crawled into bed.
Cocooned under the covers with him, I slipped my thigh between his legs and one of my hands splayed across the muscles in his back.
“A block party just for me,” I murmured quietly as I looked up at him. “You really didn’t have to do that.”
He let out a chuckle that I could barely hear over the storm, but since my parents were asleep next door, neither of us wanted to take any chances.
“I didn’t have to, but I wanted to. You were so excited for the last one, and because of me, your memories of it aren’t amazing. I wanted to give you better memories.”
I touched a palm to his cheek. “Yet you say you’re not the kind of man I deserve. Do you even realize how few people would do something like that? You’re a unicorn, Ford Callahan. Don’t keep selling yourself short.”
The corners of his mouth twitched into a half-smile. “I’m not sure calling a guy a unicorn is the compliment I think you meant it as, but I guess I do have a horn.”
I chuckled and scooted even closer to him, feeling said horn pressing into my lower belly.
Need started blossoming deep inside as soon as I realized how turned on he was.
Glancing up at his strong profile illuminated by the faint hue of the fairy lights strung up outside, I snaked my hand down between our bodies.
Ford groaned, bending his head closer and whispering against my ear. “Your parents are one wall away.”
“We’d better keep it quiet, then.” I smiled and pressed an open-mouthed kiss to his collarbone, his skin hot under my lips.
I felt him tremble slightly and my smile widened as I titled my head to dot kisses on his throat, his chest, and the underside of his jaw. His grip on my hip tightened, but he didn’t object or pull away, so I supposed he wasn’t that worried about my parents.
Besides, with the storm still raging outside, the house wasn’t completely quiet. It wasn’t like they’d hear soft moans or whispers.
Feeling a little like a teenager again, I pushed at his shoulder to roll him onto his back. He followed willingly, his breathing already getting more labored. I kept pressing those open-mouthed kisses to his chest.
He was shirtless, wearing only sweatpants after our shower. I slid closer to his side and ran a hand up and down his ribs as I blew my breath across the spots I’d just kissed. Another low groan came out of him. His eyelids slid shut.
I closed my own eyes and just focused on his body, licking, nipping, and dragging the tip of my nose across his torso.
In the time we’d been together, I’d learned that even though our first times in bed had been urgent, hard, and fast, Ford liked to go slow.
He liked to take his time and savor my body and I’d realized I liked it too.
Since we had time tonight, I didn’t race for the finish line.
I dragged my fingertips all over the wide expanse of his chest, tugging at the thicker hairs in the center and sealing my lips over his nipples.
I ran my tongue in circles around them, relishing every dip of his muscles and every quiet moan.
He stroked his hands across my back, his fingers digging into me as his breathing grew more and more labored.
Tracing a line to his belly button with my tongue, I let my hands stroke over his oh-so-happy trail and felt like I’d been hit with a lightning bolt of desire when his hips bucked against me.
My entire body felt like it was humming with electricity, need coursing through me as hot as lava. I moaned and hooked my fingers around the elastic waistband of his sweats, already knowing he didn’t have underwear on underneath.
As soon as I lifted the sweats over his erection, his cock sprang free, hard, heavy, and glistening at the tip.
My nipples started aching for his touch, my clit pulsing like a homing beacon.
I ducked under the covers and wrapped my lips around his smooth length, sucking him deep into my mouth and bringing a hand up to cup his balls.
He groaned a little louder this time, one of his hands sliding across the back of my head and taking my hair into a firm grip. The other dug into the sheets beside me, his body practically thrumming with tension.
I tucked my hair behind my ears, not that it did me much good under the blankets, but at least it wasn’t getting in my way.
Moving my free hand to his hip, I withdrew my mouth before sliding down again, quickly getting a rhythm going that wasn’t fast enough to push him over the edge, but more than enough to get him gyrating his hips and writhing underneath me.
When he’d taken all he could, he squeezed my shoulders, panting as I crawled up over him. Without saying a word, he pulled his soft shirt that I’d been using as pajamas over my head and lifted his own to suck one of my nipples into his mouth.
So worked up that sparks exploded behind my eyes when he did, I pushed my panties down, kicked them away and climbed on top of him. Locking my gaze on his when he released my nipples with a wet pop, I combed my fingers through his hair and gave him what I knew would be a slightly nervous smile.
“I did something a couple days ago,” I murmured just loud enough that he’d be able to hear me above the rain thundering against the roof. “Do you remember when we talked about birth control?”
Those silvery eyes widened in the dark and he swallowed hard, his throat working as he cocked a pitch black eyebrow at me. “What did you do?”
“I got the birth control shot,” I confessed, laughing when he suddenly sat up and crushed his mouth to mine. In between feverish kisses, I wrapped my arms around his neck and spoke against his lips. “Well, someone seems excited about this.”
As he kissed me, he lined himself up with my entrance and groaned when he was nestled between my slick folds. “Why did I have to bring your parents out here this weekend? All I want to do right now is live inside you.”
“We’ve got all night.” I slanted my lips over his and lifted up on my knees, slowly lowering myself down over him with nothing between us for the first time.
He was so much hotter bare, everything somehow so much more intense. Ford growled into our kisses, thrusting up before he’d even given me time to adjust. I was so ready that I moved with him, completely lost to the raw, animalistic energy suddenly building between us.
Tension coiled low in my belly, pleasure streaking through me with every stroke of him against my most sensitive spot inside. I moaned into our kisses, moving faster until I found a rhythm I couldn’t resist.
Almost immediately, I felt an orgasm starting to build, rushing toward me at lightning speed until it swept me under like a tsunami. I clenched down on him, my entire body going rigid as my mind shattered and I came apart around him.
Ford swelled deep inside me, breaking the kiss to sink his teeth into my shoulder to try to keep it down. For the first time ever, I felt him spilling his seed into my body instead of a condom and the sensation triggered a series of aftershocks so intense that I was spent in the wake of them.
He collapsed against the mattress, bringing me along with him. I burrowed into his side, my eyelids sliding shut until I heard him murmur into the dark. “I love you too, you know.”
My entire being stilled, my heart catapulting before it started doing skips and jumps.
Exhilaration and the purest joy shot through me, tears stinging the backs of my eyes.
I nearly rolled out of bed to start doing a happy dance, but instead, I just glanced up at him, feeling his heartbeat steady beneath my palm.
“I want to paint your whole room a muted pink,” I replied quietly. “Would you still love me if I did that?”
“You can do whatever you want as long as you don’t touch any of my power tools.
” He dropped a kiss to the top of my head.
“I love you, Lila Winslow. I should’ve told you that night when you told me, but I wasn’t in my right mind and I’m sorry.
I did love you then, though. Not as much as I love you now and less than I’m going to love you tomorrow, but I’ve loved you for a long time and if you’ll let me, I’m going to keep loving you for the rest of my life. ”
The tears broke free, quietly sliding down my cheeks. I pressed a kiss to the underside of his jaw. “I love you too, and I know I shouldn’t have blurted it out that night, but I got overwhelmed by just how much I love you and it kind of it just came out.”
He chuckled. “I’m glad it did. Thank you for waiting for me, baby. I know it can’t have been easy for you.”
“No, but it was worth it.” I squeezed him tight and closed my eyes, both of us exchanging I love yous late into the night until finally we drifted off to sleep in each other’s arms.