Page 29

CHAPTER 28

GRADY

S he tasted even sweeter than I’d imagined. Licking a long line up Jill’s core, her fingers yanked roughly on my hair and I smiled against her slick skin. This was everything I’d been dreaming about for weeks. Yeah, sliding my cock into her tight cunt was going to feel fucking incredible, but there was something particularly special about licking and sucking a woman mindless.

And Jill wasn’t just any woman.

She’d stopped being a sexual pursuit the second I’d realized who she was walking toward me in that library hallway. It might have been our chemistry driving us to this moment, to me fucking her with my tongue, but there was nothing casual or competitive about how I felt about her now.

She let out a frustrated whine, as I popped off her clit. “I’m going to make this good for you, Jill.” I flicked my tongue against the tiny bead, the thing red and swollen and glistening. “You need to come, baby?”

“ Yessss ,” she moaned, her head pitched back as she arched up into me.

Fuck, the sight of her was going to make me come again. Just like at the drive-in, that’s all it took. Hearing her, feeling her quake. Jill was the only woman who’d ever gotten me rock hard from just the idea of her coming for me. It was possessive and arrogant, and I fucking loved it.

Wrapping both arms around her hips I wrenched her toward me, meeting her eyes when she picked up her head to find mine.

“You ruined me back there, beautiful.” I smirked at her, letting her see how bad I wanted her. “Your turn.”

The first firework exploded in the sky above us, and when the white lights rained down they illuminated her perfect pussy as I lowered my head. She gasped as I clamped onto her clit and sucked. I licked in a rhythm, alternating strokes and sucks until she was bucking off the back seat, her throaty moans music to my ears.

With the sound of sizzles and pops overhead, I pulled her into my mouth and devoured her, feeling her pulse against my tongue as the blasts above vibrated through my chest.

I could tell she was close when her grip on my head changed, cupping my skull like a vice and holding me in place. I stayed where she wanted me, stroking her over and over until she started to shake, the orgasm rising in her like a wave. When it crested she gripped the seat, bowing up toward me, her mouth wide as a silent scream got trapped in her throat.

“ Grady !” she gasped, trembling and jerking, riding the aftershocks as I licked gently along her slit, trailing my fingertips along the soft skin of her thighs.

When she dropped back onto the seat with a thud I let out a laugh. “That’s my girl.”

She laughed back, looking down at me with one eye closed, like she was a little embarrassed. “You keep saying that.”

I smacked a loud kiss to her thigh. “‘Cause for the summer you are. You’re all mine.”

Maybe that was a dangerous concept to try on, but it felt right. It felt like the only way to do this was to frame it that way. I wasn’t labeling us or pretending we were more than we could be, but neither of us were seeing anyone else, so who else’s could she be?

Jill combed her hair back from her face, staring up at the sky through the sunroof. The fireworks picked up and I realized it was the near the end.

“Come here,” I said, offering my hand and helping her out. Facing the sky above, Jill leaned her back into my chest, and I wrapped my arms around her. “I’ve always loved the fourth,” I told her, my lips against her hair, taking in a long easy drink of her scent. “Love it even more now.”

I wasn’t sure any other memory of the holiday would be able to top this one.

Jill’s arms closed on top of mine, and she hugged me tighter. “It was never my favorite until today.”

The sky filled with smoke, a dozen crashing booms, one after the other, pounded through my chest, rocking right against my heart. Blues and reds and whites sparkled and faded, the crescendo building until it felt like there was no more room in the sky, no space between the riot of sensations, and then everything went black.

Jill spun in my arms, her eyes on my chest as she traced the line of my collarbone with her fingertip. “Was all of that part of your plan?”

“Not all,” I admitted. Never in my wildest dreams did I think she was going to stroke me into oblivion at the top of the Ferris wheel. And I’d never eaten a woman out in my backseat—or in public—before. “Not most,” I corrected, as she scrutinized me. “But I did see myself getting you one of those damn animals.” I scowled, shaking my head at being defeated by those stupid games. I half wanted to go back and try again.

People started to mill through the rows of cars, voices traveling back to us as the crowd approached. She chuckled under her breath, her bright smile shooting like an arrow right through me. “You can’t be good at everything, hot shot.”

“Pfft, of course you can,” I disagreed, letting her go to shut the backseat door and open hers for her. She went to move past me to get in, and I whispered in her ear, “You just distracted me, that’s all.”

A laugh bubbled out of her as she plopped inside and I shut the door. It wasn’t a lie; Jill was very distracting. Sometimes on purpose, sometimes by accident. Sometimes simply by existing in the world. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Come on ,” I groaned, tightening my hands on the steering wheel. Traffic coming out of Boston in the middle of July was the worst. I wasn’t even to the interstate yet and I was sitting in a parking lot. My GPS showed red all the way to the New Hampshire border and then another section of it once I got into Maine.

Jill was going to kill me.

The team doctor had called me down for a second evaluation, since I hadn’t seen him the other day, just the physical therapists. I’d tried to reschedule, but Blaise was making the time to join for the update, so I’d had no choice but to scramble back to the city the day of one of our biggest reading events. And the one furthest away. We’d had to book a couple of hotel rooms for the night so we didn’t have to drive the long way back through the dark winding western mountain roads.

I’d promised Jill I’d get out of there on time, and I had. But I was already twenty minutes behind schedule now and I’d be lucky to roll in as the event got started.

I pulled my phone from the cup holder to shoot her a message.

Grady: Running late. Traffic

Jill: Please tell me you’re messing with me

I cracked a smile, because if I was going to fuck with her, this was not how I’d do it. But she was cute for trying.

Grady: Sorry. Not kidding

The bubbles popped up and disappeared a few times as I crawled toward the exit for 95. Usually things lightened up once we split off 93, but I wasn’t holding my breath.

Jill: Please hurry. I’ll wait as long as I can

I could almost hear the desperation in her voice. Jill had come a long way since the first events we’d done, but it was unlikely she’d ever get comfortable having that many eyes trained on her. And she shouldn’t have to. It was my job to put the crowd’s attention on me, instead of her and it pissed me off I was letting her down.

Grady: I promise, I’ll do my best

I sighed, feeling helpless, tossing my phone back in the holder right before it pinged again.

Jill: I know you will

Damn . Did she have any idea how good it felt that she believed in me like that? It was like with four little words she’d taken the knife away from my throat because to be honest, I didn’t care about being late for the event. I only cared about her feeling like I’d let her down.

The traffic cleared up for a while, but when the brake lights lit up again, I cursed out loud. There were flashing lights about a half mile or so up the road, so I was hoping I’d be past whatever it was quick enough to keep making up time.

When the cars around me all came to a standstill, two ambulances raced up the breakdown lane, their sirens wailing. I closed my eyes. I hated the way hearing that sound and seeing the red and white lights affected me now. Ever since the drowning I couldn’t stop the panic that rattled through me the minute I heard sirens, even in the distance.

And these were up close. Too close. Three lanes collapsed into one, slowly, cars creeping along, one car letting another go. The process was painful. I tried turning up my music, doing my best to drown out the flashing lights and the sound of metal being cut with a saw. It was a sick fact that humans were so incapable of looking away from the tragedy of another.

I kept my eyes on the bumper in front of me when it was my turn to crawl past the scene of a brutal accident. Several cars were mangled and airbags hung out of the doors and windows with blood dripping off them.

“Jesus,” I hissed, forcing my eyes anywhere but at the scene.

But even in my periphery shapes took form; a fireman with a crowbar, a stretcher with a body strapped in, and then an EMT on the ground bent over one of the crash victims. I swear I never turned to look head on, but I didn’t need to. I knew what it was like to have paramedics check on you, to have them immobilize parts of your body. I knew how cold a stethoscope felt pressed to your chest when you were already shivering with panic, and the urgent sound of your vitals being called from one person to another.

By the time I’d coasted past the scene and the lanes opened back up again I felt sick to my stomach. Cars bobbed and weaved around me, jostling to accelerate first while I slowly ramped up in the right-hand lane, sucking for air.

A handful of miles went by before I’d regained myself to the point I could get back up to speed, and with one look at the clock I knew there was no way I was going to make it. The event started at 3:30 p.m.

Grady: ETA 4:18

Jill: Ok

That was all she said, as I pushed the pedal to the floor. I managed to shave off a couple of more minutes, but by the time my tires squealed into the parking lot of the rec center, there was no way the event hadn’t already started.

I raced inside, but slowed my steps as I approached the auditorium. We’d never talked about what to do in this situation and I didn’t want to wreck whatever improvisation she might have cooked up. One look through the side door and I saw Jill on stage, her face beet red and her hands shaking. She was describing the series I was supposed to be reading from, and she wasn’t doing that bad.

I considered letting her take on the whole show, knowing she’d hate it, but hoping it might be a way to prove she was more capable than she thought. But when she went to pick up the book, and I saw her eyes close as she tried to take a tight breath, I crumbled.

Pulling the door open I popped up the stairs, two at a time, watching in slow motion as her head whipped my way. Confusion and then elation lit up her face, her eyes glimmering with fresh emotion.

“Hey, beautiful,” I whispered, taking her hand in mine and leading her off the other side of the stage. She followed, her gaze locked on me with so much relief it was a punch to the gut. “One second, folks,” I called out to the cheering crowd right before Jill and I were hidden in the wing.

“ Grady ,” she exhaled, trembling.

“I’m so sorry,” I said, closing her in my arms and clamping down like a vice, needing the comfort she brought me just as badly. I sighed into her hair, the tension from the ride slipping away as she rubbed my back.

“I heard about the accident,” she said, her voice muffled against my chest. “For a second I thought . . .”

Jesus .

“No, no. I saw it though,” I told her, pulling back to find a pair of tears streaking down her face. I cupped her cheeks, swiping them away with my thumbs as she nodded.

“I know, it was silly. But I knew you were rushing and then when you finally texted me, I . . .” she shook her head. “I almost lost it.” A gust of air blew out of her. “And then I had to get on stage and I really did lose it.”

I stroked her cheeks, her jaw, the need to keep touching her like it was the only way to prove to her everything was okay.

“I saw you. You were doing all right.”

“How long have you been here?” she snapped, but her eyes lit up with a spark of humor at the same time.

“About twenty seconds,” I reassured her, leaning down to kiss her lightly. “I couldn’t watch you suffer, baby.”

“Thank you,” she whispered, her throat sounding tight again.

“Let me go do this thing and then we’ll get out of here, okay?”

Her nod was enthusiastic, her smile brightening.

“Be right back.” I gave her another quick kiss, feeling her fingers tighten around my wrist before she let me go.

Jill had fully recovered herself by the time I’d finished reading and the kids were jumping out of their seats for questions. She called on each child as she sat on the edge of the stage. Something about being down at their level seemed to help her get through this part, and I loved watching her interact with them. Eventually the program ended and the kids and parents filed out.

I hit the head while Jill gathered her things, and she was waiting for me by the door by the time I came back out.

“You ready?” I asked her, reaching to slip her bag off her shoulder and hanging it off mine.

“It’s raining,” she said, frowning as she pointed out the window. We’d talked about exploring the little town we were in, but getting soaked was definitely not in the plan.

“Perfect,” I said, shifting gears. “Takeout and a movie in the hotel then.” That change-up was a welcome one as far as I was concerned. Getting Jill all to myself for a relaxing evening in sounded pretty damn good.

“I like it,” she sighed heavily.

By the time we’d gotten our food and made it back to check-in to our adjoining rooms we were ready to be wrung out and both of us were starving.

“So much for a fun summer road trip,” Jill snickered as she hastily unlocked her door.

I shook my head, fighting with the key for mine. “I don’t know. I think this is even better. Meet in my room in ten?”

She nodded, pushing her door open. “You got it.”

I set our Thai food up on the tiny table in the corner, throwing on a fresh T-shirt and a pair of gray sweats that felt a million times better than the clothes previously adhered to my body. I toweled off my hair and was just hanging it up to dry when I heard a gentle knock at the inside door.

When I opened it Jill was waiting on the other side, her damp hair pulled back into a high ponytail. She’d changed into a pair of soft-looking wide leg pajama pants and a zipped-up hoodie. It was navy blue and had an emblem over her breast of an old-style treasure chest with books overflowing from it. It was kind of perfect for her.

“Miss me?” I asked, my wide shoulders nearly blocking the door frame.

“Missed my food is more like it,” she muttered, shoving me out of her way. “I should never have let you take all of it.”

She strode over to the table, ripping the plastic lid off her pad thai before she’d even taken a seat. It was a good sign that she was digging in so enthusiastically; it meant her anxiety had subsided.

I sighed, pulling out the other chair and taking a seat. Jill’d tucked her legs up under her and was stabbing at her food with the flimsy plastic fork. She looked so comfortable it helped me relax. I popped open my curry and shook some rice onto a plate, spooning the fragrant yellow sauce over top.

“God, I love food,” Jill murmured around a mouthful of noodles. “Good pick on the takeout place.” She smiled at me and I laughed, because I wasn’t sure she’d ever looked so cute.

“Not that there were many options, but I’ll take that win.” I took a bite and hummed in agreement, nodding to her. “Yeah, this’ll do.” The buttery sauce was delicious and for a few minutes we just sat stuffing our faces while the sound of the rain pounded on the roof.

Snagging a bottle from the six pack of beers we’d picked up, I reached for my bag, yanking my car keys out—and my bottle-opener keychain with them. “So, where’s your sweatshirt from?” I asked as I popped the cap and took a long, cold drink.

Jill glanced down, recognition hitting her as she swallowed. “Trope Trove. It’s a romance bookstore in New York.”

“Romance bookstore, like that’s all they sell?”

“Yep.” She stabbed at another piece of chicken, but was watching me for a reaction.

“That’s cool.” I fixed myself another plate of rice and curry. “Is that what you’ll do with your store when you open it?” I flicked my eyes up in time to catch the sly grin that unfurled on her face, like she’d seen me coming a mile away.

“If I won the lotto and had the money for it, yeah, I’d probably keep it to mostly romance. But there might be a little kid’s section in the corner. You know, so mom could look for herself while the kiddos are entertained.”

“That’s very thoughtful of you,” I said, laughing. “You don’t think it’s risky having dirty books right next to kid’s books?”

Jill rolled her eyes, but she was still lit up, as if talking about her ideas actually made her glow. “I think I could manage enough of a separation between the smut and the picture books.”

“Does that mean there are no smut-picture-books? Cause I could see a market for that.”

“Grow up, Holloway,” she said as she threw one of the free peppermints at me, the little thing pegging me right on the chin.

I went to catch it before it hit the floor, but I swung too wide and my arm clipped the table, sending my curry crashing into my lap, sauce and vegetables going everywhere.

Jill’s eyes went wide. “Oh god!” She grabbed for the wad of napkins on the table, dropping to her knees to wipe at the liquid dripping off me.

The second her hand came down on my thigh my dick jumped. The thing was already half hard at just the sight of her, but the minute she was actually touching me it was game over. And it took only a matter of seconds for her cleaning efforts to reveal exactly what was going on inside my pants.

“I’m good,” I tried, my voice noticeably tight, as I reached for the last of the napkins and scrubbed at the mess. “You don’t have to . . .”

Jill was still focused on blotting at the yellow stain when her fingers stroked over me and I flinched. Between the touch and the sight of her on her knees in front of me you could hardly blame me for being turned on.

She froze, her cheeks going red as she glanced up at me.

“I think I got this.” My chest rose a little higher as I worked to calm back down.

Something sweet and mischievous passed through her gaze, her teeth digging into her lower lip as she looked up at me. “We should really get these off of you,” she said, her words only barely above a whisper.

It was like time stood still. The world outside that tiny roadside motel ceased to exist as she put her hands on my thighs and slowly shifted between them. She took her time licking her lips as she dropped the napkins to the floor.

Since seeing Jill that first day a million different fantasies had passed through my head about how this moment could go down, but I was damn sure none of them had ever looked like this. With Jill’s eyes sparkling up at me, her pretty pink lips parted as she took short eager breaths. The tiniest peek of cleavage afforded by the angle I was now looking down her half-zipped sweatshirt. The slight flex of her fingertips against my legs as she waited for me to reply.

I hadn’t planned a single second of this and yet it felt so fucking perfect.

Because it just happened. Like it was impossible for it not to.

It was messy and real. Just like us.

With her eyes locked on mine, she crept her fingers up my legs, tucking them into the waist of my sweats when they got there, and then pausing for my approval.

“Are you sure?” I asked, stunned by the sight of the beautiful woman between my knees.

“I’ve been sure,” she replied, a fresh smile curling her lips. God she was gorgeous. So confident and free. This was the Jill too often hidden from the world. It felt like winning the fucking lotto that she revealed herself to me.

“Take what you want, beautiful,” I told her, cupping her jaw and skimming my thumb over the soft edge of her lip. I lifted my hips as she tugged my sweats down along with my boxers, the cold wood of the seat under my ass as my cock sprang free.

She’d seen me before, held me in her hands, but I swore her eyes went a little wider when they landed on my cock this time, the length of it straining up my stomach, already glistening at the tip.

As she moved closer, she trailed her fingertips faintly along the insides of my thighs, whisper light touches that sent fire straight through me. I ground my teeth, breathing through my nose as I watched her. When she turned and kissed the same path her fingers had traveled my muscles bunched, and she tilted her sexy fucking grin up at me.

“You gonna make it, hot shot?” she teased, enjoying the reaction she got from me.

“You don’t have to wor?—”

Jill’s tongue flattened against the underside of my cock, and she licked from base to tip in one long, slow stroke. It felt so fucking good I threw my head back and my groan filled the room. It was like I’d been starved for her touch and even the slightest sensation exploded through me.

I needed something to hold on to, so I laced my fingers gently through her hair, working hard to keep from gripping her ponytail and pulling her sweet mouth down on me. This was her show. For now.

Giving me one more devilish grin, she circled my dick with her fingers and gave it a few tender strokes. Then she tipped forward, my cock disappearing into her mouth, one inch after another until I was half gone, tapping the back of her throat with the head.

She pulled off and sucked me in again and I wasn’t sure I’d ever felt anything so fucking good. Jill was gripping the base, following her mouth up to the tip and then stroking me as she sucked me back down. She slicked the shaft and danced over the vein that bulged out, tracing it with the point of her tongue and sending heat straight up my spine.

I was mumbling garbled praises and reassurances, my eyes fixed on the back of her head as she worked me.

Yes baby.

Just like that.

Fuck. Don’t stop.

The rhythm she set was perfect, hard sucks and tight pumps that had me building up faster than I wanted. It felt fucking amazing, but right as the tension started to burn, I pulled her off of me and yanked her to her feet.

“More. You . Now,” I grunted. Gripping the waistband of her pajama pants, I tugged them down, shucking mine the rest of the way right after.

Jill’s confusion was temporary as I hauled her onto my lap and ripped my shirt over my head. Her greedy eyes traced over every muscle, every ridge and valley, the hunger in her gaze enough to make me feel like a fucking king. I worked hard on my body for utility, but seeing her appreciation for it was a pretty nice bonus.

When I pinched the zipper of her hoodie, I paused. “Tell me you want this. All of it.”

Peeking out from behind loose strands of hair, the smile she gave me was molten. “Do you still want me to beg?”

I shook my head, grinning at her coy remark. “You will.”

Hasty fingers did away with the rest of her clothes, pausing for only a moment to appreciate the sexy-as-hell camisole she’d had hidden under that hoodie, before I ripped it off and feasted my eyes on her, fully naked for the first time. She was better than everything I’d imagined.

My hands trembled as I molded them to her curves. Heavy breasts and soft, lush hips. Digging my fingers into her as she slicked her soaked pussy over me again, I let out a groan.

“So fucking perfect,” I ground out, looking down at how wet she’d gotten from sucking me off.

I was reaching for the condoms in the bottom of my bag as she rubbed her clit along my tip and shuddered.

“Hurry,” she murmured, gripping tight handfuls of my hair.

“That’s it. Tell me how bad you want it.”

“Not it,” she swallowed, her caramel-colored eyes on mine as she shook her head. “You.”

My chest cinched tight, her words burning into me. Desperate and aching. I brushed my lips across hers, inhaling her impatient whimper as I shoved the condom down and jerked her hips toward mine.

I slipped my fingers between her legs. “How bad, baby?”

“ Please ,” she whispered, her arms banding around my neck as she nipped my ear.

“That’s my girl,” I sighed, fisting my cock and lining us up. “We’ve waited long enough.”

She held my gaze as I notched myself at her entrance and slipped inside.

“ Graaaady, ” she groaned, taking relief in the first few inches.

My lungs burned as I held myself steady, fighting the impulse to claim her with a single thrust. But her mouth had fallen open, her eyes so wide and awestruck I froze.

“I can’t—” Her cheeks flushed as she bit her lip.

“You can. It’ll fit.”

“Grady . . .”

“I’ve got you, baby,” I whispered, kissing her as I stroked over her clit. Her sweet eyes fluttered closed as a low moan came from her throat. “You’re going to take every inch of me, gorgeous, just like I promised.”