Page 131 of The Ampersand Effect

“Hold on tight, baby,” Grier whispered in her ear.

Grier’s lips hit her sternum, her tongue tracing a slow path beneath the edge of her tank top. She cupped Tobin’s breasts through the fabric, lifting and rounding them out of the neckline, her mouth following with lazy kisses over the swells. Shethumbed her nipples over the thin cotton, sending a wave of pleasure to Tobin’s anticipating center.

Then she tugged the collar of the tank down, dragging her bra with it, and immediately found her nipple—sliding it into the depths of her hot, wet mouth.

Tobin moaned, head falling back against the tree.Good gods, Grier was devastating with that mouth.

Grier chuckled airily, grazing Tobin’s nipple between her teeth. Tobin hissed at the shift in sensation and bucked her hips into Grier’s abdomen. She found no friction; Grier countered the movement, jutting her hips backward at the same time—seemingly predicting Tobin’s need and outmaneuvering her, taking her sensitized nipple with her.

Tobin whimpered in protest, her need overwhelming. She wasn’t in control anymore—of her body, or her volume.

“You said this place was quiet enough…” Grier teased, releasing her nipple with a sly flick of her tongue. “But I think you can do better.”

Then she backed away, her chest no longer flush against Tobin’s, scanning their surroundings with something wicked behind her lashes. Her eyes stopped—alighting with intent.

Grier bent down.

Tobin was about to protest the loss of contact when Grier suddenly returned, waving a small stick between their faces with an expression equal parts seductive and conspiratorial. Tobin’s blood pounded in her ears. Grier leaned in and kissed her—hard—then pulled back to command, “Bite this.” She didn’t wait before pushing the stick between her teeth.

Grier kissed her again, chastely, pressing against the curve of Tobin’s mouth where it curled around the stick. Then, without a word, she dropped gracefully to her knees.

Her knees!

Tobin felt Grier shove her tank top up around her stomach, felt her breath catch as featherlight kisses edged along the top of her shorts while Grier’s fingers worked to release the button and zipper.

Tobin dropped her head back against the tree and gripped the trunk, her hands still where Grier had placed them.

Was this really happening?

All of her teenage fantasies swam behind her closed eyelids, summoning a libido she’d thought had gone dormant. None of her fantasies had included her being practically restrained against one of the trees—butfuck, Grier had this skill for manifesting Tobin’s fantasies and amplifying them in ways her brain failed to compute, overwhelmed by the physical pleasure before the comprehension could hit.

Tobin felt her shorts shimmy down her thighs—skintight as they were—and goosebumps erupted over her entire body when the open air hit the wetness between her legs. It snapped her back into the present. The present where Grier was kissing her inner thigh, squeezing her bare ass in both hands, inching her lips closer… closer—

“-uck!” Tobin shouted, the stick between her teeth garbling the start of the word just as Grier’s tongue slid through her folds.

Her heels dug into the earth. She clenched harder against the tree, bracing against the wracking pleasure Grier’s tongue worked over her clit. Her legs went weak, and she was grateful for her grip on the trunk at that moment.

She was grateful for the whole damn tree, honestly.

Seriously, she might need to put a plaque on this tree. Cordon it off. Preserve it forever. Is it possible to landmark a tree for orgasmic significance?

Tobin felt Grier’s hands squeeze her ass, pulling her hips—and her sex—back to the heat of her mouth. Tobin hadn’t been trying to escape. Who the fuck would try to escapethis? She’dsimply… melted. Right into the tree trunk behind her, arms still clinging at their assigned position.

Her legs were jelly. Her arms were losing their strength. She wasn’t certain she’d be able to remain upright much longer.

She looked down. Grier was watching her.

Tobin closed her eyes, shaking her head side to side, and she groaned—growled—before loosing a string of sex-garbled gibberish into the orchard. When she opened her eyes and looked down the length of her body…

Grier was still watching her. Eyes locked. Mouth busy. Andsmug as hell.

Fuck this!

Tobin spit the stick from her mouth and brought her arms forward, finding Grier’s hair and twining her fingers into her loose chestnut strands. She gripped, tugging at the roots, reigning Grier a few millimeters over, right—right—where she wanted her.

Grier repositioned without protest, squeezing her ass in response. Her eyes hooded, still bright with arousal, and her mouth surrounded Tobin’s clit, tongue relentless. Tobin couldn’t help herself—she thrust her hips into Grier’s mouth. Once. Twice.Yes. A third time.

“Yes!” she screamed, her climax claiming her.