Page 90 of The Ampersand Effect
She brushed her lips along the waistband of Grier’s pants, relishing the way her stomach clenched and shivered under her mouth. The scent of her arousal rose between them, and Tobin’s mouth watered in anticipation of her taste.
Tobin released the button and cupped Grier’s sex over her pants, pulling a gasp from the depths of Grier’s throat—one that might have originated beneath Tobin’s palm. Their eyes met, intent and hunger colliding, as Tobin blindly worked the zipper free. Hooking her fingers into the waistband, she caught Grier’s panties in the crook of one finger, then rose swiftly and tugged everything down—rendering Grier absolutely, flawlessly naked.
And she was so wet.
Tobin saw the glistening liquid in the flashes of lightning outside. Thunder pulsed in sync with the intensifying beat of her heart. The storm surged with her emotions, heightening every sensation. The world beyond the windows was just as electrified as the air between them.
Too much air, she realized.
Her own arousal deepened as she licked her lips, watching Grier’s slickness pool beneath her—beckoning her. Sheanswered the call, sliding her hands to Grier’s thighs, coaxing them open.
But just as her fingers made contact, Grier’s legs slammed shut. Tobin recoiled, whipping her hand back, panic licking at her chest. Had she misread the moment? Offended Grier? Overstepped?
Then Grier propped herself up on her forearms, shook her head, and flashed a cocky grin. “You too. Drop your pants, Tobin.”
Tobin sucked in a shocked breath at the sound of her name on Grier’s lips—at the wicked grin curling behind the command. Her mouth felt suddenly barren—desperate to reclaim Grier’s and taste the echo of her name still clinging to them.
She ignored the order.
Instead, she prowled towards her on the bed and claimed her mouth, guiding Grier’s hand to the heat at her center, urging her to palm her where she needed it most. She pulsed at the contact, devouring the whimper Grier loosed into her mouth before trailing kisses to her ear.
There, she nibbled at the lobe and whispered, low and breathless, “I thought you wanted to unwrap me like a present.”
An invitation.
Grier cupped her over her pants, somehow finding her entrance and pressing through the fabric to toy with her. She drew a calculated, maddening line of pressure all the way up her slit before she working at the button of Tobin’s pants. Tobin pressed into the touch, reinforcing her invitation—pleading wordlessly for more.
She continued sucking on Grier’s ear, nuzzling the sensitive spot just behind it, even as she felt flustered fingers tug at her waistband. But her stance was too wide, and Grier was too impatient to wait. With a frustrated groan, she slipped her hands between Tobin’s pants and her cheeky boy shorts, cupping heragain. Grier whined as she discovered how wet Tobin was—and how little she could actually touch with all the fabric still between them.
“Fuck,” Tobin growled, not recognizing the husk in her own voice.
She backed off the bed and quickly stripped the last of her clothes away. She stood before Grier—naked, exposed, and entirely unguarded. Her green eyes found Grier’s, shining through the dark, lit in brief flashes by the raging storm. Grier’s gaze swept over her, charting the topography of her skin as if memorizing it. As if plotting its conquest.
Tobin watched the amber ring of Grier’s irises thin, her pupils blown wide as she took in the whole of her. The look on her face was positively incendiary. Heat bloomed across Tobin’s skin; she felt herself ignite.
Without a word, they moved in sync, kneeling on the bed to meet each other. Tobin bent for Grier’s lips, while Grier reached around her torso, closing the distance between their naked bodies and tucking herself into Tobin’s chest.
Tobin teased the sides of Grier’s ribs with her fingertips, still able to elicit waves of pleasure, especially along the outer curves of her breast. Grier ran her nails seductively up and down Tobin’s back, tickling softly at the base of her spine before slipping lower to palm her ass and pull their bodies closer. Tobin felt Grier shift her pelvis, aligning their centers.
She knew what Grier wanted. Her anxieties around physical touch had eased, replaced by a heated longing—but the nerves remained, woven into the foundation of her fear. That connection— that intimacy—still scared her. It was rooted deep in her soul.
The understanding that their mutual longing was so pervasive did not automatically abate her anxiety, resolute as it was, encompassing her fears and the vastness of her brokennesswithin the walls of her heart. The last thing she wanted tonight was to start something she couldn’t finish, and she wasn’t completely certain she could connect them inthatway without balking—or panicking—at the contact. She still feared that Grier wouldn’t stay.
So, she redirected.
She slid her hand to the small of Grier’s back and rested her palm there—comfortable, certain. Her other hand moved to Grier’s hair, fingers entwining in the loose strands as her thumb stroked the angle of Grier’s jaw in gentle, soothing swipes. She bent lower, tracing the line of Grier’s neck, lavishing her décolletage with alternating kisses and licks. Then finally—finally—she flicked her tongue across the pendant resting at Grier’s throat, tasting the salt of her skin through the metal and sending sultry chills through them both.
She let her hand slide from Grier’s hair and placed it gently over her sternum, right where she’d licked—feeling the steady thrum of her pulse reverberate against bone. Their eyes locked, and Tobin felt the searing heat of Grier’s stare—of her imminent need—urging her forward.
Gently, she pushed her backward, folding her over the hand still anchored at the small of her back.
Grier lay beneath her, watching, squirming, her growing need apparent in the flush of her skin and the low, steady whine in the back of her throat. Tobin picked up her pace, nibbling and kissing her way down Grier’s stomach. She broke their eye contact only long enough to dust soft, featherlight kisses along Grier’s skin with her eyelashes, smiling at the way the sensation teased and thrilled the body beneath her.
She found Grier’s eyes again just as she pressed a firm, inquisitive kiss at the top of her slit. Grier’s entire body quivered at the contact. “Open for me,” Tobin commanded, her voice thick with need.
Grier obeyed, spreading her legs wide, and Tobin dropped her gaze to marvel at her glistening folds. She reached out with a confident hand, lightly trailing her fingertips up Grier’s inner thigh before circling a tentative finger around her opening. She watched as Grier’s body trembled, releasing a fresh surge of arousal. Tobin’s center pulsed in anticipation. She looked back up, catching Grier’s eyes again—asking.
Grier steadied her breath, then locked eyes with her and whimpered, “Tobin, please.”