Inhale, Exhale (16 page)

“Wait, wait,” he panted, stopping me. “I’m not nearly done with you yet, and if you keep that up I will be.”

I let go and kissed him again, but he pulled back slightly. “We can stop whenever you want. Just say the word. I don’t want you to think—”

I kissed him hard again. “Please don’t stop. Don’t ever stop,” I moaned against his mouth. “I want you. All of you. With me. On me. In me.”

He smiled mischievously at me. “Your wish is my desire. And I do aim to please.”

I giggled, but it was cut off when his mouth found its way back to mine. All playfulness ceased as desire flared up again. His hand moved from my outer hip to my inner thigh, but this time he didn’t tease me. I spread my legs further, granting him access. His fingers slipped under the fabric of my panties, circling the delicate bundle of nerves at my core, now slick with the evidence of how much I wanted him. I cried out at the sensation, but he only sped up his rhythm.

My body shook with pleasure and I began to pant. He didn’t relent, and glided his fingers down before he pushed two inside me. My back arched up off the blanket and I cried out again, louder, practically screaming his name. “Grant! Oh my god, yes. Please don’t stop, please don’t stop.”

In tune with the motion of his hand, his fingers overwhelmed me. I grinded my body against his hand. I was teetering, and about to fall off the edge again, when his thumb lightly brushed over my swollen nub in one broad stroke and I fell apart, completely unraveled.

I bucked my hips as my eyes rolled back and my vision blurred. Grant never stopped or even slowed. Tears welled in my eyes and trickled out as I continued to soar higher. With a final shudder, I slumped back against the blanket, panting hard.

Grant lay back down next to me, kissing my shoulder. “There are no words, Jillian. Nothing out there could suffice to fully explain how much you amaze me.”

I took a few gulps of air and peeled my knotty, wet hair off my face and into a messy bun with the band around my wrist. After my heart rate had slowed to a less dangerous level, I crawled back toward him. His eyes darkened and his pupils dilated as my intent became clear. I wasn’t done with him.

As I hovered over him, I stared.
How could I have ever thought he wasn’t my type? He is a Greek god, an Adonis, and David rolled into one
. His well-defined shoulders and arms, evidence of years of rowing, flexed as my eyes roved over and down to the taut, flat surface of his stomach.
And his ass—God, I could bounce quarters off of that beautiful ass
.

Grant reached up and grabbed my shoulders, flipping me on my back so we reversed our positions. His fingers pulled my hair free from the tie. “Down. Keep it down,” he growled before leaning down to kiss me once again.

His hands glided down my body and hooked into my panties, edging them down. I lifted my hips to help, loving the little hitch in his breathe when they slid down my thighs, tangling at my ankles until I was able to kick them free. He didn’t move, but stared at me for a few seconds. And while I felt vulnerable and exposed, I felt desired and wanted too.

He pulled away, but only for a second as he shed the last scrap of clothing between us. My whole body trembled waiting, not from the cold of the evening air, but from anticipation. Grant leaned back and fumbled with his jeans that lay in a ball on the other side of the blanket, fishing through the pockets until he found the little foil packet he was seeking.

Quickly tearing it open, he applied the condom and laid over me so our bodies were lined up. His hands cupped my face and he kissed me gently. “You are ridiculously fuckin’ sexy.” He kissed me again. “Unbelievably, ridiculously sexy as hell.”

I glanced at him through hooded lashes, suddenly shy from hearing his compliments. But only for a moment. Only until he slowly, inch by inch, entered me. By then, I was back to firing on all cylinders as need blasted through me and raw passion crashed over me like a tidal wave.

I didn’t want slow. I didn’t want gentle. I wanted the actions of our bodies to match the emotions I felt. I thrust my hips up, and he slammed home. My hands balled the blanket and ground was spinning like I was drunk.

“Ohhh, you feel so good,” I panted, trying to match the rhythm he set.

His lips found mine once again, and his tongue plunged inside. I tilted my hips a bit as he thrust up, and he groaned. “Yes, do that again. Just like that.”

I did, adding a clenching of my muscles as he pulled out just a bit. “Ohmygod, if you keep that up I’m gonna come.”

I stopped clenching my muscles, not wanting this to end. Instead I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled myself even closer. Our bodies were slick with sweat, and we slid together easily, increasing the tempo. He groaned in my ear as he thrust over and over. Faster. Harder. Deeper.

I couldn’t catch my breath and felt lightheaded. But I didn’t stop, or even slow. Instead I willed my body to speed up until I couldn’t take it anymore. Until my body began to shudder and I unraveled once again, crying out as I dug my nails into his back and flew apart. Grant joined me second later, throwing his head back as he came.

For several long moments we laid there, trying to catch our breath. I was exhausted. Slowly, we came back to awareness. Grant shifted to his side, pulling me against him. I laid my head on his arm and his kissed the spot behind my ear. I sighed contentedly and closed my eyes, drifting to sleep.

Just before I let my unconscious take me away, Grant whispered, “I’m pretty sure I’m falling hard for you, Cupcake. And I will make you mine.” But I was too exhausted to tell him I was falling too.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

I lay, perfectly still, and savored this amazing moment. Savored the feeling of her completely pliant in my arms. Breathing in her heavenly scent, now mixed with mine, I thanked whatever deity deemed me worthy of being with this perfect woman. I was a lucky bastard.

The sun had set completely now, revealing a sky glittering with a plethora of stars. I reached around and pulled the blanket around Jillian to ward off any chill as she slept. I knew I should wake her and take her back to be with her family, but I pushed reality back down. Reality could wait, because in this moment she was mine.

Mine.

She was mine.

She was mine everywhere that mattered. But I needed to make her mine, on every level. That fuckin’ loser boyfriend needed to go. Now.

How was I going to convince her of this without coming off like a jealous asshole? Or have her resent me? She needed to see it on her own. I just didn’t know how to make that happen.

For years, I had vowed not to turn into my father. I never understood why he wasn’t able to let go of the memory of my mother, to have a life again after her. Now, lying here with Jillian in my arms, it was starting to make sense. Was this the beginnings of love? The thought terrified and excited me.

A buzzing brought me out of my thoughts. Stretching my head upward, I could see a light coming out of Jillian’s pants pocket. Worried it might be her family with news of her grandmother, I knew my time with her tonight was over.

My hand traced the outline of her face, brushing back the hair and tucking it behind her ears. I bent and lightly kissed her temple. “Hey, sleepyhead. It’s time to rise and shine.”

She stirred and blinked up at me. A smile stretched from ear to ear and I exhaled in relief. My biggest worry disappeared with that smile.

“Hey, yourself,” she said, stretching before she sat up.

The blanket fell away as she did so, making me want to repeat this whole night all over again. My god, she was incredible. I cleared my throat and looked away before I lost all will power. “Your phone was buzzing. I thought you might want to check it to make sure it wasn’t about your grandmother or anything.”

She rushed to reach over for her phone and punched the security code to unlock it. “It was a missed call from my mom. I’ve got to call her back.” I nodded but didn’t interrupt as she stood, shoving her jeans and shirt back on—sans bra since that was lost in the ocean. “Hey, Mom. I saw I missed a call, is everything alright? Is Gamma… oh, okay. I’ll be there soon then. No, I’m not at the house. I was…” she paused and looked over at me, apparently unclear how to exactly answer the question. “I was out with a friend getting some air. Ugh! Don’t worry about who it was, I’ll be there soon.”

She hit end and tossed the phone back on the blanket. “I’ve got to get back. My mom was being pretty cryptic, but said she had some good news for me.”

I stood and started putting my clothes back on. “Of course. That’s great. I hope it’s good news about your grandmother.”

“Me, too.”

While I finished dressing, she began to fold the blanket. I glanced over at her and saw the happiness on her face dissolve into worry. Was it worry about her grandmother? Worry about being here with me instead of with her family? Worry about where we went from here?

“Hey,” I stopped her, taking by the shoulders. “It’s going to be okay. All of it. Your grandmother, your family, you, and me.”

Her bottom lip quivered. “But how will it? Everything feels like it’s flying away from me, and I don’t know what to do. How did I let everything spin so far out of control?”

I pulled her closer. “Shh. I know everything seems beyond your control right now, but I promise it’ll work itself out. It always does. You need to trust me on this, I’ve been there. Just focus on one thing at a time, and right now, that’s whatever news your mother has to tell you at the hospital.”

“Grant, I want you to know, I don’t usually go around cheating on my boyfriend. Things haven’t been good between us for a while, and I can’t help the pull I feel toward you.” She chuckled. “Trust me, I’ve tried. It’s just, I don’t want you to think I’m some kind of slut or anything. This is really unlike me. Christian is the only other guy I’ve ever been with. He was my first love, but we’re not the same people we were in high school and as much as I love him, I don’t know if it’s the forever kind of love.” She blew out a breath and pulled at her hair. “God, I sound ridiculous. Can we just go?”

I studied her for a moment, trying to gather just the right words. “I could never think you were a slut, Jillian. You’re an incredible woman, one of the most incredible women I’ve ever known. And I know you’re in a tough position right now and I’m sorry if I made that harder. But you need to know, I’m not giving you up. I will fight for you, because I truly believe you’re worth it, and that we could be amazing together. So please, don’t let guilt or worry or anything make you feel ashamed of what we just did. Because what we did was beautiful.” I kissed her, long and hard. “We’ll figure it out. Both of us. But for now, let’s go back to the hospital to find out the good news.”

We walked back to the car, arm in arm. Jillian reapplied some make up and braided her hair while we drove, trying to fix the damage the ocean caused. I tried to drop her off out front, but she placed her hand on my leg.

“No, Grant. I want to go in with you. Park. We’re in this together, remember?”

I looked at her for a long moment. “You sure?”

She nodded, and I pulled out of the drop-off zone and into a spot in the garage. She grabbed my hand on the elevator ride up. That one tiny gesture was her way of telling me we’d be okay. I wanted to puff up my chest and scream it to the rooftops, “Screw you, Christian. She’s picking me!”

The elevator opened, and neither of us was prepared for what we saw.

Her hand dropped from mine as it flew to her mouth to hold in a gasp.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

“There she is!” Ava pushed her way through the other family members waiting there. “We’ve been waiting for an hour. Where’ve you been?” I returned her hug but was too stunned to say anything. “Trish and I just got back into town, and we heard about your Gamma. I’m so sorry I wasn’t here earlier when you needed me.”

“Me too,” Trish sniffed, joining in our hug. “But your best friends are here now, and you don’t have to go through this alone. And besides, look who we brought!”

They let go and turned, revealing who stood behind them.