Picture Perfect (Butler Island) (12 page)

This “thing” between them was
supposed to remain
casual. Fun…
but there was nothing casual and fun
about her inability to resist him.

“Olivia?” he called again.

“Yeah, sorry… Um, make sure the
door’s shut behind you and the light’s off.”

When he gave her the indication that
he’d followed her directions, she unlocked the door and opened it.

“Hey stranger”, he greeted.

“Hi.” Suddenly intimidated by the
amount of space he took up, she hurried to her work area and unplugged the
enlargement machine. She did her best to keep her hands busy, afraid if she
allowed them to idle, they’d begin wandering over his body.

“What are you doing?”

 Some of the prints she’d developed
earlier in the day were now dry. She carefully unpinned them and placed the
photos on the counter. “Just enlarging some of the pictures I took on the beach
the other day.” She could feel him approach from behind; felt a shiver of
awareness zip down her spine.

“Can I see?” he asked.

Olivia handed him the small stack
that’d dried and then turned around to gage his reaction. “What do you think?”

Flipping through
the pictures, he laughed.
She’d secretly captured their playful dip into the frigid water. “You’re very
talented.”

“Thank you.”

“
You
know, I have a confession to make:
Dexter sneaking up on you was no
accident.”

Crossing her arms, she looked into
his eyes. “Really? So Dexter’s also your wingman?”

“Yeah… I saw you down on the beach
and…”

“And what, Grant?”

After placing the photos down, he
took a step forward and braced his hands on either side of her on the counter.
“I don’t know.” Removing one of his hands, he began playing with a strand of
her hair. “I wanted to be with you. I just really like being with you…”

The safe light above cast the small
work room in a soft, red glow. And although the room was dim, she could still
see the intense hunger in his eyes. He wanted her and god knows she wanted him,
too. The memory of his tantalizing touch was still etched in her mind. She felt
a sudden sense of euphoria come over her, whether it was from inhaling the
developer solution or their immeasurable physical chemistry, she didn’t know.

Most likely the latter.

She was at a crossroads. She could
send him away and deny her body the pleasure she knew he could evoke, or simply
give in and face the con-sequences later…

“Lock the door”, she whispered.

Grant let go of her hair and walked
several paces to the right, turning the lock. He reached for her and pulled her
closer to him. His mouth hovered over her lips for a few long beats, gently
grazing over the surface, teasing her with every soft caress.

Her lips tingled. And when she
couldn’t con-tain the sensation any longer, she rose onto her toes and took
control of the kiss. Her tongue charged into his mouth, connecting with his,
communicating in an unspoken language.

He hadn’t come here for this. His
mission had been to simply talk to her—find out why she was suddenly avoiding
him. But he’d found a better use for his mouth. Kissing Olivia was like
breathing—it was essential for his existence. He was treading rough water and
her lips were like a flotation device—he was going to cling to them for his
survival.

Backing her up against the counter
adjacent to the door, he ran his hands down her back and cupped her firm, round
bottom and lifted. He sat her on the countertop and settled his body between
the V of her legs. Running his callused hands over her smooth thighs, he peered
into her hooded eyes. “I want you more than I’ve ever wanted anything”, he
mumbled.

Olivia smiled. “Wow, I guess I have
some really big shoes to fill.”

Grant reached over his shoulder,
grabbing a fistful of his shirt, and quickly removed it. And after he tossed it
aside, he assisted Olivia with the removal of her cotton blouse and white satin
demi-bra. Completely bare from the waist up, he couldn’t peel his eyes away
from her beautiful body. He lightly pinched one of her pebbled nipples between
his thumb and index finger as he kissed her neck. Slowly trailing open-mouth
kisses along her collarbone before finally targeting her perfectly round
breasts.

She inhaled a quick breath the moment
his mouth settled over her nipple, her body recalling the memory of the last
time he’d kissed her there days earlier on his couch. Her mind and body were
waging a war: her brain busy listing all of the reasons why this was a bad
idea, while her body encouraged her to finish what they’d begun.

Her body won the internal combat.

Fisting her fingers in his hair, she
held him in place. She didn’t want to think anymore, she just wanted to
experience it—to feel him
.

His hands glided across her silky
skin. He wanted to touch her—everywhere—all at once. Her fingers were tugging
softly in his hair, her breaths were swift and shallow, and the taste of her
skin threatened to send him to another dimension. Suddenly, it wasn’t enough—he
wanted to get closer,
deeper.

His lips ascended to her collarbone
as his hands migrated to the hem of her faded denim skirt. He nudged the
material up several inches when he was abruptly interrupted.

Olivia gripped his wrists. “Wait”,
she interjected breathlessly.

“What’s wrong?” he asked as his mouth
continued its assault on her shoulder.

“Nothing. It’s just… it’s been a long
time. I don’t do this sort of thing often.

“When’s the last time?”

Olivia hesitated for a moment as she
relished the sensation of his lips against the crook of her neck. “Um… over a
year.”

Shocked, Grant pulled back and met
her gaze. “Over a year?” he asked in disbelief.

Nodding her head, she went on, “And
before that, I can’t even remember the last time. Look, I know I tend to act
aggressive at times. But that’s all it is—
an act.”

Touched by her willingness to share
something so personal about herself, he suddenly felt a twinge of guilt. She
didn’t do “physical relationships” and that admission made him respect her all
the more. She was so unlike any woman he’d ever met and the last thing he
wanted to do was pressure her into something she wasn’t quite ready for. “Do
you wanna stop?”

The fact that he asked made her heart
swell a bit. No man had ever reached this point and then asked how she felt; they’d
just assumed she was on board. At that moment rationale receded, all doubts
faded. The only thought that remained was Grant—right now—with her—
inside
her.

“No. I’m just a little nervous, I
guess”, she softly admitted.

Grant cupped her face, his eyes
boring into hers. “Don’t be nervous. We’ll go slow. And I promise, I’ll make it
feel good.”

Oh. My. God.

If the pre-game festivities were any
indication of his ability to make good on his promise, there was no doubt that
the main event would leave her very satisfied.

And truthfully, that’s all she really
needed. There was no denying their chemistry. They were both clearly attracted
to one another. Maybe sleeping with Grant
was
a good idea—she’d get him
out of her system and the overwhelming urge to feel his hands on her body would
lessen.

At least she hoped it would.

“Lift up”, he instructed.

She complied, lifting her bottom as
he hooked his fingers underneath the sides of her silk panties. He slowly
lowered them down her legs and then tossed them to the ground before stepping
between the V of her legs again.

After bunching her denim skirt up
around her waist, his eyes feasted on her flawless body. Her figure was
indefectible: firm, toned, yet round—perfectly proportioned for his pleasure.
This moment—this woman—would star in his fantasies long after they were
through.

Unable to resist any longer, he
opened his wallet and grabbed a condom. Unbuttoning his pants, he lowered them
and then quickly sheathed himself.

His body was ready and to ensure she
was as well, he reached between the V of her legs and found her wet, slick, and
waiting.

She moaned at his touch, the sweetest
sound he’d ever heard. Desperate to hear it again, he gently pressed the pad of
his thumb against her most sensitive spot and began moving it in soft, lazy
circles.

“Grant”, she panted. “
Please
…”

With his thumb still stroking her, he
began kissing her neck, savoring the sound of her pleads, her breaths. “Please
what
…
?”

“Please don’t torture me”, she
begged.

Gripping the back of her lower legs,
he tugged her body closer so that she sat on the edge of the
counter. And then remembering his promise, he
slowly
penetrated her warm, slick center with his throbbing length.

Olivia gasped as he carefully nudged
into her, her eyes wide with shock.

“You okay?” When she nodded her head,
he plunged deeper, but he still couldn’t enter all the way. “Wrap your legs
around my waist”, he instructed. He plunged again, this time stifling the
sweetest whimper of pleasure. He could feel her tense body starting to relax,
finally giving in to bliss.

“Holy shit, you’re tight—you feel so
fucking good…”

Her skin was ablaze, devouring her in
a fiery ecstasy. Sex had never felt this good before, this intense. She longed
for release and then silently cursed herself, never wanting the sensation to
end. How was it that this man knew her body so well? Knew how to draw her out
of herself?

He wanted to occupy her body
completely, but he was still unable to fully enter her in their current
position. Not wanting to place her on the cold concrete floor, he scooped his
hands underneath her voluptuously firm bottom, hoisting her into his arms.
Pivoting toward the door, he pinned her body against it and in one swift
motion, lunged his rigid cock into her slick, snug heat.

She cried out his name as he buried
his thick shaft deep into the depths of her body, the feeling so foreign, so intense—
so
damn amazing.

“Does that feel good?” he asked, his
voice dripping with arousal.

“Oh, god, yes.”

The sounds escaping her lips were so
erotic. Not the fake kind of ear-piercing screams women often executed. No,
these were unmistakably real.

Moans.

Soft whimpers.

Labored breaths.

He could probably get-off on her
sensual sounds without even touching her.
But touching her
…

Feeling her slippery warmth gripping
him felt so damn incredible! And then, of course, watching her as she absorbed
his body: her hair slightly tousled, eyes fluttering, lips parted, and her soft
skin glowing red underneath the safe light above had him teetering on the edge.
But he had to hold back. He wanted to last for her. Needed to feel her body constrict
around him when she climaxed and he knew she was close.

“Please… don’t stop”,
she pleaded
breathlessly
.
She’d never felt like this before. Her entire body was
hypersensitive. Alert. She felt as if she were a butterfly erupting from its
cocoon, seeing the world through a different set of eyes, leaving behind the
constraint that confined its freedom. It was like she
was having an out-of-body experience, hovering
above, observing
the metamorphosis taking place. Never had she felt so exposed, yet simultaneously,
so aroused.

Forcing the weight of his upper body
against her, he removed one of his hands from her backside and reached in front
where they were joined. Stroking the pad of his thumb leisurely over her
clitoris, he continued pumping into her.

Her body was drawing tighter, tenser.
She was close—
so close.
“
Grant, please… I…”

“Let go, Livvy.”

“I…
I can’t!”

“Yes, you can. Let go—
come for me…
”

He watched as her head thumped back
against the door, the rapidly expanding shockwave so intense she could no
longer hold it upright.

Her body erupted, exploding and
imploding, pleasure rushing over her in a cataclysmic blast. A wave of pure
orgasmic energy channeled a path through her body like a swift river of liquid
lava.

At the first sign of her impending
peak, he pounded into her with purpose and when she finally surrendered with
his name on her lips, he let go, too. Her tight muscles contracted around him,
milking his submerged length, emptying his core. He groaned, cursed aloud, and
then buried his face in the crook of her neck. Spreading soft, gentle kisses
along her satin skin, he listened as their breaths gradually returned to
normal.

“Are you okay?” he asked softly.

“Yeah. You?”

Removing his lips from her neck, he
leaned his head back and gazed at her beautiful face through hooded eyes. “I’m
better than okay… damn it, Livvy, you feel
amazing…”