State of Grace (10 page)

“One second,” he muttered. He tore out a condom before tossing his wallet on the floor. Deftly, he rolled it over his hard, extended length before hiking her leg up once more and driving mercilessly into her wet heat.

She screamed at his invasion, a tangled mess of nerves as his thick length pushed inside, stretching and stroking her canal. Mindless of everything but the moment and how stunning he felt inside her needy body, her head fell back against the wall, and she reflexively tightened around him. His mouth ate from hers once more, his tongue mimicking the thrust of his body into hers where their hips joined.

Rhythmically, he slid in and out as his mouth dominated her. He slowed down momentarily, lifting her other thigh so that both wrapped against his waist. She moaned softly into his mouth, clinging to him. He disconnected his mouth for a moment, dark blue eyes piercing into her shocked gray ones.

“Better than I remembered, baby. Gorgeous. You feel amazing.” He peppered her face with tiny kisses as he spoke and shifted some of her weight from the wall into his embrace. Stepping back, he turned, holding her tight to him.

“Bedroom?” he asked gruffly.

She could do no more than point faintly. Clutching her body tightly so he remained deep inside her, he followed her pointed finger. She panted, staccato breaths escaping her parted, swollen lips as he shifted inside her with every step he took.

Before she knew it, she was on her back, her hips arching up to meet his as he ground down into her. His hand slid up from its place on her hip to the hem of her shirt. He kept up his relentless pace as he pushed her shirt up.

“Take it off,” he ordered.

Mindless with pleasure, his command filtered through the fog of her brain, and she gasped, twisting to yank her top off. He pulsed inside of her, helping her pull it off completely. He sat on his haunches, pulling her closer, and he groaned at the sight of her pretty, plump breasts straining at the lacy red of her bra. He let out an impatient growl as he yanked first one, then the other, cup down before bending his mouth down so he could pay homage to her flushed, hardened nipples.

The sensation of his warm mouth sucking at the sensitive tips of her breasts while he ground his hips into her was too much. She bucked mindlessly underneath him, her nails scoring down his back as he went impossibly deeper.

The pleasure tightened as it rose within her. He stroked in and out and she felt herself getting closer.

She cried out when he suddenly withdrew.

“One second, baby,” he murmured against the skin of her shoulder, before flipping her over onto her belly. He kept her thighs spread in a v before tunneling back into her.

She didn’t think it was possible, but he went deeper. She whimpered at the sensation as he resumed his pace, knifing in and out of her body.

He rained kisses across the back of her neck, pulling her hips even closer and pressing down on her belly, intensifying the feeling of full pressure she already felt.

“Come on, baby. Come for me,” he said against her damp skin, sliding his hand down between her lips to stroke her clit. He bit softly into the skin of her nape, sucking gently before thrusting hard into her welcoming body.

She flew apart, panting between sobs as the pleasure electrified every nerve ending of her body. Slick heat poured out from between her thighs as she rode the waves of her climax.

“That’s it baby, keep going,” he encouraged roughly, growling with satisfaction as he plumbed her depths. Lost in her orgasm, her muscles gripped and pulsed around his driving length, and he groaned at the sensation.

A moment later, he followed her into oblivion.

Chapter
Five

She woke to slow, teasing touches against her hip. Unhurried and deliberate, like her skin was a canvas being stroked by the finest of brushes.  Her eyes fluttered open, and despite the darkness in her room, she could see the sun lighting the perimeter of the blinds. The hand on her hip stopped stroking and tightened in a firm grip.

“Why the hell do you always wake up so early? It’s annoying,” he grumbled from behind her.

“You’re touching me,” she pointed out.

She closed her eyes and prayed for patience. Somehow, they’d fallen asleep spooning. It shouldn’t have been a surprise, given the first time she’d waken up next to him, but she had to fight down mild shock nonetheless.

“So?” he grunted. “It’s early, Gracie. Why can’t we sleep while I touch you?”

She sighed, pretending annoyance, but didn’t move away. “Why is it that we’re always arguing unless we’re having sex? And the fact that we’re always arguing means that we should not be having sex.”

While she thought her reasoning was clear and sensible, he obviously disagreed. In a heartbeat, he’d rolled over so she was pinned beneath him. Blue eyes burned into hers, and she realized he was much more alert than he’d let on.

“Why is it that you’re the most contrary, frustrating woman I’ve ever met?” The corners of his sexy mouth twitched, but the intensity still beamed down at her from his gaze.

Amused, she traced a fingertip over the sharp plane of his jaw. “Because my brain cells haven’t been overtaken by silicone or sucked out with my fat?” she asked sarcastically. “Ouch,” she yelped as his hand came down on the side of her ass.

“Wrong answer,” he intoned.

She glared at him, but he kept his hand right where it was.

“Wrong answer. What’s it going to be first? Breakfast or sex?”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “Just because I made the mistake of sleeping with you a second time doesn’t mean th—”

She broke off once more as his mouth slammed over hers. After he’d kissed her into a quivering mess, he lifted his head. He winked at her as he rolled her over him. “Wrong answer again, baby. Guess it’s sex first, then food.”

She groaned, helpless to resist him as he fit his body into hers, and they started yet another intense, shattering session. Much later, when she’d come down from the throes of yet another orgasm, she couldn’t help the snarky thought that if it meant he’d fuck her mindless, she could deal with being wrong every now and then.

Maybe more than every now and then.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A few hours later, when he’d finally deemed it a reasonable time to get up, she sat on a barstool at her kitchen counter sipping at the mug he’d placed before her. She stifled a groan of pleasure as the hot brew swept down her throat.

The man could make a mean cup of coffee.

But of course, he didn't need to know that. Especially after all the screeching she'd done last night and this morning. Honestly, it was a miracle his ego could fit through the doorway, she thought sourly. After their morning session, or bout, or whatever the hell it was, he’d dragged her into the shower with him. Every time she’d opened her mouth to speak, he simply sealed his mouth over hers until she forgot what she was going to say.

Once they’d emerged from the shower, he’d placed a finger over her lips, signaling for silence. At her mutinous expression, he shook his head with a slight grin. “Just give me this. Just for a little bit is all I ask. I kinda like not arguing with you when I’m not banging you.”

Her eyes grew wide, and she slapped away his hand, opening her mouth to unleash a diatribe, but that five-second window was all it took for him to invade her mouth and kiss her into sublime stupidity.

By the time he drew away, she realized he’d managed to somewhat towel-dry her, and he had grabbed her robe from the hook on the back of the door. He bundled her into her robe, leaving her speechless as he sauntered out of the bathroom, a white terry towel slung low around his lean hips.

Even though they’d now been intimate more times than she could count on both hands, Sean’s nude body never failed to make her mouth go dry. Taut, golden skin stretched over lean muscles with only a light sprinkling of hair across his chest.  His broad shoulders were sculpted and strong, and he moved with a lithe, sexy ease that made her want to swallow her tongue.

It had been that way ever since she’d hit puberty, hormones raging all over the place.

Thirteen had been a particularly hard year for her. The year before she’d developed breasts and hips before any of the other girls in her grade—which was especially embarrassing because she’d skipped a grade and happened to be younger than most. Boys teased her while the girls whispered snide comments. They didn’t do such a good job at whispering though, because she always heard. 

It had been painful. During gym class, she’d change her clothes privately in the bathrooms instead of in the locker room with the other girls. She wore larger, baggy clothes, preferring to be thought of as large as opposed to having large body parts. Her mother had been dismayed and begged her to change her ‘style,’ but she held steadfast to her choices. In hindsight, the ugly clothes had probably made everything worse. By the end of her second year in high school, she couldn’t wait for the semester to be over. She longed to be free of her peers, in the sun and sand with her books and family.

A few days into her beloved summer vacation, everything had changed. She and her mother had gone shopping the day before for swimwear. Her mother had shaken her head at her daughter’s choice of overly modest one pieces and cover-ups, but unable to deny her youngest anything, she relented. 

That day, the weather had been gorgeous. The breeze was perfect, sun warm, and the water hit the shore in that slow, rhythmic sound that she loved—perfect for laying-out on a towel and reading. She’d been drawn out of the house in a black two-piece that had been modest the summer before. The new bathing suits were in the wash, and it was just her and her parents—her brother and Sean were finishing up their first year at college and weren’t due for another week.

She’d been lost in the middle of her book, head-phones and sunglasses on, oblivious to everything but the story and sun on her skin until a dark shadow loomed over her. She squealed—first in fright, then in excitement when she realized it was her brother. 

“Gracie girl,” he’d laughed, sweeping her off her feet into his arms for a huge hug. She’d tapped him on the side of his head. 

“I can’t believe you tried to scare me. What gives?”

“Wanted to surprise you guys,” he flashed her a winning smile. She was positive her big brother was off breaking hearts just as much as he was studying. “Mom was in the laundry room with music on when I covered her eyes and yelled surprise. I still can’t get the scream out of my ear.” He rubbed his ear.

She pretend scowled at him and wagged her finger. “Well you should have learned your lesson! How come you’re home early? I thought you weren’t coming for another week.”

He grinned smugly. “Grades were high enough for me to skip the final—it was optional. Figured we’d keep it under wraps and surprise you guys.”

At the mention of ‘we,’ her smile faded slightly. “Where is he?”

Her cheeky brother ruffled her hair. “You guys are gonna drive me insane one of these days. You’d think
he
was your annoying big brother, not me. He’s inside changing.”

She rolled her eyes. “I don’t care. I don’t care anything about him. Just keep him away from me.”

Her brother laughed. “Listen, I’m going to go inside and call Monica, let her know we got here safely. I’ll be back out in a few.”

She made kissy noises as he strolled off to go call his new girlfriend and plopped back down on her towel, rolling on her tummy. She picked up her book again, but her mind kept wandering between wondering what her brother’s girlfriend was like and how she was going to tolerate her enemy. 

The shadow loomed over her again, and she opened her mouth to give her brother a piece of her mind for trying to scare her. Before she could speak though, a voice—not her brother’s—broke the silence.

“Have I died and gone to heaven? Because if the view is always this fine, baby just change my address to the pearly gates.”

Her face still hidden, her mouth dropped open. A few seconds ticked by before he groaned a little.

“I know, I know, it was lame as hell. I don’t know who you are, but honestly, if the front is as amazing as the back, you’re going to have a hard time keeping me away from you this summer,” he said confidently. “I’m Sean Holden. And you are … ?”

Slowly, she pushed to her knees so that she could stand. A hand reached out from the side to help her, but she ignored it. She turned around so that they faced each other. 

He stood there in a pair of board shorts, now just as frozen as she was a few moments ago. He’d always been cute, not that she’d ever admit it, but he’d changed since she’d last seen him. He seemed taller, his shoulders broader. His skin was taut, tan, and it was clear he’d been working out and lifting weights from the way it stretched over defined muscles. Her heart pounded uncomfortably, and for the first time, she began to understand the concept of lust, the way it was written about in her romance novels. 

His eyes ran over her, and she suddenly wished she’d waited to go out until her new bathing suit and cover-up were ready to wear. But she’d had no idea he would be here … and the way he was looking at her, squinting at her like she was an insect …