Unable to hold back, I moved, retreating then thrusting. I leaned down and took one lush nipple into my mouth, sucking on the hard tip as I drove into her, harder, faster. Her feminine muscles tightened around my dick, and I tugged on her bud. She whimpered, moving her hips beneath mine. “Jack, please…”
“I have you—” I angled my hips and let my erection stroke her clit. Her nails scraped down my back, the tiny pain hiking me higher and higher. I slipped my hand between us and found her swollen nub. As I thrust into her, I tugged her clit. Her body bowed, and she cried out as her orgasm crashed through her.
I moved faster and faster, her sheath gripping my dick like a fucking vise, sucking me deeper. My balls tightened—ah, fuck! I grunted, my release flashing down my spine like lightning and spilling free, leaving me adrift in a sea of undeniable pleasure and immense warmth…
Breathing hard, I rested my head in the crook of her neck. The scent of apples mixed with a tinge of our frantic lovemaking crowded my nose. She stroked my back, and I remained where I was, not wanting to leave her body. But I had to get rid of the condom.
I lifted my head, and her gaze met mine, more gold than green from passion spent. She didn’t shy away or say anything. I gently pressed my mouth to hers, and her fingers threaded through my hair as she kissed me back—
My cell rang. I ignored it, deepening the kiss. Hell, I was still inside Ray, still held in the staggering moment. I didn’t want to deal with whoever or whatever it was. But at the continuous ringing, Ray broke the kiss and snagged the phone from the bedside table. She handed it to me. Holding her gaze, I answered. “Yes?”
“Your grandfather,” Cliff said, and the peace and calm I reveled in died, replaced by dread. “He had an episode. He’s in the hospital.”
“I’m on my way—”
Ray stiffened. Instantly, she pushed at my shoulders as I ended the call. Doubtless, she thought that now we’d fucked, I was out of the door. I grabbed her wrists and held them next to her head. “It’s not what you think—”
“You don’t have to explain, Jack.” She blinked those striking eyes, her hair a seductive mess from my fingers. Hell, she was so damn beautiful and too frustratingly cool. “We both know this is a one-time thing. It’s what I wanted anyway.”
Fuck, I couldn’t deal with this. “My grandfather’s been admitted.”
She stopped fighting me and went white beneath her tan skin. “Nigel?” she rasped. “What happened?”
“I don’t know.” I rolled off her and sat on the bed, dragging my fingers through my hair. Fear and pain tore through me. If anything happened to Pops…Christ! I didn’t want to think about that. I dropped my head into my hands, struggling to find my control.
Arms wrapped around me from behind, and Ray’s warm, naked body pressed against my back, easing a little of the chill that had settled inside me. “Don’t think of the bad, Jack. We have to be positive, send out only good thoughts. Prayers help a lot. I ought to know.”
Yes, she would. I pressed my lips to her biceps, then I grasped her arm and pulled her to my lap so I could see her face. “Come with me?”
Her eyes widened. “But your family—”
I shook my head. My wonderful fucking family, who gave two shits about me except that I kowtowed the line. She was the only real thing in my life right now besides my grandfather. Maybe it was selfish, but I wanted her with me. “I need you. Will you come?”
She stared at me for a second, then nodded. “Okay. I’ll have to call my dad and explain why we had to leave…”
15
Ray
Silence hungheavy in the car as Jack drove us back to the city. His expression remained grim. He didn’t speak, so I let him be, even while he parked the car at the hospital. He put a hand on my lower back and ushered me toward the building.
As we entered and took the elevator up, the cold, stringent odor of pine disinfectant burned my nose and had me biting my lip as flashbacks of Mom in a similar situation hit me hard.
The door rolled open. We stepped out into a morgue-like atmosphere of the private ward. The two nurses at their station cast us an enquiring look.
“My grandfather, Nigel Griffin, was admitted earlier,” Jack said.
Their eyes widened. It could be because his grandfather wastheNC Griffin, reclusive mogul financier and president of the Griffin Blackstone Group…or Jack’s notoriety as the rich-as-sin playboy of San Francisco. I shut off the depressing thought.
“Yes, of course, Mr. Griffin. Your grandfather’s that way, room 5B. I’ll show you,” the younger nurse said.
“I’ll find it.” Jack dismissed her and headed in the direction she had pointed. As we neared the ward, Cliff glanced our way. Ever the attentive caregiver, he occupied a chair outside Nigel’s room. He got to his feet. “The specialist is in there with him,” he said.
Jack’s head lowered, and he pinched the bridge of his nose briefly, then that cool mask slipped over his distraught features. He nodded and strode into the room.
I didn’t mind that Jack had forgotten me. After Mom’s strokes, I’d retreated into myself, ignored the world around me during those dark days, living only in my tormented mind with thoughts that she might die. Even now, when my dad’s name popped up on my cell, I couldn’t stop a surge of terror that he might have bad news.
I sat beside a silent Cliff and prayed that Nigel would recover to his usual laughing self.
