Page 43 of Grant’s Heat

“Shit!” we groaned at the same time.

Rio slammed the fridge shut with a pained wince and a string of profanity. As she rubbed the back of her head, I quickly set down the magnum I was working on. I pulled her into me, yearning to comfort her—but also to personally inspect the back of her head.

“Let me see,” I whispered, trying to soothe her with my voice as well. I could feel her little body jackhammering from head to toe from being so agitated.

“I’m fine,” she gritted and tried to pull away.

“Blaze, please. Let me care for you. For one second. Just let me make sure you’re not bleeding.”

She pushed on my chest again but only with half the effort. “Damn it, Grant. I’m fine.”

“I’ll feel better after I get a look. Then you can go back to buzzing around here like a gerbil on crack.”

Finally, she sagged into me with the soft, sweet weight of her entire body. “Don’t be mean.” She sighed the words more than spoke them. The feeling of her warm, trusting breath on the exposed skin at my collar…it was stunning. Breath-robbing.

I let my eyes fall closed and just savored the heaven of holding her. Just a few precious beats of time. That was all I wanted. Needed. A few moments where we were both completely still in a morning that had already been a mixture of magic and madness.

Inwardly, I allowed myself a quick chuckle—because that basically summed up life with Ms. Rio Gibson. It was torture but rapture. Perfect peace within complete chaos.

Why was that so enticing…so addicting?

I just didn’t understand.

Hours later, the little house was calm again. The guests were gone, the dishes were done, and the last few decorations were put away. Rio, who’d put away more than her fair share of champagne throughout the party, was now snuggling against me on the sofa.

That was right…snuggling. And right now, I was kind of enjoying it.

It was rare to see Rio relax. The woman rarely settled down under normal circumstances. There was always a part of her in motion. She always had a toe tapping, a leg bouncing, or several fingers drumming. Even now, she idly toyed with the buttons on the cuff of my shirt.

I never wanted her to stop.

And if she went on for another fifty years, I’d still be here watching her. Still as wrapped up in the expressive glory of her beauty.

“Well, what do you think, Madame Hostess? Are you happy with the way the party turned out?”

“Hmmm.”

I wasn’t sure how to interpret that, especially because she drew the hum out while pushing more of her soft curves against me. I swallowed hard, wordlessly conveying that she was sneaking into a risky physical zone for my self-composure, but—shock of shocks—she just accepted my reaction with a pliant sigh.

I dipped my face, burying my nose into her hair. And got away with it.

I rolled out a low hum of my own, inhaling the lush scent of her herbal shampoo. And got away with that, too.

Okay…I liked all of this. Especially this affectionate, submissive version of the woman.

“Yeah.” She grinned up at me. “I think it went really well. All the food is gone. That’s always a good sign. Okay, scoot down.”

“Huh?” I blurted as she pushed at my thigh. I wasn’t really sure what she wanted or intended but complied by moving farther down until I was sitting against the high cushioned arm on my right. She had the kind of sofa that swallowed a person up. The deep cushions and loose pillows made the thing more like a giant cloud rather than a couch.

Once I was settled, the woman hit me with yet another surprise by tossing a pillow onto my thighs and then plopping her head atop it. For a long second, my voice was stuck in mute mode. Did the gorgeous little imp know what kind of fire she was playing with this time? But did I even want her to?

She gazed up at me, and I wondered if she knew how dangerously high she was ratcheting the heat.

Big and expressive, her eyes seemed to promise so many clues to unraveling her. Did I dare take her up on it? Did I dare peel back a few more layers of this mysterious tangle of a woman? My rising desire said yes. But the hard-core sense of my brain?

Well, damn it. That part was saying yes too.

The intrigue and complexity of Rio’s personality was just as sexy and alluring to me as her tight, smooth skin and glossy, raven-colored hair.