Page 46 of Grant’s Heat

Anything. Everything. Just name it.

“My husband died, Grant. I didn’t. And I’m tired of feeling like I have. I’m sick of feeling like I’m dead inside. I want to feel like I’m still alive. I need to feel again.” She met my stare with a hopeful one of her own. “Do you understand that? I mean, does that make sense at all?”

“It makes perfect sense.”

But it was all I could get out before taking action again. I couldn’t stand another second of not being closer to her. I crowded into her personal space until our bodies were flush again, pressing her against the wall nearest to the bungalow’s three bedrooms.

Our height difference made kissing nearly impossible without ducking way down, so I simply bent over and fitted my mouth to the shell of her ear once more. “If you don’t show me to a bedroom right now, Rio, I’m going to be very tempted to demonstrate firsthand some of the fantasies I’ve conjured while I’ve had nothing but my hand and thoughts of you to keep me busy.” I leaned back to get a good look at her flushed skin as her breathing accelerated. “Believe me, Blaze, I have a very active—and dirty—imagination.”

I pivoted on one foot, turning out so she could escape my bodily trap. My breath seized in my chest while watching her process everything I just said, and we both considered her options. Finally, she indulged a long, slow visual stroll up my body before meeting my stare with a hooded one of her own. She held my gaze for another perfect beat and then quietly turned and power walked down the hall toward the bedrooms.

Thank. Fuck. Because if she had gone back toward the living room, I would have had to excuse myself to go beat off in the bathroom. Hell, screw the excusing myself. I’d probably do it right in front of her as punishment for blue-balling me so badly with that sexy, saucy eye fuck she’d just given me.

Trying to follow behind casually but failing miserably, I was inside the guest bedroom door right behind her. Even though she had about twenty-five-foot head start, my long strides and eager anticipation had closed the gap within a few steps.

Rio paused in the doorway to fumble with the light switch. With a feral growl, I pressed in against the curve of her ass with the crux of my body. She sighed, so throaty and sexy, and rolled back into mine. The movement consumed her, starting with her shoulders and neck and then rising through all of her head, until there wasn’t a sliver of space between us.

Heaven. She was glorious heaven in my arms, against my cock…in my soul.

Thank God I couldn’t physically bear the latter, though the rest was definitely doable. I wanted all of this inconvenient clothing gone. Right fucking now. I followed that purpose at once, feeling for the hem of her T-shirt where it skimmed the waistband of her low-slung jeans. With a brutal swoop, I lifted the little cotton memento up and over her head.

“Exactly how many band T-shirts do you own?” I asked while tossing the black shirt off to the side. “And turn the lights back on.”

“Do you mind if we don’t?”

“Actually, I do.” I breathed it along the back of her neck, smiling at the subtle shiver I sent down her spine. It took every ounce of my fortitude to step away again, but patience was going to be my best friend if I wanted to make this good—no, spectacular—for us both. “I want to see you. I’ve been dreaming about touching you, exactly like this, for so long.”

“You have? Oh!” Her outcry was delightful, even perfect, as I spun her to face me with an effortless grip of her small, soft shoulders. Enough light spilled into the room from the hallway to allow me to move about the unfamiliar space without bumping into furniture.

I wasted no time in stepping backward until I was able to sit on the side of the bed. Just as quickly, I pulled Rio to stand between my legs. The result was a grander dose of paradise. Her petite, pert breasts were now perfectly aligned with my mouth. As soon as I took in a full gaze of their glory, my erection seemed to defy biology—or at least the bonds of my expectancies. I’d been certain the damn thing couldn’t throb more painfully. I’d been wrong. So wrong. As soon as my head got the notion I’d be finally sampling her, at least a pint of new blood crashed between my thighs.

I struggled to readjust myself. “Still with me, Blaze?” I asked, taking her breasts in my hands and squeezing, loving the velvety soft flesh against the rougher feel of my own skin.

“Yes, of course.”

“Put your hands on me while I taste you.”

She tugged her lower lip beneath her teeth and watched as I tried to decide where my feast should begin. “Rio.” With my face buried between her tits, I breathed her name with reverence. “Rio. You’re so beautiful, baby.”

She moaned out her thanks as I formed my arms around her hips. The fit was so natural, as though they were made specifically to hold this one woman. I already knew how empty they would be without her.

Thoughts for another time, asshole.

I skated my hands up her sides, over her ribs, and around to the delicate wings of her shoulder blades. I spanned my large hands over the surface of each smooth side of her back before pressing her even closer. The whole time, I teased between her breasts with slow, sensual circles of my nose. The black bra she wore was a dangerous satin temptation, so much like the woman herself. Though the lingerie’s construction was sensible, the material itself was a luxurious touch of self-love. The color was the easiest to figure out. It was naughty but melancholy, a tribute to the badass warrior woman who wore it.

But for all that contemplation about her bra, I was still dying to get the damn thing off her. By the time I skimmed my fingers up and worked at the black fastener of the thing, the woman was panting in a series of quick, urgent gasps.

Rio moaned and let her head drop back on her shoulders. The few longer layers of her hair skimmed my hands where I had been working the fastener of her bra. A new idea sparked to life. After quickly unclasping the three little hook and eye fasteners, I grabbed a fistful of her black hair and held close at her scalp.

“Mmm, I like this.” I hummed against where the pulse thrummed in her neck. “You have nowhere to go now. Still good, Blaze?” I asked, trailing my lips down to the spot where her neck and shoulder met and filling my mouth with her soft flesh. The more skin I sampled, the more lust pounded through my body.

“I’m still good.” Her smoky husk centered me a little. “Grant…please?”

“On the bed.” My voice sounded so rough, as though the words were being strangled by my emotions. Inwardly, I cringed. I wanted to be gentle with her for the first time, but the dominant male part of me had no idea what that even meant. “First, undress. I’m so goddamned hard for you, Rio.”

Luckily, she seemed to accept that as a high compliment. Her eyes were hazy but heated as she moved to comply with my dictate, working the button and zipper open on her jeans.

At the same time, I made quick work of my own clothes. I stalked around to the other side of the bed to leave a few condoms on the nightstand and then pulled the covers back. With a low groan, I watched her crawl like a sexy kitten onto the mattress. As soon as I joined her, I rolled her over and positioned her against the mountain of cushiony pillows.