Explosion of Love (The Armstrongs Book 6) (6 page)

Samantha glared at him, not seeing the humor in the situation at all.
What part of Craig playing me for a fool and ruining my career is humorous?

She lifted her head to give him a piece of her mind, feeling her temper rise to the surface. But when she looked into his eyes, all thoughts of irritation with him fled.

“Sorry, Sam. I imagined you punching your fist into Craig’s face the way I would have done. It was hilarious. I’m sorry.”

She gave him a small smile. “You’re right…thank you.”

“Thank you for what?” Grant asked.

“For being there for me whenever I need you.”

“I’ll always be there for you.”

She hoped he didn’t see her flush in the faint moonlight. Being in Grant’s arms was the best feeling in the world, and it definitely was different from the many other times she’d been held by him.

His embrace carried a different nuance, one that had her body on fire and tingling with the need to feel more. Her heart was racing and her breathing erratic, as if she’d finished running a race. The slight breeze coming from across the water sent shivers over her skin, shivers that turned into pure delight under the light touch of Grant’s hands.

She finally gave in to her emotions and leaned up to kiss him. She had been thinking about their earlier kiss all the time she was shopping and putting her purchases away. While she’d been cooking for him their kiss kept surfacing. Now she’d lost control over her body and it did what it had wanted to do for years. Kissing Grant. Loving him.

Samantha molded her mouth to his own, pressing her body against his at the same time and devouring his mouth. He kissed her back, first careful and soft, then possessive and passionate, until they were both gasping for air. Their tongues mated, mimicking what their bodies longed to do, and soon she fell under the sensual spell being woven around them.

Grant let his hands explore her back, dipping one hand beneath the waistband of her jeans, while tipping her head to the side for better access to her mouth with the other. He explored every corner of her mouth, and shocks and tingles ran through her body. She pressed her hips against his hard body and brought up her hands behind his head to pull his mouth further into hers. Her insides jangled with excitement and she longed for more.

Samantha was trying to shove her hands beneath his shirt, but it was tucked into his pants and she was struggling to pull it free. A groan of frustration had him chuckling as his lips trailed across her jaw, finding the sensitive spot just below her ear.

“Grant…” she whispered, needing to touch him.

As they broke apart, he grazed her face with his thumb and commented, “You sure are a Firecracker.” He kissed her nose and caressed her with his gaze.

I love that man.
Samantha got lost in her thoughts. Her brothers had given that nickname to her because she was always throwing a temper tantrum. They said she was more volatile than a firecracker, going off without notice if something didn’t go according to her wishes. She smiled as she remembered how they had often catered to her wishes, just to prevent one of her temper outbursts. Craig had hated that nickname. He thought it was stupid and silly.

Minutes later, Grant interrupted her reminiscing with, “Two pennies for your thoughts, Sammie.”

“It’s been years since someone called me Firecracker.”

“Yes, I remember how you pretended to hate that name, but you were actually proud of it.”

She grinned. “You noticed?”

“Sure did.”

“And you’re not afraid of being with someone with such a volatile temper? Someone like me?”

He chuckled. “I handle explosives every day at work. Don’t you think I can handle a little firecracker like you?”

Samantha looked at him, shooting daggers with her eyes. “I’m not little!”

Grant’s eyes traveled up and down her body before he shook his head. “No, you most definitely aren’t little anymore.”

With those words, he grabbed her again and engulfed her in his strong arms, moving his hands across her back and capturing her mouth in another breathtaking kiss. He sculpted his hands over her shoulders, resting them at the small of her back, before bringing them back up her sides, just grazing the swell of her breasts.

Her hands were busy gripping his shoulders and toying with the hair at the nape of his neck. His kisses became more ardent, and she let her hands drop to his hips, trying to pull his shirt up to touch bare skin.

The sound of voices poured like cold water over her ardor. Grant had heard them too; he captured her hands in his own and gentled her with one last kiss before pulling away. “We can’t do this here.”

Grant took a step back, trying in vain to still his racing heart and the raging hard-on that would make walking difficult.

Samantha blinked her eyes up at him and then looked around. When she realized they’d been making out in full view of anyone who passed by, she blushed, dropped her head against his chest, and groaned. “Get me out of here, please?”

“My thoughts exactly. Let’s go.” He grabbed her hand and hustled back the way they’d come. It was time to take this little party someplace more private.

Grant led her back to his pickup and they drove to his house in silence. He couldn’t tell if she was nervous, or having second thoughts about picking up where they’d left off.

He understood her fears of losing his friendship if they tried a relationship and it didn’t work out.
I would never want to lose her friendship. It would be like losing part of myself. But then, I don’t want her to be just my friend anymore. I want all of her.

They were inside the screened-in porch before he broached the subject. “So, let’s talk.”

An uncertainty crept into her expression when she nodded. “Okay. What do you want to talk about?”

“Your opinion I’m a love ’em and leave ’em kind of guy seems like a good place to start.”

Samantha rolled her eyes at him. “You are. What is there to talk about?”

“I was,” Grant corrected her. “You seem to think that you would just be another conquest in a long series of women. That’s not true.”

“It’s not?” Samantha looked up at him, hope in her trusting eyes that maybe he was telling her the truth.

Grant nodded his head. “No, it isn’t. I stopped dating over a year ago.” When she looked at him with skepticism in her eyes, he continued, “I haven’t slept with anyone since the last time we saw each other.”

“Why?” she asked.

“Because I realized that you are the only woman I want.”

“Why me?”

“Because you’re special. You’re funny, intelligent, good-looking, always up for anything, have shared good and bad times with me, know me better than I know myself…”

“You’ve seen me at my worst. My outbursts of temper have hurt you on more than one occasion.”

Grant grinned at her. “Perhaps that’s why I became an expert with explosives? So I would know how to handle you?”

She broke out in laughter and he joined her. “Seriously. You make me want to become a better man. You’ve motivated me on more than one occasion to strive for doing the best I can, and you weren’t even here.”

“Grant…you know I love coming home to visit. I love being around you. You’re the only man I feel safe with. It’s always been that way. You’re my best friend, but now I have all these emotions and feelings to deal with, and I’m scared as hell.”

Grant crossed the few feet that separated them and pulled her into his arms. “It’s okay to be nervous and confused. But don’t ignore what you’re feeling. I sure can’t. And don’t be scared. Never be scared to be with me.” He lowered his voice, hoping to ease her concerns with his touch and the love he was sending out to her.

She leaned into him, and Grant knew there was no way she could miss his body’s response to her nearness. Since their first kiss, he hadn’t even been able to look at her without getting hard.

“Grant?”

He covered her mouth with his own, taking her on a journey with lips, tongue, and teeth. “No more talking for tonight.  Let me show you how much I love you.”

He kissed her eyelids closed and then swept her up into his arms and carried her across the threshold and into the small house. He headed straight for his bedroom and his king-sized bed, where he gently laid her down and, piece by piece, removed her clothing until she was bare before him.
God, she is so gorgeous! And I am one lucky son of a gun.

He pushed back away from the bed and removed his clothes as well, joining her on the bed after grabbing protection from his wallet. When she raised an eyebrow at the condoms, he told her, “They were for you. Just in case.”

Samantha grinned up at him and then things got serious. He pushed his large hands through her auburn hair, watching as her blue eyes darkened with desire and her lips opened for his next kiss. He moved his mouth over hers, devouring its softness. Feelings exploded and his heart raced, when she returned each movement of his tongue with a lap of her own.
Samantha is mine. At last!

He kissed and caressed her entire body, and she squirmed on the covers. Fueled by her sexy little sounds, he licked down her neck, nipping the pulse point, before laving it with his tongue. Another moan. He continued down her body, using his hands first, and then his lips to map her body.  It was toned and fit, and his hands molded and squeezed her curvy breasts before skimming down her flat stomach and below.

His hands explored her body, loving the little sounds she made in the back of her throat when he found a sensitive spot. When her hands found his nipples and tweaked them, he knew his control was almost at an end.

“Grant, don’t keep me waiting any longer,” she told him.

He reached for a condom with one hand; his other hand ventured between her thighs, where he found her hot and ready for him. When he encountered her scalding wet heat, he slid the condom on and eased himself into her without a second thought.

Grant took his time learning her body, stopping her when her caresses threatened to end their joining prematurely. He promised her time to explore his body more thoroughly. Later. When he had more self-control.

Samantha grinned at him and then bit his earlobe. “Count on it.”

Once he felt her body tighten around him, he levered himself up and thrust harder into her, watching her face all the while. When she gasped his name and arched her hips into his thrust, he increased his tempo and the depth of his thrusts.

He soon drove her over the edge, calling out his name in ecstasy as she reached her climax with rhythmic convulsions. Grant couldn’t hold back any longer and followed her, exploding inside her with one final hard thrust, his lips forming her name.

As their breathing returned to normal, Samantha surprised him with a sensual backrub while he recovered enough for round two. Her fingers on his back sent pulsating waves of pleasure through him. Her thumbs found all of the tight spots along his spine, and the sensual caresses did nothing but stoke the embers of his desire to a raging fire once again.

She turned the tables and straddled him, exploring every inch of his naked body. He lay against the sheets, watching her through lidded eyes as she stroked his hard length in her hands and then took him into her mouth. She licked and probed and teased him with her lips and tongue. She succeeded beautifully, making him come undone, taking him to even greater heights of pleasure than their first time together – something he hadn’t thought possible.

Grant couldn’t stop at that and had to give her back the pleasure. He eased her down on her back and licked his way down her flat stomach to her core. Her staccato breathing propelled him to keep teasing her nipples with his thumbs while his tongue found her most sensitive spot. He licked her, slow and gentle, but she soon arched her hips into him, pleading for more. Grant gave what she asked for and sucked her harder, pushing her up the peak of pleasure again until her muscles convulsed in another earth-shattering climax.

Somewhere in the wee hours of the morning, they collapsed against each other in exhaustion. Snuggled up together, his arms wrapped around her, one of her thighs lying across his own, her hand tucked round his side to hold him close.

I love that woman.

Late the next morning, Samantha woke up, cuddled up against Grant much in the same position as she’d fallen asleep the night before. She turned her head and then smiled at how handsome he looked, even early in the morning with a scruffy face.

She scooted out from under his arm and headed to the kitchen to start the coffee machine. The moment Grant had seen the coffee maker came to her mind. The way his eyes had brightened at the sight of it had made her heart jump and a peculiar feeling take over her body, making her all wobbly and nervous.

When coffee was ready, she poured two cups and carried them back to the bedroom.

He was just waking up and gave her a sleepy smile. “Good morning, sweetie.”

“Good morning,” she said, offering him one of the cups. She sat down on the end of the bed and watched him over the rim.

He took a sip of the coffee and made a humming sound with his throat before saying, “This must be the happiest morning of my life.”

“Why?” she asked him, sipping her own steaming brew and trying to gauge his mood.

He glanced at her and asked, “Do you have to ask? You make me happy.”

Samantha chose her words carefully. “Grant, we need to slow down and think about this first.”

Grant ignored her insecurities and instead changed the subject. “I’m supposed to have dinner with my parents tonight. Would you like to come with me?”

She sighed, knowing they wouldn’t discuss their relationship until he was ready to do so.
Fine.
“I’m not sure if that’s such a good idea.”

“Why not? You like my parents and they’ve always liked you.”

“I do like your parents. It’s just…I’m not ready for anyone to know that we’ve moved beyond best friends into lover territory. Not yet.”

Grant laughed at her. “Fine. We don’t have to say anything to them.”
But you’re kidding yourself if you think for one minute my mom won’t find out. She’s like Sherlock Holmes when it comes to uncovering things her kids are trying to cover up.

“Okay then.”

Grant snagged his shorts from the floor and pulled them on. “I need to buy more supplies over in the next town. Want to come with me?”

She shook her head. “I’d rather stay here and relax or read a book on the beach, if you don’t mind.”

“That’s sounds like a plan. I’ll be back later, sweetie.”

He grabbed the rest of his clothes and his wallet, and then dropped a sweet kiss on her lips before leaving the bedroom and waving her a goodbye. “Until later.”

Samantha blew him a kiss before grabbing a book, some sunscreen, and a beach towel. The sun was up, a refreshing breeze blew from the lake, and she wanted nothing more than to laze the day away next to the water.

She found the perfect spot, but before long, she let her book drop unheeded to her lap and closed her eyes. Her mind wandered, back to Grant and his parents. How long had it been since she’d seen them? Five years? Or more?

Bridget Paxton was a warm-hearted woman, but she could be fiercer than a lioness protecting her cub. Everyone who hurt her kids had to take it up against her.

Grant’s mother had been exhilarated to move to Sandy Beach, a dream she and her husband had shared for a long time. But the fact that Grant and his two older brothers Ethan and Chase had preferred to stay in Chicago had been a constant thorn in her side.

Samantha recalled one conversation where her brother Patrick had asked Grant and his older siblings why they hadn’t moved to Sandy Beach with their parents. The reply was something along the lines about them preferring the exciting city life, and joking that the beach was a place for old people and kids.

Grant might have felt that way during his wild years, but she knew he now thought different. They’d often discussed how cool it would be to live at Sandy Beach full-time. And now he’d bought the beach house.

Her thoughts drifted further off, and the lack of sleep and the stress from the grueling pace she’d kept in New York caught up to her. The warmth of the sun shining down on her and the sound of the waves lulled her into a place where she was floating along, not asleep, but not awake either.

How long she was in that state, she didn’t know. The unmistakable chirping of her phone startled her from her peaceful place. Her initial reaction was to ignore it, and then it stopped. 
Great! Now I can…
It has stopped only to start right back up. When that cycle continued for the third time, she sighed and reached into her bag for her phone.

“Hello?”

“It’s about time you answered the phone. Where in the hell are you?”

Samantha’s calmness fled. Madison Delacrux’s grating voice told her the woman was on a tear and Samantha was firmly in her sights.

“Good afternoon, Madison.”

“Don’t good afternoon me! Where are you?”

“I’m out of town,” Samantha replied, not wanting to give her agent her exact location. Madison wasn’t above hopping on a plane and making Samantha’s life miserable.

“Out of town. Well, that’s just great, Sam. You had an important photo shoot that started, oh…about thirty minutes ago!”

Samantha froze, having totally forgotten about the shoot in her anger at Craig and the need to get away from New York. “Oh my gosh. I completely forgot about it.”

“Well, get your ass back to New York now. I’ll see if I can…”

“Madison, I’m not anywhere close to New York.”

The line fell silent with a lengthy pause and she could almost see Madison counting to ten, and then twenty, in her head. The woman’s face would be red by now, heading towards purple, and Samantha cringed when she heard her deadly quiet voice ask, “Where are you, exactly?”

Samantha thought about not answering, but knew she owed her talent agent more consideration than that. Sighing, she told her, “Sandy Beach. Outside Chicago.”

“Illinois? You’re in Illinois?”

Make it Wisconsin. But who cares?

“Sam, get your ass back here immediately. These people do not take being stood up lightly.”

Samantha knew that, but after the little episode she’d had at the Silueta event, she was as good as dead anyways.

“Sam? Do you hear me?” Madison screamed through the phone. “When are you going to be here? I can claim you were ill or something, but I need to tell them when to reschedule the shoot.”

Samantha didn’t want to leave Sandy Beach. It was the perfect getaway and for the first time in a long while, she actually felt good. Physically. Emotionally. Mentally.
I don’t want to leave my little paradise. Not just yet.

With Grant by her side, and their lovemaking the night before, her life was perfect. But then reality reared its ugly head and if she wanted any chance of salvaging her career, she needed to leave for New York. Now.

She felt an acute sense of loss when she told Madison, “I’m on my way. I’ll hop on the first flight back.” After a glance down at her watch she said, “I’ll be back tonight. Tell them I can shoot first thing in the morning.”

“Fine. Text me your flight number and I’ll pick you up from the airport.”

“Okay.” Samantha waited to see if Madison would say anything else, perhaps some scathing remark about how she’d blown it with Silueta, but all she heard was an empty line.

While she sat there for several minutes, thinking about the phone call from Madison, her mood veered to anger. In a few short seconds, she was fuming about the mess Craig had created in her life.

Her ability to think reasonably had long gone up in smoke when Grant appeared at her side and leaned over, intending to kiss her. Samantha shied away from him. “Not now!”

Grant gave her a puzzled look and tried to take her into his arms, but she shoved against him, acting as if he was responsible for whatever had her temper up.

Another man might have been intimidated by her behavior, but not Grant. He’d known her bad moods for far too long. “Getting ready to explode again, Firecracker?”

Her temper flared up; rounding on him with fists clenched tight, she said, “It’s all his fault. I’m going to kill that man the next time I see him.”

“Whoa now. Craig’s a douche, but killing him might be a little extreme. What’s happened since I left you this morning?”

Samantha gave a roar of anger and launched herself at Grant. “Don’t take his side!” She beat her fists against his chest, but he easily fended her off, trapping her clenched fists against his chest as he wrapped his strong arms tight around her.

Stifling her only fueled her rage, and she attempted to head-butt him before he squeezed her hard enough to make breathing difficult.

“Stop it.”

“Let me go, you Neanderthal!”

“Sammie, you need to learn to deal with your temper. Grown-up women do not act like this. Look at the mess your temper got you into back in New York.”

“Arghh.” She shoved against him with her entire body, telling him between clenched teeth, “Let me go. You’re just like every other man out there, trying to control me and telling me what to do.”

“Calm down, sweetie. You’re upset.”

She struggled against him some more. “I’m done with you. Let me go.”

“Sammie, you need to calm down.” He kept his voice low, but it wasn’t having the desired effect on her at all. Samantha was in a rage, and usually that meant she would need a cooling-off period, with no additional aggravation, before she could regain her control and think straight again.”

“I don’t have to listen to anything you have to say. Let go of me. Now.”

Grant released his hold on her, keeping himself ready in case she attacked him again. “Fine. You’re free. Care to tell me what has you so upset?”

“No. God, all you men are alike. Trying to ruin my career and control my every movement. I’m out of here. I have a job to return to. ”

She grabbed her pack and ran towards the beach house without looking back to see if he was following her.
I don’t care if he does. I have to rush to New York and try to salvage my career.

She called a taxi and haphazardly tossed her stuff into her suitcase. It would cost an arm and a leg to take a taxi all the way back into Chicago, but right now she didn’t care.

As the taxi pulled away from the beach house, she was glad Grant hadn’t tried to follow her or reason with her. She didn’t want to hear it. He’d had the guts to tell her everything that was happening had been her own responsibility. He’d blamed her lack of self-control, and not Craig’s betrayal for her misery.

No, she didn’t want to hear from Mr. Grant Paxton. Not now. Maybe never again.