Midnight Heat (Firework Girls #2) (16 page)

“No,” I say seriously. “Me either.”

“Does... stuff like that worry you?”

“That you’ll turn out to be a cheater?”

“No. Well, I mean I don’t want you to worry about that, because I’m really not that kind of guy.”

“I know.”

“No, I mean...” He sighs. “The whole point of the Rule was to avoid doing stupid things. And here it seems I’ve been making bad decisions all week long.”

“Well,” I kind of laugh and shrug. “I hate to tell you this, but people do stupid things when they’re in love whether they’re twenty-five or fifty-five. It just... can’t be helped.”

He laughs and pulls me into his arms. “That’s not very reassuring,” he says as we begin swaying to the music.

“But if things work out, it’s worth it,” I say, giving him a broad smile and raising my eyebrows. “Right?”

I have no idea what’s going to happen next with us. I’m getting on a plane tomorrow afternoon and heading back to my job in Boise, whether I want to or not. But for now, Grayson’s here, and I’m here in his arms, and that’s a start. I’ll take it.

He smiles and gives me a gentle kiss. “It’s already worth it.”

It’s almost three in the morning when Grayson and I walk into his kitchen and I’m back to where it all began.

Is it weird to say I feel like I’m coming home?

Holding my hand, he leads me into the living room, setting my suitcase at the foot of the stairs. The wall of windows, open to the city beyond, lets in enough moonlight for us to see by. We settle on the couch, facing one another, hands intertwined.

I let out a deep breath.

“Quite a day,” he says quietly.

I raise my eyebrows and nod. “Uh, yeah.”

“How tired are you? Would you rather talk in the morning?”

“I’m pretty tired,” I acknowledge, “but I want to tell you what I’m thinking.”

“What are you thinking?” He says this calmly, but I sense some nervousness underneath. I’m feeling a bit of nerves too, remembering what happened the last time I was here. But things are different now.

“I’m thinking a move back to Swan Pointe is in order,” I say.

He smiles. “I like the way you’re thinking.”

“You know, I’d be coming back for you,” I say. “That’s not too much for you, is it?” I do feel the need for both of us to be perfectly clear, but I confess, I’m not much worried about his answer at this point.

He raises one eyebrow. “You’re kidding, right?”

I smile. “Kind of.”

He rests his elbow on the back of the couch and leans his head on his hand. He rubs the back of my hand with his thumb. “I’m definitely not too happy about the idea of you being in Boise.”

That makes two of us.

The company I work for will soon have one less cog working for them, but I have a feeling they’ll manage just fine. It’s fine by me, too. I wish my blog were making enough to live off of, but I’m not there yet. “I don’t know how quickly I can find a job here,” I say, “but I’ll start looking tomorrow. The sooner the better.”

He opens his mouth, as if to say something, but seems to think better of it and closes it again.

I lean in and give him a gentle kiss, inhaling slowly. I pull away and put out my hand, palm up. “Phone please,” I say.

He furrows his brow at me, but pulls his phone out of his pocket and puts it in my hand. I bring up his contacts and start adding my information. “It’s way past time for you to have my number,” I say. When I’m done entering my info into his phone and send myself a text so I have his number too, I set his phone on the cushion next to me. “I expect frequent calls and texts,” I say smiling.

He’s grinning too. “Can I take you to dinner on Friday? You know good places in Boise, right?”

I look at him in surprise.

“You’re not the only one who can hop on a plane, you know.”

“Oh,” I breathe, “That sounds so heavenly!” I give him one kiss, which turns into half a dozen more enthusiastic kisses.

He laughs lowly. When I rest my head against the couch, smiling at him, he runs his hand through my hair. Part of me is so tired, I feel like I could fall asleep right here. The other part of me doesn’t want to miss a second of Grayson. That’s the part of me that wins. I haven’t stopped smiling since he said he’s coming to Boise.

Five more days. I’ll get to see him again in five more days.

In some ways that feels like torture, but it’s better than nothing. Who knows how soon before I can be back in Swan Pointe where I belong?

I sit here happily, watching him as he slowly runs his hand through my hair. He pauses just long enough to gently touch the tip of his finger to my nose piercing, like planting a little kiss on it. I smile sleepily.

“Smile for me,” I say softly as he continues to play with my hair. He furrows his brow, but a crooked smile emerges. God, he’s so damned cute.

I bring my fingertip to my lips, put a kiss on it, then place the tip of my finger on his dimple. He smiles deeper and catches my fingers before I can drop them. He puts my fingers on his lips so he can kiss them, then lowers my hand in his and gently rubs my hand with his thumb again.

My body betrays me, and I cover my mouth as I lose the fight not to yawn.

“Oh, big yawn,” he says quietly, smiling. “Come on.” He stands slowly and extends his hand to me. “Let’s get you to bed.”

I put my hand in his and go with him toward the stairs. He grabs my suitcase and we silently head up to the master bedroom.

I look at him and he gives me a gentle smile, his dimple just making an appearance. My heart flutters in response. I can imagine us doing this every night, for the rest of our lives.

Once upstairs, we go through a silent routine of sorts. We brush our teeth and get undressed. I drape my clothes over my suitcase, but don’t bother retrieving my night slip. He’s down to his boxers, but by the time I’m in only my bra and underwear, he’s left off undressing and is standing still, watching me.

I’m feeling more awake now, I’ll admit.

Eyes on his, I quietly remove my bra and slide it off my shoulders. As my breasts are exposed, his eyes slide downward, taking me in. Heart pounding, I let my bra drop to the floor.

Slowly, I hook my thumbs over the lacy band of my panties. He looks back up at me—with an impossibly loving expression that gets my insides dancing—then watches as I slide my panties down my legs. I let them fall to my ankles, then carefully step out of them, moving slightly in his direction.

He lets out a long, shaky exhale.

I stand still as he slowly comes up to me. He places his hands softly on my shoulders, then lightly trails them down my upper arms and over to my breasts. Goosebumps rise on my skin. His palms reach my erect nipples, and he cups me gently before continuing on to my stomach.

I raise my hands to his forearms. I rest them there lightly, then run my hands up to his firm biceps, and over to his chest.

His fingertips gently caress my belly button piercing. He leans in, placing his mouth on mine. I part my lips to receive him. My knees weaken as his tongue tastes mine. I take hold of him for support as his arms encircle my waist, bringing my naked flesh against his, linking us from chest to thigh.

Opening to a deeper, gentle kiss, I softly tug on the waistband of his boxer shorts. He pulls away quietly and slips them off. I stand, exposed and tingling and waiting, until he comes back to me and wraps his arms around me again.

Kissing me slowly, he continues to run his hands softly over my shoulders and back and rear. I’m lightly running my hand over his body as well, his hard desire for me gently pressing against the cleft of my sex.

He brings his hands up and cups my face, intensifying his kiss. I tighten my hold on him, pressing harder against his firm chest. Still holding my face with one hand, he drops the other to my breast and squeezes gently as he starts working his mouth down my neck. I exhale a long breath as I tilt my head, giving him more room. My skin tingles everywhere his lips touch me.

As he continues to work down to the base of my neck, to my collar bone, and further down, he gently steers me to the bed until I feel the mattress against the back of my legs. I grip his shoulders firmly as he works his way down my breast. My nipple is aching, but I wait for him. His hands lightly trail down the side of my torso until his mouth is hovering above my nipple. As he latches on, sending shivers over my body, he grips my hips tightly.

I let out a shaky exhale. What kind of sweet torture is this?

He gently sucks my breasts, lightly trailing his hands over my ass and gripping my upper thighs from behind.

I let out a whimper and reach my hands down the length of his back.

He plants a trail of soft, hot kisses from one nipple and toward the other. I angle my hips and thighs closer to him, pressing against his body. He reaches my nipple, but doesn’t suck it right away. He lightly flicks it with the tip of his tongue, teasing me.

I look down at him, my mouth slightly open, and slide my hand into his hair. I gently press on the back of his head and he fully takes me into his mouth, tightening his arms around me as he sucks firmly.

I let out a soft moan. I’m worked up now. I’m throbbing and feel weak in the legs. But still I don’t rush him. As he sucks my nipple, sometimes softly, sometimes firmly, I run my hands over his cheek and neck and shoulders. I’ve never given so much love in a single touch, or been loved so well in return.

He gives my nipple one last, firm taste, swings over and does the same to the other one, then comes up to my waiting mouth. Kissing me deeply, he gently adjusts me into a sitting position on the bed, his warm body between my thighs.

I don’t know how much more of this I can take. I want to wrap my legs around him, but still I wait.

He pulls away, looking me deep in my eyes before slowly lowering his head and placing his lips on my breastbone. He works his way down, planting moist kisses in between my breasts and toward my stomach. My nipples are aching for his touch, but that isn’t the only thing. As he gently lays me back, his mouth still wandering downward, I bring my knees up in anticipation of his ultimate destination. By the time he reaches the top of my pubic bone, I’m spread and lifting my hips up, unable to help myself. My pussy is throbbing and wet and I know it won’t take me long to get there once he finally satisfies my need for his touch.

He continues downward, but veers to the side and gently sucks on the tendon at the top of my upper thigh. I grip his shoulder with one hand, his hair with the other. He goes over to the other side, his hot breath teasing my clit. I arch my back, my breasts rising into the air. He sucks on the other tendon, closer to the folds of my sex this time. I spread myself further and tug his hair in the desired direction, asking.

His head moves as directed and my clit throbs in expectation. “You’re so beautiful, Chloe,” he says softly, then laps his wet tongue over my clit. My mouth drops open and my body jolts as I’m consumed with the pleasure of him making contact at last. He licks and sucks and works me up into a frenzy quickly. My firm nipples are hot and aching, but he finally reaches up and squeezes them. I moan and grind my hips toward his mouth helplessly. My channel is aching to be filled and my clit is swelling and hardening against his tongue. Still squeezing one breast, he runs his other hand firmly down my stomach, then brings it under my leg and slides two fingers into me.

I groan and press him hard against me, panting as I curl inward and spread my legs further. Intense waves of pleasure pulse outward from my clit, rising and rising as he licks me eagerly and fucks me with his fingers.

I urgently hang on to his shoulders as I climb to the pinnacle, my legs trembling. He flicks his tongue hard over my engorged clit, thrusts me with now three fingers, and I let out a long, yearning cry as my orgasm shatters over me. I dig into his shoulders as I contract with pleasure again and again. Still he works me furiously and I arch back hard, whimpering and panting. All my senses and awareness are swallowed up in the deep quakes in my body. I succumb completely. He slows just enough, drawing my climax out. I let out one sharp, short cry after another as he expertly leads me from one peak to the next, slowly bringing me down until I’m a limp, panting, puddle on his bed.

He gently removes his fingers and I’m left tingling and gazing at him with heavy eyes. He places a firm kiss on the middle of my inner thigh and I shiver slightly.

His gaze meets mine then and my heart skips a beat when I see the hot longing in his eyes. I don’t know if I have strength enough to receive that longing, but I’m about to find out. Keeping his eyes on mine, he crawls up to me. I try to scoot up farther on the bed to give us a better base, but I’m too weak to do it very effectively. He effortlessly lifts me and moves me up. I raise my knees and he settles on top of me, his bulging cock hitting its mark.

One stroke inside my sensitive channel is all it takes. I feel the fire rising in me again. I exhale sharply as I grip his firm ass, squeezing him.

“Do you like that?” he asks huskily, rocking me firmly.

I nod, too weak to speak.

“How much do you like it?” he asks. I’m already tightening around him.

“Don’t stop,” I whisper.

Supporting himself on his elbow, he grabs my hair and presses his forehead against mine. Still rocking me hard, he holds my eyes.

“You feel so good, baby,” he says.

His cock is growing taut against me. “You’re so hard,” I breathe.

I feel the pleasure in my body kick into a higher place and I clamp even harder around him. He groans and closes his eyes, diving deep into me again and again.

“Look at me,” I whisper.

His eyes flutter open, then close again in pleasure. He kisses me deeply, thrusting into me faster. I’m peaking higher, my legs spread wide, as he pounds hard into me repeatedly. He lifts his head back just enough to lock his gaze with mine.

My entire body flushes hot and my heart is pounding out of my chest. His cock hardens even more as he continues to ride me and I see he’s close. I’m close too and starting to tremble.

“I love you,” I whisper as we move together, holding each other’s eyes.

He grunts and closes his eyes briefly.
Almost there, baby.
I’m peaking right along with him.