by Aliyah Burke
“Yes.” His answer fell absolute and instantaneous.
“All right, then.” She withstood the looks from his sister and mother during the ride but didn’t pay them much mind. Sure, they were watching her and looking at her as if she didn’t belong, and perhaps she didn’t, but he wanted her there, and so there she’d be.
Eva stood behind him at the service at the site, occasionally touching the back of his neck and shoulders in a silent show of support. She paid her respects then got back in the limo with them and headed to the house.
This was where she got to work. Ensuring people had enough to eat, that drinks remained full, she walked around doing the small tasks, so the family could visit with those who knew him and would miss him so much. She helped out a sweet, small Navajo woman named Sarah who was the wife of another doctor Grant worked with. Sarah was a lovely woman. A few smatterings of quiet laughter broke occasionally and she figured they were remembering better times.
The day passed and she stood in the kitchen, washing dishes by hand from those who’d brought food to the house, making sure they were dry and ready to be taken home. Standing by the sink, she was drying a casserole dish when Grant walked in.
She glanced up at him with a soft smile on her lips. “How are you holding up?” She put down the dry dish and rested the towel on the counter.
“I’d be lying if I said it was easy. What are you doing in here? You don’t have to be doing dishes. Go sit down, get something to eat and why are you shaking your head at me?”
Eva stepped flush to the man who towered over her by a good seven inches when she didn’t have heels on. Even with them on, she had to tilt her head back to meet his gaze. “I’ve eaten. Don’t worry about me, Grant. Do what you have to out there. I’ll be in here doing the small things and making sure people are taken care of food and drink wise.”
“You also took the children aside and talked to them. They seem a bit more comfortable with what’s going on. How did you do that?”
“I’ve learned how to deliver news of death to children, Grant. I do that daily at work, I’ve discovered a way to express it in a way they understand.”
A woman in a black dress two sizes too small for her large frame walked in the kitchen. “I’m sorry. I was told my dishes were in here.”
“Mrs. Mulroney, yes of course,” Eva said, moving back from Grant. “I have them over here for you. Cleaned and in a bag for carrying.” Hefting the paper bag, she handed it to the gray-haired woman. “Thank you so much for your dishes, they were delicious.”
“Aren’t you just a gem? So nice of you to come out and help during this day. I mean, you’re so sweet, I hardly notice the blue in your hair.”
Releasing the handles, Eva smiled. “Thank you. Drive safely.” She returned to drying dishes as Mrs. Mulroney said goodbye to Grant, as well.
Moments later, it was just the two of them in the kitchen again.
Grant pinned her between him and the counter. “How do you do it?”
“Do what?” Lord help her, he smelled so inviting and dangerously decadent.
“You never met the woman, yet you knew the dishes she’d brought with her.”
“I asked. When I spoke with people, I found out who brought what. Plus, some people arrived with dishes and I just remembered who brought which dish.”
Grant settled a calloused hand along her cheek. “I want to kiss you so damn bad.”
His admission went directly from his lips to her clit. Pushing up on her toes, she brushed her mouth along his jaw, his stubble teasing her lips. “Go be with your family. I’ve got this part handled.”
When he left, she got back to work, putting clean dishes in bags and leaving them on the table. Then she walked back out and made sure the desserts were still doing fine, refilling coffee or getting more tea for people.
After the last person left, she was back in the kitchen, finishing up the dishes. Her feet screamed, but she ignored their cries. Not much longer and she would be out of these shoes.
“You can stop now,” Grant said from behind her.
“Food’s all labeled and put away in the fridge. Some people forgot to take their dishes, but each bag is labeled, so you or your sister can return them without guessing who belongs to what. This is the last of the dishes to wash, so I’ll be out of your hair in a few minutes.”
He closed his arms around her waist and buried his face along her neck. “I don’t want you to leave.”
“I’m not sleeping here, Grant. I have a room at the Hilton nearby. I’ll grab a cab and head over.”
“No.” His hard body pressed against hers.
Eva could feel his dick pushing into the small of her back. “No?”
“I’ll take you. You’ve done so much, I’ll be damned if I let you go back in a cab.”
“I’ll be ready in a few minutes.”
He kissed her neck and she bit back her whimper. Christ, all she’d thought about since leaving him in Mexico was his touch, his kisses, how he set her body aflame. Not true, she’d missed just being with him, something about him made her relax and want to stop and enjoy life.
Stop thinking like this, Eva. Now isn’t the time.
She finished up the dishes and walked back through the large house to the living room where he waited with his mother and sister.
They both looked at her and rose. Eva got hugs from both women and kisses on the cheek.
“Thank you,” his sister said. “For everything. And for being here for my brother. I see why he loves you.”
Eva didn’t know what to say to that, but it didn’t matter. His mother hugged her next with a gratitude of her own.
Grant took her hand and led her out to where a black BMW waited, running with its parking lights on. He held the door for her and assisted her inside.
She groaned as she sat, having been on her feet all day not the issue, the problem was she’d been in heels all damn day and that was a new thing for her. At the hospital, she wasn’t in heels this high. Hell, most days she wore tennis shoes or Crocs. These types of shoes were reserved for nights out with her sisters or the few and far between dates that she hadn’t had in forever.
“Downtown?”
“Yes.”
They rode in silence, but he captured her hand and interlace their fingers once more. He pulled up to the hotel and instead of stopping in front of the door, and letting her out, he gave the car over to the waiting valet and came around to help her.
Taking his hand as he opened the door, she glanced over at him. “You could have just dropped me off.”
“I’m walking you up.”
She wouldn’t argue. Side by side, they walked in the hotel and headed for the elevator.
At the door, he took her key from her and opened it.
Silence fell between them as they entered.
Eva took off her shoes and groaned as her feet hit flat on the floor.
“You okay?” he asked, moving to her side.
“I’m not used to being on my feet all day in heels that high. I don’t wear those types of shoes to the hospital.” She ran a hand through her hair. “Thank you for walking me up. I’m here, I’m fine. Go be with your family. I can’t believe you gave your car to the valet just to escort me up here.” Her belly clenched as he ran his tongue along his lips. God, she wanted him so badly, but she wasn’t going to initiate anything. If he did, she sure as hell wouldn’t say no, but she wasn’t making the first move.
Grant shrugged out of his suit coat and draped it over the nearest chair to him. His tie followed, and damn was it sexy to watch a man remove a tie. Then he unbuttoned his shirt, exposing his golden skin as the crisp white cotton fell away.
She resisted the urge to squeeze her legs together and rock.
He rolled his shoulders and the shirt fell down his arms before he tossed it to land on his coat. “I still need you, Eva.”
That’s all she needed to hear. Standing there in the dress, she curled her toes into the carpe
t beneath her feet and nodded.
“Help me forget.”
“Stop,” she ordered when he put his hands on the fastener for his pants. She moved closer and brushed his away. “Allow me.”
* * * *
Grant exhaled slowly as Eva stood there unbuttoning his pants. God, he’d missed her touch something fierce. The backs of her fingers brushed against his gut and his cock swelled further. He’d been semi-aroused all damn day because of her nearness.
The way the black dress curved about her body, leaving nothing to his imagination and fueling the fire he had for her with its simple elegance and sexiness. This woman was hot as sin and he accepted she could burn him without even trying.
The zipper was the only sound in the hotel room as she drew the tab down. She brushed back the open flaps and reached back to slip her hand inside his boxers.
This time, the groan didn’t remain in his throat but slid free into the air.
Her warm hand curled around his still thickening member. He bucked his hips slightly and she tightened her hold in response. With her free hand, she pushed down his pants to his ankles then carefully did the same to his boxers.
Grant watched her.
She fixated on his dick in her hand, eyes not wavering as she stared at her hand stroking him. Eva sank to her knees her warm breath dusting along the large head. She opened her mouth and took him in, encasing him with her wet heat.
“Eva,” he growled.
She tipped her head to peer up at him with her big blue eyes.
Christ, what a sexy sight. This woman wearing a black dress, no shoes, with blue tips in her blonde hair, on her knees before him, his dick in her mouth, and she watched him.
“I’m not going to put up with this for long,” he warned. “I need to be deep inside your pussy.”
She released his dick with a pop and pushed back to her feet. Three steps away, she bent over the couch, lifting her dress showing him the black thong she wore. “So come on, then.”
It didn’t matter his pants were around his damn ankles, he was to her in seconds and had snapped the thong from her body, dropping it beside them. Nudging her legs wider, he pushed balls-deep inside her with a single stroke. She’d been turned on by sucking him for her slit was wet as it welcomed him. “Shit,” he moaned.
A comment echoed by the woman beneath him.
Grant gripped her hips, one hand on flesh the other gripping the dress bunched up as he began thrusting in and out of her. Each stroke faster, harder, and deeper than the previous, until he couldn’t tell where she began and he ended.
Rotating her hips, Eva begged for more with each pound.
His fingers bit into her as he anchored them together as his cock jerked, filling her with his release. Panting hard, he bent over her body as he pried his shoes off his feet and shed the pants along with boxers around his ankles. He lifted her, their bodies still joined, and carried her to the bed.
Laying her on the mattress, he pushed deeper into her—eliciting another moan from her. Using his left hand, he undid the zipper to her dress. Kissing her exposed skin along the way, he took a moment and nipped her shoulder before pulling out of her body. “Get out of that dress.”
Eva turned to look at him, wriggled her shoulders and the item slid down her body pooling at her feet, leaving her wearing nothing but that chain around her neck. She captured her lower lip with her teeth and beckoned to him.
Grant listened and moved close enough, so their torsos touched.
She wound her arms around him and rested her head over his heart. “You need me, I’m here.”
* * * *
He lay her back on the mattress and stood over her, observing her hungrily. Damn, he couldn’t get enough of her. He picked up one foot and kissed it before moving up her leg. Then he stopped at the top of her thigh, somehow avoiding her pussy and made the same action for her other leg. He continued on his way up her body, over her belly, briefly tonguing her belly button, and moving on. At her breasts, he teased, flicking his tongue along the pebbled tips.
Her breathing increased and hitched.
As he enjoyed one, he used his hand on the other, and switched until she was squirming beneath him. Then he headed up again, until he reached her mouth. Capturing it, he tangled with her tongue for a bit, before he rolled them so she was on top of him.
She watched him but didn’t speak, just waited.
Grant realized she’d meant what she’d said. She was there for him. Gripping her ass, he rubbed his dick against her core. “Get up here.”
Instead of listening as he’d thought she would, she shook her head once and turned around, presenting him with her back. Rising slightly, she then came back down, taking his hardness deep inside her.
Moaning, Grant waited to see what she was going to do next.
She leaned forward, extending her feet back to his shoulders and putting her upper body between his legs. Then she began to move.
Holy fuck.
Eva used his feet to give herself added leverage and pushing power as she slid up and down on his cock.
He stared at her ass as it moved before him and he tried to slow the rush of pleasure coursing through him, drawing his balls up tight, but it was no good.
She was too good.
Holding her hips, he helped increase the speed and friction by pushing her onto him even more. “Christ, Eva,” he ground out. “I’m about to come again.”
She did, coating his dick with her cream.
He slammed into her once more, then came hard, filling her.
The mattress muffled her cry but he got the gist of the line of swearwords that fell from her lips. As soon as she stopped shaking, she slithered forward off his cock, turned back to him and moved up until she was over him again.
He tugged her down to his chest and wrapped his arms around her. “Where the hell did you learn that?”
“Kama Sutra.”
“Jesus.” He kissed her forehead.
“You know you should be getting back to check on your mom and sister.”
“I want to stay here.”
“They may need you around, Grant.”
She was right and, with reluctance, he climbed from the bed and padded to the bathroom. When he returned, cleaned up and dressed, she remained lying in the bed. Her clothing still piled on the floor.
“How long are you here for?”
“A few more days.”
He strode to the bed and bent to kiss her. “I’ll be by for breakfast.”
“I’ll be here.”
Damn, he didn’t want to leave her. He wanted to curl up beside her and forget everything for a while. Swiping his suitcoat, he shrugged into it and sighed again. “See you in a while, Eva.”
She climbed from the bed and he stared at her until she covered her naked body with a long shirt she pulled from her bag. She walked up to him and wrapped her arms around him. “I’m so sorry for your loss.”
“And I’m so grateful you were here.” He guided her chin up with one finger and brushed their mouths together ever so brief, knowing if he allowed it to be longer, he wouldn’t leave the room. “Sleep well, beautiful.”
He left before he stayed all night. Grant cast several glances to the door as he waited for the elevator to come, wishing he go back in to Eva.
Chapter Seven
“And what happened after the wonderful days of marathon sex? Did you at least set a time to see each other again?”
Eva glared at her sister Tara. “Does everything out of your mouth have to be so damn loud?”
No shame appeared in her sister’s expression in the slightest. Her almond-shaped black eyes sparkled in the lights of the restaurant. “Yes, when it comes to sex. I’m a moaner. Actually, more of a screamer. Well, if the man knows what he’s doing, that is.”
“I swear you do this to me just because you can.”
“Of course, I do. What were you thinking?” Tara sipped her drink and gave her a shit-eating grin.
&n
bsp; “Good point.” She glanced at her watch. “Where’s Shai? She’s usually the most punctual of us all.”
“No clue. Haven’t heard from her today. In fact, I’ve not heard from her for a few days. She’s been different since she got back from her trip. Kind of like you have been.” She took another drink. “I forgot to ask. How was the funeral?”
“Beautiful as far as funerals go. His family was nice. His father must have been a well-known person and well liked, there were a lot of people there. The arrangement you all sent was beautiful, so thank you for handling that.”
“Wonderful, so glad it turned out nice. And how was Grant with you showing up?”
Part of what she loved about her siblings was their ability to change direction in a heartbeat. She didn’t want to discuss sex in a restaurant, so her sister asked about something else without much pain.
Her salmon and Tara’s shrimp came. “I think he was glad to see me. I didn’t spend much time with him at the funeral. I took care of the food, drinks, and cleanup. Also dealt with some of the children who were having a harder time.”
Tara nodded. “You are good at that. I expect to see you with a brood of your own soon.”
“Really? Now, you’re trying to get me to be a mother? I’m busy with my career, not sure when I would be having tons of time to raise a family. Plus, let’s not forget that there’s not a man there who could contribute to this cause.” There were times when she figured her sisters forgot she couldn’t have kids and she struggled to ignore the shaft of pain radiating through her.
She stopped and blinked a few times, the fork wobbling in her trembling hand. I just remembered that we had unprotected sex. Three times. I could be pregnant right now. If not for the cancer, the motherfucking cancer.
“Everything okay, Eva?”
With a glance to her sister, she spied the other one walking through the crowd of patrons to them. “Fine. Just saw Shai come in.”
Tara turned as well.
Shai strode up and smiled at the two of them. “Sorry. Classes ran late.”
Eva and Tara shared a look.
“What?” Shai asked. “They did.”
