Claiming Grace (Ace Security Book 1)

by Susan Stoker

  “You want to watch a movie?” Logan asked after they’d reviewed the morning’s events together. Grace had told him about the upcoming jobs she’d booked for the company, and he’d informed her that her parents seemed to have completely forgotten about her . . . once again showing up for work on time and leaving right at five.

  It was one in the afternoon. They’d had lunch and while they could always do some work, she had something else in mind. She shook her head. “I’m sick of TV. Would you . . .” she paused, not sure she should ask what she was thinking.

  “Go on, will I what?” Logan encouraged.

  “It’s silly, but I saw you one day outside Ace Security and I’ve never-”

  “Spit it out, woman.” Logan smiled to let her know he was teasing.

  Grace mock-glared at him, but secretly was thankful he’d made a joke out of her reticence. “Will you take me for a ride on your motorcycle? I’ve never been on one.”

  Logan eyed her up and down. “I’d love to. You’ll need to go put on jeans and a long-sleeve shirt to protect your skin.”

  Grace nodded. “Yeah.”

  “Excellent. Then you’re all set. You can wear my leather jacket, and I’ll make sure Blake picks one up for you if you enjoy the ride and think you might want to do it again sometime.”

  “Buying me a jacket isn’t necessary,” Grace protested. “I’ll be fine with the one Felicity brought for me.”

  “Grace, it’s not just a matter of me wanting you to have one, it’s for your safety and protection. I’d rather drive a nail in my eye than do anything to put you in danger. Trust me on this. A regular long-sleeve shirt or coat isn’t safe enough. There’s a safety reason behind the heavier leather jackets that motorcyclists wear. It helps protect us against the weather as well as guards against road rash if we take a fall.”

  “Oh, okay. I didn’t realize. But, Logan, if I wear yours, then you won’t have one. I don’t want to put you in danger. Maybe this was a bad idea; we can do it some other time.”

  Logan walked over to where Grace was standing in the kitchen and loosely put his arms around her waist, hooking his fingers together at the small of her back and pulling her into him. Grace could feel his semi-hard cock against her belly and could smell the scent of his soap on his skin. The peppermint he’d eaten earlier wafted into her face as he spoke.

  “I’m good. I’ve been doing this a long time. I know what I’m doing. I don’t think we’re gonna crash, but just in case, I’d prefer for you to be covered, rather than me.”

  “Then why didn’t you just say that then?” she semi-teased.

  He smiled and ran his finger down the tip of her nose. “Brat. Thank you for being concerned about me, though. It’s been a long time since a woman has given a shit what I do.”

  “I give a shit.”

  He grinned wider. “I’m glad.”

  “And thanks in return for being concerned about me as well,” Grace returned. “Not about how what I’m doing reflects on you, but about me.”

  The smile on Logan’s face melted away and he looked down at her seriously. “Don’t doubt that for one second. I want you to do what you want, when you want, because it’s what pleases you. Don’t ever not do something because you’re worried about what I might think. No wait, I take that back. If it’s something dangerous . . . like riding on a motorcycle without the proper clothing and safety equipment . . . then definitely think about how upset I’ll be with you. But if it’s taking the classes you want, or accepting a job in Denver with a top-five marketing firm, or what to eat and how to eat, then you should only think about what’s best for you, and what will make you happy.”

  “You make me happy,” Grace told him in a solemn tone, meeting his eyes head on.

  “The same goes for me. I’m happier than I’ve been in a long time.”

  “Even though you’ve been stuck in your apartment with me?”

  “Because I’ve been lucky enough to be holed up in my apartment with you. Now, go change. I can’t wait to show you the world from a biker’s perspective.”

  Five minutes later, wearing a pair of jeans and a long-sleeve baby-blue shirt, Grace turned her back to Logan and held out her arms, letting him help her into his way-too-big jacket.

  She turned to face him and shrugged self-consciously. “It’s huge on me.”

  Logan reached down and zipped it up as if she were a little kid. It could have felt patronizing, but instead, Grace felt protected. She ducked her head and inhaled the smell of leather and the man standing in front of her.

  “What are you doing?”

  Without looking up, Grace answered, “It smells like you. I love it.”

  “Grace . . . Jesus . . . you’re killin’ me.”

  She smiled, then gasped when Logan roughly pulled her on her tiptoes and covered her lips with his. The kiss was full of passion and Grace participated with gusto. Her hands found their way under his shirt as far as they could go, which unfortunately was only to the middle of his chest. She felt the coarse hair there and licked her lips in anticipation. He felt good under her hands.

  Logan took advantage of her breathlessness and palmed one of her butt cheeks and pulled her hips harder into his own. The other hand went to the back of her head and held her to him as they kissed.

  Grace shifted restlessly in his grasp and opened her mouth wider to him. Their tongues curled together. She moaned when Logan sucked on her tongue, causing goose bumps to race down her arms.

  She pulled back, panting, and looked up at him, licking her lips and tasting peppermint. Neither moved for a long moment until Logan stated, “Ride first.”

  “First?” Grace asked in a daze. The last thing she wanted to do was leave. They’d made out almost every night since she’d moved in, and every night they’d gone a bit further. In the beginning, it was the brush of his hand over her breasts, then it was her head in his lap while his hand rested on her breastbone while his thumb and pinky caressed the slopes of her breasts.

  She’d had him take off his shirt one night and had examined each of his tattoos, going so far as to run her lips and tongue over his ink, worshipping him, letting him know without words how much she liked the designs he’d chosen.

  They’d been slowly but surely getting to know each other sexually, although both sensed that the time wasn’t right to go all the way. Sometimes Grace pulled back, and other times it had been Logan, like last night when he’d reluctantly backed off after Grace had crawled on his lap and ground herself onto his rock-hard cock.

  “Yeah, first,” Logan said looking her in the eyes. “Ride first, then we’ll come back here and see about the chemistry we’ve been flirting with for the last month or so . . . if that works for you.”

  Grace kept her hands where they were, and used her thumbs to rub up and down over the hair on his chest. “It definitely works for me, Logan. You’ve been so good about not rushing me. I want you. We don’t have to go anywhere if you don’t want to. We can go right back to your bedroom. I’m ready.”

  Logan closed his eyes as if in pain, but when he opened them again, Grace saw determination and relief.

  “You wanted to ride on the back of my bike, so you’re gonna ride on the back of my bike. I’ll take you up into the mountains so you can really get a good feel for how being on a motorcycle makes everything seem more alive, more beautiful. Then we’ll come back here, and if you’re still willing, I’ll make love to you like I’ve been dreaming about for the last ten years. You ready for that?”

  “Yes.” The look in her eyes spoke volumes.

  Grinning, Logan untangled his fingers from her hair and ran his hand over her shoulder and down her arm to grab hold of her hand. He turned and led her out of the apartment, stopping to grab a canvas jacket and helmet hanging on the back of a chair. He locked the door on their way out. She followed him down the stairs to his motorcycle, which was parked under an overhang next to his truck.

  He carefully buckled an extra helmet from his s
addlebag under her chin, making sure it was tight, but not too tight. He shrugged on his own jacket then placed his helmet on his head. He took both her shoulders in his hands, leaned down and kissed her hard, then climbed onto the large motorcycle.

  “Throw your foot over the seat and put it on one of the pegs . . . yeah, there. Good,” he praised as Grace did as he asked. Keeping his hands on the handlebars he turned his head and ordered, “Lean when and where I lean, and trust me to keep you safe. Now, put your arms around me and hold on tight.”

  Grace swallowed hard and leaned forward, sliding her arms around Logan’s waist and plastering her boobs against his back. When he inhaled at her touch, she smiled. This was going to be fun.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  The bike ride wasn’t fun, it was amazing.

  Grace felt like she was in a different world riding through the countryside surrounding Castle Rock on the back of Logan’s bike. At first she’d been scared, seeing the pavement so close to their feet, hearing the noise of the wind and nothing else.

  But the longer they rode, the more she got used to it. The wind on her face and in her ears made it seem like nothing could touch her. Feeling Logan’s muscles bunching and flexing as he controlled the massive machine under them was reassuring.

  Even watching the world go by was a different experience on the back of a motorcycle. She could smell the cows and horses when she passed by the fields and could somehow see every dip and sway of the land around her.

  As they headed west toward the Front Range and climbed higher and higher, the air around them got cooler. Grace was glad for the heavy leather jacket Logan had made her wear and snuggled closer to him. Laying her head on his back, she watched the rocks and landscape of the mountainside pass by her eyes in a blurry cacophony of colors.

  She felt free. Finally, free. Free of the shame her parents had heaped on her for years. Free of the guilt of never being good enough for them. Free to be her own person. To be who she wanted. Free to be with who she wanted.

  And she wanted to be with Logan.

  Every part of her body vibrated with the engine under her, reminding her how much she wanted Logan. There was nothing in her mind at the moment but her and Logan . . . and her ever-increasing desire for him accentuated by the strong engine between her legs.

  Even though she was wearing jeans, the vibration of the motorcycle seemed to be centered right on her clit. No matter how she shifted on the seat, it wouldn’t stop. By the time Logan pulled off at an overlook high in the mountains over Denver, she was more than ready to get off, in more ways than one.

  Logan had simply smiled as if he knew exactly what she was feeling when he helped her step off the bike. He’d propped her up against the guardrail at the end of the pull-off and proceeded to make love to her mouth. He kissed her as if she was the most desirable thing he’d ever gotten his hands on. She’d been ten seconds or so away from a monster orgasm, helped along by Logan’s palm rubbing her through her jeans and his lips caressing hers, when a car pulled into the overlook.

  “Damn,” Grace breathed. “I was so close. Is riding always like this?”

  He smiled and kissed her forehead, then held her against his chest tenderly. “You get used to it.”

  Grace snorted. “I’m not sure that’s true. I think women probably just tell their men that so they don’t know exactly how horny they get every time they get on the bike with them.”

  Logan chuckled and ran a finger down her nose affectionately. “You like riding.” It wasn’t exactly a question.

  “Yeah, I do. It makes me feel free. Like I don’t have any worries or problems. The wind on my face, watching the dotted lines go by on the road beneath us . . . it’s hard to explain.”

  “You’re explaining perfectly,” Logan told her. “I’m thrilled you enjoy it.”

  “I like it with you,” Grace clarified. “I’m not sure I’d like it as much if I had to drive, or with anyone else.”

  Logan backed up and held out his hand. “Come on, time to get us home.”

  They’d settled back onto the bike, and Grace winced as she straddled the bike seat again. “It’s going to be a miracle if I don’t come before we get home,” she mumbled, snuggling up against Logan’s back.

  She watched as Logan’s eyes filled with lust . . . and something else she couldn’t quite identify. “I’m going straight home and I’m not taking the scenic route.”

  “Awesome,” Grace breathed. “Although I’m not sure it’ll really help.”

  “Don’t think about it,” Logan suggested. “Look at the scenery as we pass by.”

  “Your motorcycle has a really strong engine, Logan,” Grace teased, pouting.

  He half turned in his seat and kissed her long and hard.

  “And that’s really not helping,” Grace griped with a smile when he turned away to start up the motorcycle once again.

  She didn’t want them to get into a wreck, but she also loved the feel of Logan underneath her palms. Her hands wandered freely, but not into dangerous territory, while they made the drive back to Castle Rock. She wasn’t really trying to torture him, was more trying to keep her mind away from the incessant throbbing between her legs, but at one point, Logan grasped her wandering hand as it got a little too close to his dick, and forced it back up to his belly, holding it flat against him, and still. He didn’t say a word, not that she would’ve been able to hear him anyway, but she smiled into his shoulder when she realized that the vibration from the large machine under them was affecting him too.

  They arrived back home and Logan didn’t say a word. He helped her stand and kept his hand on her waist until he was sure her legs would hold her up. He unhooked his helmet, then hers, before pulling her into his side.

  They walked side by side into his apartment and as soon as the door was shut, he dropped the helmets and went to work on the zipper of her too-big jacket. Logan pushed it off her shoulders and then shrugged off his own coat. Again not caring where they landed in the small entryway.

  “Shoes, off.”

  Without looking, keeping her eyes on his, Grace brought one foot up to her hand and undid the lace. She repeated the motions with the other foot and toed off both sneakers. Logan did the same with his boots, tugging them off and not flinching when they made a loud thud as they fell to the floor. There was definitely something to be said about leaving one’s shoes where they fell when you came home and took them off. Grace knew she’d never again see a pair of Logan’s shoes lying haphazardly around the house and not think of this moment.

  Without another word, Logan put one hand under her knees and the other behind her back and picked her up. She gasped, loving his show of strength, and grabbed hold of his neck as he strode down the hall.

  Whenever she’d fantasized about making love with Logan, she’d imagined it would be dark outside and they’d have had a nice dinner, followed by making out on his couch, and then they’d make their way into his room and get it done.

  But the reality was so far outside of what she’d thought would happen, so much better than anything she could’ve conjured up.

  Grace held her breath as Logan carried her into his room. The late-afternoon sun shone brightly through the open curtains of the window, the golden rays warming the covers on his bed. The air smelled like Logan, she’d noticed that before, but now that she was in his arms, it was more potent.

  She kept her eyes on his as he gently dropped her legs and she stood in front of him.

  “Are you nervous?” he asked running his hands up and down her arms.

  Grace shook her head. “No.” Then changed her mind and nodded. “A little bit. I don’t want to disappoint you.”

  “You won’t,” he told her with absolute conviction. “Nothing you could do would disappoint me. Do you trust me?”

  “Yes.” Grace could answer that question with 100 percent honesty. From the moment he showed up in her room to steal her away, she trusted him.

  “I’ve waited for t
his moment for over ten years,” he told her, running a fingertip over her lips, making her gasp. “I’m not going to rush this. I want to memorize every inch of your skin and learn what you like and what you don’t.”

  “I like you. That’s what I like,” Grace told him impatiently. “I don’t want to go slow. I’m afraid that if we don’t hurry up and get naked that something’s going to happen, and we’ll have to stop.”

  Logan’s lips twitched in a ghost of a smile, and he brought a hand up to tangle in her hair at the side of her head. “We have all night. My brothers won’t expect me to check in until tomorrow morning. You talked to Felicity this morning, and any emails that come in this afternoon can wait or Nathan can get to them. It’s just you and me and I’m not stopping. Not until we’re both satisfied.”

  Grace licked her lips in anticipation, feeling herself growing wet merely from his words. “Make love to me, Logan. Please.”

  “With pleasure.”

  Logan took Grace’s face in his hands and leaned down. He’d done it many times over the last few weeks, but this time was different. They both knew he wasn’t going to stop with a kiss. He slanted his mouth over hers and took her mouth urgently.

  Over the last month or so, they’d had plenty of time to get to know each other, and with every day that went by, Logan was more sure than ever that Grace was the woman meant for him. Even when they disagreed, they did it with respect. She never yelled and he never felt the need to get away from her for some space. They simply disagreed, talked it out, and went on as usual. It was refreshing and something that Logan hadn’t ever had with a woman.

  He found it extremely satisfying when he could break through that outer shell she showed to the world to find the sensitive woman underneath. He’d seen it more and more over these past weeks, and there was nothing more satisfying than to see that shell cracking when they made out. A brush of his hand over her nipple made her gasp, his fingers running over the skin at the small of her back caused goose bumps to race down her arms. And sucking on her earlobe never failed to make her squirm in his embrace. Her reaction to the powerful engine of his bike vibrating against her pussy while they’d been riding had exceeded his wildest dreams.