Heron's Landing: The Complete Series

by Iris Morland

  Slowly, she let go of his wrists, but instead of freeing him, she placed his hands onto her breasts.

  “Touch me,” she said. “Please.”

  He growled, pulling her down for a kiss. Then he moved her upward until her breasts dangled in front of his mouth and he sucked a nipple, and she almost screamed. His tongue worked her nipple, licking and sucking and Grace didn’t even realize she was moving her lower body against him, trying to find some kind of friction. He moved to her other breast, plucking at the reddened nipple.

  She couldn’t bear it. She felt like her body was on fire, about to explode.

  “I’m ready,” she gasped out as he kept kissing her breasts. “Please, Jaime.”

  He tipped her over again, taking control. He kissed her chin, her jaw. She felt his fingers on the waistband of her yoga pants, and then cool air as he took them off. Clad only in her panties, she couldn’t even be embarrassed that she was almost naked underneath him. Any virginal modesty had disappeared under a haze of need.

  He spread her legs, running his index finger along her sex. She arched her hips, needing more—more of everything. Leaning down, he kissed her there, and she could feel his hot breath through her panties.

  Grace was sure she was as ready as she’d ever be. She wanted to tell him to get on with things, to stop playing, to stop making her desperate, but she forgot all of that when he hooked his fingers underneath the waistband of her panties and tugged them down her legs. Completely exposed, she instinctively tried to cross her legs. This was too much. What would he even think of her? What if he didn’t like it?

  Jaime sat up, kissing her knees. He caressed her legs, gentle, not pushing.

  “Are you all right?” he asked.

  She didn’t know. She’d thought she was, but suddenly, nerves had gotten the better of her.

  “I don’t…it might be bad.” She closed her eyes.

  “Graciela, look at me.”

  She opened her eyes.

  “It could never be bad, because it’s you. Do you believe me?”

  At the look in his eyes—tenderness, concern, desire—all she could do was nod. She did believe him. She had to. Otherwise she’d never get beyond this moment.

  Spreading her legs, she couldn’t help but close her eyes again. But that was all right. In fact, it was ideal, because then she could concentrate solely on feeling. She heard a shift on the bed, and then Jaime placed her feet on what she assumed were his shoulders. He didn’t touch her right away. She wondered why he was waiting. Was he just looking at her? She couldn’t bear the thought. She forced herself to be patient, breathing deeply.

  When his fingers parted her, she couldn’t help it: she gasped. He stroked her belly.

  “Pretty and pink and wet,” she heard him murmur. “I’ve wanted to taste you for ages.”

  She could only make a squeaking sound in the back of her throat.

  He touched her, stroking her folds, making her entire body shiver. She curled her toes, like she could gain some kind of purchase from the onslaught of sensations. When he touched the tip of his tongue to her center, her eyes flew open, and the sight of his dark head between her legs caused a flush to envelop her body.

  She heard him mutter things against her skin, his tongue tracing patterns, lightly licking around her clit. His fingers drew her wetness across her sex, readying her for his touch. She arched her hips. It was too much and yet not enough. She was a live wire, electric and ready to burst.

  As he continued to lick her clit, he pushed a single finger inside of her. They both groaned. “God, you’re tight,” he said, breathing hard. “So tight and wet.”

  Just that one finger felt like too much. Grace was panting, pushing her feet against his shoulders, almost like she wanted to push him away. He stroked her, slowly pulling out and pushing back in, beginning a rhythm that went in time with the strokes around her clit. She didn’t even realize she was bucking against him, but he had to put his arm on her belly to keep her still for his touch.

  She was wild for him. He upped the ante, mouthing her clit now, and his finger stroked her faster. The pressure of his mouth and his hand coalesced until she could feel herself going higher and higher and higher. She heard someone saying his name over and over again and she was so lost she didn’t even realize she was the one saying it.

  Then she broke. She bit her hand as she came, her body shaking and trembling, and Jaime only made her orgasm last longer, licking at her. She pressed her sex against his mouth. She wanted all of it. She never wanted him to stop. But then it almost became overwhelming, and she sat up on her elbows, pushing away from his mouth. She panted, still shivering slightly.

  He sat up beside her. She smiled, kissing him, and it was a thrill to taste herself on his mouth. His hands caressed her sides.

  “All right?” He kissed her cheeks.

  She nodded. “I think I blacked out for a bit there.”

  “Good.” He wrapped an arm around her waist and laid her back down on the bed. He shucked off his pants and socks, returning to the bed to kiss her. She’d seen his cock before, but having it so close to her sex made her heart pound. She was going to do this. She was going to have sex for the first time.

  She was going to lose her virginity to Jaime. Finally.

  But as he was kissing her, he suddenly pulled back with a curse. At her look, he said, “Condoms.”

  She almost laughed. She didn’t know why, but it was such an ordinary kind of thing to bring up in this moment that had felt nothing but extraordinary. She looked over her shoulder at the bedside table.

  “I’m sure Joy wouldn’t mind if we used some.” Grace scooted over and, opening the drawer, found a number of foil packets stashed there. She refused to think about Joy and her brother using them, though. That was just too weird. She tossed them onto the bed, tearing one off and handing it to Jaime.

  “For you, sir,” she said in a prim voice, like she was handing him some important document.

  Jaime laughed, shaking his head. “You’re killing me, Graciela.”

  “You’re killing me, stalling like this,” she countered. She lay back down on the bed, her knees up. “I’ll wait until you get ready, though.”

  He swore at her, and then he swore even more when the packet wouldn’t tear open. She laughed so hard that tears sprang to her eyes.

  “It’s not funny.” After he rolled the condom on, he crawled over her, pinning her wrists to the bed. “I’ll have my revenge, you know.”

  “I think you talk to much, Jaime Martínez.”

  He let go of her wrists to part her legs, and that got her to gasp. He kissed her, his tongue entering her mouth as she felt his cock brush against her entrance. She was already trembling.

  “I’ll go slow,” he said. “Tell me if you need me to stop.”

  She almost wanted to cry. She wanted to beg him to thrust inside and make her his. She wanted him more than she’d wanted anything in her life.

  His cock entered her, and although she felt like she was being stretched, there wasn’t any pain. He placed her legs on his hips, giving him wider access. He pushed with one last thrust, and then he was completely inside her.

  She gazed at him. He was inside her. His cock was inside her and she wasn’t a virgin anymore. She wanted all of him though, she wanted him to take her so hard she couldn’t remember her own name. But words failed her. So she pulled his head down and kissed him.

  He groaned. He began thrusting inside her, gently at first, but then more insistently.

  She had a feeling he was holding back for her. “Don’t stop,” she murmured against his mouth. “Don't ever stop.”

  “I won’t.” He kissed her neck, her breasts, his cock filling her over and over again. It was almost brutal, but in a way that made her feel like she’d been stripped bare and was remade into someone else. Watching him make love to her, his forehead gleaming with perspiration, she knew she’d never loved him as much as she did at that moment.

 
But then pleasure overtook reason. Her body began feeling that familiar ache, and she marveled that she could come a second time tonight. She gripped his forearms, she squeezed her legs against his sides, and he picked up speed. Their bodies slapped together, and when he ground against her clit with each thrust, she gasped.

  He said something in Spanish. She took his face in her hands, and they gazed at each other as the pleasure spiraled higher and higher. A high-pitched moan built in the back of Grace’s throat.

  Jaime licked at her chin. “Come for me,” he said in that voice of his. That voice she could never refuse.

  She was coming. She was coming, and she shattered. She exploded into a million pieces, her body bowing upward, and Jaime kept thrusting, milking every bit of ecstasy from her body. She was noisy and desperate and she felt him shaking against her as he found his release, too. He said her name and then he kissed her. She poured every bit of feeling into that kiss. She wanted him to know that everything about him devastated her.

  He collapsed, rolling her over so they lay on their sides. Panting for breath, Grace couldn’t stop touching him, and he seemed to feel the same. They kissed for a while longer, as if the thought of talking about what had just happened seemed like too much. So they kissed and touched and memorized each other’s bodies until sleep claimed them.

  WHEN GRACE AWOKE, it wasn’t yet dawn. Disoriented, she wasn’t sure where she was until she felt the solid weight of someone against her back. Jaime. A blush flooded her cheeks, remembering everything that had happened. Every kiss, every touch, every feeling.

  I slept with Jaime. I slept with Jaime.

  She was torn between giddiness and terror. Giddiness, because it had been amazing, and terror, because it had been amazing and she would always have that as a basis for comparison. Not that she was planning on sleeping with a bunch of other men any time soon. If ever.

  She sighed, turning so she faced him. He was still sleeping, and she watched him for a while. His dark hair was a mess, and stubble dotted his cheeks and jaw. She touched his hair, feeling the silky strands between her fingers. When he made a noise in his sleep, she smiled.

  She dozed off after that. When she woke up again, light was shining through the windows of Joy’s apartment and Jaime was awake. He’d been watching her, and she felt self-conscious. She probably looked like a total mess, her hair in snarls. Glancing down and remembering she was naked, she squeaked and covered herself with the sheet. Which wouldn’t budge underneath Jaime’s body weight, so she had to give it a few pulls while he laughed softly.

  “I think modesty is pointless now, don’t you think?” He kissed her forehead, letting her wrap the sheet around her chest.

  “Modesty is never pointless.”

  “Then I won’t point out that I had my mouth on those breasts you’re trying to hide only”—he looked at his phone—“four hours ago.”

  She blushed, burying her face in her pillow. He rubbed her back as she tried to calm the blood rushing to her cheeks.

  “You know you blush all over? I’ve never seen anything like it,” he said.

  She looked up from the pillow, glaring. “Even if you notice it, as a gentleman, you shouldn’t actually mention it.”

  “But I like it.”

  “You’d be the only one.”

  He inched the sheet down, exposing the angles of her shoulder blades. He kissed her between them. “You know you have a freckle on your right shoulder?”

  “Mmm, I’ve had it forever.”

  He licked it. It was about the size of a pea. “I also like it.”

  “You’re weird.” But she smiled against the pillow regardless.

  As he stroked her back, she laid against the pillow, not wanting to get up. Not wanting to face the day. Not wanting to go back home and see her dad ever again.

  “What happened, Grace? Why were you staying here tonight?” Jaime danced a figure-eight around her left shoulder blade.

  She sighed. “Let’s just say my dad and I don’t see eye to eye on a lot of things.”

  “What did he say to you?”

  She didn’t want to talk about this, especially when it partially had to do with him. She squirmed when he tapped his fingers against her lower back.

  “Graciela…”

  “Fine. He caught me coming in after I came home from your place. He basically said I need to get my life in order and stop screwing around. The next morning, I asked Joy if I could stay here. That’s it.”

  He didn’t say anything for a few moments. He propped himself on his elbow next to her. “I’m sorry I got you in trouble.”

  She snorted. “I’m an adult. I can come and go when I want, so don’t apologize. My dad is just a hard ass who thinks his opinions are golden.”

  “Still, I hate to think that you are at odds with your family.”

  She shrugged. “I’ll live.” She didn’t want to talk about how much her dad’s words had hurt her. She hated to think he thought of her as a failure to be ashamed of.

  “But what about you?” Grace touched his arm. “You said you’d explain what was wrong when you got here, then…” She blushed again.

  She could see him remembering everything that had happened. She took his hand, entwining their fingers together.

  He clenched his jaw, and then said in a harsh voice, “The cops showed up yesterday with a search warrant. They basically ransacked my place, took my laptop, pretty much anything of value. I’m lucky they let me keep my phone.”

  Grace squeezed his hand. Her heart twisted in her chest. “Have they pressed charges?”

  “No, but I imagine it’s only a matter of time before they will.”

  “But you haven’t done anything wrong!”

  “I know.” He smiled sadly. “But someone has it out for me, and I don’t think there’s anything I can do to stop them.”

  She started breathing harder, panic filling her. Jaime couldn’t go to jail. He couldn’t be arrested for a crime he didn’t commit. She buried her face in his shoulder, clutching at him, as if she could keep him here and protected through force of will.

  “Hey, hey, it’ll be all right,” he said against her hair. “We’ll figure it out.”

  She knew he was just saying that to comfort her. She appreciated it, but at the same time, it only strengthened her resolve to figure out this mystery. But she didn’t tell Jaime that. Instead, she tipped her head back, looking into his eyes, and said, “Stay with me?”

  His gaze roved over her face. He pushed her hair back from her cheek. “Of course I will,” he said before kissing her.

  AFTER JAIME LEFT to go back to his house, Grace resolved to return to River’s Bend and find those receipts she’d found. It was a Sunday; nobody would be there. Putting on her boots and coat, she drove over there late that afternoon. She tried very hard to concentrate, but it was rather difficult, given that her body didn’t want her to forget what she’d done with Jaime the night before.

  After he’d left, kissing her and murmuring her name, she’d gone to the bathroom and stared at herself in the mirror. It had been an odd experience. She’d wondered if she’d look different. Did losing your virginity transform you into a new person? Logically, she knew it didn’t. But standing there, wearing only a bra and panties, she found the love marks dotting her pale skin. She saw the beard burn on her breasts. Leaning forward, she looked at her face, like she could see some new layer upon it. There was nothing, of course. She was still Grace Danvers, still whoever she’d been yesterday. Yet she couldn’t help but feel there was something different, something you couldn’t name, precisely. Like a slight difference in movement, or like the light shone on her in a way she hadn’t noticed before.

  She stood there for a while. Sometimes it was like she was looking at someone else entirely, while in the next moment, she recognized herself. It was disconcerting. Shaking her head, she stripped out of her underwear and got in the shower, letting the warm water ease some of the aches of last night, centering primari
ly between her legs. Having sex for the first time hadn’t hurt, and she hadn’t expected it would, really, but now in the light of the morning, she felt it all. Maybe her body was just more attuned to itself, she thought.

  Now, driving to River’s Bend, she shifted on the seat and winced a little. Yeah, okay, I’m kind of sore. But she couldn’t regret what she’d done. If she were honest, it had been one of the most beautiful moments of her life. If she thought about it too long, she’d probably start crying like a loony.

  She unlocked the back door of the vineyard, glancing around to make sure no one was here. She didn’t see any cars, and it was too cold and gray for anyone to want a tour. The vineyard was sometimes open on Sundays during the spring and summer months, but in December, it was generally deserted. She made sure to lock the back door after she’d entered.

  Grace flipped on a light, going straight to her brother’s office. She wished she’d taken the receipts the first time around, but with Eric snooping around, she hadn’t wanted to make him suspicious. She began going through Adam’s drawers. Finding the folder from before, she took out some of the receipts.

  Going from oldest to newest, she noticed two things for a vendor supplying their produce: one, that certain food items had increased in price since January and two, that the invoices were all addressed to Jaime.

  She frowned. Starting in March, items like apples and flour started increasing in price, going up incrementally each month. By the time she’d gotten to the last invoice, she saw that there’d been an increase of almost twenty-five percent overall. She knew that produce varied in price due to the season, but why would something as basic as flour and sugar be more expensive in August than it would’ve been in February? That made no sense.

  She placed that folder on the corner of the desk. She then saw a folder of checks on Adam’s desk and started going through them. She couldn’t find anything amiss there, though, but something niggled in the back of her brain. Going to the copy machine, she made copies of everything before putting it all back where she’d found it. About to log onto his computer, she was sitting at his desk when she heard footsteps.