Kissing Eden
Page 8
The bartender polished a glass. “That’s hard to say. There aren’t many of us local business owners left on the island, so I respect him for trying to hold out. However, no one would blame him if he sold the place and moved on with his life. There’s nothing else keeping him here.”
“Orders up!” the cook yelled through the kitchen window.
“Here you go, my dear.” Mac handed me two white paper bags. “Tell Grey I said hello.”
“I will. Thanks, Mac.” I was happy to have lunch in hand, but Mac had dispensed a backstory on Grey I hadn’t expected.
I walked across the street and thought about what Mac said. Grey had given up his education to help his grandfather, and now was plowing forward with a business that might as well be built on quicksand. He’d never have enough money to make all the repairs the buildings needed. I knew what my nightly rate was and with twenty-four rooms at that price, the income numbers just weren’t what he needed to run a business.
I checked the office first to see if Grey was inside, but my piles of receipts looked untouched. I started with the first room and knocked on each door until I found Grey precariously balanced on the edge of a bathtub.
“I brought lunch. Mac says hi.” I held up the bags before placing them on the dresser by the TV. “What are you doing up there?”
He had one leg on the tub and the other on the soap dish. His tool belt was fastened around his waist and he was wearing his white T-shirt that I associated as his self-proclaimed work uniform.
“This showerhead keeps spraying the ceiling. I’m trying to adjust the pipe and the setting so I don’t have to replace it. Not many replacement parts around here.” He twisted the wrench in his hand, keeping his eyes on the nozzle.
“Right.” My eyes followed the lines of his forearm. Each time he tightened the wrench, the muscles in his arms flexed harder.
I had gone over the expense budget this morning. Grey would be lucky to pay the utilities this month. He definitely didn’t have money for extra plumbing fixtures.
“Can I help or something?” I walked closer to the tub, admiring the view hovering above me.
“Yeah, I think the smaller wrench is on the vanity. Can you get it for me? I don’t want to move.” He nodded at the placement of his feet.
“Don’t do that. It looks like you could fall. I’ll get it.” I reached for the wrench and handed it to him.
“Thanks. I think I’m almost done.” He fastened the end of the wrench behind the showerhead and twisted the head a few times.
“I made some headway this morning on your numbers.”
“Really? What did you figure out, numbersmith?” His attention was on the pipe in front of him.
“It seems like you might have a few decisions to make.” I didn’t know how open Grey would be to discussing the real estate offers with me, but the reality of his situation called for a serious resolution.
“Good. I think that’s fixed. This room is done.”
Grey made a triumphant hop straight up and landed with both feet in the tub. I smiled at him, just as the showerhead sputtered to the floor of the tub and water spewed from the open pipe. I shrieked as I was doused in cold water.
“Turn it off! Can’t you turn it off?” I giggled while trying to turn the handles. Grey reached for the pipe above me, twisting the nozzle until the geyser ceased.
“Dammit. That actually didn’t work.” He rested his forehead against the shower wall. “So much for trying to save on parts.” Water trickled down the back of his neck.
I stood, my drenched clothes clinging to me. A few seconds passed before Grey turned around.
“Oh my God, I got you completely soaked. Sorry.” He laughed as he tried to wipe the water from his eyes.
“Yeah, I’m not the only one. Look at you.” I pointed to his white T-shirt. It hugged every muscle on his torso and it had become almost transparent from absorbing the water. My fingers reached forward, needing to trace the lines the wet shirt made against his skin.
I inhaled sharply, recognizing the shift in the mood. I felt his gaze lingering over the V of my throat, and the involuntary twinge in my belly as I looked into his eyes. The space between us was so charged with energy, it felt thick enough to grasp and push aside, like a curtain.
Grey pivoted as if he was going to step out of the tub. “M-maybe I should get us some towels.”
I remembered how it felt last night when we were so tangled around each other it was hard to breathe. I wanted that feeling again. I wanted him.
“Grey, wait.” I clenched a handful of his wet shirt in my fist, preventing him from moving past me.
His eyes shot from my hand to my face. The expression he wore was a mix of lust and hesitation. “Eden, I …” He closed his eyes and leaned against the back of the shower.
I didn’t give him a chance to explain. I wrapped my arms around his neck, pressed my body into his, and kissed him, holding nothing back. His lips responded with hungry kisses that tilted my world where it had never been. He tasted like the perfect combination of sweet and salty. I dipped my tongue into his mouth, eliciting a full moan from somewhere deep within his chest.
His hands slid along the curves of my hips until his fingers were tucked under the waist of my shorts. With infinite slowness, his palm pressed against my skin, gliding down until he had my bottom cupped in his hand.
“Ohhh.” I breathed into his ear as he squeezed me tightly against him. He took my mouth again and I melted into his hands.
We couldn’t stay in these wet clothes; we definitely should not stay in these wet clothes. My hands fumbled for the hem of his shirt. I didn’t want to step back, afraid that if I hesitated for even a second he would stop kissing or touching me. After the last two nights, I didn’t think I could take it if he stopped.
Under my command, the shirt slid over his chest and he stood while I stripped the wet fabric over his head. I felt an ache in the center of my body. I had never seen anyone I had wanted so much. There had to be a way to tell him.
“Grey—” He silenced me with a slow kiss before his fingers wound along the edges of my tank top, and then peeled it off my chest. His mouth was hot and his tongue was in and out doing that thing that made me weak in the knees.
The hardness of his tool belt pressed into my bare stomach. I reached down to find a way to loosen it from his waist.
“Hold on. Let me do that.” His lips broke from mine, and he unclipped the belt and laid the tools on the floor. “Better?” he asked while hitching me up around his waist.
“God, yes.” I latched my ankles together to keep from sliding down his wet and slippery waist.
His hands moved up my back and held my head, forcing my mouth back to his. I couldn’t kiss him enough, even if we were in this shower all day. Something about watching the water trickling down his tanned skin heightened everything that was happening. Pressed against him like this, wet and half naked, I knew there was only one way to release the frenzy building under my skin. I didn’t want to think about how temporary my stay in South Padre was, or that I had only known Grey for three days. I gave into the yearning invading my body like a hurricane and locked my thoughts far away.
I didn’t realize he had stepped out of the shower and walked across the room until I felt the coolness of the sheets against my back. He laid me across the bed and stared hungrily at me.
“You. Are. So. Damn. Sexy,” Grey growled between kisses.
I arched my back a little so he could flick the clasp on my bra. He slid the soaked straps down my arms and tossed it on the floor. We were doing this. He wasn’t going to stop and I wasn’t going to talk myself out it. As much as I loved kissing him, my body was aching to feel his mouth in other places. I guided his head over my chest and bowed upward for him to take my nipple in his mouth. I cried out as he bit down and simultaneously slid his hand between my legs. My body was writhing from the blissful, heated sensation. I couldn’t describe what Grey was doing with his fingers, but with
each touch, my legs opened a little wider, relaxing under the pressure of his fingertips.
“Let’s get these off.” His eyes were serious and seductive.
He hovered over me, creating enough space for me to shimmy out of the running shorts I had put on this morning. Yes, they were tight and short, and yes, I might have had Grey in mind when I slipped them on. He looked down at the silky fabric of my panties now visible with my shorts on the floor.
“Pink?” He cocked one eyebrow higher than the other.
I stifled a giggle.
“These are wet too, so they have to go.”
The way he looked at me made me shiver. But I wasn’t cold—far from it.
“Take them.” I didn’t recognize my breathy voice.
For all I knew, I had just agreed to stay locked up in this room with him for weeks on end, doing nothing but kissing and touching him. My mind was all Jell-O with every lingering graze of his fingers.
He pulled the silky fabric down my legs one agonizingly long inch at a time, stopping every few seconds to plant kisses along my thigh. He threw the pink underwear next to my bra. I was completely naked, still slightly damp from the faucet mishap, and Grey was taking in every inch of me.
Sex didn’t make me feel self-conscious. I mean usually it was under the covers and at night, so I wasn’t used to witnessing the type of reaction I was creating for him. Every time he looked at me, I felt him want me just a little bit more. It was hard to think straight with his blazing glances. I couldn’t think of a time when I had been so exposed, but instead of reaching for the sheet and shielding my body from him, all I wanted was to surrender to him. It felt naughty and dangerous; I had never felt like such an adventurous sex goddess in my life.
Grey sat on his heels and unbuttoned his shorts. I sat up.
“Let me,” I commanded. He smiled and dropped his hands to the side so I could unfasten the button.
I let my hands trace the defined muscles wrapping his waist. Holy shit, he was ripped. Grey had closed his eyes and was waiting for my next move. I ran my nails along his chest until I saw his muscles tighten. Taking my time, my hands roamed the hardness of his torso, feeling the rise and fall of his chest under my touch. My palms massaged downward until I landed on the buttons on his shorts.
He didn’t rush me, but waited patiently while I pulled on the zipper and freed the top button.
“Eden, what are you doing to me?” Grey groaned as I took him in my hand. “Uh-uh, no. Stop.” I froze. Was he going to stop this? Please no.
Before I had a chance to figure out what was wrong, Grey grabbed me around the waist and pulled me on top of him. I moaned. My hips fused against his damp skin and began rocking toward him, desperately wanting him inside me.
Grey’s lips crushed into mine, forcing his tongue in my mouth. I moaned out his name. “Grey, please.”
“I know, baby. I know. Is this really what you want?” His eyes darted back and forth, scanning my face for confirmation, but all I could focus on was that he called me baby. It sounded sweet, sexy, and a little like I was the only girl he had held like this.
My breath caught in my chest and Grey waited for my answer. I didn’t want to sort through whether we should be naked together in this motel room. All I wanted was to see that look in his eye and hear him say baby one more time.
He reached between my legs and began his sweet torture with his fingers. I wasn’t sure how much longer I could hold out before he pushed me to the edge. I could already feel my muscles tightening and my breathing was rapid. I didn’t want to come undone before I even got to feel him inside me.
“I want it. I want you.” I kissed him hard. I wasn’t sure what else I could do to show him. My body was aching with pent-up passion for him.
“Darlin’, I want you too. More than you know.” I didn’t doubt him for a second.
Grey’s arms reached around my back and pulled me against his chest before he rolled me under him. With my back on the bed, my legs parted, ready to give myself to him. However, I could tell as much as he wanted me, he didn’t want to rush it. He kept his eyes locked on mine as he took his time. He kissed me, as if he needed to make sure our breaths were in rhythm. Everything he was doing was utter perfection. Everything except giving me what I really wanted.
I reached around his backside and dug my nails into his soft skin, guiding him where I wanted him with a forceful command. My entire body arched off the bed as he pushed inside, sending a moan from my throat. I felt the full heat of his body spread through me as he moved in and out, taking me to limits I didn’t know I could handle. I rocked against him, matching his movements and taking him deeper as I opened myself to him. My body surged with the energy building between us.
“You feel so amazing,” Grey growled in my ear. That was it; I was lost. I clung to him, accepting the shattering spiral that consumed me.
I shuddered all over when his hips pushed me to the point I couldn’t hold back any longer. Our bodies trembled together, and I held on to him with everything I had, wrapping my legs tighter around him. I had never felt this close to anyone before and I didn’t want it to be over. Grey lowered himself next to me and kissed me fully on the mouth.
“You are incredible. You know that?” He was smiling and his eyes were sparkling in the afternoon sun. We hadn’t bothered to pull the curtains—one of the perks of being the only guest at the Palm.
“You’re not so bad yourself.” I smacked him on the chest. “Hey, is that what they call a nooner?”
Grey burst out laughing. “Yeah, that’s a nooner.”
“Ok, I’m now a huge nooner fan.” I traced a circle on his chest.
“Me too.” He kissed my forehead and collected our clothes from around the room. “These are still wet. I can throw them in the dryer for a minute. I’ll be right back.”
Grey grabbed one of the room towels, tucked it around his waist, and darted out the door.
Holy shit. What had just happened? I didn’t know I was capable of actually locking away my doubts, but for the last hour, I had silenced any thinking and let my body take over.
There was no hiding the fact that I had just had the most amazing sex of my life, but deep down I knew it was something more. The way our bodies felt together, the way I connected with his breathing, the way he looked at me as if I was the hottest girl in the world—I shook my head. Just thinking about him touching me started the craving for him all over again, and he had just walked out of the room. How could I feel like this?
Two minutes later, he walked through the door.
“Did you say something about lunch?”
I wrapped a towel around my chest. “Yes, it’s on the dresser. Are you hungry?”
With what he had just done, I would willingly bring him lunch everyday if it meant I could feel half of that passion. He was unbelievable.
Grey looked at the white bags of sandwiches on the dresser and then me. Just when I thought he was reaching for his lunch, he jumped on the bed and ripped the towel off me. I squealed.
“I am, but I’m not quite finished with you. We have to wait for those clothes to dry anyway.” His breath was warm along my stomach and the yearning I had for him started all over again.
“By all means, take your time, cowboy.” I leaned back into the bed and smiled as his magic fingers went to work.
CHAPTER SIX
I didn’t go on spring break with the intention of having mind-blowing, life-altering sex, but sometimes you have to deal with what life hands you. For me, that meant devouring as much between-the-sheets time with Grey as I possibly could.
There was a bright light shining in my face. “What time is it?” I pulled the sheet over my chest and searched for my phone.
“It’s early, darlin’. You can go back to sleep. I’ve gotta get going. I’m having paint and materials delivered at seven so I have to go meet the boys.” He smiled at me.
“Oh.” I tried to shake the fog that was still permeating my brain.
He kissed me on the forehead, and then stole a kiss on the side of my neck that awakened the rest of my body. “See ya later.”
“Bye.”
I sunk back into the covers. There was no way I could sleep now. The numbers on my phone read six thirty. I checked my voicemail in case the airline had called overnight. It was my fifth day on South Padre Island, and my initial purchases weren’t going to get me through to the end of the week.
With all of the hot sex yesterday, I never made it back to the office to finish the reservation checks or the expense spreadsheet I promised Grey. It was possible Renee opened the shop early. I could run by and pick up a few more items before heading into the office to finish the projects.
I pulled my hair in a ponytail, grabbed the tank top, and the extra short running shorts that Grey had retrieved from the dryer. We didn’t really discuss whose room to stay in last night, but we ended up in his after we took a stroll to the beach alcove. I didn’t have any of my makeup or even my toothbrush with me. I opened the door and stepped in the direction of my room.
“Good morning, Carolina.” I heard Pick’s slow drawl. Pick and Connor were standing in the back of a truck¸ unloading boards onto the sidewalk. One of them started whistling.
“Hey, guys.” I grimaced. Staying in a completely vacant motel, I never considered facing the walk of shame. Maybe they didn’t know that was Grey’s room.
“Does Grey have any beer in there?” Pick was having fun. Ok, they definitely did know it was his room.
I straightened my shoulders. I could do this. I just had to walk across the parking lot and into my room. I could crumble into a pile of embarrassment when I got there.
“Beer? At seven in the morning?” I attempted banter.
“We’re not picky about what time we drink our beer.” Pick handed off another board to Conner, who was noticeably silent. He had yet to look in my direction.