“Which sounds pretty coldhearted, like all that interests me is your package and I don’t care about you as a person.”
“I know that’s not true.” He smiled. “And it’s okay to be enamored of my cock, just like it’s okay for you to look at me as if you need it right this minute.”
Heat spiraled down between her thighs and she was ready again.
Resting his corded arms on the table, he leaned forward, a gleam in his brown eyes. “Do you need it right this minute, Sapphire?”
Her heart pounded loud enough that he could probably hear the staccato beat. She nodded.
“As it happens, I’m prepared for that contingency.” He pulled a condom out of his pocket and pushed away from the table. “Come on over here, sweet lady. Let’s try that position again, the one where you think it’s difficult for you to come.”
Trembling with need, she left her chair and walked around the table. There was nothing atmospheric or subtle this time. The overhead light was on, leaving nothing to the imagination.
Hooking a finger in her sash, he pulled it open. “You’re shaking.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Scared?”
“No.”
“Good, because you never have to be afraid of me.” Spanning her waist with both hands, he hoisted her to the edge of the table. “I’ll never hurt you.”
“I know.”
“No, you don’t. But that’s okay. I’ll make a believer of you.” He moved between her spread thighs. “To start with, I’m not going to kiss you, because I’d give you whisker burn.”
She smoothed a hand over his beard. “I don’t care.”
“I do. Now grab on to my shoulders, because I’m coming in.” Holding her gaze, he slid slowly forward. “You’re very wet.”
“Mmm.” She couldn’t talk. She was too busy absorbing this moment when he filled her and locked himself in tight. His eyes had darkened to the color of rich chocolate.
“That’ll make it even easier. We’re gonna tilt back a little.” Holding her hips, he leaned toward her. “Wrap your legs around me. Perfect. Now hang on.” He began to thrust, easily at first, then faster and faster yet.
The intense friction made her gasp and within seconds it made her come. Her cries echoed off the hard surfaces as he kept pumping at that same rapid speed. She came again, and this time so did he. Bellowing at the top of his lungs, he closed his eyes and drove in tight. The strong pulse of his cock blended with the ripples of her climax to create the most dramatic orgasm she’d ever had.
Slowly, he opened his eyes and grinned. “Now, that’s what I call a good time.”
Unexpected tears pricked her eyelids. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. You got something in your eyes? They’re watering.”
She sniffed. “Must be dust. I’m fine. But I wasn’t thanking you for the sex, which was amazing. I was thanking you because you’ve forgiven me.”
“Nothing to forgive. I was missing some critical info and made a wrong assumption. Now I get it and we’re good.”
She wasn’t sure what that meant but she wasn’t going to ask him to clarify. “We should go back to bed.” She glanced at the kitchen clock. “It’s past three.”
“And I just heard Gandalf. I probably woke him up when I yelled.”
She smiled. “I liked it when you yelled. Very manly.”
“Except now we have a crying cat.” He eased away from her and disposed of the condom in the kitchen trash. “I’d better go in there and settle him down.” He tied his robe and had started out of the kitchen when he turned back. “I didn’t put away the—”
“Never mind. I’ll do it. Go see your cat.”
“Meet you in bed.”
“Okay.” After he left, she picked up the ice-cream carton. He’d loved her so fast and so well that the ice cream hadn’t had time to melt much. She put the lid back on and tucked it in the freezer.
She’d never known a man like Grady. When he was upset, he didn’t shout or bang around or sulk. Instead he ate ice cream and thought about things. He’d promised never to hurt her. He’d also vowed that eventually she’d believe in him.
They were beautiful words and she’d certainly heard beautiful words before. Creative men were usually good with them. Was she wrong to think Grady was different? Probably. She’d been wrong before. But for now, the storm had passed. He appeared willing to enjoy what they had for the time they had it. That made her happy.
10
GRADY SLEPT LIKE the dead until Sapphire’s alarm went off at six. She reached over and shut it off. Then she lay very still, breathing lightly. He was about to find out if she was a morning person.
He hoped so, and not because he had the woody of the century. If he and Sapphire expected to get showered and out the door with Gandalf in tow before seven, they’d have to move it, and soon.
His interest in her attitude toward mornings went beyond whether she enjoyed sex at sunrise. He loved mornings. If she didn’t and they worked through all the other crap she’d thrown at him last night, they’d still have that minor issue of different body clocks.
His last girlfriend had hated mornings with a passion. It hadn’t been the only reason they’d broken up, but it had been a factor. He was already half in love with Sapphire, though, and a body-clock misalignment wouldn’t change that. Nothing would change that after she’d taken the initiative to come into the kitchen and smooth things over.
They’d been well and truly smoothed. He’d accept part of the blame for the blow to his ego. He’d sensed something had her spooked and now he knew what it was. Her past experience had taught her not to trust any man who created things for a living.
He even understood her attitude. That didn’t mean he believed that she was only in it for the sex. Maybe she was now, but she wouldn’t be for long if he had anything to say about it.
“Grady?” Her voice was thick with sleep.
“What?”
“We should get up.”
“I know.” Maybe not a morning person. Oh, well.
“But I have a problem.”
“You don’t want to get up?”
“That’s not the problem. I woke up from a dream of having sex with you and it left me sort of...achy. I was wondering if—”
“Say no more.” He reached for the box of condoms. “I’ve got you covered.” He didn’t linger over the niceties. This morning his beard would scrape the rust off a tailpipe. But his cock was easily as hard as one when he sank into her slick channel.
She hadn’t been kidding. That must have been some dream. A few quick strokes and she orgasmed, which allowed him to do the same. Breathing hard, he pushed the damp hair back from her face. “There you go.”
“Thanks.” She smiled up at him. “Good morning.”
“And so it is.” He kissed her lightly without making contact with his beard. “I’m using your razor, if that’s okay.”
“Go ahead. Take whatever you need. I’ll go upstairs to shower and meet you in the kitchen. I have some yogurt in the fridge, so help yourself. We’ll get coffee at the barn.”
“What about tuna?”
“I have a couple more cans in the pantry. Can opener is on the counter. He’ll get dry food later at the barn.”
“Got it.” They each left the bed without any more conversation. She didn’t put on a robe and neither did he.
She grabbed some undies from the dresser and clothes from the closet before hurrying upstairs. Because he was a guy, he watched her running around the room naked and was so glad they’d had a quickie before starting the day.
Once she left, he tossed the robes over a chair and pulled up the covers on the bed. No sense making it when they’d be rolling around in it again tonight. For a little while last night, that had been in doubt, but a woman didn’t wake up and ask for sex if she intended to send a guy packing. At least, this one wouldn’t.
In the kitchen, he located the tuna, opened a can and found a bowl like the one
she’d used for the first batch. When she’d first explained her problem with artists as partners and he’d gone off to the kitchen to lick his wounds and eat ice cream, he’d considered setting up sleeping quarters in the barn. What a stupid move that would have been.
His younger self would have done something like that to make a point. Thank God he’d reconsidered as he’d spooned in the ice cream and given himself brain freeze. He wasn’t like those guys who’d treated her so rotten, but going off to sulk every night in the Art Barn might convince her that he was exactly like them.
When she’d walked into the kitchen and grabbed a spoon, that gesture had helped get his head on straight, too. She liked him. She craved his body. Maybe she’d lumped him in with those other schmucks, but he could fix that. At least, he could if he didn’t create a rift between them by reacting like an asshole.
Then he’d caught her looking at him as if she’d gone a week without candy and his dick was made of caramel. Only an idiot would turn away from that. He wasn’t always as smart as he should be, but he’d figured that out real quick.
She wanted him, but she didn’t trust him or herself. Given her history, that wasn’t surprising. He had a week to show her that he wasn’t cut from the same cloth, that he wasn’t gay, juvenile, a jealous bastard or a cheating one. A week wasn’t much time, but it was what he had.
Gandalf was overjoyed to see him. The cat seemed more excited about Grady’s presence than the tuna, which was touching. So Grady stroked him and encouraged him to eat. Once he’d buried his nose in the bowl, Grady turned on the shower and hopped in.
A thump a few seconds later told him Gandalf was showering with him yet again. He turned to look at the cat. “That’s unnatural. You’re not supposed to do that.”
Gandalf regarded him steadily.
“No, really. Cats don’t like water. Didn’t you get the memo?”
Ignoring the shower pelting down on him, Gandalf walked over and started licking Grady’s leg.
Laughing, Grady finished his shower quickly. Once again he had to towel off the cat and himself. He piled the towels in a corner because everything would have to be washed. While he tackled his beard with Sapphire’s pink razor, Gandalf hopped up on the sink, sat down and started purring.
“I’m getting kinda attached to you, cat.” He met Gandalf’s blue-eyed gaze in the mirror. “Liam’s moving out as soon as he renovates that house and marries Hope. I could use some company. What do you say?”
Gandalf made the half-purr, half-meow noise that was definitely a response to the question.
“I’ll consider that a yes. But first I have to make sure I’m not taking you away from some family who loves you. If we can’t locate anybody in a week, you can hit the road with me, buddy. Sound good?”
The cat’s sharp meow made him grin. “Hey, I’m excited about the idea, too. It’s a deal.” He finished up with the razor. It wasn’t the closest shave he’d ever had, but at least he no longer looked like a vagrant. “Stay put for a bit, okay? I’ll be back to get you.” He left, closing the cat in. Gandalf heartily protested. “I know. I promise you won’t have to stay there all day.”
Not long afterward, dressed and fueled up with raspberry yogurt, he came back to the bathroom and scooped the cat into his arms. They were even slightly ahead of schedule, so he’d had time to go out front and retrieve the condom he’d thrown in the bushes.
Sapphire had loaned him a blue buffalo-plaid shirt that was way too big to have been hers. But Gandalf had spent the night lying on his shirt, and wearing it would spread hair all over the house. This one likely had belonged to one of the scumbags she’d told him about. He wore it, but he’d change at his first opportunity. He didn’t want her associating him with that bunch.
Gandalf began to shake when Grady climbed into the passenger seat of Sapphire’s purple truck. “He’s scared.”
“I’m not surprised.” Sapphire started the engine. “He doesn’t know what’s going to happen to him.” She looked over at Gandalf. “It’ll be okay, kitty. You’re safe with us.”
Grady liked the way she’d said that—safe with us—like they were Team Gandalf. In a way they were. They’d worked together on this deal, although she had the resources and he’d simply been the support staff. “Do you have a plan for this guy?”
“A potential plan.” She backed the truck out of the drive. “See what you think. We’ll close him in the office and give him some dry food while we take care of the ferals. Then we’ll take him over to the shelter for a quick vet check. Assuming he’s fine, I’ll contact the co-op members to see if they’re okay with him staying at the barn while we put the word out and see if he belongs anywhere.”
“Think they’ll be okay with that?”
“I’m sure they will since we’ve talked about having a barn cat eventually, but I want to ask first.”
“And if no one shows up to claim him?” He suddenly realized she might assume Gandalf would become a permanent fixture at the Art Barn. He wouldn’t blame her if she wanted to keep him. He was a great cat.
She glanced at him with a smile in her eyes. “You get first dibs.”
“Thanks.” He blew out a breath. “Selfishly, I hope no one claims him.” He stroked Gandalf’s soft coat. Thanks to a couple of showers, it was looking pretty good.
“I doubt they will. I think you have yourself a cat.”
“Then I need to get him some stuff today. A brush, for one thing. And his own food and water dish. And a litter box and bed. I guess if he’s going to stay in the barn this week, he’ll be there by himself at night.” Grady scratched behind the cat’s ears and murmured whatever soothing things came into his head. He wasn’t crazy about leaving the cat alone in the barn all through the night but he also wanted to be with Sapphire. He finally came up with a compromise. “How about if I work on Rosie’s sculpture for a while tonight?”
“Do you want to cancel going over to my mom and dad’s for dinner?”
“I forgot about that. No, I want to go. I could come here afterward, though.”
She gave him a knowing look. “I’m sure Gandalf would be appreciative.”
“I’ll lose some time today buying his stuff and picking up my clothes from Ben and Molly’s, so working tonight could make that up. Which reminds me, do you think he’ll be all right while I run those errands?”
Her lips twitched as if she wanted to laugh. “Grady, he’ll be fine. If you’re like this with a cat, Lord help you if you have a kid.”
“Am I being overprotective?”
“Just a little. It’s cute, actually.”
“Ugh.” He scowled at the cat. “Gandalf, you’re gonna have to man up, because I won’t be coddling you anymore, buddy. I can’t have the lady calling me cute. I’m looking for descriptions like hot, ripped and sexy as hell.”
She lost it. As her laughter spilled out, he got a kick out of her pink cheeks and sparkling eyes. Her outfit sparkled today, too. Her blouse and skirt were dotted with sequins and her long earrings glittered with multicolored crystals that drew his attention to her graceful neck.
Good thing he had an armful of cat or he’d be tempted to lean over and kiss her there. “Damn, but you’re beautiful, Sapphire.”
Her breath caught. “Thank you.” She looked over at him and for a brief moment soft yearning filled her eyes.
She wants to believe I mean it. That I’m not some selfish bastard who says things like that and then acts like a jerk.
Then her expression changed and a teasing light replaced the glow that had been there. She returned her attention to the road. “You’re not so bad yourself.”
He could guess what was coming next.
“I’d go so far as to say you’re hot, ripped and sexy as hell.”
“You’re welcome to come up with your own words. Those were just suggestions to start you off.”
“All right.” She drummed her fingers on the steering wheel. “Ogle-worthy and lickable eye candy.”
&nb
sp; “Not bad.”
“An orgasmic fantasy, a walking wet dream, a—”
“That’ll do. You’re making Gandalf uncomfortable.”
“He understands English?”
“No, but he’s sitting on my lap.”
“Oh.” She smirked. “I see.”
“Fortunately, you can’t see, because the cat’s hiding the evidence.” As they approached the Art Barn, he noticed a tan pickup parked beside his truck. “So who’s here?”
“That belongs to George Reavis. He’s our wood-carver. He didn’t make it over yesterday because he and his wife took a quick trip to see the grandkids. Now that George is here, we should have the whole contingent today.” She opened her door. “You coming in?”
“Go ahead. Gandalf and I will be along shortly, after decompression happens.”
She looked contrite. “Sorry.”
“Hey, don’t ever be sorry that you got a rise out of me. You’re a lusty lady and I treasure that. I plan to treasure it even more tonight.”
“Good.”
“It will be. Now head on in and start on the food bowls.”
“Okay.” Bending down, she dipped her head under the brim of his hat and kissed him lightly on the mouth. Then she drew back and smiled. “See you in a minute.”
He would have pulled her close for a more satisfying kiss but couldn’t risk letting go of the cat. He settled for a mild protest. “You can do better than that.”
“I didn’t want to make things worse.”
“A little bit of tongue never hurt anybody.”
“You’re a scoundrel, Grady Magee.” Pushing his hat up and cupping the back of his head, she angled her mouth over his and thrust her tongue inside.
Then she proceeded to kiss the living daylights out of him. It was all he could do to stay calm and hold on to Gandalf without squeezing the poor animal.
After sweetly torturing him for a good long while, she finally lifted her mouth away. “Did you like that better?”
“Much.” He dragged in air.
“How’s your lap?”
“Painful, but I’m not gonna mention it.”
Leaning back, she gazed at him. “Better not. Hang on. You’re wearing my lipstick.” She grabbed her purse from behind her seat, then dug out a tissue and wiped his mouth. After settling his hat where it belonged, she peeked in the rearview mirror and wiped her mouth, too. “That needs a do-over.”
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