by Jodi Redford
“About damn time the two of you came to your senses. Are you getting hitched over there? Mind you, your mother will be furious if she’s deprived the chance of buying a new dress.”
Jemma distinctly heard her mom’s ecstatic, “What?” and began making crackling noises in the phone’s receiver. “Reception going…crkk…wonky. Call ya…crcrkk…later.” She stabbed the End button with her finger and groaned. “Great, now Griff will have to make an honest woman out of me and marry my ass.”
Again, that was assuming they would survive Nettie and her flesh-craving pets. She started to slump on the bed but remembered her grubby clothes, which in turn made her remember she’d forgotten to apply any deodorant that morning. She cautiously peeled back the neckline of her T-shirt and sniffed. “Oh man, and here I was giving Uncle Harold a hard time for his not-so-fresh-from-the-grave stench.”
She raced to the connecting bathroom, her fingers crossed that Clarissa had stocked it with the essentials. What she discovered in the spa-like room was a fantasy come true—a floor-to-ceiling glass-enclosed steam shower unit that boasted an enormous rainfall showerhead and twenty—holy hell, twenty—side jets. Nearly orgasming at the sight, she hurriedly stripped and cranked on the controls.
Roughly twenty minutes later, her muscles the consistency of Jell-O, she staggered back into the bedroom. She finished wrapping the towel around her torso and swiveled in the direction of the bed. A startled yelp hiccupped from her when she spotted Griff parked on the mattress. Her hand flew to her clavicle. “You really know how to give a gal a heart attack.”
“Sorry. Should I have knocked first?”
Griff’s soulful eyes brimmed with enough worry she decided to let him off the hook. “Don’t sweat it. If all of today’s zombie excitement didn’t manage to scare me to death, nothing will.” She padded to the bed and settled beside him, tucking the towel securely beneath her butt. “So how did the grave-digging party go?”
A nerve ticced in Griff’s jaw. She patted his cheek. “That good, huh?”
“Clarissa and I shared a few tense moments, but the corpses are the only ones buried six feet under. All in all, a good sign.” He captured her hand and pressed a soft kiss to the center of her palm.
Remembering the unpleasant task he’d recently been engaged in, she cleared her throat. “Um, at the risk of spoiling this incredibly sweet moment, you did wash your hands, right?”
“Yes. And what’s this sweet stuff? I was going for sexy.” The tip of his tongue traced her heart line before he nipped the fleshy juncture between her thumb and index finger. Awareness tingled through her synapses, prodding her steam-relaxed body to suddenly return to life. She shifted restlessly, trying not to moan at the surge of arousal that moistened her sex. Griff seemed to notice her discomfort and grinned impishly. “Which reminds me…Clarissa sent me up here bearing gifts.”
She tugged her hand free and clasped it to its mate in wistful supplication. “Please, please say it’s a change of clothes. I really don’t want to resort to wearing this towel the entire time I’m here.”
“Afraid not.” He dropped his scrutiny to her décolleté. “And in my opinion, you look delectable just the way you are.” He followed up his statement by lowering his head and licking the water droplets beading on her collarbone. “Vanilla?”
It took a moment for her fuzzy brain to register that he was referring to the body spray she’d doused herself with. “Mm-hmm. It kind of makes me want pie.”
His tongue slid toward the valley between her breasts. He nipped her lightly before giving a low growl. “I’d rather eat you.”
Her breath hitched. Thank God she appeared to not be the only one who suffered raging horniness after escaping death. She dove for his zipper, but he strategically blocked her move by stuffing one of the sequined boudoir pillows in his lap. “I haven’t given you your gifts yet.”
The only gift she gave a rat’s ass about was the one swelling behind the fly of Griff’s jeans. “Later.” She lunged for the pillow.
“No. Now.” His laugh caressing her ear, he rolled onto his side and reached beneath the silk spread before sitting up again.
She gaped at the two items clutched in his fist. “Um…that’s a vibrator.”
He ran the pad of his thumb along the purple shaft of the jelly-like apparatus and flicked the bow tied just beneath the plump head. “Very observant of you, Jem.”
She glanced at the other object—a tube of lubricant—before blinking at him. “Why the hell would Clarissa buy me a vibrator?”
“She didn’t buy it for you. She conjured it.”
“Like from thin air?” She couldn’t shake the visual of a rubber cock materializing from the ether and thunking to the ground, where it kind of just bounced around on its fake ball sac. Crazy. She pressed her fingers into her temple in an attempt to get her brain back on track. “Anyway, I still don’t understand why Clarissa would—” A possibility slammed into her consciousness and she bolted upright. “Oh my God. It’s supposed to be a substitute for you, isn’t it?”
He choked on a stunted cough. “What?”
“Clarissa changed her mind about her insane plan of me sleeping with you and Logan and that—” she pointed a stiff finger at the vibrator, “—is her warped idea of a consolation prize.”
Shoulders shaking with restrained laughter, Griff rolled his lips so tight they almost appeared white. She snatched the sequined pillow and smacked him in the head. “I’m happy you find this hysterical, jackass.”
“Jemma…” Griff dropped the vibrator into his lap and wiped his watering eyes. “Where do you come up with these kooky theories?”
She started to shove from the bed, but he snagged her by the waist and hauled her against him. He nibbled the lobe of her ear and she made a halfhearted attempt to swat him away. Sliding lower, he nuzzled her neck. “You’re one of a kind, you know that? And I fucking adore that about you.”
Okay, maybe he wasn’t a total jackass. “Hmm, what else do you adore about me?”
He chuckled. “The fact you’re immodest enough to dig for compliments?”
She pinched his thigh. “That just lost you the few meager points you managed to score, Trudeau.”
“Ah, sweetheart, you’re killing me here.” His hands roved to her breasts and squeezed them through the towel.
She was killing him? Between his devious massaging and the vibrator poking her in the butt, it was a miracle she could formulate a coherent thought.
He traced the sensitive hollow behind her ear with his tongue. “You’re so goddamn sexy you make my knees shake.”
“I can so relate to that condition.” Moaning, she flopped her head back against his shoulder.
One hand abandoned her breast and followed the arch of her throat. His finger tapped her mouth, and she reflexively parted her lips. Needing no further invitation, his thumb brushed the sensitive inner tissue of her lower lip. “Baby, I was waxing poetic over your adorable qualities. Remember?”
“Oh, that’s right.” She scraped her teeth across his nail and earned his sharp, husky exhale. “Continue.”
“You let me win at Monopoly.”
“Not really. I just suck at that game.”
“Okay.” He paused for a millisecond, presumably to ponder further. “Your Miss Piggy impersonation is a dead ringer for the real thing.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Oh man, you really had to dig for that one didn’t you?”
Rumbling laughter floated down on her. “Fine, do you want me to point out that you have the endearing habit of bawling every time that ASPCA commercial comes on?”
She sniffled. “I can’t help it. Those sad little kitties get me every time.”
“I know, baby. You’re just a softie.” He tipped her chin up and kissed her brow. His knuckles brushed her cheek. “The truth is you’ve brought me sunshine every damn day of my life, Jemma. If I can give you half the same bliss…” The hand cupping her breast dipped lower and insinuated beyo
nd the fold of the towel. He stroked over her navel before gliding across her mound. His fingers skimmed over her labia. She squirmed and he pressed against her inner thigh, encouraging her to straddle his legs. With a firm tug, he disposed of the towel.
Cool air wafted over her damp skin, raising goose bumps and her pebbled nipples. He plucked at one of the tightened buds the same moment his forefinger teased over her clit. She jerked at the contact, the sensations almost too exquisite to bear.
“And I especially love this…” Arousal roughening his voice to sandpaper, he slid through her slick juices. “How wet and ultrasensitive you are. I bet you could come even if I barely touch you.” Testing his hypothesis, he lifted his finger and just grazed the hood of her clit.
She swiveled her hips in a frantic plea, the feather-light contact both frustrating and thrilling. “Griff, please.”
“Please what?” His tone held a sexy, teasing edge. “Buzz your pretty little clit with the vibrator until your pussy is soaking and you’re dying to come? Is that what you want?”
Hearing his naughty question almost hurtled her over the stratosphere into orgasm. She didn’t know what turned her on more. Griff talking dirty or the idea of him actually carrying through with his suggestion. “Y—you want to do that to me?”
“More than you could imagine, baby.”
She bit her lip. “I’ve never done anything like that before.”
“Not even alone?”
“I don’t own a vibrator, if that answers your question.”
Griff shifted, coaxing her legs to fall between his. He scooted backward, causing the mattress to dip and creak. She glanced over her shoulder. Apparently attuned to her hesitancy, he patted the bedspread, his eyes dancing with carnal wickedness. “C’mere.”
Her heart racing from nervous excitement, she scooched onto her rear and arranged the towel to safeguard the beautiful silk coverlet from any messy happenstances. She wiggled onto the plush terrycloth and attempted to adopt a pose that fell somewhere between virginal-maiden and do-me-like-a-shameless-slut. Griff’s scorching stare bolstered her confidence, and she floated her fingertips over her breasts, stoking her arousal. And Griff’s, if the dilating of his pupils was any indication. He groped blindly for the vibrator.
“Wait.” She played with her taut nipples and watched his nostrils flare. “Take your clothes off first.”
He didn’t balk at the command. If anything, he broke every land record stripping off his T-shirt, jeans and boxer briefs. His thick shaft jutted toward his muscled abdomen, the head engorged and rosy. She hummed in happy contentment. “Stan really is the most scrumptious cock ever.”
The appendage in question lengthened even more, and he groaned before dropping onto his elbows and claiming her lips in a ravenous kiss. His tongue swept inside her mouth, stealing what little was left of her sanity. Everything else faded into nothingness. Clarissa. Nettie and the zombies. Gone. Her entire world crystallized into the man looming above her. She clutched his arms, her fingers sinking into the tensile strength of his biceps before wandering toward his chest. Encountering the firmness of his pecs, she changed course and headed due south. Apparently clued in to her intention, Griff broke the kiss and inched backward, angling his cock out of reach. He nipped her bottom lip in warning. “No way, sweetheart. Right now it’s all about you.”
She pressed the back of her hand against her forehead and heaved a dramatic sigh. “Only for you will I sacrifice myself to the battery-operated wiliness of Vinnie the vibrator.”
“You really have a thing for naming dicks, don’t you?”
Her laugh was cut short by the sudden pulsing of the vibe on her inner thigh. Griff leisurely stroked the device along her skin, painting condensed figure eights closer and closer to the end destination. She spread her legs and strained her hips upward in desperate enticement.
He didn’t take the bait. Instead, the vibrator swirled in a wide arc, sweeping lightly over the crease where her thigh and groin intersected. Resting the vibe’s head against her pubic bone, Griff leaned down and sucked on the aching nub cresting her breast. The scorching heat of his mouth combined with the luscious friction from his tongue was too much, yet not enough. Her back arched and he scored his teeth on her flesh before releasing her nipple with a wet, juicy pop.
He locked stares with her, his eyes positively glowing, and shifted the vibe’s position, ensuring its steady pulses thrummed against her clit. A strangled cry shot from her. Griff’s free hand smoothed over her belly. “Feel good, baby?”
Speech was difficult. It became downright impossible when he twisted the base of the vibrator, increasing its power and speed. Her fingers dug into the silk coverlet. Griff immediately eased off. “Too much?”
“L—little bit.”
The vibe returned, its oscillations a soft, teasing hum this time. Its jellied tip kissed over her slick flesh. Biting her lip, she moved her hips in tempo with the delicious friction. Griff’s focus drifted from her mouth and tracked the length of her quivering body. By the time he zeroed in on her pussy, a fine sheen of sweat covered his golden skin and his chest rose and fell with erratic, ragged breaths. Precome glistened on the head of his cock. Recalling his rich, salty taste, she groaned. The buzzing phallus slipped lower and nudged into her slit, stretching her open. She instinctively closed her thighs against the intrusion.
“Jem, I need you to take it. Please. For me?”
She relaxed her muscles and the vibrator eased farther inside her. The sensations were far more concentrated and intense than she was used to, but soon she was writhing in unabashed ecstasy as Griff shuttled the vibrator in and out. She clamped her fingers around the hand he had pressed against the mattress. “I need you inside me. Now.”
Griff glanced at her, revealing a face tightened with lust. Rather than removing the vibrator and replacing it with his cock, he ducked and kissed the curve of her jaw. He worked his way north, the stubble on his chin scruffing her skin. His hot breath fanned her ear. “How about having us both together?”
His question left her stunned, until she realized he was referring to the vibrator…not Logan. But the taboo image was now imprinted in her mind. Nothing short of a lobotomy would shake it loose.
Griff licked the pulse point fluttering out of control in her neck. “You’re excited. Does that mean yes?”
She squirmed, which only managed to lodge the vibe deeper. A whimper escaped her and Griff shifted onto his side. “Roll over.”
The true scope of his plan finally penetrated her consciousness. “Y—you want—”
“Your ass.” Griff’s eyes blazed with unleashed fire. “Have you ever accepted a man back there before?”
She shook her head, and Griff abandoned the base of the vibrator. He cupped her cheek, his touch cherishing and gentle. “I want to be the first to take you there. Bad. But if you’re not comfortable with it…”
There’d been past lovers who’d begged for the same privilege, but she’d never managed to relax enough to allow it. Plus she’d wanted to save that special and most intimate of acts to share with a trusted partner. There was no one on this earth she trusted more than Griff. Twining her fingers through the sweat-dampened hair plastering the nape of his neck, she kissed him deeply. Their tongues tangled and danced before she broke away and wiggled onto her stomach. She heard Griff’s hard swallow and a second later felt his fingertips tracing her spine.
“I don’t deserve you. Or this.” His rapid exhalations peppered her flesh as his lips followed the path of his hand. “Does it make me a selfish bastard that I’m going to take it anyway?”
“No. I want you to.”
The bed creaked softly as Griff straddled her legs. She tensed slightly in expectation, only to arch her back in wanton appeal when he kissed the hollow near her tailbone. He chuckled before sliding his mouth lower. Surely he wouldn’t—
His fingers coaxed her butt cheeks apart and his tongue coasted over her hidden rosebud.
“A
aahhh…” She jerked at the foreign and incredibly naughty sensation, causing the vibrator to dislodge. Griff reinserted it, his tongue never losing its wicked rhythm. The noises pouring from her throat were downright embarrassing, but she couldn’t do a damn thing about it. Just when she swore her esophagus would be scratched raw from the excessive moaning, Griff let up. She quickly discovered the reprieve was to be short lived. A click sounded, followed by a cold squirt of lube dribbling into her crack. The tip of one of Griff’s fingers pressed into her puckered opening, working with the silky lubricant. Applying more pressure, he sank deeper, up to his middle knuckle. She sucked in a breath.
“Everything okay?”
Gulping, she nodded. Griff added another finger. He scissored the two digits and massaged the swell of her buttocks with his other hand. His deft stroking—both inside and out—brought her to a place she’d never known existed, one filled with forbidden needs and divine pleasures. A greedy murmur spilled from between her lips, and Griff slid his fingers free. He patted her ass. “Lift your hips.”
She did as directed and he wedged the large bolster pillow beneath her, positioning it so it both supported her weight and kept the vibrator securely anchored in her pussy. A moment later she detected the slick, succulent sound of him lubing his cock. She desperately wished she could see that sexy and decadent sight but knew she’d only end up with a wrenched neck if she attempted to score a peek. Griff’s thighs butted up against her haunches and the thick head of his cock prodded her opening. His thumbs spread her further, assisting access. Up to a point. He notched just to the band of tight, protesting muscle when the burn erupted.
Holy hell, it hurt like a mother.
“Try not to clench.”
Easy for him to say. He didn’t have a five-pound kielbasa attempting to force its way up his rear loading dock. “I don’t know if I can—” The remainder of her protest trickled into a gasp when Griff reached under her and strummed her clit. She bucked, inadvertently aiding his entry.
