by Lynn LaFleur
Griff grinned. “Yeah.”
Emma’s tummy jumped at the sight of Griff’s grin. It lit up his entire face, including his eyes, making him even more handsome and sexy.
“It’s a good thing I know how to cook,” Griff said, wiping up the last of his sauce with his bread. “Jana was a lousy cook.”
His gaze flew to hers, a look of mortification crossing his face. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything about her.”
“Griff, it’s okay. You can talk about Jana. I don’t mind. She was a part of your life for a long time.”
He rubbed his forehead, as if that would help him gather his thoughts. “It seems rude to talk about her with you.”
“Then we’ll talk about something else if you’d rather. Like the restaurant. Your dad said he’ll have a draft of the blueprints in a couple of days. I can’t believe how fast he works.”
“Computers help. He doesn’t have to draw everything by hand anymore.”
“I can hardly wait to see them.” She stood, picked up her plate and carried it to the sink. “I don’t think I’ll believe it’s really happening until I see the finished plans.”
“Or the foundation,” Griff said, setting his plate on top of hers.
Just hearing the word “foundation” sent goose bumps scattering across her body. “I want to be there for everything. I want to help build it the way Alaina has helped at Stevens House.”
Griff turned and leaned against the cabinets. “How will you do that when you live and work in Dallas?”
“I’m giving my two weeks notice as soon as I go back to work next week. I was going to wait until the first of November, but I want to be in Lanville now.”
He crossed his arms over his chest. “Where will you live?”
Emma shrugged. “I haven’t thought that far yet. I’ll talk to Lainy first. I don’t want to wear out my welcome, but maybe I can stay with her and Rye a little longer while I find a place to rent.”
“That won’t be easy. There are only two small apartment complexes in Lanville and they rarely have a vacancy.”
“Rental houses?”
“Scarce.”
“Not a problem.” Emma refused to be discouraged. “I’ll work it out.”
She watched his face as he studied hers. She had the feeling he wanted to say more, yet remained silent. “Is something wrong?”
Griff shook his head. “No.” He went back to the table and picked up their empty beer bottles. “I have ice cream. That’s the only dessert I can offer you.”
“I’m too full for dessert anyway. Your spaghetti was delicious.”
“Thanks.”
Silence again, an uncomfortable one for her this time. No matter how much she wanted to stay with him, she knew she had to leave.
“Well, I guess I’d better go. Thank you for dinner.”
“I didn’t use a condom.”
Talk about an abrupt change of subject. Emma had to think a moment to figure out how to respond. “I know that.”
“I haven’t used one in years. I didn’t even think of it.”
Emma took a step closer and touched his arm. “I’m using birth control, Griff. You don’t have to worry about that. And as for anything nasty, I’ve always been very careful.”
He glanced at her hand on his arm before he looked into her eyes. “You were so soft and warm and felt so good. When you touched my… When you touched me, I lost the ability to think. I went completely on my feelings.”
“So did I.” Which is something she never did, so was still trying to figure out why he affected her so strongly.
“Don’t try to analyze it, Griff. We both enjoyed it. Let’s just leave it at that, okay?”
He hesitated several seconds before nodding.
Emma waited, but he said nothing else. Knowing she wouldn’t get an invitation to his bed, she forced a smile. “Thank you again for dinner.”
“I have some errands to do in the morning, so I won’t be around until later in the day.”
“Then I’ll see you sometime tomorrow.”
She headed for the front door, Griff following behind her. She picked up her purse, which she’d laid on the small table in the foyer. Griff pushed down on the door lever. The door opened a few inches before his hand slammed it shut again.
“Don’t go,” he rasped into her ear. One arm snaked around her waist and pulled her tight to his body. “Stay with me.”
Dropping her purse to the floor, Emma turned, wrapped her arms around his neck, and covered his lips with hers.
Chapter Seven
Oh God, can this man kiss!
Hot and wet, with just the right amount of tongue play. No hesitation. Nothing tentative. Griff simply took what he wanted from her mouth.
Emma revised everything she’d believed about kisses being no big deal. Heat swept through her body. Her nipples peaked in her bra, her channel oozed cream. Her panties would be wet in a matter of seconds.
Her legs were going to collapse at any moment if she didn’t get some support. As if Griff read her mind, he pushed her back against the door. His hands ran over her breasts, her waist, her hips. He cradled her ass and lifted her until her mound cushioned his hard cock. Whimpering deep in her throat, Emma wrapped her legs around Griff’s waist. She wished they didn’t have any clothes separating their bodies.
She tilted her head to the side when he nipped her neck. “I want you,” he whispered.
“Yes.”
He shifted his pelvis from side to side. Each movement brushed her clit and made her pussy clench. “In my bed.”
“Yes.”
“All night.”
More shifting, more brushing. Emma wondered if she’d come before they ever removed one article of clothing. “God, yes.”
He took her mouth again in a deep, long kiss. His mouth slanted one way, then the other, as he moved his lips over hers. He nibbled on her bottom lip, stroked his tongue across it before darting it inside to brush across her tongue. The entire time they kissed, he guided her ass up and down and moved his hips so his cock massaged her clit.
The orgasm rocked her entire body, curling her toes and making stars explode behind her eyes. She tore her mouth from his and buried her face in his neck while she moaned loudly. Clutching his neck tighter, she gasped to try to get more oxygen into her lungs.
“The next time you come,” Griff said directly into her ear, “I’ll be inside you.”
“The next time I come,” she said after lifting her head, “we’d better both be naked.”
His eyes were so dark and full of fire. “We will be.”
Holding her ass, he walked out of the living room and down a short hall. She saw a large white door at the end of the hall, the kind that would lead into a master bedroom. She must be wrong, though, for Griff didn’t keep walking toward that door. He stepped through an open doorway. Emma got a glimpse of a dresser before he laid her on a bed. He followed her down, lying between her open legs.
More glorious kisses. Her orgasm was still sending little zings across her nerve endings. The kisses made those zings even more powerful. Emma placed her feet flat on the bed and lifted her hips, hunching her pussy against Griff’s shaft. He was so hard, it felt like a baseball bat pressing between her legs.
Taking both her wrists, he held them down on either side of her head. A delicious thrill shot through her at his show of dominance. Two could play at that game. Emma lifted her head and nipped his bottom lip…not enough to draw blood, but enough so he would feel the sting of her bite.
Griff sucked in a sharp breath. “So you like to play rough, huh?”
“Maybe a little.”
Something flared in his eyes, something slightly dark and forbidden. Griff may be charming and polite, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t want something more intense in bed. Another thrill flashed through Emma. She loved intense in bed.
He sat back on his heels and pulled her into a sitting position. With one tug, her tank top came off.
Griff tossed it to the floor, then reached behind her and unsnapped her bra. It joined her top on the floor.
Emma leaned back on her hands, keeping her arms straight and her back arched. Griff fisted his hands on his thighs as he stared at her breasts. She knew they were round and full and hadn’t started to sag from gravity. The areolas were large and dark pink, her nipples a dusty rose. Her breasts had always drawn a lot of attention from men. She loved that.
He latched onto one stiff peak, pulling it deep into his mouth. Closing her eyes, she tilted her head back and arched her back even more. Griff moved back and forth between her nipples, sucking, licking, nipping lightly with his teeth while he kneaded her breasts.
She’d always enjoyed when a man sucked her nipples. This went beyond simple enjoyment. Heat zipped between her nipples and her clit with each tug of his lips, each stroke of his tongue.
Another orgasm loomed, ready to explode.
Griff cupped her mound and pressed his fingers hard against her clit. The extra stimulation pushed Emma over the top. Her pussy throbbed as the waves of pleasure pulsed through her body.
She lost the strength in her arms and collapsed on the bed. She held Griff’s head close to her breasts, not wanting to give up the pleasure of his mouth yet. He didn’t seem to be in any hurry to move. His tongue slowly stroked her nipples while the hand between her legs slid up and down.
“You…lied to…me,” Emma said between pants.
His hand continued its unhurried journey over her pussy. “How?”
“You said…the next time I came…we’d both be naked.”
“You’re half naked. Does that count?”
“No. I want to see every bit of you.”
“I think I should see every bit of you first.”
“You saw most of me this afternoon.”
“Yeah, but that wasn’t all of you.” His fingers dipped farther between her legs. “Your jeans are damp,” he said, his voice low, husky. “And warm.” His mouth moved down her stomach, dropping kisses along the way. “That must mean you’re really wet.”
“I am definitely really wet.”
Resting his chin on her mound, he looked between her breasts at her face. “I think…” He unfastened the button on her waistband. “I should make sure.”
She liked that he wanted to play. “On one condition.”
The zipper slid down an inch. “What’s that?”
“Take off your shirt. I need to touch skin.”
He slid the zipper the rest of the way down and kissed the exposed skin before he rose to his knees. Gripping the bottom of his T-shirt, he yanked it over his head and tossed it to land on her bra.
All those lean muscles had to be touched. Holding herself up with one hand, she ran the other one over his shoulders, his chest, his stomach. Touching the hard bulge behind his fly sent fresh desire coursing through her body again. Despite having two powerful orgasms, she still wanted more.
She wanted him…as deep inside her as he could get.
She managed to unfasten the snap on his jeans before he covered her hand with his. “I’m not through exploring you.”
Exploring. God, that sounded so sexy. More cream oozed from her channel. “We can explore each other at the same time.”
Griff shook his head. “Ladies first.”
She couldn’t argue with his logic. Emma lay back on the bed, her wrists next to her head.
He looked at her breasts for long seconds before he leaned over and swiped his tongue across each tip. After giving her mouth another head-whirling kiss, he dragged his tongue down the center of her body. He stopped to swirl it around her navel, then continued his journey. He nipped the soft skin of her belly.
Emma curled her hands into fists. Every body part below her waist throbbed and clenched. She needed a hard cock inside her pussy now.
Griff grasped the waistband of her jeans. “Lift your hips.”
She obeyed him without hesitation. Her jeans disappeared over the side of the bed. She lay before him in nothing but a tiny, white thong.
“Jesus, you’re beautiful.”
He kissed her mound through the nylon. Pushing her thighs farther apart, he nuzzled her pussy while he inhaled deeply. Another nip, this time on the inside of her thigh.
Emma couldn’t stand it any longer. She felt as if her body was on fire and only Griff pounding into her pussy would quench the flames. “Griff, fuck me!”
He stared into her eyes while he nibbled on the inside of her other thigh. “You don’t like my mouth on you?”
“I love your mouth on me, but I need your cock inside me. Please!”
Leaning over her, he braced himself on his hands, elbows locked. “I told you I’m not through exploring you.”
“Exploring, hell.” She jerked on his arms, causing him to fall on top of her. With one quick push, she had him on his back. Before he could make a move, she straddled his thighs. “It’s time for action.”
Griff knew he could easily overpower Emma and take back control. Instead, he lay still and waited to see what she would do next…although he had a pretty good idea.
It didn’t surprise him when she yanked down the zipper on his jeans or when she tugged down the front of his briefs to free his dick. He saw her throat work as she swallowed. Her gaze shifted to his face for barely a moment before she looked back at his rod. She wrapped one hand around the base, one beneath his balls, and gently squeezed.
Griff hissed in a breath between his teeth. “Oh fuck!”
“Oh definitely.”
She didn’t bother to move from him and take off her thong. Pulling it to the side, she positioned his cock at her entrance and sank down on it.
He groaned and so did she. Her pussy was hot and tight, slick with her cream. Griff gripped her waist and arched his hips, driving his dick even farther inside her.
She propped her hands on his chest. “You feel perfect.”
“So do you.”
She dug her fingernails into his pecs. The little bite of pain only made him want her more. Tightening his hold on her waist, he lifted her until only the head of his cock remained buried in her warmth. He slowly guided her back down. Emma picked up his pace, moving a bit faster every time he pumped into her.
The crotch of Emma’s panties slid over, hampering his movement. She pushed it aside again, but it slid back in only moments. With a disgusted huff, she let his shaft slip out of her and climbed off the bed. The thong landed on the floor. Before she returned to the bed, Griff pushed his jeans and briefs past his thighs. Emma took over for him, pulling them and his socks off and dropping them on top of her thong.
“Much better.” She turned on the lamp by the bed before once more straddling his hips. Holding his cock straight up, she impaled herself. “Oh yes, much better.”
Griff agreed. Now nothing got in the way of his thrusts. Emma quickened the pace, her pretty breasts bouncing with her movements. Unable to resist the lure of her hard nipples, he pulled her down and lifted his head. He growled low in his throat as he tugged one tip into his mouth.
“God, that feels so good.” Emma stilled when Griff sucked harder. “You have a wicked mouth.”
He reluctantly released her nipple and kissed the side of her breast. “I haven’t done nearly all the things with my mouth that I want to.”
Her breath hitched. He liked that little sign of her desire.
She circled his lips with a fingertip. “What else do you want to do with your mouth?”
“Shall I show you?”
She shook her head. “Later. Right now I need to fuck you.”
Blood surged into his cock. He loved how Emma wasn’t afraid to tell him what she wanted. Jana had never done that, leaving their lovemaking up to him. Although she’d usually climaxed, he’d always wished she’d been more…vocal, more willing to open up and talk to him.
Pushing Jana from his mind, Griff concentrated on the beautiful, sexy woman on top of him. Her eyes were closed, her head tilted back
, as she rode him. She cradled her breasts, her thumbs caressed her nipples. Her slick walls cushioned his shaft, the feminine lips gripping him every time she rose as if her body didn’t want to ever let him go.
She propped her hands on his chest again. Perspiration covered her skin, making it appear dewy in the dim light from the lamp. Her blue eyes looked luminescent as they stared into his.
“I’m going to come,” she whispered. “Come with me.”
Gripping her hips, Griff pumped harder, faster. She dug her fingernails into his chest again as her body trembled.
The contractions milking his dick sent Griff over the edge with her. His balls tightened with the most powerful climax he’d had in a very long time.
He’d heard of people passing out when they had an orgasm. For the first time in his life, he thought that might be possible.
Taking Emma’s hands, he tugged her down to lie on top of him. Her heart beat wildly against his chest. Her warm breath coasted over his damp skin. He wrapped his arms around her and closed his eyes, content to simply lie there until morning.
She ran her fingertips over his chest. “I don’t think I can move.”
“You don’t have to.”
“Yeah, I do. The air-conditioning is blowing right on my butt.”
Griff chuckled. “Then I guess you need my help, huh?”
“I would appreciate it.”
Still holding her tightly to his body, Griff rolled them so Emma lay on her back with him between her legs. “Better?”
She smiled. “Much.” She cradled his head and pulled him closer for a kiss. “I have a question.”
“Okay.”
“Why do you keep your hair so much shorter than Rye’s or Dax’s?”
He had a simple answer to her question—because Jana had liked it short. But he refused to talk about his late wife when Emma was in his bed. “It’s easier this way. Just wash and go.”
Emma grinned. “True. That’s why I keep mine short. It’s naturally curly, so I wash it and let it dry by itself.”
He liked her short hair. It was incredibly soft. He touched a curl by her ear, and smiled when it wrapped around his finger.
“I like it when you smile,” she said softly.
