Chapter Nine
L ou looked at the furrow that still creased Griff’s brow and wondered if she’d said too much. He wasn’t trained for this. But he needed to be prepared, should either Mary Margaret or Elena discover something unseemly about either of his friends.
There was another undercurrent that bothered her as well. Was he worried she might attempt to use the same techniques—that perhaps the trust built between them was as insubstantial as steam in the wind?
But what secret might he have? He had assured her there was nothing she needed to know.
Lou’s shoulders seized like a poorly lubricated engine. She had believed him, hadn’t she? Or had she gotten so caught up in their unexpected attraction that she had…missed something?
Heat flooded into her cheeks until she swore steam seeped from her face as she considered her actions—or lack thereof.
Well, she’d have to do a little more digging on the man to ensure she knew everything. All of his dark, sordid secrets. Of course, that didn’t mean she couldn’t continue to enjoy their current arrangement.
But first, she owed him an update. “I also need to tell you that my meeting with my handler was delayed. We will meet the day after tomorrow.”
Griff grunted. “Any idea why they were delayed?”
“No. So, we shall simply have to entertain ourselves in the meantime. I’ll let you know once we meet.” Lou turned and presented her back to him. “Now, would you mind assisting me with my laces? Cordelia seems a bit superfluous at the moment.”
Griff stepped into her and placed a kiss on her bare shoulder. “I’d be more than happy to play the role of your lady’s maid.”
He began unlacing her bodice. Next, he worked the laces of her corset free. Lou hated the damned things, but they were a necessary evil in her line of work. Then he untied her skirt and let that drop to the floor. She tended to skip many of the fashionable supports that went under a lady’s skirts for two reasons. One, as a Madame, men wanted to see her form—to be tempted. And two, because should she need to take action, all of that busyness around her legs would be a nightmare. A corset was manageable, it even offered a bit of protection, but crinolines of any kind were a death trap.
Griff’s hands were skating up her ribs, teasing her flesh with a gentleness contrasted by the roughness of his hands. Lou shivered and exhaled softly as her chemise was whisked over her head, only to join the rest of her clothing in the pile on the floor. Cordelia would be displeased come morning, she could not help but think—but then Griff slid his hands to Lou’s breasts and kneaded them gently, and all thoughts of anyone’s displeasure—well, really, just all thoughts—fled from her mind. She sank back against his chest and let her head loll on his shoulder as he moved on from the wonderful massage to gently rolling and tugging on her rapidly stiffening nipples. Jolts of pleasure rippled the length of her body as her muscles softened at his ministrations.
“Go sit on the bed and wait for me,” Griff demanded in a low, rough tone that had her obeying his command. Anything, so long as he put his hands back on her body.
Lou climbed on the edge of the bed and sat there, eager to see what he would do next, which was to quickly strip off his clothes. Bared, she could see his hard cock bob as he strode toward her. He reached down and stroked his length once and then twice as she watched before pinching the head of his cock roughly. Lou licked her lips, wanting very much to wrap her lips around that particular appendage, but it seemed Griff had other plans in mind. He came to where she sat on the edge of the bed and dropped to his knees.
Parting her thighs, he looked up at her. “No, lie back and let me feast on this pussy. I’ve thought of little else since I left your bed yesterday.”
She gasped, both thrilled and surprised at his words. Doing as she was told, Lou leaned back onto her elbows so she could watch as he licked her quim. He pressed his hands to her inner thighs and spread her legs wide as he dragged his tongue up her wet entrance, up over her clit in a single long swipe. The pleasure which had been flickering over her body since this had begun darted to her core like metal pulled to a magnet.
He continued to work his tongue over her clit and then around and down to drive into her soaked channel. She moaned and her hips moved, seeking more. More fullness. More pleasure. She wanted it all.
As Griff continued to lick and nibble at her pussy, he slid two fingers inside her…and that was when her elbows gave out. When her body became so consumed by his efforts that watching was no longer needed; feeling was all she could focus on. The stretch of his fingers inside her. The aching need for more. The jolts of pleasure as he stroked over that sensitive spot deep inside.
“That’s it, Lou. Come for me. Come on my fingers and tongue.” His growly command came out as he sank a third finger inside her.
“Please,” she begged. She was not a woman who begged, but she needed this, needed to release the pressure that had built or she would explode like a wayward steam engine which had a closed release valve. And to her own surprise, she enjoyed surrendering to his will. Begging him for what she needed.
Then Griff curled his fingers inside her as he sucked hard on her clit and her orgasm slammed into her like a locomotive going at full speed. She cried out as her hands fisted in his short hair and she ground her core mercilessly against his face. Her release undulated through her in long punishing waves that stole all thought from her mind and power from her limbs.
Eventually she lay there, replete and exhausted, as he continued to lap at her pussy, gently bringing her down from that explosive orgasm.
Griff rose and crawled over her, his knees perched on the bed, and kissed her gently. She could taste herself on his lips and relished how he smelled and tasted of her. It moved something primal in her, a need to claim him as hers that shocked her to her core. But he gave her no time to dwell on her shocking thoughts. Instead, he flipped her over and lifted her hips, and in a single, claiming thrust, he sank into her from behind.
Griff nearly exploded as Lou’s heat eagerly gripped his cock. The way she’d come undone for him had aroused him in a way he’d never experienced before. Her unabashed sensuality stirred something deep within him he had not known he possessed.
He pulled out to his tip then sank deep inside her. She was so strong and independent—and he adored that about her—except in this one way; he needed her to need him. To want him.
So when she tried to take over and drive backward on to him, he reacted instinctively. He sank his fist into her luscious hair and held her still as he continued to work his cock in and out of her lush body.
She moaned harshly as he tugged at her hair, seeming to love his command even as she pulled against it. “Yes, Griff! Take—take me.” The need in her voice spurred him on.
“That’s it Lou. Take my cock.” He thrust into her over and over, still using her hair as a tether. He wouldn’t last long. “Fuck!”
That was the moment he realized he’d forgotten to don a French letter. He was inside her, skin on skin, no barriers between them. Perhaps that was why this had felt so primal. The way her heat engulfed him had him going up in flames and he knew he was close—but he wasn’t going to allow himself release until…
Griff reached down with his free hand and stroked over Lou’s clit. Once, twice, and then on the third pass, she cried out as she arched into his grip on her hair with a cry that he was certain they heard in the kitchens below. With that, he pulled from her glorious heat and stroked himself with the hand that had been tangled in her hair. A mere three strokes of his cock and he came hard all over her back and quivering arse until he collapsed forward on one hand.
Breathing heavily, Griff straightened up on his knees. With both of his hands, he began massaging the globes of her backside as he imagined sinking between them one day. Would she let me do that to her?
Lou crumpled forward on the bed onto her stomach and lay there for a moment. He realized he was best situated to contend with his seed all over her back, so he grabbed something quickly from the floor and wiped her up. Only then did he realize it was his shirt he was using. “Cog it all!”
Lou rolled over. “What is it?”
“I just used my shirt to clean you off. I’ll have to walk out of here without a shirt.” Griff looked at the cum covered mess in his hand in chagrin. “Clearly my brains were addled from such a fine fucking.” The pleasure that wafted through him like steam from a boiler felt akin to how he felt when a new invention worked as designed. The realization caught him off-guard as he looked down at his cum-soaked shirt.
Lou laughed long and hard as he dropped the shirt to the floor and crawled onto the bed next to her.
“You find that amusing do you?” he demanded as he poked at her ribs.
She howled with laughter as he found her ticklish spots and focused on them. Gasping for air, she begged, “Cease! I promise not to laugh anymore.”
He grinned. “Good. That will teach you.”
She winked. “You could spank me for being such a naughty girl.”
Griff barked a laugh. “Why do I think you would enjoy that far too much?”
Feigning affront, Lou rolled off the bed, her lips parted in a wide smile. “I’m offended by your suggestion.” Then she reached into her wardrobe and tossed a man’s shirt at him. “You’d be surprised how often our guests’ shirts become damaged while at The Market. We tend to keep a good stock of the basic sizes on hand for just such occasions.”
A little unsettled at the reminder of her other profession, Griff took the shirt and tugged it over his head. “Well, I thank you for not sending me home looking as if I was robbed.”
Lou tugged on a silk robe, shielding her lovely body from his gaze. “Well, that wouldn’t do. Can’t have men thinking they’d be robbed every time they disrobed at The Market. It would be terrible for business.”
He grunted. “Undoubtedly.”
For the first time, he stopped to consider what was happening between them. Where was this…going? Certainly, he hoped to discover who hired her to kill him. But what of them? Was there a ‘them’?