Chapter Eight #2
She gasped as I found the clasp of her bra, freeing her breasts to my hungry gaze. Her nipples were already hard peaks, begging for attention. I took one into my mouth, swirling my tongue around the sensitive flesh as she threaded her fingers through my hair.
"Griffin," she moaned, the sound echoing off the wooden barrels around us. "Oh God, yes."
I lavished attention on her breasts, alternating between gentle kisses and firm suction that had her arching against me. My hands worked at her skirt, pushing it up around her waist to reveal black lace panties that matched her bra.
"These are in my way," I growled, hooking my fingers in the waistband.
"Then take them off," she challenged, her eyes dark with desire.
I didn't need any more encouragement. I dropped to my knees, pulling her panties down her long legs and helping her step out of them. The sight of her, naked except for her skirt bunched around her waist, nearly undid me.
"Spread your legs for me," I commanded, my voice rough with need.
She obeyed, bracing herself against the barrel behind her as I settled between her thighs. The first taste of her nearly made me come in my pants—she was sweet and musky and absolutely perfect.
"Oh fuck," she gasped as my tongue found her clit, circling the sensitive bundle of nerves with deliberate strokes. "Griffin, that feels so good."
I worked her with my mouth, alternating between broad strokes of my tongue and focused attention on her clit. She was responsive, her hips rolling against my face as she chased her pleasure.
"More," she panted, her hands gripping my hair almost painfully. "Please, I need more."
I slipped two fingers inside her, groaning at how wet and tight she was. She clenched around me immediately, her inner walls fluttering as I found that spot that made her see stars.
"Right there," she cried, her voice echoing through the barrel room. "Don't stop, please don't stop."
I had no intention of stopping. I worked her relentlessly, my fingers pumping in and out while my tongue tormented her clit. She was close, I could feel it in the way her body tensed, in the desperate little sounds she was making.
"Come for me," I urged against her slick flesh. "Let me hear you."
She shattered with a cry that would have brought security running if the room weren't naturally soundproofed by its thick stone walls and heavy wooden construction.
Her body convulsed around my fingers as waves of pleasure crashed over her, and I worked her through every aftershock until she was boneless against the barrel.
"Jesus," she gasped, looking down at me with dazed eyes. "That was..."
"We're not done yet," I promised, rising to my feet and claiming her mouth in a hungry kiss. She could taste herself on my lips, and the knowledge seemed to inflame her further.
Her hands went to my jeans, fumbling with the button and zipper in her haste to free me. When my cock sprang free, thick and hard and aching for her, she wrapped her fingers around me with a reverent touch.
"I need you inside me," she whispered against my ear. "Now."
I didn't need any more invitation. I lifted her easily, her legs wrapping around my waist as I positioned myself at her entrance. She was still slick from her orgasm, but I entered her slowly, savoring every inch as her body welcomed me home.
"Fuck, you feel incredible," I groaned, fully seated inside her. "So tight and wet for me."
"Move," she demanded, her nails digging into my shoulders. "Please, Griffin, I need you to move."
I started slow, long, deep strokes that had her moaning with each thrust. But control was rapidly becoming impossible. The feel of her around me, the little sounds she made, the way she met each of my movements with desperate need—it was all too much.
"Harder," she gasped, her head thrown back in abandon. "I can take it."
I lost what little restraint I had left. My hips snapped forward, driving into her with a force that had the barrel creaking behind her. She loved it, her cries of pleasure spurring me on as I fucked her against the aged oak.
"Yes, yes, just like that," she chanted, her body climbing toward another peak. "Don't stop, please don't stop."
I could feel her tightening around me, her second orgasm building like a storm. I reached between us, finding her clit with my thumb and rubbing tight circles around the swollen nub.
"Come with me," I commanded, my own release barreling down on me like a freight train. "Right now, baby. Come on my cock."
She exploded around me, her pussy clenching like a vise as she screamed my name. The sensation pushed me over the edge, and I buried myself deep as I emptied inside her, marking her as mine in the most primal way possible.
We stayed locked together for long moments, both of us struggling to catch our breath. The barrel room felt different now—charged with the electricity of what had just happened between us.
Finally, I pulled back to look at her, tucking a strand of sweaty hair behind her ear. "That was..."
"A mistake," she finished quietly, but there was no conviction in her voice.
"Was it?" I searched her face, looking for any sign of regret. "Because it felt pretty damn right to me."
She closed her eyes, and I watched her walls starting to rebuild themselves brick by brick. "We can't keep doing this, Griffin. It's too complicated."
"Life is complicated," I countered, helping her down and gathering her scattered clothes. "That doesn't mean we run from the good parts."
She dressed quickly, avoiding my eyes as she smoothed her skirt and buttoned her blouse. When she was decent again, she finally looked at me, and the distance in her gaze was like a punch to the gut.
"I have to focus on tomorrow night," she said, her voice carefully neutral. "On the showcase. On proving myself."
"And after that?"
She picked up her notes from where I'd set them aside, clutching them like a shield. "After that, we go back to our respective lives. You go back to Foxfire Valley, and I build my career here."
"It doesn't have to be that way."
"Yes, it does." Her voice was firm now, the walls fully in place. "This—whatever this is between us—it's just physical. It doesn't mean anything beyond that."
The words hit me like a slap, even though I could see the lie in her eyes. She was protecting herself the only way she knew how, but it still hurt like hell.
"If that's what you want to believe," I said quietly.
She flinched at the resignation in my voice, but she didn't take it back. Instead, she moved toward the door, then paused with her hand on the lock.
"Griffin?"
"Yeah?"
"Tomorrow night... we need to be professional. Partners in business, nothing more."
I studied her profile, seeing the tension in her shoulders, the careful set of her jaw. "If that's what you need."
She unlocked the door and stepped out into the hallway, leaving me alone among the barrels with the lingering scent of our passion and the bitter taste of rejection.
But I wasn't giving up. Not on her, not on us. Tomorrow night would come, and we'd play our professional roles to perfection. But after that? After that, all bets were off.
Because Lila King could run all she wanted, but she couldn't hide from the truth forever. What we had was real, and no amount of walls or professional distance was going to change that.
I just had to be patient enough to wait for her to figure it out.