64. IVY
64
IVY
“Do you have to go?” The thought of having him leave my side caused my ribs to tighten.
Which was silly. Not just because I had an errand to run, too, but because we’d only be apart for a few hours, tops. That shouldn’t incite any negative feelings.
Hello, independent woman.
“Won’t take me long.” Grayson tucked a stray piece of hair behind my ear. “You can come with me if you want?”
Lying in our brand-new bedroom with the sun rising in the sky, I couldn’t believe this would be my view each morning—Lake Michigan, tiny specks of boats with the pastel painted sky, all of it visible. Major props to the builders of this place for putting in an entire wall of windows on this side of the room.
I kissed his chest, his skin warm, the scent of last night’s lovemaking lingering in the air.
“No,” I sighed. “I’m going to the hospital today to beg for my job back.” This time, with the head of the department. Pleading with my boss hadn’t worked.
Grayson studied me, looking like he was trying to be careful with his word choice. “You know you’ll never have to work a day in your life if you don’t want to.”
A warmth spread through my chest as I caught the hesitation in his voice. He knew me so well—my fierce independence was both my strength and my weakness. His carefully chosen words told me he wanted to support me without smothering me, and that understanding made my heart swell.
“You’re very sweet.” I leaned up and brushed my lips against his. “But I like my career; helping people every day gives me purpose.” I pulled back and propped myself up on my elbow. “What about you? Have you had any second thoughts about leaving the CIA?”
Grayson mirrored my position, his bicep trying to escape his skin as he drew his knuckles along my jawline.
Gah, his touch. Would it always do this to me?
I hope so.
“Not a single one.”
His voice carried a resolute strength that awed me. The unwavering certainty of abandoning a huge part of his identity would be hard for anyone, but he somehow made it seem effortless.
“Is it scary?” I trailed a fingertip down his chest. “Letting go of your career and life’s purpose?”
His knuckles ghosted along the contour of my throat, a featherlight touch that left a wake of goose bumps in its path. With delicate precision, his fingers found their way to the hollow at the base of my neck, pressing against my pulse point. Could he feel my heartbeat quicken under his touch? His eyes, intense and searching, sure as hell seemed to say yes , locking with mine as if he were reading the very rhythm of my life through his fingertips.
“I have a new purpose,” he whispered. “My purpose is you now, Ivy. All the breaths that my lungs will ever breathe belong to you. Every beat of my heart is yours. From the moment I wake up to when I close them at night, I live for one thing and one thing only—to fill every second of your life with as much joy as this world can hold.”
He smiled, undoubtedly feeling my heartbeat accelerate even more.
How have I gotten so lucky?
“My life cannot possibly get happier than it is right now,” I murmured.
As our lips met, I felt Grayson’s mouth curve into a smile against mine. He drew in a long, deep breath—as if savoring the very essence of our kiss—before his tongue breached my entrance. The familiar dance of our mouths engulfed a fire within me, sending a jolt of heat between my thighs, which started to drum with desire so intensely, it ached.
Grayson’s lips trailed kisses along the sensitive line of my jaw, each press of his mouth imprinting onto my skin like a tattoo. When he reached my throat, he paused, his breath hot and heavy over my jugular.
“What if you get bored?” I asked breathlessly.
Grayson trailed his fingers down my collarbone before palming my breast. A fresh surge of electricity hummed between my legs as he circled the bud with his thumb, grinning as I began to whimper.
“Ivy, life with you could never get boring.”
I tried to focus on his words, but it was hard as desire continued to crash through me.
As he lowered his head, I slid my fingers through his dark locks, sucking in a sharp breath when his mouth seared a fresh burn on my nipple. I arched my back as Grayson’s tongue circled the peak of my breast while he trailed his fingertips down my stomach.
“Do you want another career?” I managed.
A low, throaty chuckle rumbled against my nipple’s sensitive skin, and eyes like dew-covered grass, full of mischief, looked up at me.
“You really want to talk careers right now?”
“I…” When I swallowed, I felt the vibrations of his chuckle again, this time at the base of my throat. “I want to make sure you’ll be happy.”
His fingertips trailed along my inner thigh, tortuously slow. I opened my thighs wider, silently begging for him to touch me where I needed it most.
“I plan on spending time with you, your family, and my family. Barry extended an offer for me to join his team,” he continued, the brush of his touch landing just outside my hot sex.
I whimpered from the cruelty of having to wait this long to be satisfied.
“But for right now, I just want to enjoy spending some time with you.”
Grayson locked dark eyes with me as he finally slid his hand over the apex of my body. The heat intensified, buzzing with an electric current that shot from my sex to my breasts.
“You’re so wet,” he cooed, sliding his fingers between my folds.
“Please,” I moaned, pushing my hips up, trying desperately to encourage his fingers to breach my entrance.
“I’m going to make you come, Ivy,” Grayson growled.
I moaned in relief, but when he sat up and pulled his body away from mine, I propped myself up on my elbows, my voice as breathless as it was desperate. “What are you doing?”
He smirked at that, the tease, before punching something on his phone and then kneeling at the foot of the bed.
His big hands grabbed my ankles and yanked, pulling my lower body to the base of the bed.
“You’ll watch the sunrise while you come on my tongue,” he demanded.
I swear, if words alone had the power to make me come undone? Those would be them.
He pulled until everything from my tailbone down hung off the bed. And then…
He lifted both of my thighs up over his shoulders and stared at me one last time before his tongue made a long stride up my sex.
My eyes immediately rolled back as the tip of his tongue flicked against the sensitive bud.
“We…we don’t have drapes,” I warned.
I could feel Grayson’s mouth curl up into a smile. “I texted the nurse to keep your grandmother inside for the next hour.”
The likelihood of Grams braving the biting cold for a morning stroll was slim to none, but Grayson ensuring our privacy melted away my hesitation. With that final concern addressed, I surrendered to his mouth.
As I did so, the scene before me suddenly came into sharp focus.
An entire wall of glass overlooked Lake Michigan while, directly in front of me, my lower body literally sat on Grayson’s face. My inner thighs pressed against his ears as his head moved up and down in long, slow strides against the top of my sex. He knew how to work my body like a musician reading the sheets of music.
Swirling his tongue around and around, a wave of pleasure began to build in my lower belly.
My fingers threaded through his hair, and a deep groan rumbled from Grayson’s throat, the vibrations resonating through my most sensitive flesh. The dual assault of pleasure nearly overwhelmed me, but then his eyes captured mine, and the world seemed to still.
In that moment of connection, vulnerability washed over me, quickly followed by a surge of unwavering trust. Being with him in quiet, intimate moments like this transcended mere physical desire. It was a window to something deeper. In his forest depths, I saw not just passion, but his promise—of devotion, of understanding, of a future intertwined.
“You taste so damn good,” he growled.
“That’s perfect,” I whispered. “Please don’t stop. I’m so close.”
My inner thighs trembled harder until, finally, the wave crashed to shore, and I surrendered to the abyss of pleasure.
Finally, Grayson took one last long lick up my sex and set my feet down on the ground.
“Lay on your stomach,” he commanded.
My muscles felt weak as I stood up, but I obeyed, watching Grayson’s hungry gaze as I crawled onto the bed on all fours.
He clenched his teeth.
“On second thought, stay like this.”
He grabbed my hips and turned me around, so I was facing the window again before lining himself up at my entrance.
“You like it when I take you from behind, don’t you, Kitten?”
“Mmmm,” I groaned as he pressed himself in a couple of inches, waiting for me to stretch around him before slowly sinking all the way inside me.
It was overwhelming, how hard my body throbbed around him.
“Put your chest on the bed, Kitten.” Grayson pressed between my shoulder blades until my cheek pressed against the comforter.
Now, the angle of him hit that sensitive spot inside my body, causing my stomach to clench and quiver with pleasure.
Making love in the sweet morning light, our bodies found their rhythm, and as we moved, I marveled at how perfectly we fit. It wasn’t just our bodies joining, but our souls. Each touch felt like a wordless promise, a deeper commitment, and a profound sense of belonging. A final confirmation that with Grayson, I was home.
Fingers pressing into my hips as I clutched the silky bedding, Grayson worked every nerve between my legs until a fresh wave prepared to crash over.
Sensing my telling trembles, Grayson growled, “Look at me.”
I turned my chin slightly; it wasn’t easy, but I loved seeing him like this. Jaw clenched, his gaze smoldering with hunger, watching me as my body came undone around him. Before finally stilling with his own climax.
“Tonight,” Grayson said, “I want you to confess one of your darkest fantasies.”
I swallowed as he still throbbed inside of me.
“Why?”
He pulled out and guided me onto my back, hovering himself over me.
“Because we’re going to act it out.” He kissed my jaw. “Tomorrow night, you’re going to tell me another one.” Another press of his lips against my skin. “And another the day after that…and again the day after that.”
I swallowed. How was it possible to already feel turned on after what we had just done?
“What’s one of your fantasies?” I asked, breathless.
Grayson’s expression clouded over. “I want to take you on the beach.” His sultry voice heated my inner thighs, making them ache.
That was one hot fantasy.
“I wish it was warmer,” I mused.
“We can wait for summer.” He stroked his knuckles down my jaw. “But I want you on all fours, knees and hands in the water.”
Oh my word.
“Can we…” I swallowed, shocked I’d have the gall to ask for yet another trip so soon. “Can we go to the Caribbean this weekend?”
Because, holy crap, sign me up.
I bet Grayson would know a spot that had turquoise water with no people around.
His lips curled up into a smile. “I’ll call my travel agent on the way to the penthouse.”
His penthouse. He had to do a final walk-through before the new owners took occupancy tomorrow.
“Maybe we can meet at your penthouse after I finish at the hospital.” I wiggled my eyebrows. “Downtown Chicago? City lights. My body pressed up against the window?”
He groaned, pressing his lips to mine. “You’d better hurry at that hospital.”