Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
Waking up to Graham had to be one of the best things in the whole world.
Normally he was awake before I was, but this morning I got to watch him sleep, and it was a treat.
The sun shone in through the blinds, and his face was softer than normal.
The laugh lines at his eyes were still there, but his frown lines were all gone.
His snores were more like a lion’s purr—deep, steady, and a little wild. And his lips. Oh, what he could do with his lips. I couldn’t help myself; I traced his bottom lip as softly as I could.
I shrieked when he sucked my finger into his mouth.
“You were supposed to be asleep!”
“How could I be asleep when you were watching me so seriously? I could feel your eyes on me.”
“No, you couldn’t,” I admonished. “And anyway, you were snoring. You couldn’t fake that.”
He raised his eyebrow as he propped his head on his fist. “I couldn’t? I think I just proved I could.”
Damn, he was right.
He tugged at a lock of my hair, forcing me closer to his face. “Where’s my good morning kiss?”
“I don’t think you deserve one. Not after the way you scared me.”
“It’s exactly because I scared you that I should give you a kiss. An apology kiss.” Graham had me flat on my back in a second. I looked up at him, dizzy with need. It only ever took seconds when Graham had that look in his eyes.
“What kind of kiss, again?”
“An apology kiss for scaring you.” He bent and kissed my temple.
The soft feel of his beard against my cheek sent shivers down my spine.
He kissed downward until he found that perfect spot, right below the hinge of my jaw.
Then he did the thing that wrecked me every time; his tongue swept over my skin, followed by a soft, teasing breath.
“God, Graham,” I breathed out. The caress blew out my circuits every time, and he knew it.
His hands were just as busy as his mouth, cupping my breasts over the worn fabric of one of his T-shirts.
“Why do you insist on wearing my T-shirt to sleep in? You know it just gets in the way in the morning.”
The truth was, wearing his shirt made me feel safe.
Wrapped in something that smelled like him made me feel like I belonged to someone who would protect me.
Good God, my old therapist would have a field day with that one!
But I sure wasn’t going to admit it to Graham, at least not yet.
But there it was; I was totally gone for Graham Wallace, even if I still wasn’t quite ready to tell him.
When I didn’t answer, he kept his eyes on mine, bent, and sucked one of my nipples into the hot cavern of his mouth and sucked hard. Right over the T-shirt!
It felt so good.
Naughty.
I braced my hands against the headboard, arching up, desperate for him to take more of me. He sucked harder, and I moaned his name. Then I felt his tongue, but it wasn’t enough. The sensation was too light. I told him so.
He plucked at my nipple with his teeth, and I wailed. I needed so much more than just this stimulation. I needed him inside me. Deep inside me.
His cock was rigid against my hip, and I shimmied against it, trying to tempt Graham to give me more.
“Tell me what you want, baby. You’ve got to say it.”
I bit my bottom lip. He stopped torturing my nipple. His hands that had been delving under the T-shirt stopped, and I wanted to wail in protest.
“I told you. I want you.”
“Not good enough.” He traced circles around my bellybutton above the shirt. Again, the sensation was muted, I wanted to feel his fingers on my skin.
I needed to feel them.
“You’re the dirty talker, not me,” I protested.
“Just one little phrase. Come on. You’ve got it in you. You can say it. Say, fuck me, Graham. I want your cock.”
I moved my hand from the headboard and reached down to touch his erection. He caught my hand in his before I could make contact. “Uh-uh. That’s against the rules. You have to earn it.”
I licked my bottom lip, this time on purpose. I’d noticed the way he looked at me when I’d done that. It always got a rise out of him. Both figuratively and literally.
“What are you grinning about?” he demanded to know.
“Nothing.”
“That smile says it’s something, and I mean to find out what it is.
” He swooped in and gently nipped my bottom lip, and that quickly morphed into a mind-numbing kiss.
Shit, he’d sure won that battle, but I wasn’t done.
I curled one of my legs around his hip and writhed against his cock.
His big, beautiful cock. Yep, I could say it. In my head, at least.
Graham broke our kiss, then reared up onto his knees and tore the shirt I was wearing from top to bottom. “Dammit, Joy, you’re wearing panties,” he grumbled.
“Don’t tear them,” I ordered. “I like these, and that was my favorite sleep shirt!”
“It was my tee. I’ll let you steal another one.” His fingers traced downward to my panties. I was already lifting up so he could take them off when he stopped. He went completely still.
In the morning light streaming through the blinds, it was obvious what he was staring at. It shouldn’t have been all that obvious. Just a thin white scar about three inches long along my left side.
“Joy.” His voice was no longer teasing, it was now deadly serious, and I flinched. He saw that. What didn’t the man ever see?
“Shhh, baby, it’s me,” he whispered as he softly traced my scar. “What happened?”
My mouth dried out until it felt like sawdust coated my tongue. There was no way I wanted to give him my truth. Not now. I just couldn’t.
He looked me in the eyes, and once again he saw what I wasn’t saying.
“Can you tell me, Joy?”
I swallowed, trying to get enough saliva going so I could talk. Finally… “Just a little souvenir from London. I was careless. No big deal.”
“Baby—”
I reached up and put my finger over his lips. “Not now, okay?” I pleaded.
I could see him reading my face, taking in all I wasn’t saying. He nodded, then slowly smiled. “Okay, doll. Not now. But only on one condition.”
I trembled. I was close to the edge, and I prayed he wouldn’t push me over. I so wanted to stay in the light with him.
“What’s your condition?”
“Say fuck me, Graham. I want your cock.”
A laugh burst out of me. This man. Could he be any more perfect?
“Joy?”
“Fuck me, Graham. I want your cock.”
He put his thumbs in the waistband of my panties. “Now lift up.”
I arched up, and he yanked my panties off my body.
“So pretty. And wet. You should see how you glisten.” He swiped his thumb through my folds and held it out for me to look at.
I could see that it was wet. Then he sucked it into his mouth.
All of my muscles clenched. I could feel my bones lock up.
I couldn’t even open my mouth because my jaw was clamped shut.
He grinned wickedly. “I need more.” His fingers traced over my slick heat, gathering my arousal before he held it up again, a sinful gleam in his eye. This time, he licked his finger like a popsicle with his eyes closed, savoring the taste.
A moan slipped from my lips. “You’re killing me, Graham.”
He reached over to the nightstand, where packets of condoms were strewn across the top.
He tore open a package and rolled on protection, and I wrapped my other leg around his hips as I arched up, doing everything I could to speed things up.
Graham had other ideas. Apparently, this morning was one of his slow days.
One of those days when he was going to take his time and drive me crazy.
He pushed in just a little, and I closed my eyes as I relished his girth. Then I felt him pull all the way out.
“No!” I cried out. “No! No teasing.”
“Yes, baby. We’re going to take this slow. I have a mind to torture you.”
“You know you want to plunge all the way in. You know you want to go hard, deep, and fast. Do it, Graham. For God’s sake, do it.”
He grimaced. “This morning, I’m taking my time. Drawing it out. I want to keep you right on the edge until you’re wrecked for me.”
“You’re going to hate that as much as I will,” I cried out.
“Yeah, but the end will be worth it, trust me.”
I slammed my head against the pillow at the same time as I grabbed his forearms. He chuckled, the bastard.
This time, he pushed in a little bit further, and I clamped down on him for all I was worth. I opened my eyes and was vindicated to see the grimace on his face.
“Naughty girl,” he admonished.
It took him a little more time to pull out. Served him right.
The next time, I did my best to keep him out, but dammit, I was too needy, instead I thrust upwards, grinding against him. But he still only entered me halfway. But I would be damned if I would beg. Instead, I pulled on his chest hair, forcing him forward.
“Hey, that’s a foul!”
“All’s fair in love and war. Some big, former Navy SEAL told me that.”
He flopped down on his forearms and rested his forehead against mine.
I tightened my legs around his butt, and he thrust all the way inside me. “Damn woman, you’re something else.”
“And don’t you forget it. Now move.”
And he did. I was already so close from the way he had been torturing me, and now with his powerful thrusts, I was falling. Falling fast.
I couldn’t think, couldn’t hold back. My body arched off the bed as I grabbed onto his biceps, nails digging in.
“Graham…” My voice was high… needy.
His lips curved into a sinful grin against my throat. “That’s right, baby. Let me hear it.”
Each slow, deep thrust sent fire licking up my spine, unraveling me, winding me tighter. I had begged him, teased him, tried to outplay him, but in the end, he won.
I clung to him as he sank even deeper, filling every aching inch of me, pushing me right to the edge. His pace picked up even more, giving me the kind of punishing thrusts I craved.
“Yes! Right there—Graham, right there.”
He groaned, his control breaking. “That’s it, Joy. Take it.”
The coil inside me snapped. I shattered around him, my cry loud in the quiet morning. Graham followed, a deep growl rumbling in his chest as his hips slammed into mine one last time, burying himself to the hilt.
His body stiffened, his release spilling into the condom as he shuddered against me. His weight was solid on top of me, and I loved it.
For a long moment, all we did was breathe.
His forehead rested against mine, his breath fanning across my cheek. My body still hummed, every nerve thrumming in the aftermath.
Then Graham chuckled, his voice still rough from sleep. “You really do have a thing for my cock, don’t you?”
I groaned, smacking his shoulder. “Way to ruin a moment, Wallace.”
He smirked but didn’t move, didn’t roll away. Instead, he brushed my sweat-damp hair back and pressed a soft kiss to my forehead. “I love seeing you like this,” he murmured. “Shattered. Satisfied. Mine. My woman.”
Mine.
There was something about the way he said that word that dug deep into my heart.
I swallowed hard, suddenly feeling too exposed. I wasn’t used to this level of intimacy, wasn’t used to someone looking at me like I was their whole damn world. But damn, I wanted it. I wanted to grab on with both hands, and that scared the hell out of me.
Graham must have noticed because his eyes softened.
“Hey,” he said gently.
I forced myself to meet his gaze.
“You okay?”
I faked a smile.
His concerned smile turned teasing. “Need me to fetch you an award-winning orgasm recovery smoothie?”
I snorted. “Is that a thing?”
“It is now. I might need one myself.”
Finally, he pulled out of me and discarded the condom in the nearby trash. He grabbed me, dragging me across the mattress right back into his arms.
I melted into his warmth, inhaling the scent of sweat and something totally Graham.
For a long moment, all we did was breathe, our hearts gradually slowing from their frantic pace.
I could feel the shift between us. It was subtle but significant.
It was almost like we’d gone further, like we’d crossed some kind of invisible line that, if it were up to me, we’d never uncross.
“You know,” he murmured, pressing a lazy kiss to my temple, “you should stay the whole day. We’ll stay naked, maybe eat, and then I’ll give you so many orgasms, you’ll forget your own name.”
Dammit.
I shook my head, biting my lip. “I have work later.”
Graham groaned dramatically. “Nope. I forbid it. You’re officially under Graham Wallace house arrest.”
“Are you thinking about tying me to the bed?”
His hazel eyes darkened. “Don’t tempt me.”
My stomach tightened in response, but I just grinned and kissed him slow, savoring the way he tasted.
“I’ll come back after my shift,” I whispered against his lips.
“You better,” he murmured.
I smiled. “I promise.”