23. Grace
TWENTY-THREE
Grace
If this was a punishment, then I was going to be rebellious a lot more often.
I was lying here in nothing but my high heels, my legs draped over Dane’s shoulders, while he did unbelievable things to me with his mouth.
I had loved going down on him earlier, trying to take his mind off of everything that had been upsetting him. But I certainly had no problem with what we were doing right now.
This man made me feel more alive than anyone else I’d ever been with. I had complained about the ice, but I couldn’t believe how much it had excited me. The play of warmth and cold. The little hint of discomfort, followed by so much pleasure.
I didn’t completely feel like myself with Dane, but I also felt more like myself than ever before. And no, it didn’t make sense to me either. All I could do was lie back and enjoy it.
His tongue pushed inside of me, then went back to flicking over my clit. It was difficult to keep my arms stationary over my head, but also hot that Dane had insisted on it. I really did want to move though, especially as the tension built between my legs, an orgasm rushing up on me fast.
“I’m almost—Dane, I’m?—”
He slid two fingers inside me, and I arched my spine as pleasure shot through me, so intense that I spaced out for a moment or two.
When he finally sat back, he was grinning smugly. “Hope none of my neighbors were sleeping. If they were, they’re awake now.”
“Was I loud?”
He dropped a kiss to my inner thigh. “So loud. I loved it. And the way you clenched around my fingers. Fuck. Guess I found your G spot.”
“Is that what that was? Holy cow.”
He looked so satisfied with himself, and I wanted to pounce on him and kiss him, but all the energy had drained out of my limbs.
Dane reached over my head to untie my hands, then gently rubbed my wrists as he brought my arms down. “You okay?”
“Mmhmm. Will you take off your clothes now? I want to see you.”
He laughed. “In a moment. I’m still admiring you.” A flush spread over my skin, and he said, “There it is. There’s that pretty blush.” Dane bent over to kiss my stomach and my breasts, moving up my body until he was kissing my mouth again, languorous and deep, putting me under a spell again.
His erection pressed into my thigh, and I reached between us into his pants. My hand closed around him, stroking. He moaned into my mouth.
Dane had commented before about the noises I made, but I loved his sounds too. His low growls and rumbles that showed me he was enjoying the moment, even when I thought I was getting all the pleasure.
His mouth broke from mine, and he asked, “What do you want next, gorgeous?”
“I get to choose?”
“Yep. Lady’s choice. See, I’m not always demanding. I can be a giver.”
Oh, he was a giver all right.
I’d told him today was one of my best days ever, but that wasn’t exactly accurate. Certain days in my past ranked up there, like holding my niece Maisie for the first time. But today had been the best day because Dane had made me feel…cherished. Maybe that was silly and even selfish of me. But I’d felt like the center of his universe for a little while, and even though it was fleeting and not really true , it had still been amazing to experience.
I wanted to do the same for him. Spoil him. Show him how much today had meant to me.
I really wanted to make him feel good.
“Let me finish what I started earlier,” I said. “My mouth on you. But you have to be naked this time.”
He hummed, nostrils flaring as he inhaled. “Better undress me then.”
Dane stood up, pulling me up by my hands. His steel-gray gaze was like cold fire, igniting in my veins as I started on the top buttons of his shirt. He had such an effect on me.
This was supposed to be about him , yet he had desire throbbing between my legs again. My hands were shaking from how much I wanted him.
I pushed his shirt off his shoulders, then tried getting it off his muscled arms. Which actually wasn’t that easy because the man wasn’t helping at all . But it was wild how submissive I felt right now, naked except for my shoes and taking off his clothes while he stared down at me. I hadn’t expected this to be my thing, but it was.
Maybe everything Dane Knightly did was my thing.
Finally his shirt was off, his broad chest and shoulders and tan skin exposed. I ran my hands over him and kissed his pecs, then the happy trail that led down into the open fly of his pants. The tip of his cock already jutted out. I slid my tongue around it as I sank to my knees, pulling on his pants at the same time.
“ Grace .” His voice was strained, revealing how much this was getting to him. I smiled and worked down his boxer briefs.
Suddenly Dane was toeing off his shoes and helping me get rid of the rest of his clothes like he couldn’t wait any longer.
He was finally naked. The hair on his thighs tickled my palms. I looked up, marveling at the personification of sex standing over me.
When I took his tip into my mouth, his fingers sank into my hair and tightened, his hips giving a small push to slide his cock in deeper.
Oh, yes. Yes I wanted this so much.
Somehow, Dane turned the blowjob I was giving him into a seductive dance. Lightly thrusting his hips and moving in and out of my mouth as I used my meager range of tricks to drive him wild.
“I’m going to come, Grace. Your mouth is… ungh .”
I sucked him deeper one more time, and his cock pulsed again and again against my tongue. But I was pretty sure I’d enjoyed that as much as he had.
After, I stood up on wobbly legs. “Come here,” Dane said. He picked me up, and I let my heels fall as he carried me to his bedroom. I was suddenly so exhausted that I could barely keep my eyes open. Wasn’t even sure what time it was.
He brought me into the bathroom, where I had left my toiletry bag earlier, and he set me on my feet. Dane stood behind me with his arm wrapped around my waist and put toothpaste on my toothbrush.
“I can do that,” I said. “I’m not helpless.”
He kissed the side of my head. “Just getting a little more spoiling in before bedtime.”
Once we were both in his bed and snuggled under the covers, Dane pulled me close and tucked me into his chest. “Thank you for everything today,” he murmured.
My eyes were closed. I was comfy and warm and already halfway asleep. “You did so much more for me than I did for you.”
“You’d be surprised,” he said, just before I drifted off.
* * *
I woke up to watery sunlight and Dane snoring quietly beside me.
Yawning, I stretched my arms over my head. I had slept hard and deeply. Couldn’t remember the last time I’d been able to turn my brain off that much. No dreams.
But maybe that was the result of two amazing orgasms and the best day ever.
Dane was still out, so I tried not to jostle him as I sat up against the pillows and looked around. I hadn’t paid a ton of attention to his bedroom yesterday, between hurrying to get ready and then being half asleep when he carried me in here. Like the rest of his apartment, it was stylish, like a designer had put it together. Lots of dark, neutral colors and masculine furniture. Modern and tasteful, but nothing too daring or personal. It kind of reminded me of Dane’s hotel suite in Silver Ridge.
Actually, his apartment didn’t fit him that well. Now that I was getting to know Dane better, his adventurousness stood out. Made me wonder if he had just not wanted to spend his time on decorating, or if he didn’t really feel at home here.
The California King mattress was an excellent choice, though. I starfished my arms and legs, enjoying the sheer fact of taking up space. This thing was nearly as big as my entire bedroom at home.
Which made me feel a twinge of homesickness. I had texted our family group chat yesterday, letting them know I had arrived in New York. But I missed Maisie. Piper and Emma too. And, fine , my brothers. Maybe I would have a chance to make some calls today, depending on what Dane had planned before the wedding ceremony.
Dane lifted his head, his hair adorably messy and his eyes slitted like he had just opened them. “What are you doing all the way over there?”
“Stretching out. This is nice.”
“But you’re too far away.”
I wriggled away even further, and Dane retaliated by reaching under the blankets and grabbing my ankles. I screamed as he pulled me across the bed and started tickling me. He used one arm and the rest of his body to pin me down, and even though I screamed again because I hated being tickled, I loved that feeling of him on top of me. The warm weight of him, making me feel like I knew exactly where I was, right in this moment and nowhere else. I certainly didn’t want to be anywhere else.
We were also still naked from last night, so I wasn’t surprised when I felt Dane’s erection nudging against me.
“Good morning,” I said, full of innuendo.
“It’s an excellent morning. But it could be even better.”
“I think so too.” I wrapped my legs around him. Dane went to kiss me, and I turned my head. “Wait, let me go brush my teeth.”
“Don’t want to. I can’t wait that long to kiss you.” His mouth claimed mine, and he was right, this was much better. Within seconds, I forgot about my potential morning breath and got lost in him. The way his tongue glided in my mouth and his cock felt heavy between my legs.
We had been building up to this moment for weeks now. Since the night I had almost slept with him before even knowing his name. And now here we were, in his fancy apartment in Manhattan, stretched out in his huge bed, with no more doubts about what either of us wanted. Hours of time and nothing standing in our way.
“You want me?” he asked, already reaching over to his bedside table for a condom. Then my stomach made a growling sound, and he burst out laughing. “Actually, it sounds like what you really want is breakfast.”
I swatted his arm with the back of my hand, though I was laughing too. “Pretend you didn’t hear that. Breakfast later. I want you now.”
“That monster in your stomach sounded pretty insistent.”
I pressed the heels of my hands to my eyes. “Dane, please. This is so embarrassing.”
He chuckled, getting up and rounding the bed to pull the covers off of me. “I happen to think it’s hilarious. But it also proves I’m doing a bad job of taking care of you. Come on. I’m going to feed you.” He winked. “You know I love watching you eat.”
“Well, at least there’s that.” Since my growling stomach had ruined the mood, I got up. Dane pulled on a pair of sweatpants, throwing me a T-shirt to wear from his dresser drawer. I made a quick visit to the bathroom and took care of brushing my teeth. Much better.
In the kitchen, Dane started the coffee, then opened the fridge. “Eggs and bacon sound good? Or I could run to the corner and get some pastries.”
I peered around him at the fridge shelves. “Oh, cheesecake! Yummy. That’s what I want.”
“For breakfast?”
“Yep.”
He paused, blinking. “You are so damn adorable.”
“What? Cheesecake is every bit as healthy as champagne and pastries. Or unhealthy.”
He kissed the top of my head. “You’re just proving my point. Cheesecake it is. But I’m having eggs.”
“I’ll make them. Scrambled? Sunny side up?”
“Sunny side. Because I’m in a very sunny mood.” He grinned, and I went up on my toes to kiss him.
The cheesecake was to die for. And so good with coffee, which suggested that I should have cheesecake for breakfast a lot more often.
“Should we go back to bed after this?” I asked.
Dane finished the last of his coffee. “That is extremely tempting.” Then a furrow appeared between his brows. “It’s already ten though. I needed to take care of something this morning.”
I licked my fork. “An errand?”
“Not exactly. I’m going to visit my mom. You could come with me, or you could hit a museum instead. There’s several you could walk to, or?—“
“I would love to go with you. I’d be honored to meet your mom. If you’re good with that.”
He exhaled and lifted his eyes. I hadn’t even realized he was holding his breath. “Definitely. I want you to meet her.”