Chapter 23
GRACE
His mouth claimed mine with a hunger that ignited every nerve in my body.
I melted into the kiss, my hands sliding up his chest and then to his shoulders as I pulled him closer.
The taste of the spicy meal on his tongue.
Too many days of restraint unraveled in that single moment.
I arched against him, desperate for more.
I broke the kiss just long enough to whisper against his lips, “I want you. Right now.”
His eyes darkened, pupils blown wide. “Good. Because I have to have you.”
“Don’t stop.” I shoved at his shoulders, guiding him back against the couch cushions.
My hands went to the hem of his shirt and jerked it up, revealing the hard planes of his chest. He pulled it over his head and tossed it somewhere behind me.
I trailed my mouth down his neck, nipping at the pulse point that hammered under my tongue.
He groaned, the sound vibrating through me and heightening my own arousal.
His hands gripped my waist, hauling me onto his lap.
I straddled him, feeling the thick ridge of his cock pressing against the thin fabric of my skirt.
Heat pooled between my thighs as I rocked against him, chasing the friction.
His hands roamed under my top, thumbs brushing the undersides of my breasts before he tugged it up and over my head.
My bra quickly joined the pile growing on the floor.
Cool air hit my skin, but his mouth was there immediately, sucking one nipple deep while his fingers teased the other.
Pleasure spiked sharp and electric, and I moaned, grinding harder.
I needed more. I slid off his lap and dropped to my knees between his spread thighs.
My hands made quick work of his belt and zipper, freeing him.
His cock sprang free, thick and hard. The tip already glistening, proving I wasn’t the only one in desperate need of relief.
I wrapped my fingers around the base and stroked once and then again, watching his stomach muscles clench.
“Grace,” he rasped, one hand threading into my hair.
I looked up at him through my lashes and leaned in, dragging my tongue along the underside from base to tip.
I swirled around the head, then took him into my mouth, hollowing my cheeks as I sucked.
Inch by inch, I worked him deeper, my hand stroking what my lips couldn’t reach.
His hips bucked involuntarily. I pressed my free hand to his thigh to steady him.
“Fuck, that feels so good,” he muttered, his fingers tightening in my hair.
I bobbed faster, taking him deeper each time until the head nudged the back of my throat.
I swallowed around him, loving the way his breath hitched.
I pulled off with a wet pop, then licked a stripe up the length before sucking him back in, using my hand to twist and stroke in tandem.
He was throbbing against my tongue, and the power of it made me ache.
I kept going until his groans told me he was on the verge. I released him and stood, shimmying out of my skirt and panties in one impatient motion. He pulled a condom from his pants pocket and pushed them off his legs. I climbed back onto his lap, naked now except for the heat between us.
I took the condom from him, tore it open, and rolled it down his length with deliberate slowness, teasing him just a little more.
Once it was on, I positioned myself above him and sank down slowly, taking him inch by inch.
I was already wet for him. My inner walls clenched around him until I was fully seated.
We both groaned. I paused, adjusting to the fullness, then began to move.
I rose up on my knees and slid down again.
His hands gripped my hips, guiding me, lifting and pulling me forward.
We started slow, savoring the feeling of being joined again. I couldn’t believe how much I missed him. Missed his body.
“Kiss me,” he murmured.
I leaned in and captured his mouth with mine, our tongues sliding together in a desperate dance that sent heat flooding through my body. His hands tightened on my hips as I started to move, rising and falling on him. He jerked me against him, making us both gasp into the kiss.
God, he was addictive.
I rocked harder, my breasts brushing against his chest. The friction built into a delicious ache.
His tongue explored my mouth, claiming it, while his hands slid up my back, one tangling in my hair to hold me close, the other keeping a firm grip on my hip.
The kiss broke only for air, both of us panting.
I decided I liked breathing him in and claimed his lips again, nipping at his lower lip and sucking it gently between my teeth.
Pleasure coiled tight in my core as I rode him, taking him deeper with each roll of my hips, the stretch and fullness perfect.
He groaned against my mouth, his fingers digging into my skin as he thrust up to meet me.
The couch creaked beneath us, but I didn’t care.
I kissed him harder, pouring everything into it.
His hand slipped between us, finding my clit and circling it with just the right pressure.
I cried out into the kiss, my movements growing erratic as the orgasm built fast and fierce.
“Micah,” I moaned, breaking the kiss to bury my face in his neck, teeth grazing his skin.
He drove up harder, relentless, until I shattered around him.
Waves of pleasure crashed through me. I held on, kissing him again through the aftershocks, soft and lingering now as he followed me over the edge, his body tensing and pulsing inside me.
My forehead dropped to his with him still inside me. It felt like I’d just run a marathon. I couldn’t catch my breath. His hands slid up and down my back.
“You good?” he asked.
I laughed. “I don’t know.”
“Ditto.”
I pushed myself off him, standing on legs that were still trembling.
He got up and walked into the bathroom.
That happened.
I stood there, naked in the middle of his living room, surrounded by takeout containers and scattered scripts. The ocean breeze drifted through the balcony doors he’d left cracked open, cooling my overheated skin. I could hear water running in the bathroom.
What were we doing?
I mean, I knew what we were doing. We were having incredible sex and pretending the consequences didn’t exist. We were ignoring our families, our professional obligations, and basic common sense because the chemistry between us was too powerful to resist.
And honestly? I didn’t regret a single second of it.
I gathered my clothes from the various places they’d landed. I was pulling my top back on when Micah emerged from the bathroom, a towel slung low on his hips.
God, he was beautiful. Muscular. Tanned. Gorgeous abs. And that thick dark hair still mussed from my fingers. He caught me staring and smirked.
“Like what you see?”
“You know I do.”
He crossed the room and pulled me against him, dropping a kiss on my forehead that felt more intimate than everything we’d just done on that couch. I leaned into him, breathing in his scent.
“Stay,” he murmured against my hair.
The word sent a shiver down my spine. I wanted to. God, I wanted to crawl into that massive hotel bed with him and wake up tangled together. I wanted him to wake me up in the middle of the night hard and wanting.
But I couldn’t.
“We both know that’s a bad idea,” I said softly, even as my arms tightened around him. “Someone could see me leaving in the morning. The crew is everywhere in this hotel.”
He sighed, and I felt the exhale move through his chest. “I know. You’re right.” He pulled back just enough to look at me, his thumb tracing along my jaw. “Rain check?”
“Absolutely.”
We stood there for another moment, neither of us wanting to be the first to step away. This was the hard part. Not the sex—the sex was easy, like our bodies had been designed to fit together. The hard part was the after. The knowing that I had to walk out that door and pretend this hadn’t happened.
“I should go,” I finally said.
“Yeah.”
Neither of us moved.
I laughed, breaking the tension. “Okay, I’m actually going this time.”
I stepped back, gathering the rest of my things. My sandals had somehow ended up under the coffee table. I slipped them on while Micah watched me with an expression that made my stomach flip.
“Grace.”
I looked up.
“Thank you. For dinner. For thinking about me.”
“Anytime.” I meant it more than he probably knew.
I crossed to the door, hyperaware of his eyes on me. My hand was on the handle when his voice stopped me again.
“Wait, let me check the hall,” he said.
I smiled over my shoulder. “Yes, boss.”
He opened the door, popped his head out and looked left and right. “Clear.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “I feel like there’s going to be a cop waiting to slap cuffs on me.”
He winked. “I’ll keep that in mind for our next rendezvous.”
I shook my head. “You and that imagination.”
I made my way to the elevator, my legs still a little weak after that toe-curling climax. I made it to my room without incident. I locked the door behind me and let out a breath. The bed looked inviting, the sheets crisp and white, but I wasn’t ready to sleep yet.
I stepped out onto the balcony instead.
I was literally in paradise and all I could think about was him.
I leaned against the railing and let my mind drift back to Micah. The way he’d looked at me when he opened the door. The way his hands had felt on my skin. The way he’d kissed me. When Micah kissed me, it felt like he was trying to tell me something words couldn’t capture.
It was dangerous, feeling this way about someone I couldn’t really have.
We could sneak around, steal moments in hotel rooms and dark corners, but at the end of the day, he was my director and I was his actress.
Our families hated each other. The entire world thought I was having an affair with my married co-star.
Everything about this was a disaster waiting to happen.
And yet.
I touched my lips, still swollen from his kisses. I could still taste him. The memory of me on my knees for him sent a fresh wave of heat through me. I pressed my thighs together, trying to ignore the ache that had already started building again.
I wanted more.
I wanted lazy mornings in bed, tangled in sheets, his voice rough with sleep as he murmured good morning against my skin.
I wanted dinner dates at restaurants where we didn’t have to hide in private rooms. I wanted to hold his hand walking down the street and introduce him to my friends.
I wanted to meet his family without some stupid grudge between us.
I wanted a future that felt impossibly out of reach.
Stop it, I told myself firmly. You’re getting ahead of yourself.
We hadn’t even defined what this was. A fling?
A relationship? Mutual stress relief during an intense production?
I had no idea what Micah wanted beyond the obvious physical attraction.
For all I knew, this was just a fun distraction for him, something to pass the time until the movie wrapped and we went our separate ways.
The thought made me nauseated.
I didn’t want to go our separate ways.