Chapter Seven
Jennifer waited a full minute for him to talk before she sighed, stood, picked up their plates,
and carried them into the kitchen. She washed them and placed them in the drainer at the side of the sink.
Jennifer was physically aware of him before he said anything, then gasped at the feel of a large, hot male body pressed against her back. She gripped the edge of the counter.
Grant pushed her hair to the side, bent, and placed little bites from her neck to her shoulder.
“I’m sorry. I’ll do better.” His arm came around her waist when her legs started shaking uncontrollably. “I’ve got you,” he whispered in her ear. His hot breath and the male need in his voice pushed her senses higher.
“Oh, God.” A low groan slipped free, and her eyes closed as she leaned back against him, letting him take her weight. “I don’t ... I don’t ... mmm ... I don’t think this is a good idea.” She panted as her heart thumped violently in her chest.
He swept his tongue up her neck to bite down on her earlobe and pulled another desperate groan from her.
“Oh, I think it’s a great idea.” His huge hand opened over her stomach, its size almost covering it. He lightly rubbed in circles, slowly getting closer to her breasts and lower abdomen. His other hand came around her waist to encircle her breast.
Jennifer whimpered, then groaned harshly and arched into his hand, pressing harder against his palm.
One of her hands still gripped the counter, but the other gripped his wrist over her stomach.
A low wail left her when he put pressure on her nipple and slowly tightened it.
A band of need tightened painfully in her belly and spread through her limbs, robbing her of breath.
Is it possible to orgasm with just his hand on my breast? Jennifer thought to herself.
“Yes, baby.” A jagged edge of need raced through him. He gritted his teeth and knew it would be a while before she could relieve his ache. A chuckle slipped out when she gasped. “If the woman is sensitive enough,” he whispered.
Her eyes flew open. Oh, sweet God. I did not just say that out loud in front of him. Her face burned with embarrassment, but she was quickly pulled back into the vortex of sensations he flooded her with, taking every thought in her head.
He pushed her desire higher, tightening his grip on her nipple. His other hand spread, engulfing her midsection and pressing in. His mouth sucked on and bit the sensitive area where her shoulder met her neck.
A massive flood of desire drowned any other thoughts she might have had, and then she seemed to splinter apart. A kaleidoscope of color rushed in front of her eyes.
Grant gritted his teeth and fought against the need to strip her, lay her on the nearest flat surface, dive into her, and make her his.
Instead, he continued his assault on her senses until she calmed.
He took deep breaths to still his raging need.
He knew his dick would be hard for a while, but there was nothing he could do about it until he got home.
Several moments later, her awareness slowly returned as she panted for breath.
Jennifer’s heart hammered in her chest, and her breath snagged as she tried to calm herself.
Her eyes burned as she came down from the climax, unlike anything she’d ever felt, and her grip on his arm loosened. A tear slipped down her cheek.
Jennifer realized what had just happened. Oh my God, what have I done? she wailed in her head.
“I’m sorry.” She sniffled, humiliated.
Grant scowled and turned her around with his hands on her waist.
“Why the hell are you sorry?”
Jennifer cringed back from him. Mortified. “I don’t know.” She looked down at her clasped hands.
“Sweetheart, look at me.” There was a slight pause. “Jennifer,” he said with more force.
Jennifer’s head snapped up at his tone of voice. Grant tightened his grip around her waist, pulling her against his arousal before he tipped her chin up.
“Don’t apologize for being passionate. It’s beautiful, and I can’t wait to make you come again and again.”
Small tingles rasped along her nerves as her eyes held his. She looked down, then jerked her head up.
“Um, what about you?”
He smiled when a red tint of color covered her face. He leaned forward and kissed her forehead.
“It will happen soon enough. It’s too early, and it will make you feel uncomfortable around me, and I won’t have that. I need you to want me as much as I want you.”
Something softened inside her. This was the gentlest she’d ever heard him sound. Jennifer raised up on her tiptoes and placed a quick kiss on his lips.
Grant’s hand came up to grip her hair in a fist before his head lowered.
It wasn’t a slow, gentle kiss. It felt like him staking a claim.
His tongue pushed through her initial resistance to plunder the deep part of her mouth.
He deepened the kiss when he heard Jen make a sound between a peculiar groan and a whimper.
Jen jerked her head away.
“Oh, shoot. I’m sorry, Lucky,” she said as she pulled out of his arms to encircle the neck of the dog at their feet.
Grant looked down at her. “What the hell is that?” he burst out.
Jennifer tried to steady her breathing before she frowned up at him. “It’s a dog.”
Grant took a step back and leaned against the counter, his breath still labored. “I think that is the ugliest dog I’ve ever seen.”
Jennifer gasped and covered the ears of the mutt. “He can hear you, Grant. And he’s very smart. You don’t want to hurt his self-image, do you?”
Grant snorted and crossed his arms over his chest. “The cast on his leg isn’t helping his image.”
Jennifer stood in front of Grant with her arms crossed over her chest.
“I’ll have you know he’s one of the bravest dogs I’ve ever seen.
He was hit by a car, and his family couldn’t afford to take care of him, so they brought him to us, broken leg and all.
He never cried or tried to bite and is always gentle and friendly with everyone, even though he was in constant pain. ”
“I’m sorry, Lucky,” he said and tried to sound sincere without laughing.
Jennifer looked at him suspiciously, but after a moment, nodded her head. She kneeled in front of Lucky, her hands gently moved over the dog’s leg, and she looked for any swelling. She giggled when Lucky swiped his tongue across her face before she could dodge him.
“How long have you had him?”
She looked up at Grant while she petted the dog.
“Oh, he’s not mine. I’m just fostering him until he’s better.”
Grant’s eyebrows snapped together.
“Fostering. I didn’t know that happened with animals.”
Jennifer stood. “Oh, yes. I have a list of foster families who take on sick animals, puppies, or really old animals.”
“So why are you doing it?”
She slid her hands down both sides of the dog’s body, massaging and soothing Lucky.
“I take the hard cases. The animals that need a lot of meds. You have to be certified to dispense medicine like his, or I take the vicious ones.”
Grant stood straight and scowled. “What do you mean by vicious?”
“The biters. The ones that have been abused and need emotional rehabilitation.”
Grant’s face turned red. “You handle them by yourself?”
She stared up at him in confusion. She couldn’t understand why he was getting so worked up. “Yes, I’m the director, so I must take hard cases. I can’t ask any of my people to do that. Besides, I, by far, have the most experience.”
If it were possible, he looked even more upset. The color on his face went from a deep red tinge to white.
Jennifer stood and laid a hand on Lucky’s head. “Grant. Everything is fine.”
“But you’re so damn little.”
Jennifer rolled her eyes and chuckled as she walked through the living room to the sliding glass door that led to her small back patio.
“Come on, Lucky, outside.”
She watched the dog hobble outside for a minute and ensured he was all right.
She couldn’t let him stay out long because of the sprinkles of rain that hit her face.
She’d have to put a new one on the dog if his cast got wet.
She looked up. The dark clouds promised more by morning.
She hoped for a mild storm because she loved the energy and sound, and they always made her fall asleep faster.
She walked past Grant into the kitchen and came out with two syringes and two bottles of medicine.
“Lucky, come,” she called before she turned back to Grant and noticed he still looked upset as she waited for the dog.
“It’s not about strength, Grant. It’s about reading the animal.
Animals don’t know deceit. Their bodies tell me exactly what their next move will be, and I know them all.
” She waited for Lucky to come inside and sit on the floor by her on the couch.
“Now, what are you doing?”
“Lucky needs his medicine. One is an antibiotic, and the other is for pain relief.”
He watched as she expertly filled the syringes and gently grabbed the skin at the back of Lucky’s neck. She gave the first one and then the other. He looked amazed when the dog didn’t even flinch.
“You are very good at that. Maybe you could give me my next flu shot?” he said, only half kidding.
Jennifer snorted as she carefully disposed of the syringes and medicine in special cartons on the kitchen counter before she came back into the living room.
“When you do it as many times as I have, you learn all the tricks.”
Lucky hobbled back to her bedroom, where his bed was. Jennifer gazed at Grant, and neither said a word for a long minute. She tore her gaze from his, fidgeted, bit her lip, and looked anywhere but at him.
She started getting nervous again. She couldn’t concentrate on anything else but him now and didn’t have an excuse not to give him her undivided attention.
“Can we sit down?” he asked in a careful, relaxed voice.