Chapter Twelve
Jennifer sat on the floor in front of the sofa table and put the paperwork away in a file.
She looked over her shoulder at Grant and smiled.
He was sprawled out on her couch. One of her small, colorful pillows was tucked under his head, an arm thrown across his face, and his other hand lay on his stomach.
The sofa couldn’t hold his large frame, so one of his legs was over the other padded sofa arm, and his other foot was on the floor next to the sofa, with his knee bent.
He looked uncomfortable, but it didn’t seem to matter.
His chest moved up and down with each deep breath.
He had fallen asleep shortly after he lay down and turned on the TV to watch a baseball game.
She took a moment to study him. His size alone was enough to make most people nervous, and sometimes he got a look in his eye she guessed terrified most people.
His body was tight with muscle. His thighs were thick, his stomach flat and ribbed.
His arms were roped with muscle, and his hands were callused and large with long, thick fingers.
For some reason, he didn’t frighten her. He never had. He made her nervous, but that was partly because she wasn’t used to men, and he was intense. Something deep inside her knew without a doubt he wouldn’t physically hurt her.
Her heart always twisted in unhappiness when she tried to picture them together and couldn’t.
They were so different. Grant was extra-large, and she was tiny.
He was extremely wealthy, and she wasn’t.
He was so incredibly handsome, and she was average.
She couldn’t understand what he saw in her, but he intrigued her, and she liked spending time with him.
He made her laugh and feel things she’d only heard about or read in books.
And he made her feel beautiful for the first time in her life.
He looked so relaxed and peaceful as he lay there. His thick, dark eyelashes rested against his tanned cheek. His mouth was slightly open as he silently drew in the air.
She knelt up higher as her gaze trailed down his body. She wanted to take in everything. Her palms itched to touch him, anywhere, everywhere. Her gaze slid slowly up his body.
She jerked, and her heart stopped when her eyes clashed with his. How long had he watched her stare at him? She bit her lip as a deep flush burned her cheeks.
He made a low growling sound as he reached for her. He pulled her effortlessly up and across his body, arranging her over his chest with her legs between his.
“Baby, you could make me come just by that look on your face. I will never get tired of you looking at me like that. Like I’m all you need.” He pulled her up, lifted his head, and took her mouth in a kiss that was instantly heated.
Jennifer’s hands slid up his chest and around his neck. She pressed herself tighter against him, her body twisting and trying to find relief from the pressure in her womb.
Grant’s hand grasped her hair, and his other slid down her back to cup her bottom, making them both moan. He pulled her head with a fisted grip on her hair.
“This is going to get out of hand quickly if we don’t stop now,” he rasped in a low and heated tone.
Jennifer’s tongue slid over her lips and tasted him. She couldn’t seem to pull her lower half away from his hardness. Her hands clenched on his shoulders.
“Um ... well...”
Grant’s eyes narrowed, and his mouth twisted in silent agony. “Sweetheart, consider this. Once you give yourself to me, that’s it. You’re mine, and life as you know it will change forever. I’ll own you.” His voice was dark and thick with lust.
Jennifer stared wide-eyed at him, trying to comprehend what he was saying as a shiver of apprehension ran down her spine, mingling with the desire that pulsed through her. She exhaled. “I don’t understand.”
His teeth clenched. “It means I already consider you mine, but if we make love, you give yourself to me, and I’m not talking for a month or even a year. So, you need to think about that.”
Grant must have caught the slightly fearful look in her eye and knew if he backed off, he’d lose her. He reluctantly moved his hand away from her bottom. “I just think we need to stop. I don’t want to push, and you need time to get used to the idea.”
His large hand on her back slid under her shirt and up and down her spine slowly as he regarded her soberly.
“Consider this, Jen. I almost always get what I want, and I’m telling you honestly, I haven’t ever wanted something the way I want you. But know this. I’ll do everything in my power to make you happy and give you everything you’ve ever thought you wanted.”
Jennifer gasped at the heat of his hand against her skin and swallowed nervously at the hint of warning filled with promise in his tone.
Blood rushed through her veins and made her heart pump rapidly, her vagina throb, and her breasts tighten painfully.
Her body screamed for him, but something inside her pulled back cautiously.
“But if I decide this isn’t what I want, you’ll let me go, right?”
He stared intently at her. He saw the distress in her eyes, and it didn’t sit well with him, but he couldn’t make himself shut up.
“Think that if it makes you feel better. I’m just giving you fair warning.” A lazy smile crossed his face. “No pressure, though.”
Jennifer frowned down at him as she pushed herself up and off him. Her heart jerked when his arms tightened, but then he released her slowly. She stood shakily next to the sofa, adjusted her shirt, and stepped back when his eyes narrowed on her.
“I think you’re right. We both need time...”
“I didn’t say I need time because I don’t. I’m giving you time because I’m a nice guy.”
Jennifer snorted. “Okaayyy,” she said as she walked to the kitchen. “Are you hungry now, or do you have to go?” She tried to change the subject.
Grant sat up and stretched. “I’m hungry. But after we eat, I need to get going.”
Jennifer paused, shocked at the feeling of sadness that washed over her. She shook herself and started to pull plates out of the cabinet when he walked in behind her.
“I understand. You’ve spent so much time with me, you probably have several things that need your atten—” She gasped when an arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her back against him.
“There is nothing important. Tomorrow is Monday, and I figured you probably had things to do before then.” He pressed his mouth against her ear and whispered each word.
His hand constantly moved in slow circles on her stomach.
He grabbed onto the plates when they started to fall from her hands.
He pressed a hard kiss to her neck and stepped back.
“Fill your plate here so we can warm the food up.”
Jennifer did have things to do before tomorrow, and the shadows that came in through the slider door told her it was already late afternoon. She had yet to do laundry and make out the schedule for the following week.
After their food was heated in the small microwave, they sat on the sofa and concentrated on eating. She was able to swallow several bites before she stopped.
“You can’t be full yet. You’ve hardly eaten.”
Jennifer looked down at her plate. “I’ve eaten half the food on the plate you handed me. There was more food than I could eat in one setting.”
Grant looked skeptical but let the matter drop. It wasn’t long before the food was put away and the dishes were done. He seized her hand and pulled her toward the door.
“Come say goodbye to me.” He stopped at the door, looked expectantly down at her with his hands at his sides, and waited.
It finally dawned on her what he had been waiting for. She felt the warmth of a blush descend upon her face as she closed the space between them, stood on her tiptoes, and reached for his lips.
He bent and let her have his lips. She only had control for seconds before he took it from her, lifted her off her feet, and pulled her tightly against his chest. He pushed his tongue into her mouth and deepened the contact between them.
He lifted his head as his breath rasped out of his lungs. He set her down and away from him.
“Get some rest. I’ll be in touch.”
She nodded, closed the door behind him, and locked it before he could say anything. She didn’t have to look to know she had a silly smile on her face.
It was only later in bed that night when she recalled his last words. “I’ll be in touch.”
What exactly did that mean? She wished she could call Tessa, but she feared what her friend would say or that she’d get angry.
Jennifer still hadn’t told her about the relationship between her and Grant.
If there ever was one. Darn. Whatever this was, it was complicated, especially for someone who’d never had any kind of relationship with a man.
One of the biggest reasons she’d never had a boyfriend was that she stayed so busy.
Throughout her teenage years, it was a struggle just to survive and make her way out of poverty.
In college, she had to study hard to remain in the vet program or risk losing the scholarship and working any time she had off.
After graduating from college, she wanted to put in as many extra hours as possible at the vet office to pay off her school loans and start a nice nest egg for her future.
When she became the shelter director, she put in sixty- to eighty-hour workweeks to organize and clean the building.
Then, her time was spent on programs the previous director hadn’t completed or didn’t feel the shelter needed.
It was only in the last several months that she was able to take a breath.