Chapter 23 #2
“Don’t go all tense on me,” he said as his lips skimmed her neck and shoulder from behind.
As the warm water created a blanket of steam around them, he cupped her breasts and teased her nipples with talented fingers while his erection found a home in the cleft of her ass.
He reached for the bar of soap, lathered up his hands and ran them all over her until her legs quivered and threatened to give out from under her.
“Let me turn around so I can touch you,” she said.
He stepped back and handed her the soap.
She started with his shoulders, continued with his chest and belly, playing with his nipples before venturing to his rigid cock. With soapy hands, she explored his shaft and balls, loving the way his head fell back in utter abandon.
Thinking of what he’d done to her earlier, she dropped to her knees and let the water rinse him clean before she tentatively ran her tongue over the tip. She stroked and licked, marveling how he got even harder.
“Grace . . .”
“Hmm?”
“Stop teasing,” he growled.
Laughing, she took him into her mouth, lashing him with her tongue and stroking him the way he’d shown her. If his tortured groan was any indication, Evan seemed to like that. He also liked when she sucked on him.
“Shit,” he muttered. “Stop. Grace, stop.” He helped her up and crushed his mouth to hers, plundering her mouth with his tongue as his fingers dug into her hips.
“Did I do it right?” she asked when he shifted his focus to her neck.
“If you did it any better, you would’ve finished me off.”
“I’d like to do that sometime.”
“Finish me off?”
As she nodded, her face heated with mortification. “In my mouth.”
“Christ, Grace, when you say things like that, it’s the hottest thing ever.”
“Why?”
“Because I know you’ve never said it to anyone else, and I like that. I like it a lot.” He kissed her softly and reached for the condom. “This way.” Turning her so her back was once again to him, he said, “Put your hands on the wall and trust me. I’ve got you, babe.”
When he put his arm around her waist and slid into her from behind, Grace couldn’t stop the cry that slipped through her parted lips.
He kept up a slow but steady pace that had her quickly on the verge of release. And then he let the hand he’d rested on her belly slide down to where they were joined to stroke her into a shattering climax that powered through her with lightning speed.
His fingers dug into her hips to anchor her for his fierce possession until he too cried out his release. For a long time afterward, he remained inside her as they throbbed with aftershocks. Only when the water started to cool did he finally withdraw and turn her into his embrace.
“You’re amazing,” he whispered, “and one more night isn’t going to be enough.”
“For me either.”
He reached for towels, handed one to her and then led her back to bed when they were dry.
Grace snuggled into his embrace, using his chest as a pillow. His chest hair was soft against her face as she traced a finger along the path that led to the thicker patch of hair that surrounded his penis.
“I need to ask you something,” he said.
Grace was immediately on alert. “Okay.”
“Last night, Stephanie said something that’s been bugging me.”
Since there were any number of things Stephanie could’ve said, Grace’s mind whirled with possibilities. “What’s that?”
“She said that for reasons I couldn’t possibly understand, you were the last person I should’ve snuck out on after having sex. Other than the obvious that it was your first time, what did she mean by that?”
In the scope of a second, Grace thought of a dozen things she could say but decided to go with the truth. She took his hand and brought it to rest on the faded ridge of scar above her belly button. “Feel that?”
“Yeah. What about it?”
“I had what they call lap-band surgery about eighteen months ago. Do you know what that is?”
“I’ve heard of it, but I can’t say I know the particulars.”
Grace swallowed hard and forced herself to look at him, wanting to see his reaction. “For most of my life, I was significantly overweight. I tried every diet, and I spent so much time at the gym that the owner said he should give me stock in the company. But nothing worked.”
Evan’s expression was unreadable as he listened intently.
“In fact, the muscle made me gain weight rather than lose, which made me nuts. So I decided to take drastic measures and had the surgery. The band is a ring around the upper part of my stomach that makes me feel full with much smaller portions.”
“Which is why you eat like a bird.”
“Yes. If I overdo, it can be really unpleasant.”
“I’m sorry if I made too big a deal out of the way you eat.”
“It’s okay. You didn’t know.” With her fingers on top of his, she pressed on the port that lay below the scar. “If I feel like I’m eating too much or gaining weight, I go to the doctor and have the band adjusted.”
“How does that work?”
“It’s done with a needle to the port under my skin, which doesn’t hurt at all. It’s just a pinch and a pop.” She tried to keep still while he investigated the area. “I want you to know that you’re the first person I’ve let touch it.”
His eyes widened with surprise. “Really?”
She nodded.
“Will you always have the band?”
“I suppose so, unless something better comes along. I’ve lost a hundred and thirty pounds since the surgery. I’ve got about twenty to go—”
“No,” he said, startling her with his vehemence. “You don’t need to lose any more. You’re perfect just the way you are.”
“That’s kind of you to say, but I could stand to lose a bit more.” She ran her fingers over the stubble on his jaw. “You can’t know what it means to me that you find me appealing—stretch marks and all.”
“Appealing? Jesus, Grace, that’s hardly the word for it. You’re sexy and gorgeous and curvy and beautiful. You’re a freaking goddess.”
His every word went straight to her heart. “You never would’ve looked at me before I lost the weight.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Yes, I do. Guys like you . . .”
“Like me? What does that mean?”
“You’ve spent your whole life looking like a movie star and having your pick of women. You would’ve looked right past me before.”
“I like to think you’re wrong about that, but I guess we’ll never know.” He ran a hand over her hair, letting it slide through his fingers. “That guy you’d been with when I met you . . .”
“Trey the douche bag.”