Chapter 19
Sebastian
My mind and body were halfway between waking and sleep.
A beam of morning sunshine stretched across the bedroom wall.
There was a delicious warmth pressed to my chest, and pinpricks dancing across my arm where Grace’s head lay, the tantalizing scent of cherries thick in the air.
She was still fast asleep, her chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm, hair sprawled over the pillow and along the side of my face.
I blinked away the morning cobwebs and glanced around her room.
Grace and I were alike in our preference for order and neatness.
Through the gap in her closet doors, I could tell that everything inside was where it should be, either hanging from the clothing rod or tucked away into the built-in shelves.
Even her desk was organized; the large pile of books that sat atop it was stacked neatly together under a tiny figurine of a hockey player.
Beside the books, there was a dusty purple lamp, a framed picture of her and Sam, and a mason jar filled with different writing utensils.
I had a feeling Grace’s notes were crafted to perfection.
She probably color-coded each subject and had a personalized table for abbreviations.
For some ridiculous reason, I grew hard at the thought of her curled over a book, lip pulled between her teeth as she carefully highlighted the text.
All those times we’d spent in silence studying together, pretending as if there weren’t some magnetic force pulling us together, played across my mind.
Somehow, simply being in her presence was enough to excite me these days.
Slowly, the blazing heat of her body pressed against me, and a zing of pleasure shot straight to my cock.
She wiggled again, and without thinking I ground my hips into her ass.
The catch of her breath was all I needed to confirm that she was awake and aware.
Still, I paused for a moment, my mind finally catching up with my body.
Something told me to proceed with caution.
Grace had been incredibly vulnerable last night.
I could tell how truly exhausted she was after opening up about her family.
We’d barely made it back to her place before she’d passed out.
The last thing I wanted to do was push her for sex after such an emotionally draining night.
“Don’t tell me you fell back asleep,” she rasped, grinding against me with another slow roll of her hips.
There was no chance of me falling back asleep now. No chance in hell.
“You can feel how very awake I am,” I said, just barely shifting in the cramped space of the bed.
I wanted Grace more than anything. She had to know that.
“Then why did you stop? This is the best wake-up call I’ve had in months.”
At those words, my hesitation vanished. Who was I to deny her what she wanted?
If anyone deserved a distraction, it was Grace.
I tightened my grip around her and pulled her even tighter against me, burying my face in her neck.
She let out a low groan at my touch, back arching as my mouth latched on to her neck.
My fingers slipped underneath the hem of her shirt and trailed across the bare skin of her stomach.
When I reached the bottom of her breasts, she let out a satisfying hiss of air.
Part of me was still in denial about the fact that I could touch her like this, that she wanted me to. I cupped her breast in my hand and squeezed gently. She was the perfect fit, her flesh soft and supple beneath my calloused fingers. My cock twitched as her nipple hardened underneath my touch.
“You’re perfect, you know that?” I whispered.
Grace’s cheeks flushed even brighter as she glanced over her shoulder.
“Even with morning breath?”
I brushed a kiss to her mouth, taking her bottom lip between my own and sucking. She gasped against me, her body arching into me yet again.
“Even with morning breath,” I confirmed.
Grace looked at me bashfully as I shifted back in the bed, creating enough space so that I could pull off her oversized sleep shirt.
She lifted herself off the bed to help, holding her arms over her head.
Once she was bare, save for the lacy pair of underwear, I allowed myself a moment to admire the view.
“Lie back down on your side like you were when we woke up.”
Grace followed my command immediately, making room for me to reach into her bedside table and grab a condom. She was smiling at me with sleepy, lust-filled eyes.
“Good girl.”
I pushed down my boxers, slipped on the condom, and pulled Grace against me so her back was pressed along the front of my body.
My lips grazed the skin of her neck. At the same time, I reached over her hip and slid my hand below the band of her underwear.
She was already wet, my fingers slipping easily through her folds.
Grace arched her back the moment I dipped my finger inside her.
I worked the palm of my hand against her clit with each teasing thrust of my digit.
Her head fell back, and she released a sigh of contentment.
I added another finger, and her hips rolled, meeting every thrust of my hand, her ass rubbing along the length of my already aching cock.
She began to shake as I pushed her closer and closer to the edge.
Grace was biting down on her lip hard, forcing herself to remain quiet.
“Breathe,” I reminded her, and she took in a long drag of air through her nose.
At the same time, I withdrew my fingers and pushed her underwear over the curve of her ass.
Her back arched, her legs spreading in preparation for me.
I rubbed the slick coating on my fingers along my shaft.
Then I angled my hips and guided my cock to her dripping seam.
Grace’s entire body was tense, pulled tight in anticipation of the moment I would enter her.
I pushed forward in a slow, deep thrust.
My eyes rolled, satisfaction rushing over me as I sank deeper inside her blissful heat.
I gripped her hip and snaked my other arm under her neck and over her shoulder, my hand tracing over her peaked nipple.
Grace’s walls clenched around me in an enthusiastic response to my touch.
I pinched the sensitive skin with gentle fingers and started to move, pushing into her from behind in slow, languid movements.
Grace arched into me even further, the angle allowing me to slip deeper inside.
“You’re beautiful,” I whispered into her neck.
Her only response was a low moan of pleasure, one that she muffled by turning her head and burying her face in the pillow.
My slow pace started to pick up. I pushed faster, thrusting in and out of her with a bit more force, pulling her back against me each time.
I watched greedily as her she arched her back, her ass pushing into me with eagerness.
Grace was pulling me deeper, her walls tightening around me each time I bottomed out.
The only sound was our ragged breaths, the wet slap of our skin as I rolled my hips into her over and over again.
The pleasure was getting to be too much.
I could feel my balls starting to tighten, sense that I was just about to fall over the edge.
“Say my name,” I urged, reaching down to press a finger against her clit.
Grace hissed out my name in a low moan as her walls clamped down around me, her body shuddering as the orgasm hit.
I followed immediately after her. My body jerked as I spilled inside the condom, Grace twitching against me with every last stuttered thrust. She finally stilled in my arms, her body relaxing into mine.
“I can see now that sleepovers have their benefits,” she murmured. “Maybe next time, we can do it at your place. I’m not sure this twin will hold up for much longer.”
“You can stay with me whenever you want.”
I pulled out of Grace and tugged at her hips, guiding her to roll over and face me. Her cheeks were a beautiful shade of pink.
“I know you only like me for my body, but there are other perks to sleeping with me,” I said teasingly. “You can tell me anything. You know that, right?”
Grace remained quiet. Her eyes shifted over my face in a slow perusal, like she was trying to commit this moment to memory.
I wanted some acknowledgment of my offer, needed to know that she understood what I meant, that I was here for her.
But just as I opened my mouth, she nodded her head and buried her face in my chest.
>> <<
Grace
I was starting to wonder how the darkest, most miserable month of the year could bring me so much happiness when reality came flashing across my phone screen in a line of ten digits.
The number wasn’t saved in my contacts, but I knew who it belonged to.
The last time my mother had called me was on the day of my high school graduation.
I could picture her perfectly in my mind, standing at the edge of the football field and clutching the strap of her purse like it was a lifeline.
She’d shown up looking for forgiveness and the promise of a future with me, and I’d denied her both.
When the call finally ended, I let myself breathe again.
The longer I stared down at my phone, the more agitated I grew.
She hadn’t left a message, so I could only guess why she’d reached out.
I considered calling her back just to tell her to fuck off, but the fear of hearing her voice stopped me.
There was a strong likelihood I’d fall apart the moment she spoke.