Page 73 of On the Chase
Her laugh sounded a little choked. “Thank you?”
“Why the question?” Leaning forward, he laid a chaste kiss on her belly. “I didn’t say ‘stinky and beautiful.’”
She gave his shoulder a shove, but there wasn’t much conviction behind it. “You’d better not.” Her voice caught on the last word as he kissed her hip. His pants dug into the side of his thighs, and he remembered that he was still partially clothed. He shoved at his BDUs and boxer briefs, mentally swearing at the awkwardness of his casted arm, and Grace bent to help. With three working hands, they made short work of removing the rest of his clothes.
Naked Grace caught his attention again, and he brushed his knuckles along the underside of her breast before running his thumb ever so lightly over her nipple. Her eyelids lowered to half-mast, and she swayed. Hugh caught her, wrapping his arm around her waist and dragging her back onto his lap for the third time in the past hour. He expected her to complain about his manhandling, but she came easily, and their mouths met again.
Hugh didn’t think he could ever get enough of kissing Grace, touching Grace. The only reason he was able to tear his mouth away from hers was that there was so much more to explore, so many sweet, soft places. When she pressed against him or made a throaty sound, he made a mental note to remember that spot below her earlobe or on the side of her neck or the high point of her shoulder.
Her thighs were strong with lean muscle, and he ran his good hand along the side, enthralled and a little pleased with himself. After all, he’d made those sturdy muscles shake with need. Switching back and forth between her upper thighs, he teased and tormented until she pleaded with him to touch her—to really touch her.
This time, he kept his mouth shut and didn’t point out the begging. That didn’t mean that he wasn’t utterly thrilled that she desired him that much, though. Nipping at her lower lip, he touched her center, finding her hot and wet and wanting.
She was amazing. Their mouths battled back and forth, giving and taking, and he loved that she took control when she wanted it. Once again reading his mind, Grace made a frustrated sound and grabbed the condom packet from where it had fallen on the couch next to them.
With fumbling, impatient fingers, she opened it and rolled it on him. Her touch forced Hugh to squeeze his eyes closed and fight for control. Grace raised her body and lowered herself on him. The feel of her around him, so hot and tight andalive, was the best thing he’d ever felt in his life. If he could’ve stayed buried inside her forever, he would’ve done so happily.
Then she moved, settling him more deeply inside her, and his hard-won restraint was gone. Grasping her hips, holding on as best he could with his casted hand, Hugh started to thrust. He watched her face, listened to the sounds she was making, and memorized what she liked. His hips rose and lowered, his movements gaining in speed and power, and Hugh knew that he’d pay for it later, that his leg and arm and head would all take their painful revenge. At this moment, though, buried inside Grace, he knew that everything was worth it.Shewas worth it.
As he sped up, her kisses grew in ferocity, until they were wild and rough and a perfect complement to the storm building between them. He watched her face, fighting to pay attention when his body wanted to lose control, to drop off the cliff into the raging water below.
Grace was more important, though. He wanted to make her happy—needed to make her happy—and his own pleasure was secondary. It was easy to see what she liked, what drove her higher. She was loud and unrestrained, and he loved that. That was his Gracie, not afraid to say what she was thinking, what she was feeling.
Her face flushed, and her eyes grew glassy as her body tightened around Hugh. Once again, he was struck by her beauty as she moved above him, her hair mussed and tumbling down her back, the muscles shifting beneath her skin. His thumb rubbed her hip, and he was amazed that he could touch her like this, feel her like this. Now that he knew how incredible it actually was to be this close to Grace, he knew he could never let her go, not without fighting everything inside him that urged him to keep her.
With that resolve, his fingers tightened around her hips, and he pounded into her. She cried out as she orgasmed, her back arching and her head falling back, letting the ends of her hair brush his legs. He could feel his own climax approaching, but he held it off, wanting to watch as pleasure flooded through her. As she slowly recovered, a huge, slightly drunken smile took over her face, telling him exactly how she felt.
Intense satisfaction flooded him.He’ddone that. Hugh had made her feel that amazingly good. If she let him, he wanted to keep her this happy all the time. With a final upward thrust, he slid his arm around her back and pulled her close. They kissed as he climaxed, ecstasy radiating from his spine to every cell in his body. Hugh had been so focused on Grace, on making her feel better than she ever had before, that his own pleasure took him by surprise. He drowned in it, letting it strip away everything until he was raw and naked inside.
Breathing hard, he collapsed backward. Since his arms were wrapped around her, he pulled Grace with him, toppling sideways until they were sprawled full-length on the couch. She giggled, sounding a little punchy and a lot happy.
With a groan, he forced himself to release her and pushed himself off the couch. When she clung to him, her arms around his neck, Hugh gave into temptation and hugged her, hard. Then, he gave in to another temptation and kissed her thoroughly before finally pulling away.
“I’ll meet you upstairs,” he said, heading for the bathroom.
“Oh?” Her tone was too sweet, and he grinned, knowing what was coming. “I’m staying over, then?”
“Yes.” If he had his way, she wasn’t going to be out of his sight until Martin Jovanovic was either dead or behind bars. He stopped and turned, bracing for the argument he knew was coming. “I’ll give you a toothbrush.”
To his surprise, she just grinned at him. “Deal. Will you cook breakfast, too?”
Hugh made a face. “If you want. It won’t be good. Also, I don’t think I have any eggs or…well, any ingredients.”
“Never mind, then. We can just have cereal.”
“Sorry. I don’t have any.”
“Bread for toast?”
“Nope.”
She blinked at him. “Pop Tarts?” When he just winced and gave her his best apologetic,I-know-I-suck-but-don’t-you-love-me-anywaysmile, she sighed. “How do you not starve?”
“The viner. And Otto brings me eggs.”
“The viner it is, then.” Standing, she stretched, showing off all her naked glory, and he could only stare. His brain shut off completely. In fact, he was pretty sure he’d just forgotten his own name. Grace sauntered over to where his T-shirt had landed when he’d finally worked his cast free. She pulled his shirt over her head, and only then could Hugh think again. Blowing out a hard breath, he made his way to the bathroom. Apparently, Grace could short out his brain anytime she wished. If that meant he’d get to see her naked on a regular basis, however, he was okay with that. He’d give up just about anything—including the ability to think—if it meant keeping Grace. In just a few weeks, she’d become the most important part of his life.
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