Page 35 of Flare Up
She laughed, loving how right it felt being there. On the couch, with his arm around her and making really dumb jokes. One of the things she’d loved most about being with Grant was how low-key they could be together, just enjoying each other’s company. That it hadn’t changed was a huge relief.
His fingers trailed up and down her arm. She didn’t even know what they were watching, and she didn’t care. All of her focus was on the fingers stroking her arm.
It was distracting as hell and she decided to return the favor. Her hand had been resting just above his knee, but she ran her palm over the denim. Just small movements at first, but then she slowly started moving up his thigh. The muscle tensed under her touch and she smiled.
When his hand left her arm and plunged into her hair, she moaned—just a little—and turned so she could kiss him. His fingers tightened almost painfully in her hair as her lips met his. She kissed him softly at first, pausing to run the tip of her tongue over his lip before kissing him again. Gliding her fingernails lightly down his neck, she deepened the kiss, demanding more.
With a groan he hauled her onto his lap, turning her so she faced him. He tucked his hands behind her knees and tugged until she was straddling his erection. Then he ran his hands over her thighs and cupped her ass. She slowly rocked her hips and he dropped his head against the cushion.
But then he was kissing her again, one hand buried in her hair and the other grasping her hip.
Good lord, but she’d missed his hands. And his mouth. His eyes. His touch, his voice and the curve of his lips when he caught her eye.
She’d missed everything about him so damn much she would probably cry if he wasn’t doing his best to distract her with those hands and that mouth. Rather than dwelling on the time they’d been apart, she closed her eyes and focused only on the now.
He tugged at the hem of her sweatshirt, trying to lift it. “Get this off.”
She started to, but paused before giving him a glimpse of her white lace bra. “Do you really want me naked or are you just trying to get me out of this Giants shirt?”
“Two birds with one stone. I’m efficient that way.”
She didn’t even have it all the way off before his hands were on her breasts. After tossing the shirt aside, she put her hands on his shoulders and allowed herself a moment to revel in the heat in his eyes as he watched his thumbs running over her taut nipples through the delicate fabric. He made her feel beautiful.
When he slid his hands to her sides to pull her in, she arched her back to make it easier for him to close his mouth over her breast. His teeth scraped over the lace before he sucked hard enough to make her gasp.
Her fingernails bit into his shirt and she wanted to get it off him, but she didn’t want him to take his mouth away from her nipple, either. Instead, she bunched the fabric in her fists as he turned his attention to her other breast, alternating between gentle sucking and the pinch of his teeth.
Her hips rocked, grinding against his erection until he grabbed her hips and forced her to stop. “You’re killing me with that, Wren.”
Her chuckle was low and husky. “And you think you’re not returning the favor. I want this off you now.”
He hauled the shirt over his head and flung it, then took advantage of the break in action to unclasp her bra. Inhaling slowly, he peeled the straps down her arms until it could join the pile of discarded clothes on the floor or the coffee table or wherever they were landing.
Then his mouth was on her again, his tongue gliding over her bare flesh. Wren ran her hands over his shoulder and down his arms, raking his strong forearms with her nails.
Then he sucked her nipple so hard, she whimpered, her nails biting into his skin. Before she could even catch her breath, he slid his hand between them and pressed hard against her clit through her jeans. Squirming, she rocked against his hand.
“We need to lose these clothes.”
She totally agreed with that. “Are we really doing this on the couch?”
“Hell no. I’m just getting warmed up.”
“I’m feeling pretty warm.” And a little impatient to move things along, but she knew him. If he thought the pace was torturing her, he’d revel in it and slow things down until she wanted to scream.
“Trust me, I’m going to need some space to thoroughly enjoy you tonight. And time, too.” She shivered in anticipation and he must have felt it because he gave her a wicked grin. “A lot of time.”
Rather than risk a sex-derailing injury if he tried to stand with her in his arms, Wren climbed off his lap and extended her hand to haul him to his feet. She wasn’t at all self-conscious about being naked from the waist up. This man told her she was beautiful with words, but also with his eyes and his body and that made her believe it.
“I can carry you to the bedroom, you know,” he said, yanking her hips against his and grinning at her. “I’m a firefighter.”
“I seem to recall you carrying me recently and it wasn’t at all sexy.”
“Yeah, but you’ll be conscious this time.”
She laughed. “Somehow I think that would make it even more uncomfortable.”
When he reached down and scooped her off her feet, one arm under her knees and one behind her back, she squealed and grabbed on to his neck. “See, this is pretty sexy.”
