Her eyes flared with excitement and fear. “I know.”
Needing the connection, he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pulled her into a hug.
“I’m going to shower. Want to join me?”
His cock hardened beneath his pants. “I do.”
Seemed to be the night for ‘I do’s’.
Kendall walked away from him and into the bathroom. Grif watched her perfect ass until she disappeared from sight, then scrambled to shed his own clothes. He took care with his uniform pants, but everything else just got tossed. Seconds after she stepped into the glass enclosure, he stepped in behind her.
There were several jets in this particular shower, projecting in from opposite sides of the stall. She’d turned the heat up high enough to warm their bones, but not so hot to make them overheat.
Grif watched as she lathered and rinsed her hair, then went through the motions of scrubbing her body. Whatever she used smelled phenomenal. A little fruity, yet sexy at the same time.
“May I?” He held his hand out for the spongy thing she was running over her skin. She handed it over and he motioned for her to turn around. When she did, he ran the sponge up and down her back, across her shoulders, down her arms. Kendall leaned against the tile wall, forehead resting on folded forearms. She moaned when he ran it down her sides and gasped when he brushed her nipples.
Grif’s cock had only gotten harder as he watched her bathe herself. When she gasped, he felt the stirring in his balls. Snugging himself up behind her, he dropped the spongy thing to the floor and ran his soapy hand up her side, then up her breast. Her nipple was rock hard already and he had a feeling she was as aroused as he was.
He leaned down to her ear. “Ever use these benches in here?”
A seat had been fashioned from tile in the very front corner and another along the width of the back. Grif turned a dial and the jets at the back of the stall turned off.
“No, I haven’t. I’ve always wanted to, though.”
Sounded like a green light to him.
He spanned his hand across her chest to reach her opposite breast. It puckered as hard as the other one and he fondled the weight in his hand. She moaned as he aligned his dick with the crack of her ass, gliding up and down in the slick water. Tilting her hips back, she sharpened the contact between them. Grif was about to guide his erection down and into her pussy when she turned in his arms and pushed him back. His heels hit the tile and he allowed her to press him down onto the bench.
She followed him down, settling on her knees between his feet. Her long fingered hands glided up his thighs, danced over his hips, then she walked her fingers up his sides. He shifted on the bench, trying not to let her see how ticklish he was, but a grin spread her plump lips.
Kendall set out to torment him. She stoked over his body everywhere except where he wanted her to go-his cock. She massaged his good arm, up his neck, cupped his head in her hands and crushed her mouth against his. Only her luscious breasts touched him where he wanted, and it wasn’t enough. When he raised his hand to tweak her nipple, she pulled away and shook her head.
“No. Not this time. You can play next time.”
Gnashing his teeth, he tried to be patient, but it was damn hard.
Just when he thought he couldn’t wait much longer, she started kissing her way down his body. Biting his nipples gently with her teeth, licking the line down his pectorals, she slowly made her way south. When she finally did wrap those plump lips around the head of his cock, Grif worried that it would all be over before it began. Digging deep, he forced the impending orgasm away. Part of the problem was the view. Looking down at her swaying breasts as she started a delicious movement up and down his cock.
Fuck!
Grif slammed his eyes shut and knocked his head back against the tile to try to distract himself. He wouldn’t last if he kept watching her.
Kendall blew him for a few minutes, taking him deep for a few strokes, then lingering high on the furl of the head. That was where she really got him. She stroked her tongue into the slit and over the sensitive, fleshy underside, which made his body quake. Gently, reluctantly, he held her away, desperate to prolong the pleasure. “I want you to ride me.”
Kendall nodded. Pushing to her feet, she spread her thighs over top of his erection and lowered herself to his lap. Grif realized almost immediately that he’d made a strategic error. Kendall had become so aroused that he slipped into her body easily. She glided down, moaning as she struggled to accommodate his length. Grif cupped her hip with his hand and even before she started to move, he knew he was a goner.
She started to circle her hips, sealing down as tightly as she could. Grif reached out with his amputation and pulled her hips forward. Kendall gasped as the angle changed and he dragged her forward again. They did this several times before she suddenly lifted straight up, then slammed right back down.
“Oh, damn,” she moaned, plunging on top of him again.
Grif felt her grip on his cock start to tighten. Curling forward he took her nipple into his mouth, sucking as she rocked against him, and he felt the split second when her body shattered.
She screamed out, gasping for breath as she slammed herself onto him again and again, riding the wave. Grif finally allowed his own pleasure to swallow him under, straining, reaching to be a tiny bit deeper as he released into her body.
The orgasm rippling through her body prolonged his own, and it was several long moments before she finally collapsed against him.
Grif panted as if he’d run up the mountain, but his satisfaction was complete. As he gathered a quivering Kendall into his arms, he thanked the stars that they’d landed where they had, and that he’d given in that lonely Christmas.
Amazingly, the water was still hot when they separated then stepped under. Kendall lathered her body again and rinsed, then turned to lather his body as well. Grif could have brushed her away, but he kind of enjoyed the attention. She even went so far as to lather his stump.
It was very strange.
For years he’d been responsible for himself, doing everything on his own. Relationships had been few and far between.
“Were you right handed before?”
She stood under the falling water, watching him.
“I was.”
Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. “So, you had to relearn everything then. Writing, driving, eating.”
He nodded and stepped under the water to rinse, closing his eyes, letting her process that bit. She still looked thoughtful as he stepped through the glass door and reached for the towel on the heated bar. Rubbing himself briskly, he tried not to shift under her scrutiny. He secured the towel around his waist and walked out into the apartment.
Calvert had dropped off his overnight bag at some point. Digging through it, he found his briefs and pulled them on, then was faced with a dilemma. He walked back into the bedroom.
Kendall had just walked out of the bathroom and to the dresser on the far side of the room.
“I normally sleep in my underwear. Do you have any issues with that?”
Without turning around, she shook her head, dropping her towel to step into her own panties. Grif forgot what he was doing as he watched the blue fabric slide up her long legs. She tugged them over her butt, then ran her finger down along the elastic leg to make sure it fit her cheek just right. When she finally turned, he had the feeling she’d taken a deep breath before she looked at him.
As they stood on opposite sides of the bedroom, dressed almost exactly the same, a sense of surreality overcame him.
“No. I don’t. This is how I usually sleep as well.”
Kendall walked into the bathroom and he heard the blowdryer come on.
Crossing to the chair that held his Dress Blue Alphas, he arranged them on a hanger and hung it from the door beside her wedding dress.
Since she was in there, maybe he could slip into bed and get a head start on sleep. But when he crawled under the comforte
r, his mind began to replay the day.
Kendall had looked stunning. And though he’d seen five hundred different emotions in her face throughout the day, determination had been the strongest.
His face had probably reflected the same. They were both determined to create a life for their child. And to try to make the situation as good as it could be. If he were honest with himself, he hoped deep down that he could make this marriage work for them too.
They settled into a surprisingly comfortable routine.
Well, other than the morning sickness.
The first morning after they were married, Kendall bolted out of the bed with her hand over her mouth. Grif rolled out of bed to follow, but she slammed the door in his face. As he listened to her retch inside, he wished there was something he could do for her, rather than just stand here and listen.
Crackers!
But there were no crackers in the kitchen.
“Fuck!”
There was ginger ale in the fridge, though. He poured her a glass and sat it beside the bed table. When she came out a few minutes later, she sipped the drink carefully. Once it stayed down, she drank the rest of the can.
From then on, gathering the anti-nausea remedies when it struck was his job. Which he did happily. They now always had about four different kinds of crackers in the cupboards, though she preferred plain, salted saltines.
The nausea itself eased back to morning time only after a couple weeks, then faded altogether in her second month.
During the day he continued to guard her, though Ortiz stayed as well. Grif needed to decide what he planned to do about his job. He couldn’t float along on leave forever. Though Duncan had been patient so far, Grif knew something needed to change. Soon.
Chapter 8
Kendall ran her hands down over her body as she stood in front of the floor length mirror. No, the lump wasn’t very big-she was only about twelve weeks along-but it was definitely there. She swept up to her breasts, amazed all over again at how they’d grown.
Grif thought he’d died and gone to heaven. They’d started to grow, becoming more plump than she’d ever been before. She had to caution him a couple of times because they were so sensitive. That sensitivity led to earth shattering orgasms though, which he very happily coaxed out of her every night. And some mornings. And some afternoons. She was flattered in that he never seemed to get tired of her.
And she never tired of him. Though he was around morning, noon and night, they got along well together. They never fought or even really said a cross word to one another. They’d settled into married life as if they’d been made for it.
Grif took her on a date one day. He dragged her from the office and packed her into the truck, refusing to tell her where they were going. As soon as he turned onto the mountain road, though, it was obvious he would be taking her up.
As they climbed in elevation, the snow became more pristine. He pulled into one of the many lodges that catered to tourists and walked her inside. When he spoke to one of the attendants, she was shown to a private dressing area. Grif had brought a bag for her and as she looked inside, she realized he had raided her closet, bringing her woolens to stay warm. The attendant had placed a snow suit inside the door, so she dragged it on after her clothes.
She stepped out of the dressing room, smiling at the thought of coming down the mountain as fast as she dared. In the past few years, she’d become a passable skier.
A young, dark-haired attendant stepped toward her. “Can you follow me please, Mrs. Parks?”
A thrill went through her at the use of the unfamiliar name. She’d been going by Herrington, but if Grif had given her Parks to use, maybe he was trying to tell her something.
She followed the girl through the lobby of the resort, then down a flight of stairs and along a walkway. When they exited a doorway, Kendall found herself on the opposite side of the lodge. Grif stood a few feet away, holding the reins of a very large black horse.
Kendall smiled in wonder, stepping forward to rub the animal on his massive head. “Oh, Grif. He’s beautiful. I can’t believe you brought me out here.”
“Well, we haven’t done anything yet, but I thought you might like to go on a sleigh ride with me.”
She grinned, realizing the horse’s body had hidden the old-style carriage sleigh. Her throat tightened with emotion at the thoughtful gesture and she could only nod. Grif held her hand as she stepped up inside and sat on the bouncy seat, then followed her up. He spread a rustic throw rug over her knees before gathering the reins and clicking to the horse.
“Jack is a very eager boy,” Grif told her as they turned toward a trail head.
The horse took off at a heavy, ground-eating trot. Kendall laughed and held onto Grif’s elbow as they swished past the evergreens lining the trail. Snow flew from the skids of the sleigh and she laughed with genuine enjoyment. Nobody had ever done anything like this for her before.
They wound their way up the mountain and eventually came to a clearing that had been set up for a picnic. A square patch of snow had been cleared away to make room for a large blanket. Setting on one corner of the blanket was a large wicker basket.
Kendall glanced at Grif. He seemed a little leery of how she’d react, so she let him see the genuine appreciation in her face. “Is this a date? Our first date?”
Grif winced and pulled on the reins, guiding the horse to a nearby tree. “So we’ve got the order of things jumbled up. Give a guy a break.”
Kendall laughed at the look on his face. “Well, I guess I was the one who started everything on the wrong foot.”
He raised a brow at her and nodded firmly before hopping from the sleigh to tie the horse. When he returned, Kendall took his hand before stepping down into the snow. The powder was more than six inches deep, but slick underneath. With the temperature rising as they rolled into spring, the ground had begun to warm.
Grif walked her to the blanket, then held both arms as she lowered to the ground. Though she wasn’t very big, she appreciated the help. Balance had become tenuous sometimes.
Lunch was a fragrant beef stew with a crusty French bread. They didn’t talk about anything important, but managed to find several similarities in what they liked and didn’t like. And when the afternoon sun made her drowsy, Grif pulled her into his arms and laid down on the blanket. He tucked her into his side and rested his chin against her hair.
“This was a lovely first date. Thank you,” she sighed.
She felt him press a kiss to the top of her head before they both fell asleep.
Grif seemed to be at loose ends, though. He’d gotten leave from the agency he worked at in Denver, but he needed something permanent to keep busy. She had offered to place him on the payroll at Herrington, but he’d given her a scathing look. She realized now the offer had probably sounded like charity.
The friendliness they’d had after the date had taken a hit that day.
She couldn’t worry about it now, though. Herrington had another quarterly board meeting today. She was going to have to come clean about the pregnancy soon because her clothes were getting tight. She wanted to push the announcement off till next month.
Her father called as she was getting ready to go in.
“Hey Dad. You’re up early.”
He sighed over the line and she could picture him in her mind as he swung around in his big leather office chair at home. “Well, I’ve been getting up and heading into the office for forty years. Don’t know if I’ll be able to turn off my clock when you do take over the reins.”
She laughed lightly, but she could hear something in his voice that worried her. “What’s wrong?”
“Not sure exactly, but I wanted to give you a heads up. Hunter has been making a few waves, recently, saying you were knocked up and that you had to marry your security man.”
Kendall sucked in a breath. She hadn’t told her father about the pregnancy yet, but this was the perfect opening. “I didn’t have to marry anyone, but what
if I was pregnant?”
The subtle squeak from her father’s chair stopped abruptly and the silence lengthened. “Kendall Victoria Herrington, are you pregnant?”
“I am, Dad. About twelve weeks.”
There was an explosion of sound on the other end of the line that sounded like her father had dropped the phone. There was jostling and banging, then her father came back on. “Are you lying to me because you know how much I want a grandbaby?”
She laughed. “No, Dad. I wouldn’t do that. It’s completely true. It didn’t happen exactly the way I wanted it to, but we’re working it out. Grif is a good guy. Marrying him was not a hardship. At all.”
She realized then that her handsome husband stood across the room in his standard white T-shirt. He held his prosthetic in his good hand, as if she’d interrupted him putting it on. His eyes were shadowed from her and she wondered if she’d said something wrong. He turned away and disappeared into the bathroom.
She wanted to go to him, to ask what was wrong, but she could only deal with one fire at a time.
“I had planned to wait to tell the board, but perhaps I should beat him to the punch.”
Dad hm’ed on the other end of the line, but she could tell he wasn’t thinking strategy when he asked her, “Are you going to name it after me if it’s a boy?”
Kendall laughed, loving that her once driven father had mellowed enough to want to enjoy grandkids. “Well, we’ll see. We’ve got a long ways to go yet.”
She heard whispering through the line, then a woman’s voice in the background.
“Emily says she’s overjoyed. And that she knew all along.”
Kendall laughed again, happy that she had let the two of them in on the secret.
“Well, tell her she’s at least going to be official Godmother.”
Frank repeated what she said and then huffed into the line. “She just burst into tears and disappeared. I think that means she would love that.”
“Well, it was an easy choice.”
“Why not Deedra?”
Kendall straightened, aware her father had just thrown her into a minefield. She loved her father, but his choices were sometimes bizarre. Why he’d thought Deedra would be good for him, she had no idea. But it wasn’t her place to tear the woman down. Her father would have to see it himself before he accepted anybody else’s word.
Uniform Desires (Make Mine Military Romance) Page 50