by Tara West
“Grim?” He arched a thick brow. “I thought I had a different name.”
I bit my lip, trying to clear my head of this fog as I recalled a memory of Grim speaking with St. Peter. “I think it’s Con.”
“Con.” His full lips broke into a wide smile, revealing two rows of pearly white teeth. “I like it. Do you want to pick up where we left off earlier this evening?”
The rusty wheels churning in my brain came to a screeching halt. “Huh?”
He scooted over and pulled up his knee. A soft sigh escaped my lips as he grazed that sensitive juncture between my thighs. That’s when I realized my legs had somehow fallen open. When did that happen? It was as if my inner-whore had taken over, robbing me of all sense of reason.
“We shared a kiss,” he said as he shifted his knee again, rubbing more moisture into my already soaking panties. “Do you want another?”
“Yes,” I rasped before jerking my head up. “No!” I shook my head. “I don’t know.”
What the hell was the matter with me? This hot stud so obviously wanted to screw. I so obviously needed to screw. I was a total idiot for turning him away.
Luckily for my starved libido, he wasn’t so easily deterred. “We’ll take it slow if you like,” he said as one corner of his mouth hitched up in an impossibly sexy grin.
“I’ll do anything you want, Ash.” His eyebrows dipped beneath the shadow of his thick hair as he clasped my hand in his. “Anything.”
When he brought my palm to his lips, trailing delicate kisses across my skin, I was done for. Sweet Hell on fire, I’d never been so turned on by a man before. Never.
The heat from his virile body encompassed me as he leaned closer. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I let his musky scent permeate my last thread of resistance and sink into my skin.
“Taste me,” he breathed against my lips.
And so I did, just one little nibble on his lower lip. Then another. When his tongue darted into my mouth, I opened to him, and he poured his warmth into me.
He tasted different than the first time we’d kissed, not bitter, not rough, but sweet, like chocolate cheesecake. Somewhere in the recesses of my hazy mind, I was reminded this man was not the same man I’d kissed earlier. This man was not even real, but hot damn, he sure was a fine kisser.
My legs spread like melted butter as his hand grazed inside of my thigh. I moaned into his mouth when he hitched up the flimsy fabric of my skirt and slipped a finger beneath the hem of my panties. He slid them off with ease, and I was vaguely aware of them falling to the floor. That’s when I wiggled my toes and felt nothing but air beneath me.
“We’re floating,” I gasped, reluctant though I was to break the kiss.
“It’s easier to undress you this way.” He slipped my little dress over my head before deftly unclasping my bra and tossing it to the floor. I was totally naked now, exposed and vulnerable, pinned beneath his big, virile body, floating somewhere under the rafters on a cloud of lust, and not caring one bit about my safety.
I squirmed beneath him as his firm hands roamed my soft, round breasts. My head fell back when he pinched my hard peaks and rolled them beneath his fingers. He nipped my neck and kissed my collarbone, but when he took a nipple in his puckered lips, gently grinding my delicate skin between his teeth, I just about orgasmed right then and there. I felt that pressure between my legs building when he repeated the torturous process on the other nipple. He looked up at me with a devilish gleam in his eyes, and then continued to work his way down to the sensitive cleft between my legs.Digging into the globes of my ass with a strong grip, he held my legs wide open and began licking my swollen sex like a kitten lapping up milk. One stroke, two, three, and when he speared inside me with that blissfully long tongue, the spiral of ecstasy reached its tipping point, and I was falling over the edge as deep spasms wracked my insides. My screams echoed off the walls as my center convulsed around his tongue. He continued to jab inside me while sucking on my swollen peak. I came again when he teased the top of my slit with a slick finger, his tongue spearing me even deeper, and I came a third time when he slipped that same finger into my anus, probing with fast, hard thrusts, until that tight channel rocked so hard, I feared it was going to swallow him whole.
When he climbed up the length of my body and buried his shaft deep inside me, I climaxed a fourth time, and then I lost count of my orgasms, as my stud liquefied my body from the inside out all night long.
Holy freaking Heaven almighty. I think I’m going to like being dead.
“Good morning, beautiful.”
I rolled over and opened my eyes, surprised to see my Grim…er valet or whatever he was, smiling at me.
“Mmm. Morning.”
So this wasn’t a dream? I didn’t just hit my head really hard when I electrocuted myself?
We were lying in the softest bed ever, buried beneath a white, fluffy comforter that smelled like fresh rain. Fantasy Grim had carried me here sometime last night during the middle of our intense fuck session. My limbs were pretty much jelly at that point, but surprisingly, my body was still primed and ready for more. And he gave me more all night long and well into the morning.
I covered my mouth, breathing into my palm, relieved to find I didn’t have morning breath. In fact, my breath smelled like sweet chocolate cheesecake. One of the perks of waking up in Heaven, I guessed.
I draped a leg over his while he toyed with a lock of my hair. I was pleasantly surprised to feel a bit of tenderness between my thighs. It wasn’t an uncomfortable, sore feeling. My girly parts ached in all the right places, as if they’d been thoroughly, and deliciously, used. And I couldn’t wait to get used all over again.
I stretched my arms to the ceiling, arching my back while my stud wasted no time in running his thick hands up my midsection and squeezing each breast.
“What would you like for breakfast?” he asked with an innocent smile as he continued to knead my globes with talented fingers. “Bacon, scrambled eggs, and blueberry pancakes?”
If you keep that up, the only thing I’m going to want is you.
“Yes, please,” I begged, as that familiar ache swelled inside me like a balloon ready to pop. “And some coffee.”
“I thought you preferred lattes,” he said as he traced a lazy circle around each pebbled nipple.
“Those are expensive,” I murmured. Honestly, what did I care about lattes at that point? He had me so turned on, I couldn’t think to reason.
He tossed back his head and laughed. “Ash. This is Heaven, remember?”
“Oh, in that case. A double latte with extra cream.”
I bit my lower lip as heat coursed through my body. One of his hands had fallen across my abdomen. If I could coax him a little lower, I was pretty sure I could pop out an orgasm in a few slick finger strokes.
Much to my disappointment, he sat up and began slipping on a pair of underwear he’d grabbed off a nearby dresser.
“How about some chocolate shavings on top?” I think my chest deflated several inches when he tucked that magnificent penis beneath his shorts and then slipped into a pair of jeans.
I sighed dreamily as he bent down and kissed my forehead. “Tell me what you want, Ash. It is my duty to please you,” he breathed against my skin.
I sank into my pillow as the heat from his musk enveloped me. Chocolate shavings sure sounded delectable, and though I was probably certifiably crazy, chocolate was the furthest thing from my mind.
I reached up and ran my hand across the light dusting of hair on his chest. He wasn’t as hairy as the real Grim, but this Grim was my fantasy, and I preferred my men a little less apeish. Besides, if he’d been the real Grim, he’d probably be saying something insensitive right about now.
“Trust me,” I breathed into his neck, “you do please me, very, very much.”
His lips found mine, and for a long moment, he held me in the most delicate and exquisite kiss ever.
“How about I give you a few more orgasms after breakfast?�
�� he asked between nibbles on my bottom lip.
I wrapped my arms around his neck, determined not to let my boy-toy go yet. “How about we skip breakfast and get straight to orgasms?”
“Anything you wish,” he growled, and then he fell on top of me. My soft curves molded to his hard-as-granite-body as his erection rubbed out a torturous rhythm between my legs.
“Damn these jeans!” I cried, fumbling with his zipper.
Just as I’d popped the top button below his naval, a strange gong sounded from somewhere outside the room.
I jerked back. “What’s that?”
He arched a finely sculpted brow as he lifted his head. His full lips were even more swollen after I’d feasted on them. “Someone is ringing your doorbell.”
The gong sounded again. As the low hum reverberated in my skull, I could almost feel the urgency behind it. I thought people weren’t allowed to bug me in paradise.
Then I remembered my grandma and uncle telling me they’d stop by in the morning. “Shit. I bet it’s my family,” I grumbled as I reluctantly pushed him off me.
His mouth fell open, a look of disappointment crossing his features. “Should I tell them to come back later?”
“No.” I sighed. “Would you let them in while I take a shower?”
“Of course. I’ll have your breakfast waiting.”
“Just a few more kisses.” I grabbed the back of his neck, frantically pulling his lips to mine.
I didn’t know why, but I got this feeling that if I didn’t kiss him right then and there, he’d poof away, and I’d wake up to find this was all just a crazy dream.
His crushing lips came down on mine so hard, and so deep, I thought I was going to explode. “Are you sure you don’t want just one orgasm?”
Hell, yes!
But I knew I wouldn’t be able to stop at just one, and I didn’t want to keep my family waiting. Other than our brief reunion last night, I hadn’t seen my uncle in almost twenty-five years, and my grandma in twenty. I had the rest of eternity to explore every hard inch of my valet’s glorious body.
The doorbell gonged again. Apprehension settled in my gut like a lead ball as I had this strange sense of déjà vu. Then I recalled last night when grumpy Grim had kept banging on my door. But he was long gone, probably out searching for more desperate and dateless women to torment and sex-crazed jerks to throw into toxic sludge.
As I slipped out of bed and hastened toward the shower, why did I get this strange sense of unease it was him ringing my doorbell?
Holy fuck.
I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw him, the asshole, tormentor, teaser Grim, drumming his fingers on my kitchen counter as he scowled at my fantasy Grim.
“You?” Anger fueled my movements as I marched up to him. “What are you doing here?”
He pushed back his barstool and nodded toward my valet. “Get lost.”
Poof, my fantasy man was gone.
“Where’d he go?” I gasped, and then planted my fists on my hips. I imagined my eyes were lasers, burning twin holes through his handsome, yet annoying, features. “You had no right to do that.”
That smug smile of his grew wider, spreading across his face like an infestation. “So I was your fantasy?”
Oh, crud.
Wildfire raced up my chest and fanned my cheeks. Other than that time I’d gotten wasted on tequila and my tampon leaked through my pale purple bikini during spring break in Mexico, I was pretty sure this was the most mortifying and horrific moment of my existence. I clutched my cotton bathrobe by the neckline. Despite its thick material, I felt completely vulnerable and exposed. The way Grim was undressing me with his eyes, I could have been standing on my tile floor naked for all it mattered.
“What did you expect after that kiss yesterday?” I waved him off, attempting to save face, as if fucking his imaginary twin was no big deal. “You didn’t answer my question. What are you doing in my house?”
I tried to ignore his cute dimples and the twinkle in his bright blue eyes as he looked down at me expectantly. “How was I?”
I rolled my eyes. “This is Heaven. How do you think you were?”
When he folded his tanned arms across his broad chest, my gaze was drawn to the patch of fur beneath his collar. Oh, yes, too hairy. Much like an ape. My fantasy Grim was far sexier.
“Wow,” he laughed. “I guess I’ve got a lot to live up to.”
My head instinctively snapped back as if I’d been slapped. “Who says I plan on sleeping with the real you? Besides,” I said in an indifferent tone I didn’t feel, “I’ll probably conjure up a Swede tonight, anyway.”
As if. Once I got rid of this Grim, I was going to take out all of my sexual frustration on my other Grim. I’d be fucking his hard, un-hairy body all morning long.
“That’s what I came to talk to you about.” Grim flashed a sheepish grin, and were my eyes deceiving me, but he actually flushed. “I’m afraid there won’t be any more fantasies for a while.”
My heart slammed against my chest, the shock even more powerful than when I’d been electrocuted.
“Excuse me?”
There was unease in his stiff shoulders and unsteady gaze. I could tell he’d rather be anywhere than with me at the moment.
Grim cleared his throat. “There was a clerical error. Someone miscalculated your credits. You were supposed to be dropped off at the second floor.” That last part came out in a jumble, as if his words had tripped over his tongue along the way.
I gaped at him. He looked at me, though his stare still wavered. A shiver stole up my spine as my wet hair dripped down my back while I waited for Grim to tell me he was kidding.
God wasn’t supposed to make mistakes, and if he did, surely he couldn’t have been cruel enough to send me packing to sweaty, smelly Purgatory.
Could he?
When Grim offered no other apology or explanation, I tried to summon the will to speak, which was rather difficult considering my mouth had gone dryer than dust. What I really needed was a warm latte with extra cream and chocolate shavings. I spied the steaming cup on the granite counter. The whipped cream was melting into the liquid, teasing me with its rich aroma. I had the feeling the only thing I’d get to drink on the second floor was leftover sludge.
“Is this some kind of joke?” I rasped.
He shrugged, splaying his hands in an apologetic gesture. “I’m afraid not. I’m really sorry.”
I looked down at his beefy fingers, painfully aware that almost those exact same fingers had been stroking and teasing me that morning. I should have listened to fantasy Grim and stayed in bed.
I crossed my arms and gave him the stare-down, realizing my scowl probably looked more like a pout, especially as I could feel the backs of my eyes watering. “The second floor? Are you saying I’m supposed to leave mind-blowing sex and chocolate cheesecake and go to a shithole in Purgatory?”
His eyes widened, and he scratched the stubble on his chin. “Mind blowing, huh? So I really was that good?”
I was so hot, I was seeing red. “Get out of my house!” I pointed a finger to the door.
Okay, so based on what Grim was telling me, this technically wasn’t my house. Actually, I was somewhat of a pearly gates trespasser, but that didn’t change the fact that I wanted this man gone from my life right that very instant.
I marched back to my bedroom, heart beating wildly as his heavy footsteps sounded behind me. I made a dive for my soft bed and crawled beneath the heavy comforter, pulling it up over my head. It smelled like sweat and sex and fantasy Grim’s heady cologne under there. Damn. I was so going to miss him.
I felt asshole Grim’s weight on the bed, making an unwelcome dip in my pillowy heaven. I scooted to the other side, keeping my face beneath the comforter. I didn’t want to look at his triumphant smile, especially now that he knew I’d had sex with his double.
My embarrassment multiplied the more I thought about it. If I could have died again, I would have.
&
nbsp; “Your house is a mess.” His annoying chuckle resonated from the other side of the bed. “You two had quite the romp last night.”
His mocking voice was like a thousand tiny needles, burrowing into my pride and leaving an ache in my chest. My body was a furnace, burning up the sheets my valet and I had so thoroughly scorched last night. Only this time, I was far from an orgasm. I made a vow right then and there to never, ever, in all of eternity, have sex with fantasy Grim, or even the real Grim. Certainly not the real Grim. That man was not getting anywhere near my tunnel of love, no matter how good a lover he probably was. Next time I was picking a Swede, or maybe a Latin heartthrob like Francisco, but I sure as hell was determined to stay away from blue-eyed jerks with sexy southern drawls.
I swiped a lonely tear that slipped down my cheek, stifling a sob when I recalled my uncle telling me last night I wasn’t supposed to cry in Heaven. I had only seen my family for a few hours, and now I was going to lose them again.
Grim’s weight shifted, and he grumbled impatiently. I could almost picture him rolling his eyes, worrying about his stupid schedule. I never wanted anyone gone so badly from my life. I could think of five blind dates I’d rather have sitting on my bed rather than this pompous ass.
“Please leave me alone,” I begged, hating the pathetic whine that slipped into my voice.
“I can’t, Ash.”
Was that pity in his voice? Pity?
How dare he!
I sat up and tossed the covers off, shooting him a glare. “Ashley. My friends call me Ash.”
The asshole actually had the nerve to keep a straight face. What game was he playing? I almost thought I saw sympathy in those brilliant blue eyes of his, but I knew it was a ruse.
“Ash,” he said through a sigh, “the good news is the Big Guy feels bad about the mistake, and he’s letting you start at the thirteenth floor. It’s just one step away from Heaven.”
Oh, he was definitely toying with me. Come to think of it, I wondered if he wasn’t playing some sick joke. Maybe I hadn’t been taken to Heaven after all. Maybe I was in my own personal Hell, where sexy studs fucked my brains out and then tormented me. Geez. Kind of sounded like my last three relationships.