by Nina Crespo
He’d never had to explain the power of music to Cori. She innately understood what it meant to him when he’d stood behind the deck dropping deadly beats that raised hands and screams for more from a crowd. But watching her dance, the way she’d smiled, laughed, and let go equaled that rush. Something he hadn’t felt in a while…and thought he never would again.
The emptiness that had shadowed him for months crept in, but as Damien dropped in some loops and sound effects, blending them into the next music track, the laughter bubbling out of Cori chased it away. She whooped with the crowd and raised her free hand in the air.
As he danced toward her, she spun and faced away from him.
Damn, she still had curves for days. That ass of hers was meant to be palmed, caressed…bitten.
Grey’s heart rate kicked up, almost matching the beat of the music.
Back in the day, he would have molded his hands to her hips and brought her back against him, but grinding up on her now, as if no time had passed between them, would have been a total dick move. Still, he closed the distance, letting her joy, her curves, and temptation torture him. Being near Cori had always been too damn hard to resist.
Chapter Four
Cori closed her eyes and let the thump of the percussion in the music dictate every roll, drop, and sway of her hips. She hadn’t realized how much she’d missed letting go like this. She felt…free.
She twirled around, faced Grey, and smacked right into his gaze. The desire she saw in his eyes captured a breath. She hadn’t spotted that level of intensity in a man’s eyes when he looked at her in a long time, not even in Kevin’s. Boldness spurred her into pouring on the sexy and putting more movement into her hips. As she brushed her hand over his chest, he curved both of his to her waist, and the heat of his palms seeped into her bare skin.
He pulled her to him, and the feel of his hardness pressing to her lower belly as they slowed down and swayed to their own sensuous rhythm awakened power within her. This moment and what she chose to do with it was within her control. Cori slid her arms up his chest and around his neck.
Grey held her gaze as he leaned in. He hesitated a moment, as if giving her time to change her mind, before pressing his lips to hers. The gentle glide of his tongue along the seam of her mouth was an ask for more, and she gave it, parting her lips, welcoming him in. As her tongue slowly drifted over his, desire uncoiled. She let go, feeling as if she floated on waves of sound, rising higher, shedding worries, and releasing the hidden ache that had taken up residence in her heart since Kevin had left.
As she lost herself in the wonderfulness of Grey, erotic memories from the past swept in of her laying underneath him while his kisses and slow caresses explored and heated up her skin. She trembled with need, suspended in anticipation, waiting for the next intoxicating sweep of his lips, flick of his tongue, or stroke of his hands.
A moan of longing buried in the sound of the music slipped out of her and into a deepening kiss.
Dancers jostling them apart delivered a dose of reality. She was all over him in the middle of the dance floor. What was she doing? Needing a moment to cool off, Cori spun away from him.
The sharp end of someone’s high heel briefly stabbed her foot.
A yelp shot from her mouth.
Grey wrapped his arms around her from behind, shielding her from the dancers, who were oblivious to everything but the music. He spoke near her ear. “What’s wrong?”
“Someone stomped on my foot.”
“Can you walk?”
Eyes watering from the pain, she nodded.
Wrapping an arm low on her waist, Grey supported her as he used his broad shoulders to cut through the crowd. In the lobby, he helped her hobble to a secluded corner then dropped down in front of her. “Is it the left one?”
She leaned back against the wall. “Yes. Please tell me my shoe isn’t ripped.”
As he placed her foot on his thigh, the area near the top of her shoe throbbed. “You’re not bleeding. That’s what’s important. The top of your shoe is just scuffed.” The glide of his palm down her calf left a trail of tingles that traveled to her toes, momentarily distracting her from the pain. “We can go upstairs to the table Damien reserved for his guests in the VIP section. I can get some ice from the bar to cut back on the swelling. Do you think you can make it up the stairs or do you need me to carry you?”
“You mean the VIP table you’re sharing with the blonde and the woman who was giving me the stink-eye? No, thank you.” She took her foot from his thigh.
He stood. “Damien made sure the table was large enough for us and anyone else we wanted to bring.” He lightly grasped her shoulders. “You’re with me, and I couldn’t care less how Emery feels about it. I just want to make sure you’re okay.”
Cori let the pleasure of knowing he cared about what happened to her over everything else seep through the cracks in her confidence that had appeared after her breakup with Kevin.
The way he’d walked out on her, as if she’d meant nothing to him, had left her swinging on an emotional pendulum from feeling fragile to angry. And it was so damn exhausting.
“So.” Grey looked at her from eye level. “Tell me what you want to do. Are you coming with me?”
Coming with him? Her mind went rogue with images of them between the sheets and how the first glide in of his cock used to make her tremble with need. The way he’d rolled his hips, thrusting into her slowly, deeply, then faster and faster, and—
No. That’s not what he meant. She closed her eyes, wiping away the image, but desire remained.
Those few minutes of dancing with Grey had been amazing, and so were her memories of them in bed. Would having sex with him still be that good? Not that she wanted to relive the past. What was the Breakup Bash motto? Get over one man and move on to a better one? And at the moment, Grey definitely qualified as better, and being with him fit right into her no-relationships plan. And exploring every inch of him until morning would make her very, very happy.
Cori opened her eyes. Ignoring slight pinpricks of pain in her foot, she rose to her toes and slid her arms up Grey’s chest and around his neck.
As she leaned into him, he slid his hands to her back and widened his stance. “Have you made a decision?”
“Almost.” Cori brushed her lips over his, imagining his mouth covering other places on her body. The thought made her shiver. Yes, sleeping with him would definitely make everything a lot better. “Could we go to a more private place to find some ice? Like maybe where you’re staying?”
He eased slightly away and looked into her eyes. “I’m staying at Damien’s place. We could definitely go there. But if we do, I can’t guarantee that you won’t be the only one who needs to ice a body part.” He pulled her flush against him.
His jean-covered erection pressing against her raised possibilities—ones that involved him naked in bed, a single ice cube melting on his skin as she traced it over him, and followed the path of wetness with her tongue. Her sex clenched as she envisioned him returning the favor. “I definitely feel the problem.”
“Do you?”
“Yes.” Cori brushed her lips over Grey’s. “And I really think we should do something about it.”
…
Getting to Damien’s condo a short distance from the club near DC was thirty long minutes of sneaking in kisses while waiting for traffic lights to turn from red to green and caressing his muscular thigh on the interstate until he’d stopped her by intertwining his fingers with hers.
Trying to act normal on the elevator now with other people around them was even more difficult.
As she leaned back against Grey’s front, he grasped low on her hips. Every time the elevator dinged to a stop, the light jarring bumped her against the hard ridge of his erection. All Cori could think about was seeing him naked.
He’d always been lean, b
ut with the hard muscles she’d felt now under his clothes coupled with that part of him she couldn’t wait to reacquaint herself with…oh my. Her mouth watered in anticipation.
Finally, they reached the fifth floor.
Grey wrapped an arm around her waist.
She matched his quick pace, in as much of a hurry as he was to reach their destination.
He steered her to an apartment to the left that was almost to the end of the hall and opened the door. As soon as it shut behind him, he backed her up against it and kissed her.
A long moment later, they broke apart.
He reached to the wall beside her and flipped the light switch.
Track lighting in the ceiling illuminated a sunken living room with a steel blue, U-shaped sectional and dark wood furniture.
Grey stared down at her. His gaze reflected what she felt—urgency and need. Still, he took a long breath and closed his eyes a moment. “Cori. You and me together like this… Is that what you want?”
As he studied her face, she saw a concern as if he sensed something was wrong in her life. Did he still know her so well? The realization was comforting and unnerving.
What did she want? For one night, for a short while, she just wanted to give, to take, to own her pleasure without worrying about anything else. Doing that with a guy she’d just met would have been impossible, but she’d always felt safe with Grey. She still did. He’d never broken her heart.
Cori slid her hand down and cupped his cock. “Just for tonight.”
“I can do that.”
Grey led her down the beige carpeted hall on the left to a bedroom at the end of it. Moonlight shone through the window onto a king-sized bed against the wall.
She laid her clutch on the nearest side table.
Coming up behind her, he brushed slow kisses down her neck as he unzipped her dress. “Imagining you out of this has been distracting me all night.”
He peeled away the dress, and she trembled as he rained more kisses over her shoulder and back. The bodice fell to her waist, and she shimmied the fabric past her hips, revealing the lace thong she had on. She let it fall down her legs then stepped out of the shoes.
He hissed out a breath as he smoothed his palms over her butt.
Stepping out of the dress that puddled at her feet, she faced him. “Now it’s my turn. I’ve been imagining you, too, without the shirt.”
Grey cocked his brow. “Just without the shirt?” He dragged his shirt up and over his head.
The view made her pause. Wow. She had been right. Cori ran her hands over his solid chest and defined abs. Was he this hard all over?
As she dipped low on his abdomen, grooves of definition carved deeper under her fingertips with his intake of breath.
He halted the exploration, crushing her against him and capturing her mouth in a heated kiss.
She needed him now.
Cori took her mouth from his. She fumbled with the button on his jeans. Once she got it open, she went for his zipper.
But Grey took hold of her hands. He tipped up her chin and whispered, “We’ve got all night. Let me see you first. Blue’s my favorite color.”
That’s right. It was his favorite color.
What she saw in Grey’s eyes emboldened her to let him appreciate the view.
As if in a trance, Grey cupped her blue lace–covered breasts. He feathered his thumbs over the peaks, and her nipples tightened as desire pooled inside of her. The confines of her bra grew unbearable as he traced a leisurely path to the front clip holding the thin triangles together. The soft graze of his fingers made her breath hitch as he opened it, revealing her heavy breasts. He slid the straps from her shoulders, and the lace bra fell to the floor.
His gaze traveled down and back up again, and he released an unsteady breath. “You’re even more beautiful than I remembered.”
She yearned for him to touch her, to touch herself, but she willed herself to give him what he’d asked.
As Grey traced down the thin lace on her hips, her legs began to shake. She followed his lead and turned around. He palmed her butt and caressed forward on her hips. Pressing himself to her back, he glided his hands down and traced over the lace-covered seam of her sex. As he kissed her neck and shoulder, he delved his finger into her, just deep enough to tease her clit.
Unable to help herself, she tweaked her nipples. Toe-curling sensations spiraled through her, and she moaned with heightening need.
Grey turned her around in his arms, and as he kissed her, he backed her up.
The back of her legs hit the mattress, and she dropped down on the bed. She scooted back on the dark comforter toward the headboard, enjoying the show as Grey took off his sneakers and stripped off his jeans and then his black briefs.
His freed erection rising high and thick on his abdomen made her mouth water. His erection bumped her thigh as he stretched out beside her.
Sweeping, opened-mouthed kisses bathed her in heat from her throat to her breast. His caress down her belly past her lace bikini set her on fire with need. At the same time, his tongue tracing then licking over her nipple at the same time as he massaged her clit made her eyes flutter closed as she gave herself to oncoming pleasure.
He delved one finger then two inside of her as he sucked the peak of her breast. Cori’s sex clenched with each hard pull into his mouth. Her orgasm teased along the surface of her senses, and she balled the comforter in her hands. “Yes…yes.”
Grey went back to her clit, rubbing over it as he fluttered his tongue over her nipple.
Tingles rose from her toes, and heat engulfed her as an orgasm shot her to ecstasy.
He kissed her hard and deep before moving away. “We need protection.”
Still floating in delicious sensation, she pointed. “I have some. Look in my purse.”
Grey snagged her clutch from the bedside table and found the condoms. He kept one and tossed the rest beside her bag.
He slipped on protection then situated himself between her legs. The tip of his erection gliding down her seam made her shudder. His slow glide in made them both release a long breath. As he held himself up, his gaze bore into hers. “I’ve missed this. I’ve missed you.”
Chapter Five
Grey’s heart felt as if it would beat out of his chest as he stared down at Cori.
How many times, when he’d first gotten to Austin, had he dreamed of kissing her, holding her? It had gotten to the point where it hurt so much, he’d made himself shut her out of his mind, close the door, and throw away the key.
But this wasn’t a dream. He was really looking into her sepia brown eyes. Her hands were stroking up his back. He was inside of her.
“Grey…please,” she whispered. “I need you.”
She arched underneath him, prompting the roll of his hips, but he kept the pace slow and easy. When he drove in deeper, her eyes closed, and Cori’s mouth formed a soft “O” as she arched up even more.
He kissed the smooth curve between her neck and shoulder and the slope of her breast. As he breathed in her scent, he nipped her soft skin with his teeth.
Her sex clutched around him, and he hissed out an exhale as his balls grew tight with the need to come. He wanted this to last forever, but her slick heat wrapped around his cock made it impossible. Grey reached between them and rubbed over her clit. Her nails bit into him, and the walls of her pussy clenched tighter.
She released a cry with her orgasm and wrapped her legs high on his waist.
He cupped her ass and glided in and out of her. Tingles ran up and down his spine as lust blinded him. His release hit him hard, rushing through him and pulling out a harsh groan.
He collapsed on her, his heart pounding with his deep exhales. Not wanting to crush her, he held up his weight.
“I don’t want you to move.” Cori’s soft gaze met hi
s as she caressed his back.
“Neither do I, but I have to.” He kissed her before he lifted himself from her and stood. “Need anything?”
“Just you.”
“Too easy.” His heart tripped. Cori had snared him for the night the moment he’d spotted her at Club Escapade.
A short time later, Grey lay back on the pillows as Cori leaned over the mattress and set her phone back on the nightstand.
When she’d picked up her dress from the floor a minute ago, after coming from the bathroom, he’d thought she was planning to leave. And he’d been prepared to talk her out of it. But she’d asked for a hanger and put the dress in his closet.
As Cori used his shoulder as a pillow, he wrapped an arm around her. “I meant to ask earlier, did you check in with your girlfriends?”
“Yes.” She snuggled against him. “While I was waiting for you to get your car from the parking garage, Nat texted me. I let her know that I was getting a ride with you.”
The front door opening and closing loudly caught both of their attentions.
Footsteps, laughter, and loud shushing drifted into the bedroom.
“Is that Damien?” Cori asked. “It sounds like he brought the whole club home with him.”
“No, that’s him and Zara.” Grey held her closer. “They’re just that loud.”
They heard the sound of footsteps coming toward them through the closed door.
Cori tensed. “Is that door locked?”
Fuck. It wasn’t.
“No, Tammy, this way,” Zara whispered loudly.
Two women’s giggles, along with Damien’s hushed voice retreated with their footsteps.
Cori glanced at Grey. “Who’s Tammy?”
“No idea.” He got up and locked the door.
Cori laughed. “This is so familiar and not in a good way.”
“What do you mean?”
“You and Damien sharing an apartment and all those random women he used to bring home.”
“Yeah, this does bring back memories.” He returned to bed and pulled her close. “At least his bedroom isn’t next to mine now. Remember the girl who used to howl while they were having sex?”