“How did you …”
“Oh, it was definitely unique, finding the right positions that worked, which was part of the fun. We bought a Kama Sutra book. Wrote out positions on slips of paper and then filled a jar with them. Every day, we’d choose one to try and keep track of what we liked.”
“Wait. Did you say every day?”
“Trust me.” Her hand covered my thigh. “When it’s good, you’re going to crave it. And with Fin …” Her smile turned dreamy, eyes distant, but just as quickly as the daydream had begun, it crashed and burned. “So …” she said, training her large puppy-dog eyes on me.
I held my hands out, widening them until it felt like the right size, feeling like I was crossing some sort of boundary with Grayson. Though I knew my sisters talked about this kind of stuff as if they were merely talking about the shift in weather, it still felt weird. Personal.
“So, he’s like a healthy zucchini?”
My hands went a smidgen wider.
Her eyes popped open. “A very healthy zucchini. Got it.”
“I don’t know. I wasn’t really focused on vegetable comparisons at that moment.”
The humor twisting her features was the exact reason I hadn’t wanted to talk about this with her. Although, now that I thought about it, the smooth, rounded head did sort of remind me of a mushroom …
“Good D will do it to you. Put you in a trance. So … did he …” She made the sound of an explosion, complete with fists flying in the air.
Laughter ripped out of me so hard, I doubled over. “Oh my God, there was so much of it.”
“He must have had clogged pipes.”
My laughter paused as I looked at her funny.
“It’s a good thing. Means he’s probably been inactive for a while.” She grabbed my phone from me again. Held it up to my face to unlock it.
I hadn’t even thought about that. The thought of him with someone else made my stomach twist. Awoke a feral, possessive sort of feeling.
“Looks like the social media gods are smiling down on you today,” she said, her voice slipping through the cracks of my thoughts.
“Huh?”
“Grayson changed his status from single to in a relationship. And you,” she said, leaning over on her side, holding the phone out to me, “are tagged as his girl.”
I swiped the phone from her, eyes bugging out as they searched for what she’d said. Fingers trembling a little as they scrolled. Sure enough, there I was, underneath his profile info, tagged as his girlfriend.
Not even an apocalypse could stop the smile that broke free from its cage from embracing my lips.
“You know he’s never done that before, right?” Poppy said, chin resting on her hands. “Seems like you get to be a first too.”
I glanced up, a wrench of truth twisting my insides. She was right. He hated labels. Hated even more giving his heart to someone. But there he was, putting his chips on me. All in. And I wanted nothing more than to do the same.
But first … I had to make it right.
Her expression turned serious. “Are you … are you thinking about going further?”
I met her eyes. Felt a shift of flurrying heat in my stomach. “I think so.” I paused a beat as the confession sank in. “I don’t know. I mean … this is all crazy. The dream I’d concocted never included sex with a guy I’d write an article on. Everything just feels … out of place. Off balance.”
“Sex and love—they do a number on the brain.”
“Tell me about it.”
“Well,” she said, slapping my thigh, “I guess I should go if you’re going to make it to Lover Boy on time.” She drawled out the name. “In the meantime, I’ll just be over here, refreshing the gossip sites until you’re official. Want me to print it out, so you can paste it to your nerdy wall of photos?”
“Go!” I said, laughing.
When she was gone, I wandered to the mirror, trying to look myself in the eyes.
But I couldn’t.
***
Grayson picked me up in an old black Chevelle. He opened the passenger door and then pulled me against him, kissing me with enough passion to make my cheeks burn. “I’ve been wanting to do that all day.” He rubbed his nose against my neck, which tilted, exposing more to him without thought. “Mmm,” he moaned against the sensitive skin. “You always smell so good. Like strawberries and home.”
I giggled. Pressed a kiss to the spot just under his ear. “So do you. Like warm nights and clean sheets.”
There it was again, the tension crackling like a live wire between us. I saw it in his gaze, the desire entangled in his hazel irises.
“So, you ready for this?”
“You mean for the paparazzi harassing me, an average girl from Kansas, about being your girlfriend?” I laughed, the sound meek. “Who wouldn’t be?”
“Hey,” he said, his fingertip nudging my chin up until our eyes met. “It’s you and me, okay? The rest is just white noise.”
I gave a nod and then got in.
“My father would kill for a ride in one of these,” I said as we wove through traffic.
“Yeah? Maybe, one day, I can take him for a spin.”
My heart did a somersault. I liked that he’d included a future with us. A future I so desperately wanted. His fingers found mine, linking and twisting together in the perfect form on my lap. I stared at them, lost in what felt like a daydream. But it wasn’t. He was real and he was mine and we were there, together.
When he pulled up to the valet outside of an expansive shopping mall, I was glad for the heavy tint on his windows because a small crowd had formed around the front doors. A crowd that seemed to come alive like a swarm of bees the moment they noticed Grayson’s car.
“Shit,” he said, his fingers unlinking from mine, leaving a chill where his warmth had been. “How the hell did they find out?” He glanced down at his phone, scrolling vigorously.
“This is your life.” It came out more as a realization than a question. Sure, I’d seen this a few times now, but this time, it felt different. Maybe because this was more personal to me.
“Yeah. Fun, right? Don’t ever get famous.”
My smile dipped into a pool of sadness.
He took my hand back in his. Gave me the softest kiss. “What do you say we go set the world on fire?”
I grinned. Took his hand after he came around and opened the door for me. He handed the key over to the valet, and with my arm hooked through his, we strode inside the building.
I wasn’t prepared for the looks thrown our way. People stopped and pointed at him. Questions on their faces when they stared at me. Cameras pulled out, our picture being snapped. There were so many, as if word had spread like a virus around the building.
“Primrose! Primrose! Over here!” someone shouted beside me.
“How does it feel, being Grayson Pierce’s girlfriend?” another stranger shouted, following beside us with a camera directed toward my face.
“How is it, dating a player?” someone else asked.
“Where are you from?”
“Who are you wearing?”
The questions came in swarms, pulsing and pecking at my ears.
“Don’t worry,” Grayson said against my ear. “It’s all fanfare over the relationship. They won’t be able to follow us into the restaurant. Just pretend they aren’t there.” He kept his focus ahead, hand locked tight with mine. Gaze laser-focused on the silver doors of the elevator, only a few feet away.
I heeded his words, though it was hard to pretend when they called out his name time and time again. Some giggling followed after. Others were reaching, trying to touch him.
Once the doors shut, canceling out the noise, I let out a thousand-pound sigh. “Is it always like this for you?” My lungs finally expanded from the break. Nerves doing a mad dash to mop up the adrenaline spill in my veins.
“No. Just when I’m uptown.” A pause. “Every time I come out, I always kick myself.” He turned and dot
ted my nose with his finger, granting me a grin. “Though you make the mess easy to deal with.”
I wrapped my arms around him. Rested my chin on his chest as a giggle wormed its way out of my mouth. “If they go this crazy over you having a girlfriend, imagine if you got married.”
“You know, I never expect this. I just don’t see myself as famous. It always blows me away.”
“You have seen your fan sites, haven’t you?”
“Honestly, I try to stay away from all of that. It freaks me out, how much they know. But,” he said with a pause, “if there was ever a reason for me to come out and endure this, tonight would be it. I want the world to know I’m yours.”
“And that you’ve hung up your player ways?” I teased.
He laughed. “Exactly. Here’s the new narrative: player falls for a small-town girl.” He pressed a kiss to my forehead. Pulled me closer. “But I want you to know, we don’t have to do this if you don’t want to. We can leave right now. Just say the word. I know it’s a lot.”
My resolve jutted its chin out, defiant and always ready for a challenge. “No. I can handle it.”
I smiled because I knew I meant it. I knew, as long as I was by his side, I could handle anything. From now on, he wouldn’t have to walk this path alone. He wouldn’t have to withstand the “fanfare,” as he’d so humbly put it, without a soldier by his side because I was going to be there, standing inside the fire with him.
So, when the doors opened and the many faces of those waiting to steal a piece of us appeared, I put on my bravest smile, took Grayson’s hand in mine, and stepped out into the fray.
***
“I want to show you something,” he said a little later as we entered his apartment. “I’ve been working on renovating it for a while.” He took me to a set of stairs that led to the rooftop. “It’s my favorite spot in the house, inspired by my mother.”
He pushed open the door that led to a terrace. The space was covered by a pergola with ivy laced around the beams of stained wood. In the middle was a small fountain. A few cushioned lounge chairs sat on either side, overlooking the city.
“It’s beautiful, Grayson,” I said, skimming my fingers through the water.
Distant summer thunder rumbled through the sky. I loved the sound of thunder. Like the sky was cracking its bones from a long slumber. Like the echoes of our mistakes, haunting, washing away in the rain.
Veiled beneath a bed of ivy, he pulled me down beside him on one of the chairs. I snuggled against his side. A perfect fit, we watched the lights twinkling in the distance.
His kisses started along my neck. Soft and timid, thawing my nerves. I tilted my head back, giving him more space. His lips felt good against my skin. A sensual torture that had my mouth lifting in response. I liked how my body reacted around him. The way it seemed to come alive.
Every touch felt new. Every feeling giving way to something more.
Our lips grew hungrier. Hands restless as we tugged on each other with desperation.
I wanted more of last night. I needed more of him, drunk on the heat of the summer.
Sliding a hand down his thigh, I rested it along the hard length straining against his pants, desperate to feel it again. He unbuttoned my blouse. Kissed every inch of exposed flesh with such tender affection that I felt like I was melting.
“I want to take my time with you, Prim,” he said as his hands cupped my face, planting kisses to every visible space. “Unravel you strand by strand. Watch your body shudder under my touch.” His hand slipped between my legs, palm cupping my sex. “I want you to writhe for me.”
My hips bucked involuntarily against his hand. I held on to his shoulders, fingers digging into his back, urging him on. “Please.”
“One step at a time, my love.”
His lips were on mine again, driving me further into a madness I never wanted to surface from. And then they were gone, carving a path across my breasts, coaxing my nipples into hard peaks. Swirling and licking as my hands dug into his thick mass of hair.
“I want to taste you,” he said. His gaze flitted up toward me, hooded and driven. “Sip on you until you spill all your secrets to me.”
Down the quivering rise of my stomach his lips went, slow and sensual. Kisses branding every inch until he was between my thighs. I was a shuddery mess, barely able to grab hold of my nerves as they shook with inexperience and longing.
He pressed a hot kiss against the inside of my thigh, his hand smoothing over my stomach, rubbing, calming the simmering quakes. Reverently trailed a path along the sensitive flesh and then switched to the other leg, lowering it until I was fully open to him.
With a fiery grin, he brushed my panties to the side.
I was locked on him. Hands fisting the sides of the chair. Heart stammering to keep up.
It was really happening. He was about to go down on me.
And I didn’t care.
I writhed for it.
When his mouth parted and his tongue swirled over me, my head flung back as a flurry of sensations erupted within my belly, spreading like wildfire beneath my skin. He took his time sucking and pulling, tongue applying just the right amount of pressure. His hands cupped my thighs, pulling me closer, fully under his command.
He growled against me as my hips danced with him. I was one giant nerve on the edge of exploding. Every square inch of flesh a shivering mass of cells firing to life. His pace increased when his finger moved inside me. I felt him everywhere as he centered on the heart of me, tongue twirling and then stopping. A hot, pressing pressure as he moved up and down. Over and around.
That’s it. Right there.
I was losing it. Barreling past the edge when his hand reached up and cupped my breast, pulling my nipple between his fingers. His name rushed past my lips as a dizzying array of sensations took over my body.
My thighs bucked and quivered against his head as his tongue lapped up every bit of my desire. A roller coaster of sensations I had only just ridden. I’d never known an orgasm could feel that powerful. Could spin me in a whirlwind of wonder.
When the sensations subsided into something a little more drunk, a little more languid, I fell back against the chair. His cheek rested against the inside of my thigh, hands cupped around my ass.
“I fucking ache for you,” he said, the smile on his lips turned toward the stars.
“Come here.”
He crawled over me. Kissed me softly, the tang of me still on his lips. When he rested beside me, one hand tucked under his head, the other sliding beneath mine, my brows pressed together.
“Don’t you …”
“Another time,” he said with a knowing smirk. “Like I said, I want to take my time with you. Let the pleasure I bring you unspool in your belly until you’re craving more. Only then, Prim. Only then.”
The Affair
Grayson
PRIM WAS CURLED AGAINST MY side when my eyes peeled open, the first golden bans of sun slipping through the clouds. Her body was molded perfectly against mine, as if it were always meant to be there. An extension I hadn’t known I was missing.
A satisfied smile formed across my lips as I listened to the quiet sounds of sleep exhaling from her mouth, lips slightly parted. The fan of her dark lashes touching the dip just below her eyes. She was almost angelic as she slept. The perfect poem with soft skin and dream-kissed eyes.
We’d found ourselves tangled up in my bed the night before, watching a movie. When she’d dozed off, I couldn’t bear to wake her. Not when she was tucked against me, safe and sound. But also because I didn’t want her to go. I liked her being by my side. Liked holding her while she dreamed.
She shifted a little, her ass rubbing against my dick, which instantly grew hard. Fuck, how I’d wanted to lose myself inside her last night. The way the moonlight had painted her skin in silver. The shape of discovery swirling in her gaze. The flavor of hunger on her lips.
I was addicted.
A goner for her.
/> I stole a touch, running my finger over the dip between her stomach and hip. A cavern of happiness I wanted to continue discovering. Goose bumps rose like tiny buds on her skin. She shifted again. A sliver of milky flesh peeked out from under the sheet, hidden by my shirt she wore. I wanted to memorize every inch of her body. Stay locked up for days, devouring all that was her.
Part of me wanted to wake her with my tongue between her legs, inspiring the heated look she’d given me last night. Watch her unravel. But the other part of me, the more giving side I hadn’t known existed, wanted to take care of her. Nourish her. Replenish her appetite with food before feeding her desire.
Slipping out from under the sheet, I found my phone on the counter where I’d left it the night before. It was almost dead but loaded with text messages. Ignoring them all, I pulled up the number to the diner across the street and ordered a bountiful breakfast. A feast that would surely make her happy.
Hanging up, I put on a pot of coffee and waited, leaning against the counter. Losing my thoughts to Prim. By the time the buzzer rang downstairs, I’d already finished one cup. Rushing down the steps, I greeted the man and took the bags, offering a decent tip. Prim was on her tiptoes in the kitchen, reaching for a mug when I returned.
“I never understood the lure of a woman in a man’s shirt until now,” I said, wishing the shirt would lift a little higher so I could see the sexy swell of her ass.
She turned, a smile springing across her face. “Morning.”
I set the food on the counter and pulled her against me, kissing her deep, tasting the morning on her tongue. Already, I had an erection. I wanted to claim her right there. Bend her over the counter and then bury myself inside her universe until my name was branded on her tongue.
“Looks like he’s happy to see me too.” Her gaze drifted to my dick pressing hungrily against my pants. She playfully licked her lips, a stark contrast to the wild blush brandishing her cheeks. Though she was growing comfortable with me and with intimacy, her innocence was still there.
Love in the Headlines: A Star-Crossed Friends-To-Lovers Romance (Love in the Headlines Series Book 1) Page 20