Grant closed the grill and watched Katrina and Anya talk, verbally renovating his patio. Obviously they were having a great time, and their ideas weren't bad, either.
"Oh, you know what?" Anya said. "I have a template for room renovations on my tablet. Let me go grab it real quick. Then we can move stuff around, really visualize."
Now it was getting serious.
Leo shrugged. "They do this a lot. You get used to it."
"Obviously they enjoy it."
"They do. But they're right, you know. You could do so much more with your space back here."
He tried not to smile. "So you have some ideas of your own?"
"Maybe."
"Hit me."
Leo pointed. "A zip line from the far tree over there in the woodland section to the one over there."
Grant arched a brow. "Huh. That's an interesting idea."
"Are you insane, Leo? A zip line?" Katrina cast a horrified look in their direction.
"What's wrong with a zip line?" Grant asked.
"Think of the liability issues. My God, the amount of insurance you'd have to carry--and what if someone fell? Someone could get hurt. You could get sued."
They all stared at her.
"You are seriously no fun, Kat," Anya said, coming back with her tablet.
"What Anya said," Leo added.
"I didn't say I was going to hook up a bungee cord today, Katrina, so don't worry. I just said it was an intriguing idea."
"Well, un-intrigue yourself. It's a terrible idea."
Leo leaned into him. "A zip line from the woods directly to the house would be even better. People could drop into the pool along the way."
"I heard that, Leo," Katrina said.
Leo threw a smirk Grant's way.
The kid's sense of humor mirrored his. He liked this kid. He enjoyed them both.
He liked their sister an awful lot, too.
They ate dinner inside because it was brutally hot outside. After they cleaned up, everyone dashed upstairs to change out of their swimsuits. When they reunited downstairs, he had a surprise for the kids. He led them to the basement, waiting for their reaction when they saw what he had down there.
"Holy crap," Leo said, marveling at the media room with its wide screen and comfortable, leather theater seats. "And there's gaming stuff here, too."
Anya turned to him. "See? This is why you need to expand your outdoor entertainment area. That plus this? Your guests would never want to leave."
Grant looked over at Katrina. "I'm not sure that's such a good idea."
She laughed.
The kids amused themselves that evening playing video games for a while. Even Grant got in on the action, and before long, they'd convinced Katrina to join them. She had to admit, it was fun, though she obviously wasn't as well versed in whatever universe they were playing in, and got her butt kicked frequently. But she enjoyed a nice relaxing evening with her siblings, laughing as they hunted her down and killed her more than once.
"You guys are ruthless," she said.
"Hey, don't blame us if Grant doesn't have your back on the battlefield," Leo said.
"Not my fault," Grant said, keeping his eyes on the screen. "She keeps going in the wrong direction. I can't protect her if she's heading the opposite way."
"There's too many buttons on this controller. I can't figure out what to do with them all."
"That's because you don't play enough," Leo said.
She decided to take a break from the carnage, letting her soldier--or character, or whatever--die, much to Grant's dismay. She went upstairs to refresh her drink. When she came back down, she didn't reenter the game, just watched for a while, and surveyed the rest of Grant's unfinished basement. It was cool down here, even in the hot summer. Which gave her even more ideas. Taking some time to amuse herself while the rest of them finished out their battle, she grabbed Anya's tablet and used her sister's home decorating app to flesh out some thoughts that had popped into her head.
She curled up on one of the side sofas and lost herself in her ideas.
"What are you working on over here?"
Grant's warm breath tickled her neck. "You'll laugh."
"I doubt it. Looks like you're renovating the basement now." He came around and sat next to her. "Show me what you've got."
"Well, you've done this amazing media room, but people have to go upstairs for drinks. It's nice and cool down here, and you have plenty of space for a wine cellar, plus a wet bar over here."
He studied the plans she'd created, then looked over the space in the basement.
"Definitely doable. I've been wondering what to do with the unfinished part of the basement."
She fiddled with the design. "Then you could soundproof this room, close it off from the dressing room and laundry area, but both areas would still have doors leading to the stairwell so people could get upstairs."
He glanced over at her. "I really do like this idea, Katrina. Plus the outdoor barbecue. You and Anya are good at this."
She shrugged. "Just playing, really."
He laid his hand over hers. "No, I'm serious. Can you e-mail this to me? I want to talk it over with my contractor. I think this is something he could get started on right away. We could do the outside entertainment area before the cold weather sets in, and they could work indoors this winter."
He was taking this way too seriously. "You know we did not mean for you to spend money renovating your house. We were just throwing out silly ideas."
His lips curved. "That would be fun if the ideas were crazy. But these are realistic and would add value to the house. Why wouldn't I take them seriously, especially if it's something I want to do?"
She stared at him. "You are taking this seriously."
"Well ... yeah. My mom's been after me to finish the house for a while now--especially the basement. I haven't given it a lot of thought. Now I am."
Anya flipped around and faced them. "So you're going to do it?"
Grant gave her a grin. "I think so."
"Very cool. I want to come back when the outside kitchen is finished. I think it's going to look awesome." She turned around and went back to the game.
Until Leo paused the game again and turned around. "The zip line, too?"
Grant laughed. "I don't think that one's gonna fly, buddy."
Leo faced the game again, shaking his head. "Too bad. You could be really popular if you did the zip line."
"I think Grant is popular enough without it," Katrina said.
Grant called an end to the game and they agreed on some epic movie watching, though everyone argued over what to watch. Anya wanted a romantic comedy. Leo picked a horror movie, and in the end, Katrina and Grant won out with an action flick, which Anya and Leo grudgingly accepted.
They made popcorn, everyone refilled their drinks, and they settled in to watch the movie.
The sound was amazing, and Katrina was convinced that once the room was enclosed and soundproofed, it could be even better. The movie was pretty fantastic, too, with nonstop action. Even the kids admitted to liking it.
Once it was over, though, Katrina and Grant headed upstairs, leaving the kids to watch the movies they wanted.
"Don't stay up too late," Katrina said.
"Or what?" Leo asked. "We'll be tired for school tomorrow?"
She pinned him with a look.
"He's kind of got you there," Grant said, then turned to Leo. "You should stay up all night. Then when I wake you around eight, you'll really enjoy it."
Leo frowned. "Why would you wake me that early?"
Grant arched a brow and gave Leo a smug smile. "Wouldn't you like to know?"
"Fine. I'll go to bed after the next movie's over."
"Good plan." Grant turned to Katrina, winked at her, then followed her upstairs.
"Why are you waking him at eight?"
"And wouldn't you like to know, too."
In the kitchen, she pivoted to face him. "Actually, I would like
to know."
"I'm taking him to practice with me tomorrow. If that's okay with you."
She thought maybe he was trying to teach him some kind of football discipline, like getting up early, even in the summer. She hadn't expected this. "Oh, Grant, he's going to love that."
"Thought he might. He won't be able to run drills or anything, but he can watch a pro team practice."
"He'll enjoy every second of it. Thank you."
He shrugged. "It's not a big deal. I cleared it with the coaches, and they're fine with him hanging out. But it'll be a full day."
"That's fine. I was thinking of taking Anya with me tomorrow."
"Yeah? What are you two going to do?"
"I have to meet with the photographer and review the final photos, make sure everything's set. Maybe do a couple more shots. After that, I thought we'd go up to the Arch since she wanted to see it."
"I'm sure you'll enjoy that. Oh, and the Rivers are playing tomorrow night."
She gave him a blank look.
"Baseball team. My brother plays for them. I thought we'd all catch a game."
"Sounds great. The kids will like that."
He brushed his fingertip across her lower lip. "You will, too."
"If you say so."
He caged her between him and the counter. "So, I'm getting kind of sleepy. How about you?"
She wasn't tired at all, but she got the gist of his suggestion. "Maybe a little."
"I saw your stuff in my room. You okay staying there with me with the kids here?"
"I wasn't at first. They seemed to be matter-of-fact about it, like it would be ridiculous for me to stay anywhere else."
"Kids are a lot smarter than we give them credit for. I think they probably know we're sleeping together."
"I guess so. And it's not like they're my children. I don't know. They confuse me sometimes. I'm confused about it. About us. I don't want to give the kids the wrong idea."
"About us? I don't think they're all that concerned about what's going on between you and me. I think they're more involved with themselves and having a good time. Don't worry so much about it. Besides, they're not babies anymore, Kat. They're practically adults."
She sighed. "Don't remind me."
His eyes glittered with amusement. "I assume you've had the talk with them--you know, about sex."
She pushed at his chest and freed herself. "I think they probably know more about sex than I do."
He took her hand and tugged her toward the stairs. "Then let's fix that."
"Hey, I was just kidding." But she allowed herself to get dragged along.
Though she really wasn't all that reluctant.
Grant thought she had a lot to learn. She might not have a lot of practical experience, but she knew a lot more about sex than he might imagine.
She might as well put that book knowledge to good use.
On Grant.
TWENTY-ONE
GRANT HAD THOROUGHLY ENJOYED SPENDING TIME with Leo and Anya today.
But that meant he had to be on his best behavior, which meant keeping his hands off Katrina, and that had been damn hard to do.
Coming outside this afternoon and seeing her lounging by the pool in her bikini had been a lesson in restraint. All he'd wanted to do was put his hands--and his mouth--on her.
Now that they were alone and in his room, with the door firmly shut and locked, and the teenagers two floors below them, he intended to touch and kiss her until he had his fill, and until she got everything she wanted.
She sat at the foot of his bed, eyeing him with a mixture of wariness and expectation as he approached.
"So, Kat, tell me your fantasies. What have you been studying up on, sex-wise, that you'd like to experience."
Her lips curved, and damn if that wasn't one of the sexiest expressions he'd ever seen. It made her violet blue eyes smolder darker.
"I have a long list."
"We have all the time in the world, and we don't have to get to it all tonight. Pick something from your list."
"How about we start in the shower--together?"
He liked where this was going.
"Sure."
She got up, took him by the hand and led him into the bathroom.
"After all, we need to wash off all that chlorine." She lifted her tank top off, then popped the clasp on her bra and let it fall to the floor, baring her gorgeous breasts.
"Of course." He drew his shirt off and added it to the pile, watching her shimmy out of her shorts and underwear while he shed the rest of his clothes.
He turned on the shower, setting the water temperature, then stepped in, taking her hand and drawing her in with him. There were jets on both sides of the wall, so they were both getting wet.
Katrina tilted her head back, wetting her hair. Grant grabbed the bottle of shampoo and poured some in his hand.
"Turn around."
She did, and he slid the shampoo in her hair, coating the strands before moving back up to massage her scalp.
"Mmm, that feels good."
What felt good was the sound of her voice as he washed her hair. Just touching her like this--even in a nonsexual way--got him hard. Slipping his fingers through every strand of her hair, rubbing his fingers across her head, everything about her turned him on.
"Rinse."
She did, and he grabbed conditioner, coating the strands of her hair with it, rubbing it into the ends of her hair.
She half turned to look at him. "I probably shouldn't ask this, but how do you know so much about washing and conditioning a woman's hair?"
He gave her a half smile. "I have a little sister. I got stuck babysitting now and then when she was small and had to give her a bath. Conditioner doesn't go on the top of the head."
She nodded. "It's good for guys to learn these things."
"That's what my mom said."
She rinsed her hair, then turned around. "Now it's my turn."
She soaped up her hands, and washed his hair. This was something new for him.
"I don't think a woman has ever washed my hair--other than when I go to the hair place and they cut it."
"Then the women you've been with are stupid."
She was tall, so he only had to bend a little for her to get the shampoo on his head. And oh, man, he liked her hands on his head and in his hair. She knew not to treat his head gently. She massaged his head hard, really digging in and it felt great, especially when she used her thumbs at the back of his neck.
"I might have to ask you to give me a massage," he said. "You have very good hands."
"I think we could arrange that. As long as we're naked." She slid her soapy hand around and stroked his cock, making him suck in a breath. Now that she could do for a very long time and he wouldn't complain at all.
"Yeah, that kind of a massage. It feels good to have your hand on me."
"Like this? With long strokes?"
He swallowed, lost in the feel of her hand wrapped around him.
"Yes."
"We'll get back to that in a minute. Rinse your hair."
He enjoyed this side of her, when she was relaxed and playful.
He rinsed his hair, and when he opened his eyes she had the bottle of body wash.
"How about you wash me now?"
Grant was looking forward to this. He poured body wash onto his hands and rubbed them together, forming a lather. He started on her back, massaging her muscles as he soaped her up, taking in the sounds of her moans, which only made his dick throb harder.
And when he slid one finger between her buttocks, she leaned forward and palmed the wall of the shower, letting out a low moan.
"That feels good," she said.
He moved in closer. "Does it?" He moved one hand around and cupped her sex, rubbing back and forth until her breath caught, while teasing her anus with his finger.
"Oh. Oh, God, yes. Keep doing that. Keep touching me there."
Now they were getting somewhere. He was learning what
she liked, what turned her on, and she was driving him crazy. He wanted to be inside her so badly he was ready to explode.
But right now he wanted her to explode.
He kept up the movements of his hands, sliding a finger inside her pussy while using the heel of his hand to make contact with her clit and using a gentle back and forth motion across her anus.
"I want--"
She didn't finish, but he knew, so he slid the tip of his finger into her ass.
"Oh, yes. That's what I want. All the way in."
He loved that she gave him direction, that she told him what she needed.
He pushed his finger inside her anus, while thrusting his finger into her pussy and increasing the pressure on her clit.
"Oh, I'm coming." Her body tightened around his fingers as she came with a hard orgasm. He felt every part of her shudder for a good long minute that left him ready to go off as well.
When he withdrew, he washed his hands, turned her around, and kissed her, needing to take her mouth, her tongue, envelop her in the passion that had overtaken him. She wound her hand around the nape of his neck and wrapped her leg around his hip.
He needed a goddamn condom and he needed it now.
Breathless, Kat broke the kiss, her body still quivering from the orgasm that had left her weak and shaking.
Katrina had never experienced anything like that, had been so focused on what Grant had been doing to her that she'd lost all sense of time and place. She might have screamed. She couldn't remember, and right now, she couldn't care. All she knew was she wanted more.
And from the heated looks Grant gave her, she knew he was ready as well. He quickly grabbed soap and washed his body, then turned the shower off. They climbed out, dried off, and headed to the bedroom.
"I need to fuck you," he said pushing her onto the bed. "Right now. I need to come hard in you."
Having a man nearly shaking with need for her was a heady realization. What he'd done to her in the shower--the heights of pleasure he'd taken her to--had shattered her.
She spread her legs. "Do it to me again, Grant. Make me come like that again."
With a low growl, he grabbed a condom and tore the wrapper open. She expected him to thrust inside her, but instead he went lower, kissing her inner thighs before burying his face in her sex.
Oh, the things the man could do with his tongue. He lapped at her pussy, then moved up to her clit, sliding his lips and tongue over her until she was ready to scream again. She was shaking all over, so close to an orgasm she had grasped his hair and was arching her pussy against his face.