Over the next several hours, we go back and forth between soaking up the warm Florida rays on the beach and frolicking in the calm turquoise waters of the Atlantic Ocean. As always, conversation between us flows with unforced ease and is chock full of suggestive innuendo as we each see who can provoke the other more.
‘Accidental’ touches and lingering kisses only fuel the lust-driven fires slowly burning inside us, and I know when we finally get alone in our room later, the explosion is going to resemble that of Mount Vesuvius.
At one point, I get up to use the bathroom, and when I return, Gray’s holding my tablet with a mischievous gleam in his eyes. As I sit down and extend my hand for him to return it, he shakes his head and clears his throat. Then, in the most overdramatic voice imaginable, he begins to read aloud.
“My stomach tightens, and I release an untamed growl,” he roars the word like a lion, “trembling uncontrollably. I surrender to the overwhelming ecstasy engulfing my body and allow my release to flow freely against his tongue. He drinks my juices as if he’s dying of thirst and I’m the only thing that can save his life until my body stops quivering and I slacken in his hands, then he places soft kisses on the inside of my thigh before moving back up my body.”
Glancing up at me, he snickers. “Don’t worry, love; there’s no way she tastes as good as you.” I lean back against the lounger and cover my hands with my face, completely and utterly embarrassed he’s doing this, but this just encourages him further.
“‘So sweet, it keeps getting better,’ he mumbles against my lips before kissing me deeply.
“‘I need you, Madden,’ I reply hoarsely. Hooking my thumbs inside the elastic waist of his boxers, I push them down, releasing his hard cock against my stomach. He lifts his body as I take the rock-hard shaft in my hand and begin to stroke the length of it. Gazing down between our bodies, my thumb slowly circles the drop of pre-cum escaping from the tip, and then rubs it all over the straining head.”
He drops the device onto his lap, looking over at me again. “See, this chick likes the word ‘cum’ too. You should definitely use it more often. It’s hot. I bet Madden likes it.”
I hope the torture ends there, but no such luck. He continues, “I guide his cock down between my swollen lips and run it up and down my pussy, coating it with my juices. A carnal noise escapes him as he grabs my hands and lifts them up over my head, restraining them with one hand. I’m so lost in him, in the moment that’s about to happen, I don’t even think about being pinned or confined. With Madden, it feels right; I trust he won’t harm me, and my pleasure truly is his priority. I want him to control my body.”
Blowing out a heavy breath, he pretends to fan himself as he sets the reader next to him. “Damn. Is all the shit you read like this? No wonder you’re always trying to seduce me, you little vixen. Did you even go to the bathroom just now, or get yourself off after reading this chapter?”
I glare at him as I snatch it back. “Don’t make fun. Most of the books I read have really great story lines, including this one. You just happen to have picked it up at a scene.”
Laughing hard, he leans his head back on the chair and holds his stomach. “That’s a scene, all right. One I’d like to go role play whenever you’re ready, mi cielo.”
Like the mature thirty-eight year old I am, I stick my tongue out, trying not to laugh along with him. Even I have to admit his whole reenactment was pretty damn funny. “Anytime you want, Uno. I’ll let you control my body. I trust you.”
When the words leave my mouth, the mood between us instantly turns from lighthearted and humorous to intense and passionate. Gray snaps his head in my direction, his stare sharp and piercing as he swings his legs to the side of the chair and sits up straight.
“I want now,” he rumbles, the words emitting from deep inside his chest. “You said anytime I want, and I. Want. Now.”
My upper thighs clench together instinctively, flooding with desire as I nod. “Where?” I whisper, willing to strip right here in broad daylight for him, if that’s what he asks.
“The room,” he announces, standing up and grabbing our belongings. “I want you naked, hands above your head, and spread for me on the bed. I’m going to show you what it’s like to have someone drink from you like they need you in order to live, and after that, I’ll show you exactly what Madden can never do for you. Get ready to count, Mia.”
Dear baby Jesus, I may have already come a little.
I don’t need to be told twice. Pulling my cover-up over my head and slipping my feet in my flip-flops, I grab my towel and hurry as fast as I can to our room without looking back to see if he’s keeping up with me or not. I just thank my lucky stars it’s on the first floor and I don’t have to deal with any elevator or stairs bullshit.
The second I’m inside the door, I shed the limited clothing I have on and do exactly as I was instructed—on the bed, hands gripping the headboard, legs spread-eagle. Even with all the times Gray and I have been together, I’ve never before been this turned on in my life.
My entire body trembles with anticipation as he enters the suite, offering only a curt nod of appreciation that I’m in the correct position. Depositing the beach bag on a chair, he unties his board shorts and allows them to drop to the floor, standing at the foot of the bed in all his naked glory, with a hunger in his hooded eyes like I’ve never seen.
A tightening sensation sears through my lower abdomen as he climbs onto the bed, kneeling between my legs. His gaze scorches over my exposed flesh from my ankles up to my hair and back down again, landing directly at the apex of my thighs.
“Tell me who you want to control your body, Mia,” he demands gruffly.
“You,” I say in a whispered whimper.
“Louder. Tell me who and what you want.”
“You, Gray!” I shout. “I want you to control my body.”
God, I have no idea who the two of us are right now, but I’m loving every fucking moment of it. This is better than any scene in any book, ‘cause it’s actually me lying on the bed with a sexy-ass man, who I happen to be in love with, looking down at me like I’m his reason for living. It’s empowering yet humbling all at once, and I never want it to stop.
“Fucking right, you do,” he growls triumphantly as he leans down and splays his hands out just above my knees, holding my legs wide open.
Kissing his way up the inner seam of one of my legs, he stops right before he reaches his target, causing me to groan with frustration as he repeats the motion on the other. Finally, his mouth finds my throbbing center in a forceful, long lick from my ass straight up to my clit. Moaning, my hips buck off the mattress at the overwhelming pleasure he provides with a single swipe of his tongue.
He uses the strength of his hands to ground me back on the bed before repeating the action. Again and again, the heated pressure inside my core builds as I writhe beneath him, desperate for relief. Baring his teeth, he grazes them over my tight bundle of nerves at the same time he slides a finger inside me, sending an intense shot of electricity through my body.
“Gray, please,” I beg for more. “So close.”
Adding a second finger, he thrusts them in and out of me while his mouth works on my clit—flicking, nipping, and sucking—until my climax claims me, body and soul. Surrendering to the powerful surge of ecstasy, I throw my head back into the pillow and clench my legs around his head, but he doesn’t stop his relentless ministrations.
With my release still quaking through me, a third finger joins the first two as he continues to lick me like a man possessed. I’m not sure where the first orgasm ends and the next begins, but for what seems like forever, yet still not nearly long enough, I come apart on his face and hand like a wild banshee, spiraling out of control.
When he finally releases my body from his hold, it’s not for long. He moves up my body with the poise and grace of a jungle cat, hovering over me with the tip of his cock nestled at my slick entrance.
“How many is that, m
i cielo?” he rumbles into my neck, his hot breath bathing the delicate skin.
“Dos or tres…I dunno,” I pant, turning my head to kiss him.
As our mouths fit together in the neediest of all kisses, he drives deep inside my core, liberating me from the all-consuming necessity to be filled by him. His thrusts start out in a zealous frenzy, but quickly even out into the steady rhythm of perfection.
Our eyes remain locked on each other, countless words spoken without a sound from our mouths other than an occasional grunt or moan. With my body already melted into near-nothingness, it doesn’t take long of him pumping his hard heat into me before that irresistible feeling rolls through me yet again.
My inner walls clamp down around him as my next climax wracks through me, this one stronger and more forceful than the first ones, exhausting me of any sanity I may have left. Thankfully, Gray doesn’t hold back in joining in on my mind-blowing orgasm, thrusting one last time before he fills me with his warm release.
Without pulling out, he rolls us both on our sides to keep from pinning me with his full weight as we both slowly catch our breath and fall back down to earth. Tucking my sweaty hair behind my ear, he peppers tender kisses all over my face, making me feel unbelievably cherished and appreciated.
“I love you, Mia.”
We don’t leave the suite for the rest of the night. After we recover from round one, I order room service and a bottle of champagne. We then move round two to the shower, and finish round three by passing out in each other’s arms. Complete perfection.
Sunday morning, I wake early with a restless feeling sitting heavy in my chest. Mia’s sleeping soundly next to me, and for quite some time, I simply lie there and stare at her impeccable beauty. Borderline creepy, but whatever.
Without even realizing when I’m doing it, I find myself softly singing, humming the parts I don’t know, a famous Spanish love song as I stroke her hair across the pillow. I realize everything between us is going to change soon—whether it be for the better or worse, I’m not sure—but no matter what, once we tell Adam, the dynamic of our relationship will have to adjust.
I know I have to be flexible; the last thing I want is to lose her. I love her. Like really, really love her, love her. And I’m willing to do whatever needs to be done to stay with her.
“You have a really nice voice,” she purrs as her eyelids flutter open, a beautiful, sleepy smile spreading across her face. “I think I’ll make you perform concerts for me…naked.”
Laughing softly, I lean down and kiss her full lips. “Not nearly as nice as yours, belleza.”
“What was that song?” she questions as she sits up and stretched her arms over her head. “I thought I heard my name in it.”
Nodding, I scoot up in the bed to lean my back against the headboard and pat between my spread legs. “Come sit here so we can watch the sunrise together.”
She happily obliges, climbing into my lap and resting her back against my chest. I loop my arms around her middle, lazily tracing circles over her belly as I bury my nose in her hair.
“You did hear your name,” I finally answer her question. “The song is called Cielito Lindo. It’s an old love song from Mexico, actually, but it’s pretty popular in Spain too, though more as a lullaby.”
“It sounded pretty,” she murmurs, melting into me a little more.
We sit in comfortable silence for a few minutes as the sun makes her first appearance out over the horizon, a splash of pinks, oranges, and yellows brightening up the cloudless sky. I can feel her pulse through my cheek pressed against the side of her neck, and it does funny things to my own heartbeat, speeding up with passion, then slowing down with a sense of peace.
Interlacing our fingers, our ‘wedding’ rings rest together over her bare stomach. “I wish we could stay here forever,” I remark, squeezing her gently.
“Nothing lasts forever,” she replies, so softly I almost don’t hear her.
Before I have a chance to respond, she twists in my arms and gazes up at me with her glassy blue eyes, smiling a melancholy smile. “Thank you for bringing me here, Gray. I can’t ever tell you how much this means to me…how much you mean to me. I don’t know how in the world we got to this place, but it just feels right. I never thought I’d fall in love again, and especially not like this, but I did and I do. I love you so much.”
“I love you too, mi cielo,” I say as I kiss the tip of her nose. “And believe me, I understand the craziness in all of it, but we’ll figure it out. Somehow, it’ll all work out. It has to.”
GOING HOME SUCKS. LIKE GRAY, I wish we could’ve stayed in that hotel room bed forever, where it was just me and him pretending to be newlyweds, living footloose and fancy-free. But like I told him, nothing lasts forever, no matter how bad we want it to.
Our flight home ends up being delayed nearly two hours, which leads to Gray and me spending the extra time in the airport bar, drowning our gloomy moods with beer after beer. If we were sitting any closer, I’d be in his lap, as I feel clingier than I ever have in my life. So afraid of what’s going to happen when we tell Adam, something inside me makes me feel if I stay in physical contact with Gray, he won’t go anywhere.
Finally, they announce it’s time to board our flight, and after we pay the tab, we shuffle through the line of other irritated passengers until we’re safely strapped into our assigned seats. My apprehension of flying is the last thing on my mind as I lift the armrest between us so I can cuddle into his side for the duration of the trip.
When we land in Atlanta, I power my cellphone back up just in time to get a text from Adam saying he’s at the airport in LA , and that Sierra will be picking him up when he arrives. I reply that I can’t wait to see him, while we’re waiting to get off the plane.
“Is everything okay?” Gray asks as he glimpses down at my phone, not letting go of my other hand.
“Yeah,” I nod, licking my dry lips. “Like you thought, Sierra is picking Adam up from the airport and bringing him home later. I guess I’ll get to meet her tonight.
He bends down and kisses my forehead. “Let’s get home so we can unpack and relax a little before they get there. Are you hungry?”
I’m not hungry, but I know I need to eat, so I nod faintly, and then rest my cheek on his bicep, wishing we were already at the house.
The drive home is uneventful. We’re both pretty quiet most of the way; I’m not even in the mood to sing along with the radio. After stopping to pick up some fast food, we finally pull into the driveway and Gray grabs our bags from the back.
While he takes them up to our rooms, I set the burgers and fries out on plates and wait for him to come down before I begin eating. My thoughts are racing as I play out every possible scenario of when we tell Adam about us, and unfortunately, the one where he smiles and says, “Congratulations on finding happiness together,” just doesn’t seem very realistic.
“A penny for your thoughts,” Gray says, kissing my cheek as he slides onto the barstool next to me.
“Then I’d be a millionaire today,” I mumble, smiling weakly.
He nods his agreement as he picks up a few fries and stuffs them in his mouth. “So, how do you want to handle it? Sit him down together and talk to him?”
“I think we should do it together, but I think we should wait until tomorrow,” I reply matter-of-factly. “Tonight’s going to be hectic, with him bringing Sierra home and then just getting caught up after not being here for so long. He’s bound to be exhausted, and I think he’ll be more likely to get defensive or pissed off. Maybe we can wait a couple of days, just to let him get settled back in before we spring it on him.”
Looking over at him nervously, I try to gage his reaction to putting off the announcement, and gratefully, he offers a smile, although it’s faint at best. “I think that’s a good idea, but I don’t want to wait too long. It’s gonna be hard not to touch you or kiss you at will, and especially sleep in my bed alone.”
My heart clenches in my
chest at the thought of not sharing a bed with him. Since the night Adam left, Gray and I have slept next to each other every single night, and I haven’t even thought about not having him there.
“This week. I promise,” I assure him.
“Okay, baby. You let me know when. I go back to work tomorrow, and I think Adam does too, so maybe we can do dinner Tuesday night or something.”
“Tuesday sounds good.”
Adam’s return home is more emotional than I expected. I’d been so busy playing house with Gray while he was gone I hadn’t realized how much I missed him. After shedding a few tears and hugging him over and over, I throw together a quick dinner, in which Sierra—who surprisingly reminds me of a young Stella—stays to enjoy with us.
‘Difficult’ doesn’t begin to describe what it’s like to not be with Gray around Adam. Touching him, kissing him, even telling him I love him has become second nature to me in this relatively short amount of time, and I have to continually remind myself to stay away from him. It’s like I’m magnetically drawn to his side, yearning for his comfort and affection.
As I glance down at the ring I’ve now moved to my right hand, I chuckle over how I wondered how attached I could get in a mere six weeks. Apparently very.
Halfway through the first night, I can’t handle it any longer, so I end up sneaking into Gray’s room and joining him in bed. I set my alarm to wake up early, but I at least get about five hours of restful sleep.
They’re both gone to work on Monday, which gives me a chance to resume my workouts and painting, as well as get the house back in order. Monday night, I don’t even make it to midnight before I’m back in Gray’s bed, my desire to feel him close no longer simply a want, now an unrelenting need.
Tuesday, I’m a wreck as I mentally prepare for the evening and the unavoidable talk. However, Adam calls at lunch to let me know he’s going out with Sierra and won’t be home until late. Gray’s exasperation matches mine when I relay the message, and he decides to work late to catch up on stuff from while we were gone.