He looks up from nuzzling my sex and smiles at me. “Oh?”
I sit up and reach for him, catching one rounded bicep in each palm. I drag him up my body, laughing as he struggles to shuck his jeans. “You’ve got the tools to deliver orgasms that blow the solo act out of the water,” I say as he settles between my thighs. “So how about we get to it?”
He laughs and leans down to kiss me. “Yes, ma’am,” he says, and grabs for his wallet.
Chapter 10
CONFESSIONAL 719.5
Walsh, Griffin (Brewmaster: Juniper Ridge)
What does intimacy mean to me? Christ, you guys ask the weirdest questions. No, it’s fine. I’ll answer. [drags hand through hair] Let’s see…I guess it’s more than getting naked. That part’s great, don’t get me wrong. But you can get close without being actively inside another person. Sometimes it’s about sharing stuff you’ve never shared with anyone else. Being open, vulnerable…
Uh, can we stop now? Cut!
What do you mean I can’t yell “cut?”
I’ve got the condom on, but I catch myself hesitating.
Not that I have any doubt about making love to Mari. But I want to savor this moment, poised above her with lean arms around my shoulders and the citra scent of her hair filling my senses. I want to remember this forever, the glint of light in those silver-gold eyes, the way her lips part and she gasps as I graze her slick center.
“God, you’re gorgeous.”
She laughs and clenches her thighs around my hips. “I’m sure you say that to all the girls you’re poised to penetrate.”
The quip is lighthearted, but I recognize a defense mechanism when I hear it. From her, anyway. “There’s no one like you, Mari.” I’m not going to invoke my ex-wife in a moment like this, but I want her to understand. “There’s never been anyone like you.”
She closes her eyes, and I’m not sure if she’s retreating inside herself or this moment. When she opens her eyes, I see tears glinting at the edges of her lashes. “Why are you like this?”
I laugh. I can’t help it. It’s the last thing I expected her to say. “I’m sure you say that to all the guys poised to penetrate you.”
Her laugh flutters out as she clenches her thighs, probably afraid I’ve changed my mind. But I’m not going anywhere.
And surprisingly, neither is she. “I just—I didn’t mean for this to happen. I put up walls, and I catalogued excuses, and I was so sure I could use my brain to keep my heart from running the show.”
“Not so much?”
She shakes her head, dark hair rippling on the pillow. “Not even close.”
“Well.” I ease the tip inside her, suppressing a smile as she gasps. “Should we get some other parts in on the action?”
Smiling, she drags her hands to my ass and pulls me deeper inside. “Yes, please.”
I groan as I sink fully into her heat. She’s slick and tight and all mine as I drive into her and draw back. I move slowly, wanting to savor this. Wanting to do this forever, or at least eight or nine hours.
But Mari cries out beneath me, and I know neither of us will last that long. We’re too lost in each other, too wild with heat and friction. She arches up, lashes soft on her cheeks as she closes her eyes.
“Look at me, Mari.”
She does, locking our gazes as she glides her hands up my back and gasps again. “Griffin. You feel so good. I—I didn’t know it could be like this.”
She’s not talking about sex. I don’t need her to elaborate to tell me that, and I also don’t need the ego stroke to tell me we’re magic together. The way she moves beneath me, like she’s anticipating every flex of muscle, every firelight flicker of nerves. Her breasts pillow against my chest, but the softness in Mari is what gets me.
There’s a vulnerability in her eyes, a look of wonder that erases all doubt we’re on the same plane. The pleasure is one thing, but the connection between us…it’s next-level stuff.
“Griff.” She tips her head back, throat curving up to meet my lips. I kiss my way to her mouth, fusing us together as I drive in again.
“So good,” I breathe against her cheek. “We’re so fucking good together.”
“I know.” She groans and closes her eyes again. I don’t fight it this time. I feel her tight walls gripping me, and I know she’s close.
I’m almost there, too. “That’s it,” I murmur, hoping it doesn’t sound like a pep talk. “I’m right there with you. Let go, baby.”
The endearment slips out before I can second-guess if “baby” is an okay thing to call a woman with a doctorate. She opens her eyes, and fear slices through me that I’ve lost her.
“Oh, God!” She screams my name, dragging her nails down my back. The pulse of her sex knocks me over the edge, and I topple in after her, chasing the roar of her pleasure with my own.
“Mari, Jesus.” We come together in great, gulping waves, slamming into each other as we expand and contract and shatter in a thousand pieces while putting each other back together.
When the storm subsides, I don’t roll off. I know I should. I need to ditch the condom and give her a chance to clean up. But I can’t stop kissing her, murmuring words that come out in a jumble of syllables even I can’t understand. She’s reduced me to speaking in tongues. That’s how far gone I am.
She opens her eyes and smiles at me. “Well. That was something else.”
I laugh because it’s classic Mari. “Something good, something bad—”
“Something so slap-me-on-the-ass, kick-me-in-the-crotch unbelievably outstanding that I can’t even find the words to describe how amazing it was.”
I laugh because that’s definitely not classic Mari. “Yeah.” I kiss her long and deep before breaking away. “I’ll be right back.”
I’m in the bathroom less than a minute, but I spend the whole time missing her heat. And deciding how many layers of TP to use for wrapping the condom because it’s been fifteen years since I had to think about stuff like this.
When I come back to bed, I see she’s peeled back the covers and crawled underneath. I’m not sure if her professional walls are back up, so I’m thrilled when she pulls back a corner of the comforter. “Wanna snuggle?”
“Hell, yes.” I dive in after her, pulling her against me. I nuzzle her hair, breathing in citrus and the heat of our mingled bodies. “Seriously, Mar—I loved that. I’m so glad you let me in.”
“Same.” She tips her head back to kiss my throat, then settles with her cheek on my chest. One palm circles the spot above my heart, and I could die a happy man right now.
Squawk!
From the next room, Leonard calls out. “So fucking good together!”
I glance down at Mari. “Uh…do you play any musical instruments?”
“What?” She blinks. “No, why?”
“I thought maybe if you played the harmonica and I played the guitar, we could convince guests we’ve just been jamming together.”
She laughs and curls her fingers over my breastbone. “You play guitar?”