She laughed. “You’re such a guy.”
“Yup,” he agreed and stalked over to her.
Sierra backed up as he got closer until she hit the wall behind her.
Grover put his hands on either side of her head and leaned in. “And I’d like to point out that I wasn’t the one who went there first, you did. I simply made an innocent comment about putting your bed together, you were the one who had to make it sexual.”
Her hands rested on his sides, and Grover mildly resented the fact that his uniform top was tucked into his waistband so her hands couldn’t slide up and under his shirt.
“Do you blame me? After this morning?”
Grover smiled. He’d woken up early, as usual, and hadn’t been able to resist going down on her. Waking her up with his mouth between her legs had been sensual and so damn hot, he’d almost forgotten to put on a condom before sliding inside her.
“It’s just that you’re irresistible,” he said. “It’s not my fault.”
“Right, not your fault,” she teased. “Your tongue just accidentally landed between my legs and your dick somehow magically got lodged deep inside me.”
Grover burst out laughing. Man, he loved this woman. He dipped his head and nuzzled the sensitive skin near her ear. He’d found out this morning how much she liked being touched and licked there.
“You aren’t playing fair,” she grumbled, still tipping her head to the side, giving him nonverbal approval to continue.
Grover moved his hands to her waist and did his best not to pull her shirt up and over her head. He really did want to get her bed set up. Everything else could probably wait, but she needed a place to sleep. Thinking about her being here without him wasn’t a comfortable thought, but he pushed it to the back of his mind. She wanted, and needed, to be independent. He’d survived thirty-three years of his life without her, he could handle a night or two here and there. He hoped.
His teasing quickly turned into a long make-out session. Despite his good intentions, a hand did end up under her shirt, and the other between her legs. He made her come right there against her wall, and it was sexy as hell. He didn’t have a lot of room to maneuver his hand down her pants so it was a challenge to stimulate her, but he didn’t do so badly, if the way she undulated against him and moaned was any indication.
After she’d come, he pulled his fingers out of her waistband and licked them clean. The blush on Sierra’s face was something he’d never get tired of seeing.
“I can’t believe you just did that,” she said.
“You shouldn’t be so damn tempting,” he countered.
“So that was also my fault?” she asked.
“Yup,” Grover said with no remorse.
The look of determination on her face gave her away, and he managed to catch her hand before she could grab his cock. “Uh-uh,” he said. “We need to get your furniture set up.” Grover glanced at his watch. “And it’s getting late. I need to feed you.”
She harrumphed. “But what about…that?” She motioned to his cock with her head.
“It can wait. That was for you.” Grover reached for her hand but she shook her head and sidestepped him.
“I’m not a prude, but you’re gonna need to wash that hand before we do anything else.”
Grover chuckled. “Right. Why don’t you go on into the bedroom and figure out where you want to set up your bed, and I’ll be there in a second.”
“Okay. Grover?”
“Yeah, Bean?”
“I’m happy.”
Two words. That was all it took to make Grover feel content and satisfied. “I’m glad. Me too.”
They smiled at each other before Sierra turned and headed for the bedroom. Grover went into the kitchen to wash his hands, thinking about how much his life had changed in such a short period of time. When he’d gone to Afghanistan, he had no plan in mind, but once he realized his best bet to find out what happened to Sierra was to get himself taken captive, he didn’t think twice. And he’d do it again a thousand times over if it meant hearing Sierra say she was happy.
He was lucky, and he knew it. The outcome of his capture could’ve been bad. But Sierra had been worth the uncertainty and pain he’d experienced. Seeing her flourish, laugh, blush, and smile was worth any amount of hardship he’d gone through. Sierra was free. And she was his. She still had a ways to go to get back to normal, whatever that looked like for her, but she’d get there. He had no doubt about that.
Sierra lay in Grover’s bed that night and wondered how she’d gotten there. She’d had every intention of staying in her new apartment. The last thing she wanted was to overstay her welcome at Grover’s house. But after they’d put her bed together, Grover convinced her to let him help her unpack a few things. They then rearranged some furniture before returning to his house for lunch. That had led to a quiet relaxing day today before Grover fed her again.
He’d made them orange-glazed pork chops, then talked her into watching the sunset from the loft. Somehow, they’d lost track of time as they talked on the leather couch out in the barn, and the next thing she knew, she was yawning and couldn’t keep her eyes open.
Grover had convinced her it would be too dangerous for her to drive back to her apartment when she was as tired as she was. Not to mention the fact that she’d forgotten to unpack her sheets, and she had no idea which box they were in anyway. Since her suitcase was still at Grover’s house, it seemed a no-brainer for her to stay.
The moment they’d crawled under the covers, they couldn’t keep their hands off each other, and before she knew it, she was naked and straddling Grover’s lap. She’d ridden him long and hard, loving being on top. He obviously loved it too, if his moans and the way he couldn’t take his eyes off her body were any indication.
Sierra thought back to what she’d said to Grover earlier that day, about being happy. She’d forgotten what true contentment and joy felt like. While in captivity, her entire focus was on surviving each day and not going out of her mind from loneliness. The experience had an odd way of making time stop, until the months of joylessness had felt like years.
She still had a lot to figure out, namely what she was going to do for a living. But she had an amazing boyfriend who cared about her well-being, a group of women who’d embraced her wholeheartedly without even having met her, a roof over her head—even if she hadn’t slept there yet—and food to eat. She was unbelievably fortunate. Even with everything that had happened to her, she wasn’t capable of feeling bitter. How could she be, with Grover at her side?
Snuggling closer, she smiled when his hand tightened in hers. She was on her side next to him, her legs drawn up, and they were holding hands. They’d slept like this every night while at The Refuge, and it was even more intimate now that they’d made love.
“Sleep, Bean,” Grover said sleepily.
Sierra kissed his bare shoulder and nodded. “You too.”
“I will now that you’re here.”
Knowing that Grover seemed to need her as much as she needed him was a heady feeling. He’d finally admitted earlier this evening that he did have a few nightmares after New Mexico, when she was back with her parents and he was here. She hated that he still felt guilty about her captivity, and suspected she’d never fully be able to make him feel otherwise. It was just the kind of man he was.