Page 43 of Holding Grace

I thought of those times now as she let me pull her up and I followed her to the kitchen, carrying our drink glasses as she carried the popcorn bowl. She washed them out as I took the big pillows up to loft and stacked them in a corner as Grace had asked.

I jogged back down the stairs to find Grace kneeling on the kitchen counter, straining to place the glass popcorn bowl on the highest shelf of a cabinet. I picked my pace and hurried to stand behind her just as she eased the bowl onto the shelf with her fingertips.

“Maybe we...”

As the words left my mouth, Grace squeaked, surprised. She started to whirl in my direction, but overbalanced, falling to one side.

Without thinking I grabbed her, scooping her up and setting her down on her butt on the counter so she was sitting securely.

Sitting with my hands on her waist, hers gripping my forearms, and her legs on either side of my hips.

Our eyes locked and whatever either of us had been about to say died away.

For a few seconds we were suspended, frozen together in time and space.

Then I moved. I slipped a hand around the side of her neck, tipped her chin up with my thumb, lowered my head, and kissed her.

Her lips were soft, warm, her skin like silk under my hand. I kept the kiss light, almost sweet, not wanting to spook her. I brushed my lips across hers, pressed a kiss to the corner of her mouth, then covered hers with mine fully again, wanting desperately to run my tongue along the seam of her lips and demand entry, but holding back.

I drew back a little, leaned back in for another press of my lips against hers, then straightened.

Grace looked up at me, eyes wide and soft, and my heart thumped hard in my chest.

“Should I apologize?” She’d kissed me back, had held onto me, but still, I’d taken her by surprise.

She shook her head. “No.” Her voice was just above a whisper. “No, don’t apologize.”

“Good. I’ve been wanting to do that for a long time.”

She dropped her eyes to my chest, then back up to meet mine again. “Maybe we can do it again sometime. Soon.”

I tightened my hand on her waist, loving the feel of her as my face split into a huge grin at her words, holding nothing back from her.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” She nodded slowly, her lips curving slightly in a little smile of her own.

“I’d like that.”

“I would, too.”

“I’ll hold you to that,” I told her as I forced myself to take a step back from her, my body and mind screaming in protest.

What I wanted to do was to hold her to me, to unleash everything I wanted to do to and with her.

She wasn’t ready for that. I needed to take this one step at a time. No matter how sweet and warm and sexy she looked sitting there, her lips pink and pouty from my mouth on hers, she wasn’t ready for everything I wanted from her.

I was playing the long game, and she was worth the wait.

I lifted her off the counter, snagged her hand, and held it as I walked us to the door. I turned to face her and lifted her hand to my lips, pressing a kiss to her knuckles as she looked up at me.

She was so much smaller than I was, yet she held so much power over me.

“Thanks for letting me come over.” My voice was rough, husky with everything I was feeling.

“Thanks for wanting to.”

That sweet smile would be the death of me one day.

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