Page 48 of You Complicate Me

Nick was the first to break the kiss. But her moan of protest turned into a shocked squeal as he bent down, put his shoulder into her stomach and neatly upended her, tossing her over his shoulder, caveman-style. In a few long, purposeful strides, he reached his bed, where he dumped her unceremoniously onto the mattress.

Her body barely even had time to bounce once before he was on her, holding his weight off her as he kissed her again, nudging her thighs apart with his knee. Grace gasped into his mouth as he lowered his body onto hers, then she let out an embarrassing sound—something needy and desperate and guttural—when he rocked his hips gently into her.

“Jesus Christ,” he groaned between kisses. “That is the sexiest damn sound I’ve ever heard in my life.”

Oh, okay. Maybe she shouldn’t be embarrassed by that sound after all.

Which was a good thing, because she started making that sound on a continuous loop as Nick slid his lips down over her neck. While his tongue traced the hollow at the base of her throat, his hands worked the knot at the waist of her robe free. When the thick layers of terrycloth were peeled back and she was completely bared to his gaze, she could actually feel the weight and heat of his stare gliding all over every inch of her skin.

All. Over.

But even as her skin warmed and tingled under the intensity of his stare, old insecurities reared their ugly heads. She’d never lost that freshman fifteen—okay, twenty—she’d picked up at Notre Dame. Brad had certainly never let her hear the end of that, especially when he bought her a gym membership for Christmas and an elliptical machine for her birthday. (The elliptical machine doubled nicely as a rack to dry her sweaters on, though, so at least it was practical. The gym membership had been a total waste.) And here she was, laid out like a sacrificial offering to a guy who was built like a Greek god…

He shook his head slowly and lifted awe-filled eyes to hers. “I’ve never seen anything so beautiful. You’re perfect, Grace.”

And he meant every word, she realized. To him, she truly was perfect. It didn’t matter if her thighs jiggled, or her ass was dimply. He thought she was beautiful just the way she was. Tears filled her eyes, but she impatiently blinked them away.

Grace released the death grip she had on the sheets and leaned up, taking his face in her hands as she kissed him. “Where have you been all my life?”

He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her tightly against him. “Just waiting for you, angel. Just waiting for you.”

Well, if that wasn’t the best aphrodisiac in the world, she didn’t know what was. Grace reached down and tugged impatiently on the hem of his shirt. “Off. Now. Need.”

He chuckled. “Yes, ma’am,” he said as he reached behind him, snagged the back of his shirt and tugged it over his head in that way that only guys could ever seem to accomplish. If Grace tried that, she’d end up with her shirt stuck on her ears and her arms trapped like they were in a straightjacket.

The shirt hadn’t even hit the floor before she got her hands on him, letting her fingertips trace the contours of his chest before shifting and letting them bump over the ridges of his abs, all—two, four, six—eight of them. And to think she’d sworn after watching 300 that eight-packs were only possible with CGI.

Other than the tightening of his muscles and his shallow breathing, he stayed perfectly still while she touched him. It was absolute, glorious torture. Beautiful and agonizing at the same time.

She wanted more of him and she wanted it now. With a growl of frustration, she hooked her hand behind his head and yanked him down on her, pressing her mouth to his once more, fervently, feverishly.

She felt his smile against her mouth and it made her want to snag his lower lip between her teeth and nip the hell out of it—just to let him know she meant business. But she didn’t dare for fear he’d stop altogether.

But he must have sensed how close he was to losing his lower lip because he murmured. “Relax, angel. We have all night.”

All night? she screamed inwardly. She couldn’t go on like this all night! She needed more now. It had been too long. Far, far too long.

But that and all other rational thought left the building when his hand slid down her stomach before slipping deftly between her legs.

Grace might have blacked out a little at that point. All she knew for sure was that he touched her like he’d been gifted an owner’s manual for her body. He knew just how to touch her to reduce her to a quivering, panting, whimpering puddle with no coherent thoughts other than how much she wanted—no, needed—to come.

“Please,” she said on a desperate exhale, then nearly sobbed like a baby when his hand slowed as he listened to her. “You need to be in me now.”

“Not yet,” he murmured.

She would’ve protested, but her eyes rolled back in her head and words escaped her when he dipped his head and sucked one of her nipples into his mouth. After shifting to give her other breast his attention—hallelujah and thank you, Jesus—he lifted his head to watch her reaction as his hand started moving again.

Grace bit down on her lower lip and squeezed her eyes shut, determined not to make any more noises that would let him know just how close she was to coming. She just couldn’t take the risk of him trying to slow things down again. But he must have been on to her, because just when her legs began to quiver, just when she was right there, his fingers slowed again.

With a roar of frustrated outrage, Grace slapped her hands down on the mattress. “Motherfucker!” she cried.

The motherfucker kissed her jawline. “You have no idea how sexy you are right now,” he said, licking the spot right below her ear.

Grace sucked in a deep breath through her nose. “Then why are you torturing me?”

“You think it’s not torture for me, too?” he said with a tight-sounding chuckle. “I’m trying my damnedest to go slow. I’ve been thinking about dead puppies and baseball stats since you opened that door to keep from shredding your clothes like a fucking animal and pounding you into the wall.”

Grace shifted under him and practically purred at the thought of him pounding her into the wall. “And that would be bad?”

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