Page 34 of The Grinder

She wanted him again, wanted him to kiss her like he had before, like he wanted to devour her. Wanted him to put his hands all over her, to cup her breasts and tweak her nipples then let his fingers trail down her body to between her legs and play with her clit, which still throbbed.

How could she want him again, so quickly? How—

He shifted against her and her arms automatically tightened around his shoulders, clinging. He didn’t go far, just rearranged their bodies so she was lying more on top of him than beneath him and able to breathe more easily.

At least in theory. In reality, she still was having trouble catching her breath because each time she drew in air, all she smelled was him.

Clean, masculine male. The most potent aphrodisiac she’d ever encountered.

Careful now. This doesn’t sound like you. You don’t fall for guys like this.

It wasn’t sensible. It wasn’t anything like her.

But when Riley’s big, rough hands began to pet her back, she could only think about the way those hands made her feel. Protected. Wanted. Desired.

Way too fast.

“Aly? You okay?”

And that voice. Oh my god, she wanted him to keep talking with that rough growl so close to her ear. Wanted to snuggle into him like he was her own personal full-size teddy bear and have him make love to her all night.

She wanted to go again in a few minutes. Wondered if he wanted the same.

God, please let him want the same.

“Aly, hon. What’s—”

“I’m fine.” Her hands clutched at him involuntarily, as if she was afraid he’d get up and leave. “Just…trying to recover.”

He huffed out a laugh and drew her closer. “Yeah, I know. That was fu— ah, amazing. Let’s do it again.”

Yes. Oh god, please, yes.

She almost let one hand begin a downward slide to see if she could hurry him along then stopped when she realized what she was doing.

No. No, no, no. She shouldn’t be trying to get him to stay. She should be hurrying his ass out the door. Even though she wanted him to stay.

And why would you ever want him to go home? Are you crazy? This is the guy you’ve been waiting for.

Holy crap, she was going crazy. He’d brainwashed her, put her under a spell that made her do whatever he wanted.

“Don’t you have practice tomorrow?”

He sighed. “Yeah, but one sleepless night isn’t going to pull me down. Of course, after a few like this, I might not be able to move. But it sure as hell would be worth it.”

Putting his strong hands against her back and drawing her even closer, he pressed a kiss against her head, making her melt even more. And her panic response kicked in again.

She wanted to ask him to stay but she knew she wasn’t ready for that. Didn’t know how long it would take for her to be ready for that.

Except…she really wanted him to stay.

“Hey, hon. You sure you’re okay? You seem a little…quiet.”

She nodded but she couldn’t force herself to meet his gaze and lie to his face. “I’m fine. I’m just tired.”

She held her breath and hoped he’d take the hint. For a few seconds, she wasn’t sure he would. She thought she was going to have to ask him to leave and that might’ve sent her into a spaz attack because she didn’t really want him to leave.

Get a grip, you idiot. He needs to go before you beg him to stay.

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