Page 9 of The Boyfriend Boycott
“Fucking? Oh no, sorry, I think you misunderstood me. I thought we were just going to watch a movie tonight. You know, paint each other’s nails, braid each other’s hair.” The smirk on my face is enough to tell Grady that I’m joking, and he meets me over by the counter, once again hoisting me up so I’m seated on it. The ease with which he lifts me is slightly jarring and more than a little hot.
“You might be. But I’ve already decided how my night’s going to go Spencer Sinclair,” Grady growls, his eyes gripping me in his stare. He lowers himself to his knees in front of me and spreads my legs wide, so he’s positioned between them. “Even if I have to beg.”
Fuck me.
Kneeling in front of me, Grady’s eyes just about meet mine. He sweeps his hands up from my thighs, taking the bottom hem of my tank top and sliding it up. His touch is light on my skin, and it sends a shiver through me. The air in the camper is cool, making my nipples harden in response.
Grady groans at the sight of me, his eyes roaming over my breasts, worshipping my body from where he’s kneeling before me. He cranes his neck up while I lean down to meet him, and this time our kiss is softer, gentler. He lingers in it, taking histime before trailing his teeth gently down the column of my neck, across my collarbone. I throw my head back, giving him better access to places I want to feel his lips.
His mouth dips lower, hovering over my breast, making lazy circles around my nipple with his tongue.
“Oh god,” I breathe as the sensation of his breath on my firm peak sends a needy warmth down between my thighs.
“You like that?” Grady looks up at me, his brown eyes searching my face for any indication that I want to take this further. I’m practically panting as I nod, and Grady takes that answer for what it is; I want more. I want it all.
His hands find the waistband of my jeans and make short work of taking them off, leaving me sitting on the counter in my thong.
“You are just as perfect as I imagined you’d be,” Grady says, and the turn of phrase tugs at the back of my mind.
“You’ve imagined me?” I try to keep my tone light and flirtatious, but he returns nothing but complete sincerity.
“More than I’d like to admit,” he answers, and now he’s set off full-blown alarm bells, lights and sirens in my head. Just how deep have his thoughts about me gone? Because thinking about me in some vague way to get off when he’s lying in bed at night is different thanthinkingabout me, thinking about me.
I’m yanked back to the present moment, as Grady brings his hands up to stroke the inside of my now bare thighs. My eyes flutter closed at his calloused fingertips brushing gently over my skin, just for a moment, and then logic once again takes over. I need Grady to know what this is. Most importantly, that it’s not going to be the type of relationship that he should continueimagining.
I pull away from him suddenly, and his eyes search my face for some indication as to why I put a halt to such a good thing. Because it is a very good thing.
“Are you okay?” he asks. My chest heaves as I try to hold myself back from kissing him again. I’m more than okay. I want this as much as I think he does, but we need some ground rules first if this is going to happen.
I nod to reassure him before I say, “We need to set some things straight.”
He blinks at me, waiting for me to continue. The look in Grady’s dark hazel eyes tells me that he will agree to whatever condition I set if it means he gets to be with me tonight.
“Rule one: this is just for tonight. We get whatever this is out of our systems, and then we’re done.” Repeats can only happen with strangers I know I’m never going to see again. A week in Amsterdam with a hot Dutch guy is one thing, but being with Grady, my best friend’s brother-in-law is dangerous. I won’t be able to avoid him forever.
He nods again. “Rule two: there are no strings attached, okay? I don’t want flowers, I don’t want dates, I don’t want boyfriend material from you. Just sex.”
So far, based on the openness in his expression, it seems like my first assumption was correct, and Grady is in fact, ready to go along with my rules. Good.
“Done.” Grady leans in to kiss me, but I’ve thought of one more loose end that I need to tie up, so I put up a hand between us.
“Last rule: we don’t tell Ally. In fact, let’s never speak a word of this to anyone, just to be safe.” My words are clipped, and I need to get them out as quickly as possible so we can resume what we were doing. “She catches one whiff of this and we can say goodbye to rules one and two. It won’t be casual anymore. She’s hardcore when it comes to relationships, monogamy. She’s a penguin, and she thinks everyone else is a penguin too.”
“A penguin?”
“Yeah, they mate for life. Ally and Mason are penguins. You and I are not.”
“Got it,” Grady says.
“Just like that?” I question. His willingness to accept whatever boundaries I set is slightly jolting. Part of me doesn’t trust it.I’ve had one too many guys tell me the same thing, just to show up at my place unannounced, wanting me to get brunch with their mothers or some other giant overstep. I learned it the hard way, and I’m not going to deal with it again.
“Just like that. Let me be whatever you need me to be. This can be strictly casual if that’s what you want.”
“But is that whatyouwant?” I push. The only way this works is if we’re totally honest about being on the same page.
“Don’t worry about me. I want what you want. But damn your pretty little mouth tasted so fucking good that I’m going to need you to shut up so we can keep this going,” Grady murmurs, his voice sending a soothing warmth down my spine and low into my belly, making me forget what I was ever concerned about in the first place. He reaches his hand up to cradle my face, and when I open my mouth to utter my agreement, he swipes his thumb over my lips. “Not. Another. Word.”
His eyes never leave mine, even as he brings the same thumb that brushed across my mouth downward to trace a feather-light line down my centre through the fabric of my thong. My breath hitches as my hips buck in response, an attempt at applying more pressure on my swollen clit. But Grady removes his hand and now I’m aching for his touch.
