Page 28 of The Corner of Heartbreak and Forever
FOR THE FIRST time in years, Reed wasn’t thinking about the job he had to do or his next project. With Grace’s eagerness, he didn’t want to think at all. He claimed her mouth with fierce possessiveness. She arched into him, and he took the kiss deeper, rougher, holding on to his control by a fraying thread.
“Grace—” he said between frantic kisses, needing to know this wasn’t all in his head, that she wanted him as desperately as he wanted her.
“Don’t ask.Know,” she said eagerly. “You’ve always known.”
Their mouths crashed together as they stumbled toward the couch, their lips parting only long enough to strip off their shirts. Reed’s breath caught in his throat at the sight of her.
“Oh, Gracie. Don’t move. Just let me look at you.” He’d fantasized about her too many times to count, but nothing—nothing—compared to having her in his arms. Gone was the young girl he’d fallen in love with. She wasallwoman, curvaceous and seductive. “You’re stunning.”
Her skin flushed as he ran his hands over her waist and up her ribs, kissing her until they were both barely breathing. She still reacted to his every touch, his every kiss, but her reactions were more powerful, moresensual. They were the reactions of awoman, and he wished he could have experienced all the years in which he’d missed. There’s no way I’m going to rush through this.
Holding her gaze, he dragged his tongue along her lower lip and cupped her beautiful face. “I love kissing you, baby.”
He took her in a slow, intoxicating kiss, and proceeded to drive her to the brink of insanity. Only then did he strip off the rest of their clothes. They fell to the couch amid feverish kisses. He laced their hands together, soaking in the feel of her body against his, and the needful look in her eyes. She smelled heavenly feminine and hauntingly familiar.
He brushed his lips over hers in a series of light kisses. “Gracie, do you trust me?”
“More than I trust myself.”
The honesty in her voice brought his lips to hers again, until she broke their connection, breathless and beautiful.
“Love all of me, Reed,” she pleaded.
“I do, and I will,” he promised, and then he kissed her again.
As their bodies came together, they both stilled, gazing deeply into each other’s eyes.
“Can you feel it, Gracie? How much I love you?”
“Yes. Nowshowme.”
They made love until they both gasped in sweet agony from pure, explosive pleasure. And then they moved into the bedroom, becoming one again, slow and tender, their love binding them together like a never-ending ribbon.
Grace fell asleep in Reed’s arms. He lay awake feeling the soft rhythm of her breath against his skin, filled with a sense of peace he’d never before experienced. His gaze ran down her body as he reached for the blanket, and he noticed a small tattoo of an orchid on the back of her thigh.You never forgot.
Time moved slowly, but it seemed to go too fast. With morning approaching, the last thing he wanted to do was move an inch, but he knew he had to do the right thing.
He brushed kisses over her cheek and whispered, “Gracie, baby.”
“Hm?” She snuggled deeper into him.
He kissed her then, drawing strength to do what he didn’t want to.
“As much as I want to wake up with you in my arms, I don’t want you to feel funny tomorrow around your parents, or for them to think this is just a fling. I think I’d better take you home.”
She turned in his arms, a sleepy smile on her lips. “Really? I’m so comfy.”
He pressed his lips to hers. “Me too, but I want you to wake up tomorrow smiling, not wondering how to face your parents.” He kissed the tip of her nose and said, “I know you, Gracie. You’re a private person, and you’ll be embarrassed to get home after dawn. I want your parents to know I love you enough to do the right thing.”
“Trust me,” she said with a seductive smile. “You didallthe right things.”
She touched her lips to his, and her expression turned serious. “You also did the right thing by telling me about what happened in Michigan. You always do the right thing, even when it’s hard.”
“Because that’s what you do when you truly love someone. You put their well-being before your own.”
Chapter Nine
GRACE AWOKE REFRESHED and rejuvenated despite so few hours of sleep and being sore in places she hadn’t known she could be. It was a deliciously good soreness, and she didn’t regret having made love with Reed one bit. She reached for her phone, and a text from him told her he didn’t regret it, either.Good morning, beautiful. My sheets smell like you. I’m having withdrawals. Can I see you tonight?She smiled as she responded,I’d never deprive you of your next hit.
