Page 42 of Endeavor
He brings the bite not to his lips but to mine, and I slowly take a bite. He watches my lips. “How is it?”
“Exquisite,” I announce.
“Good.”
We both dive into the food. I’m surprised that I’m hungry again, but something about the salty air and the hike has me ravenous. I ask Grady about growing up here. He tells me a few childhood tales as we eat our meals and then a delectable dessert of chocolate mousse. By the time we finish, the sun is barely above the horizon.
“Let’s go sit and watch it,” Grady suggests, grabbing a blanket on a nearby sofa. He takes my hand and we walk down to the beach where he sets the blanket out for us. He sits and pats the ground in front of him. I sit down in between his legs and he wraps his arms around me, pulling me back against his chest. I snuggle into him, the breeze colder now that the sun is setting.
“You warm enough?” he asks me. I nod, but my skin dots with goose bumps. He takes off his sweatshirt and I cover my legs with it as he wraps his arms back around me. This time I can visibly see the strong muscles of his forearms in front of me. I never thought forearms could be sexy, but I was wrong. His are…just wow.
“Watch the sun,” he says in my ear, and I feel another blush creep across my face at being caught red-handed. I lift my head and watch as the sun slowly disappears.
“I never see the green flash,” I lament.
He laughs and his warm breath tickles my ear. “Me either.”
I turn a little in his arms so I can see him. “Thanks for today.”
He kisses my nose. “You’re welcome. I’m glad you had fun.”
I lean up and kiss his lips. It’s not meant to be a sexy kiss, just a thank-you kiss, but his hands immediately come up to cup my face, and before I know it, I’m straddling his lap and we’re kissing each other with twice the passion we had on the hike. My hands tangle in his messy hair. I start grinding again on his lap, only this time, I can feel his erection against my core, and damn it, vixen Emma wants to feel it without the barrier of clothes.
His left hand reaches for my ponytail and yanks my head back, exposing my neck. He licks and sucks the skin below my ear, leaving a wet trail down to my clavicle and then back up again. This time when our lips collide, I feel all my willpower and resolve slipping away. But just as I’m about to say fuck it, sex on the second date is fine, he pulls back.
“We should stop,” he whispers, his voice gravelly and breathless.
I shake my head and he grins. Damn. Why does he have to have such a sexy grin?
“I don’t want to either, but we should.”
I sigh because I know he’s right and I hate that. I’m also a bit shocked that Mr. Self-Proclaimed Manwhore Rock Star is the one to have the self-control. “Fine,” I mutter as I start to get up, but his arms lock around me, keeping me in place.
“I promise, we’ll take it to third base next time.”
With that comment, I laugh. “OK, Casanova.”
He leans in and kisses me slowly one more time and I sigh again against his lips. The man can certainly kiss. I wonder if the rumors about his abilities in bed are as true as the rumors about his kissing, ’cause if that’s the case, third-date sex seems like a really good idea.
He helps me up and we walk arm in arm back up to the house. While he drives me home, we talk about our favorite parts of the day. He explains that his mom usually stays at her penthouse in the city when she’s working, so he comes out to the Malibu house every couple of days to check on things for her. There’s so much I want to ask him. Was he close to his dad? Was he always this close to his mom? How was life as an only child? But there’ll be time for that later.
He walks me to my door, and we stop. I turn to him, and without saying a word, I reach up and pull his head down to mine for one final panty-melting kiss. When he pulls back, he looks dazed and I grin like a fool.
“Thank you again for today,” I say quietly as I smile back up at him.
“You’re welcome. I’m not sure I can top today for our third date, but I’ll work on it,” he quips with an amused smile.
I giggle. “Well, best of luck to you. It’s hard to top perfection.”
And with that, I unlock my door and blow him another kiss before shutting it. I lean against it for a long time. Damn, I’m in so much trouble.
Grady
Fuck. I’m in deep. That woman may just have me retiring my former ways. I head back home, my brain deep in thought about every single second of the day. Every touch, every kiss, every sharp-witted word that left her mouth.
My Bluetooth rings in my car, and I see it’s my mom. I roll my eyes because I may have let it slip that I was bringing a date back to her house for dinner.
“So, how was it?” she asks. I shake my head. I want to tell her to fuck off, but I would never say that to my mom.
