“If we do this,” she whispers, “there’s no pretending it didn’t happen.”
She says it like she only half expects me to agree. Like maybe I’ll kiss her now and vanish by morning, blame it on the heat, or the adrenaline.
And hell no—that stops me colder than any ice shower ever could.
I lean in, so close my lips nearly brush hers. “Not interested in pretending darlin’.” I say, steady, but there's thunder just under my skin.
Becausepretending?
Pretending I didn’t want her? That I haven’t wanted her every day since she crash-landed into my world like she hasn’t turned my whole damn universe upside down.
It would be insulting, if it wasn’t impossible.
She looks up at me then, those big baby blues flickering with something unreadable. Doubt, maybe. Or worse—experience. Like she’s known men who could love her with their hands and forget her with their mouth still wet from her taste.
The thought of it burns.
So I pull back—not away, just enough to really look at her. To make sure she hears me. “You think I’d ever want to forget this?” My voice drops, rough as gravel. “Forget you?”
Mia doesn’t answer, but her mouth parts and her breath catches like I’ve cracked something in her—something she's used to keeping locked up tight.
I shake my head, jaw tight. “You don’t know me—not really—if you think I could have you like this… feel all of this… and then just walk away like it didn’t shake something loose in me.” Ipause, letting the words settle between us, raw and unflinching. “If all we’ve got is a moment, Mia… then I’m gonna make damn sure it’s one neither one of us iseverable to forget.” I lean in and kiss the spot just below her ear, whispering “I haven’t stopped wanting you—not for a second—and I won’t pretend like this is anything less than everything.”
Her breath hitches and she blinks several times. I see it—the way her walls try to rebuild. The lift of her chin. That stubborn pride I admire way too much. But I don’t let her shut down. I reach out, fingers trailing the side of her neck, slow and grounding.
My hands trail lower down her body, finding her waist, pulling her against me. The feel of her naked skin against mine sends electricity dancing along my nerve endings.
“I've wanted this since the very first moment I saw you,” I confess, my voice rough with desire.
Her hands slide up my chest to link behind my neck. “Then what are you waiting for cowboy?”
It's all the permission I need. I let out a breath, shaky and so fucking relieved. Then I lean in and kiss her, hard, pouring everything I’ve been holding back into the seam of her lips.
The kiss is deep and hungry. She tastes like mint and desire, her tongue meeting mine in a dance that makes my head spin. I walk her backward until her back is pressed against the cool tile wall, her breath hitches, our bodies flush from chest to thigh.
I can feel her heat against my hardness, the friction making both of us moan into the kiss. My hands can't get enough of her—stroking down her collarbone, cupping her breasts, my thumbs brushing over her nipples until she arches into my touch,desperate, needy, hands roaming my back, nails digging just enough to leave marks.
“Grant,” she gasps as I move my lips to her neck, finding the pulse point that makes her shiver. “Please…I..”
I lower my head taking in one nipple into my mouth sucking, pulling, licking. My dick twitches at the sound of her deep moan as her head falls back on the tile.
I drop to my knees like it’s instinct. Like worship. Like gravity itself gave up pretending I’d ever stand a chance at resisting her. Water pounding my shoulders, sliding my hands down her thighs, I hook her leg over my shoulder, opening her up to me, and look up at her, just to see her face as I taste her.
She’s breathtakingly stunning, displayed bare in front of me like this.
And then; I get to work.
Chapter 24
Mia
Looking down at Grant on his knees for me, sends a rush of lust coursing through my body and straight to my core. I bite my lip, holding back a whimper. His eyes are dark, locked on mine and full of heat, before his gaze moves down and all his focus is pinned to the space between my thighs.
The second his mouth finds me, my head slams back against the tile with a thud. A sound rips from my throat before I can stop it—sharp, needy, real. He runs his tongue over my center—slow, deliberate, and a deep shudder courses through me. My fingers find their way to his hair at their own accord and I tug him closer.
“Fuck, Mia,” he murmurs. “I've been dreaming about tasting you again,” his voice rough as he nips, bites and licks at my inner thigh.
His large hands move to my thighs, holding me in place. The wet slide of his tongue against my clit makes my breath catch and my body ache. My thighs tense around his head. The slow drag of his tongue makes it feel like he's learning every part of me. It’s teasing, the way he’s taking his sweet time, and just before I lose my mind from the slow torture, he pushes his tongue into me faster, harder, zeroing in on the spot that makes my breath hitch and my whole body tense up.
