She worked over him with her mouth until the muscles of his thighs were so tense, she thought he might rip his pants.
Then she stopped and reached for the dessert box. “Why don’t you slip out of the rest of that and meet me in the bedroom?” Climbing to her feet, Pepper winked at him seductively and disappeared down the hall. A completely naked Grant arrived in her bedroom a few moments later.
“Lie down,” she said, pointing to the bed.
Grant enthusiastically hopped onto her mattress. He crossed his arms behind his head and smiled wide at her. “Whatever you say.”
While he watched, she unfastened the belt of her dress and then tugged the zipper down her spine. The dress slipped to the floor and she stepped out of it wearing nothing but a strapless red lace bra and matching panties.
“Red is my favorite color,” Grant noticed with appreciation in his eyes.
“Oh yeah? I’ll leave this on a little while longer, then.” Pepper crawled onto the foot of the bed, spreading his legs wide to nestle between them. Then she reached for the to-go box and opened it.
Inside was an enormous slab of cake. It was multiple layers of cake, chocolate mousse, fudge, and cheesecake. She ran her index finger through the chocolate icing, then dragged her fingertip down from the tip to the base. Bringing the finger to her mouth, she sucked the remaining icing away, making sure Grant watched every move she made. Then, after making him wait an excruciating amount of time, she leaned in and licked his skin clean.
She was about to go for another dollop of fudge when Grant’s hand shot out to grasp her wrist. He sat up in bed and shook his head. “No more. If you don’t stop . . .” He trailed off with a cleansing breath. “Besides, I like chocolate, too.”
Surging forward, he knocked Pepper onto her back and covered her body with his own. With the flick of his wrist, he unsnapped her bra and threw it to the side. Once her breasts were exposed, he was able to finger-paint across her skin in chocolate like she had. The fudge encircled her nipples and left a trail down her stomach to the lacy edge of her panties.
His tongue was cool as it glided along her skin, but the trail he left in his wake was red-hot. Her nipples hardened to painfully aching peaks under his attentions. When he slid down her belly and encircled her navel, Pepper wasn’t sure how much more she could take. He tugged her panties down her legs and placed one more carefully applied drop of chocolate between her thighs.
The moment he touched her there, she nearly lost it. Her back arched up off the bed, her hands grasping at the sheets beside her. By the time the chocolate was gone, she was on the edge. “Grant, please,” she whispered, tugging at his arms. She wanted him inside her. Now.
Fortunately, Grant complied. With only a momentary hesitation to acquire protection, he crawled back onto the bed. In one long, slow movement, he hovered over her body, surging forward until he was buried deep inside her. They rocked together on her bed, tasting and clawing at each other as their desperation grew.
Pepper’s face was buried in Grant’s neck when her release hit her. She locked her ankles around his waist, taking him with her as she rode out the waves of pleasure. Grant followed on her heels, surging into her with a satisfied cry that mingled with her own.
When at last they both lay there silent and still except for their chorus of labored breaths, Grant rolled to his side. Pepper backed up against him until he was curled up behind her with his arm draped over her waist.
Exhausted and satiated, she closed her eyes and started drifting off to sleep. She was teetering on the edge of unconsciousness when she heard the low rumble of Grant’s voice at her ear.
“Pepper?”
Her eyes fluttered open, searching the dark room for a moment, then relaxing back into the pillows. “Yes?”
“This week together has been . . .” His voice trailed off.
“Yeah,” she agreed. He didn’t have to say the words. She understood. It had been better than she’d ever imagined. More than she had expected. She wasn’t certain what that meant, but couldn’t regret a moment she’d spent with him.
“I’m not ready for it to end. I want to keep seeing you. Publicly,” he added.
With her back to him and her brain slightly foggy with sleep, it was easier to be honest. “Won’t that put a damper on your sex life?”
“That depends on how often you’re willing to put out,” he said with a chuckle. He quickly tightened his grip on her and leaned his mouth closer to her ear. “I’m being serious. I’ve never done this before. I’m not sure how it’s going to go, but I want to date you, Pepper. Just you. This feels like high school to me, but . . . will you be my girlfriend?”
She didn’t know what to say. This was a serious offer from Grant; one not easily dismissed. He’d been honest when he said he hadn’t done this before. She’d never known him to see any woman more than casually. That, of course, just fed the fears in her brain that her mother had planted there. But he was offering more and she wanted to accept it. She felt the anxiety of facing her family and what they would say, but perhaps if they got to know him like she did, they would understand. Was it worth the potential strife to be with him? She thought so.
“Okay,” she said. “Let’s give it a try. Yes, I will be your girlfriend.”
Grant sat up, allowing Pepper to roll onto her back and look at him. “Really?” he asked.
“Really.”
Grant broke into a wide grin and met her lips with his own. Pepper wrapped her arms around him and pulled him closer. Despite their prior lovemaking, she could feel her desire for him stirring again. She melted into him and felt herself get swept up in it.
Gladly.
Chapter 10