Midnight Heat Read online

  “Wow,” I breathed as he set his keys on the counter and headed for the fridge. “I can only imagine the rent on this place.”

  A tactless thing to say, I know, but I couldn’t seem to help myself around Grayson. It was like there weren’t any boundaries between us.

  He didn’t seem bothered. “I’m not renting. I own it.”

  “Ah. Well, that’s good.” I drifted toward large kitchen island. “A mortgage payment would be less than rent, I would think.”

  “I wouldn’t know,” he said distractedly, opening the fridge. “I bought it outright.” My stomach dropped to the floor. “Oh, good.” He pulled out a couple beers. “I thought I was out. Want one?”

  “Um...”

  He owns this place outright? That couldn’t be from YouTubing though. Right? Maybe he’s a trust fund kid like Isabella.

  He was staring at me, wearing that shirt that stretched just perfectly across his pecs.

  A sexy, sexy trust fund brat.

  Or... maybe he was as successful at YouTubing as he said. I knew such things were possible. You know, in theory. But being five feet from someone who’s doing it made the whole thing seem more... real.

  Within reach.

  I was dying to ask him if he paid for his house with his earnings but I wouldn’t go that far. I’d said more than I should already.

  “Or....” he said, seemingly trying to decipher my expression. “I may have a wine cooler in the fridge in the garage? That’s about it in terms of alcohol. I’m not as stocked as the bar, sorry.” But he smiled. “Or I have water? Tea? Coffee? There’s probably a can of pineapple juice in here somewhere.” Holding the two beers in one hand, he held the refrigerator door open with the other and leaned down, apparently looking for said can of pineapple juice.

  I regained my composure and circled the kitchen island. I was being stupid about his financial situation, whatever it was. It wasn’t important and none of my business. Anyway, I figured I should focus on more important things. Like those sexy goddamn abs.

  I drew close as he straightened up. I took one of the beers from his hand. My fingers brushed his and the jolt from touching him again raced up my arm and into my chest. I hadn’t cooled much during the drive. If anything the opposite had occurred, and I was really just trying not to completely launch myself at him. “This is great. Thank you.”

  He looked at me, holding my gaze. If I’d had any doubts about his desire for me, I didn’t have any doubts then. The refrigerator door was still open and I realized we were letting the cold air out. I barely felt it though, I was getting so hot. We both knew why I was there and my body was ready to go. In fact, I was slick with wanting him.

  I think I said something about needing a bottle opener, but I’m not sure.

  His eyes never left mine. He set his bottle on the island, took mine from my hand, positioned it at an angle next to the counter’s edge, and popped off the cap with one swift tap.

  Holding my eyes with a penetrating gaze, he held it out to me. I pursed my lips slightly and gave it a sideways glance, but didn’t take it.

  He moved ever so slightly nearer. Inches away. My eyes travelled over his chest, lingering, then came up to meet his gaze.

  “You wanted something different?” he asked.

  He wasn’t asking about the drink any longer. He wasn’t smiling any longer either. He looked ready to gobble me up. Oh, how I wanted him to.

  I placed my hand on his muscular forearm, my heart pounding so hard I wondered if he could hear it. “I could go for something different.”

  As his hand circled my waist, my hand slid up the bare skin of his arm. I ran my other hand up his firm chest as our mouths came together, lips slightly apart. When his tongue slid into my mouth it was like lightening. I pressed myself against him. He kicked the refrigerator door closed and set my bottle on the counter with a thud before tightening his embrace.

  As our tongues eagerly took each other, his hands moved down to my ass. I pressed my body against him in response, encouraging him. Our tongues worked together, his hands squeezing my rear and coming around to my breasts. My hands roamed freely as well, over his chest and back and tight ass. I surprised myself when I reached around to the front and found his sizeable bulge, squeezing it.

  He massaged me even more eagerly. I found the button on his jeans, but struggled to unhook it because our bodies were pressed so tightly against each other.

  He broke our kiss as if coming up for air. I got a glimpse of his smoldering eyes before he backed up enough to release the button and unzip his fly himself. I saw his hard cock straining against the black fabric of his briefs, but only for a moment.

  He swiftly lifted me onto the counter and I exhaled in surprise. No one had ever set me on a counter like that, and let me tell you, it was fucking hot. He took one of my ample breasts into his hand, bent over and took it into his mouth right through my sheer top.

  Exhaling heavily, I wanted his mouth on my bare skin. I leaned back, pulled off my top, and tossed it aside. He leaned down toward my belly button and kissed it before swirling his tongue around the stud. His hands were flat on my back and moving up toward my bra clasp. In seconds my lacy, turquoise bra was sailing through the air as well.

  When he moved up and took my hard nipple into his warm mouth, I groaned and shuddered. God, it had been so long that my skin was super sensitive everywhere. Even so, I’d never been on the receiving end of someone who seemed so hungry for me. He was driving me mad.

  All of a sudden, I was impatient for him to enter me. His tongue flicked back and forth over my nipple and I boldly wrapped my legs around his waist, unable to hide my wanting. One arm held me tight against him while his free hand massaged my other breast. I was going mad with what he was doing with his tongue. He sucked and pulled and ran his tongue all over my nipple. Every flick and pull resonated in my core and I squeezed him tighter against me.

  My other breast ached for equal treatment and, as if he knew, he launched onto that one and sucked it so well I couldn’t help but moan and grind against him shamelessly.

  I was cursing my damn jeans and that damn counter. We didn’t line up quite right and I was longing to feel his hard cock against my clit.

  “Grayson—”

  He came up and pressed his mouth hard against me. I opened to him and pressed hard back, wanting every part of him.

  I fumbled for the button on my jeans but he pushed my hand away. “I want to do it,” he said, his voice deep and husky. He unzipped me and I leaned back on my hands, lifting my hips slightly as he slid my jeans off and let them drop to the floor.

  He took in my underwear—the lacey pair that went with my bra—and gave me a ravenous look. I was positively burning. I lifted my hips again and he slid off my underwear, but before I knew where it disappeared to, he bent over and dove between my legs. He took me into his mouth, his rough tongue sliding up my clit, and I cried out, arching my back and grabbing the hair on the back of his head. “Oh god!”

  My entire body lit up as his tongue stroked me over and over again. His hands gripped my hips and held me close as I angled even more toward his hungry mouth. I was scandalizing myself, but there was no stopping then, not that I wanted to. In mere seconds I was dangerously close to going over the edge right there on his kitchen island, but I didn’t want to. I didn’t want it to be over so soon and I longed to have him inside me. But the waves of pleasure his tongue gave me were so intense I couldn’t make him stop either.

  Then it was too late.

  My climax took me hard and fast and I arched back, doing my best to stifle my cries. Ripples of pleasure tore through my body again and again as he continued to work me. I curled forward as my orgasm reached a high I’d never known before.

  I grabbed his broad shoulders as my body reached its last, delicious peak. But though I felt the satisfaction of an orgasm, my body didn’t relax and cool as it usually did. I looked down and saw his tongue flicking on my clit, and I began rising again.
Wanting him inside me still.

  I pulled on his shoulders slightly, letting him know I wanted him to come up to me. He instantly took the hint and lifted me off the counter, carrying me. I wrapped my arms and legs around him. I was pressed against his bare chest, but still not aligned over his cock as I desperately wanted to be.

  Feeling unleashed, I hungrily sucked on his neck and the back of his ear. When he groaned, the sound of his voice reverberated over my body. He didn’t take me to a bedroom, as I expected. Instead we went into the darkened living room and he set me on the lounge.

  I leaned all the way back, perfectly exposed, as he straightened up. He pulled a wallet from his back pocket, extracted a condom in gold foil, and held the corner of the packet between his teeth so he could finish undressing. I marveled that he made even this look sexy.

  He pulled his jeans and briefs down to the floor in one smooth motion. His hard cock was so erect it was nearly flush against his pelvis. I sprung up at the sight of it and shocked myself even further by grabbing the base before he could do anything else. Scooting to the edge of my seat, I took his warm shaft into my mouth.

  He groaned and grabbed the hair on the back of my head. “Oh, Chloe.” My name on his lips sounded so good, I was determined to hear it again. I slid his shaft deep into my mouth, then sucked on it as I slowly drew it out. I finished by teasing the cleft at the head of his cock with my tongue. He groaned again, rewarding me with a “God, Chloe.”

  I’d done my share of fellatio in my time but I felt possessed in a way that was new to me. As I dove deep again, feeling his hardness strain even more, I sensed I was enjoying it as much as he was. Driven by instincts I didn’t know I had, I fucked his cock until I was so wet and throbbing I almost couldn’t stand it. “I want you,” he said huskily.

  I went down on him faster and harder, enjoying his groans, then pulled away and leaned back on the lounge. He tore open the package and slid the condom over his shaft with one smooth stroke. He came down on top of me and I hooked my heels around his thighs. His cock teased my opening.

  Again, that voice in my head: I can’t believe I’m doing this.

  But it wasn’t only shock at my own boldness, though it was that. It was wonder. At him.

  Our eyes met and my heart was pounding as he looked right into me. My heart was aching for him as much as my body was. He did not deny me.

  As his cock slid inside me at last, we gasped together. He plunged his tongue into my mouth as he dove deep inside me. Our mouths broke apart as I curled around him, my nose against his neck as his cock thrust into me over and over again. I was so hot and wet I was already nearing another orgasm. He hardened further and I spread myself wider, wrapping my arms around his shoulders.

  We kissed again, his mouth firm against me as he let his full weight press on me. I reached both hands toward his tight ass as he worked me into a frenzy. My entire body pulsed with pleasure and I tightened around his cock as I climbed higher and higher.

  I arched my head back and he sucked on my neck, groaning. He grew harder still and changed the angle he was coming at me. Suddenly he hit a tender spot inside me and I exploded with pleasure. Stunned, I cried out as he hit it again. And again. Intense pleasure rippled outward from that spot and I squeezed him tighter than a vise. In three and a half years with Brad, it was never like this.

  He sent me careening over the edge in an orgasm that topped even the last one. Forceful waves wracked my body and my blood rushed through my ears. As I thrashed helplessly beneath him, his thrusts grew faster and more intense until at last he moaned loudly in my ear. He thrust into me sporadically and forcefully as we came together.

  After what seemed an impossibly long time, my orgasm finally released me and began to subside. His movements within me began to slow. More gentle waves of pleasure washed over me and I sank back into the couch. Still tingling, I angled my hips, wanting him to press against me, which he did, firmly. He tucked his head down and his hot breaths warmed the crook of my neck. We pressed against each other, the last bits of pleasure anchoring into my body.

  He pulled up onto his elbow, looked me deep in the eye, and thrust into me suddenly and hard. I arched my head back and closed my eyes as his thrust sent a tingling wave of sensation all over my body.

  “God, Grayson,” I whispered.

  He put his mouth on mine before I even opened my eyes. I kept them closed as I sank into the depths of his kiss. He placed one warm hand on my cheek.

  He pulled away but stayed close, and we looked at one another. I was captured, once again, by his stunning blue eyes.

  He placed a soft kiss on the tip of my nose. He curved around and placed another kiss on my nose piercing.

  He slowly reached up and kissed my forehead. He was still cradling my cheek so I felt wrapped in him, with his warm lips on my skin. I inhaled deeply through my nose, taking in his smell.

  He moved to the side of my face and put a kiss on my temple. He lingered there, pressing gently, and I closed my eyes.

  My heart was fluttering. It was the most intimate moment we’d shared yet.

  He settled on his elbow and smiled at me. I felt strangely exhilarated and cozy.

  “So,” he lightly stroked my jaw with his thumb. “No to the beer, then?”

  That was how it started. In the bar. In his kitchen. On his couch. Not too much later, on his couch again. I was impressed with his stamina, but if you want to know the truth, I was even more impressed with mine. I’d never been ready again so quickly. Never. I knew plenty of other women who could have sex over and over again on the same night but I’d never been one of them. I’d never physically wanted to.

  I’d kind of wondered if maybe something was wrong with me. But that was the first time I’d considered that maybe it never had been me at all, because I couldn’t get enough of Grayson that night.

  For the first time, I could apply the word passionate to something I was experiencing. I couldn’t help but wonder why it’d never been that way before, with anyone else.

  As amazing as the sex was, if that night had only been about passion and sex, maybe things would’ve been different.

  Maybe I wouldn’t be hurting so much for him now.

  Chapter 4

  “So our little Chloe had a one-night stand,” Sam says now. “Maybe she doesn’t need my help getting a date. We can take her back to the Perched Owl and she’ll nab one all by herself.”

  I need to change the subject. I know when Sam’s focused about something and she’s got this one set in her head. But no way. No. Fucking. Way. “I kind of have a date anyway.”

  “Who?”

  “Bobby.”

  “Okay, number one,” Sam rolls her eyes and holds up one finger, “he’s only coming for the zip lining thing, so that doesn’t count for the reception. Two,” she lifts the second finger, “even if he were coming to the reception, he still doesn’t count because I’m pretty sure you’re not getting lucky with your baby brother.”

  “Uck! God, Sam! I hope not.”

  “Stop harassing her,” Isabella says. “By the way, Chloe, I got him his own room.”

  “Why? Everyone else is in one room.” I know better than to say two rooms would be a waste of money. Isabella would just laugh and, given how much her family’s spending on the wedding, she’d be right to. Still, I never take her abundance of money for granted, like it’s somehow mine to claim.

  “You didn’t want to share a room with your brother did you?” Ashley pipes in.

  As if I’ve never done that before. “It wouldn’t have been a big deal. It’s just a couple nights.”

  “Yeah, but what if you hook up with someone?” Sam asks.

  “Will you lay off?”

  “Not until you’re laid, honey. You need it too, I can tell. You’re all tense. Come on. A screaming orgasm never hurt anyone.”

  “It’s a wedding and you’re a hot bridesmaid.” Isabella winks. “You never know.”

  “You’re all hopeless.”


  “What if Bobby wants to hook up with someone?” Ashley asks sweetly.

  I glare at her. “Stop talking right now.”

  Ashley laughs. They’ve all accused me of being overprotective of Bobby before. I admit, I spent a fair bit of energy my senior year making sure he didn’t spend his freshman year swimming in a vat of beer at the frat house. But in those first years after our mom died, I was the only one looking out for him. Old habits die hard.

  “Hold up,” Sam says to me. “Give me one shot. I say we go to the Perched Owl after dinner tonight and find you a hot guy to be your date at the reception. I promise I’ll find you someone completely fuckable. If not, you can trail after little Bobby tomorrow and worry he’s going to find someone completely fuckable.”

  “Anyway,” I say pointedly, “tell me what happened with your Portland job. I never got to hear the story.”

  She gives me a look that tells me she’s not done, but says, “Well, there’s not a ton to tell.” She’s apparently had her fun for now and is going to let it go. Thank god. The last thing I need is another one night stand.

  “It was a little disappointing because I wasn’t working on anything exciting. Brochures and web copy and crap like that. That’s to be expected when you’re the newbie, I guess. The part that drove me crazy was my department head.” She rolls her eyes and takes a sip of her beer. “Everything had to go through him and, let me tell you, that guy was an ass and a half. If I didn’t need the job and a good reference I would’ve told him to stick it a week in.”

  “He didn’t like your work?” Isabella asks.

  Sam shrugs. “He liked it fine and knew how to make it better. He knows his shit, I’ll give him that. I did learn a lot, but gawd he’s just such an abrasive ass. Normally I like abrasive.”

  All three of us nod.

  “But he had these pet names for everyone in the department, and that just irritated the hell out of me. He thinks he’s being cute, but he’s not and everyone just kind of tolerates it.”