I nodded because I was too worried about what would come out of my mouth. Grant leaned over and tenderly kissed me once more. He eased forward slowly…so slowly in fact that I felt a slight tremble in his arms as he held himself back. He pressed farther into me, and it took everything I had not to clench up at the pressure.

“Fuck, you’re tight,” he growled.

A tremor tore through my body as he pulled back an inch and then pushed forward all the way into me. I fit around him like a glove. Despite the pressure and stretching, I felt complete, whole. It wasn’t exactly uncomfortable but not entirely comfortable either. In that moment, I realized my entire body was shaking.

“Are you okay?” he asked, his brown eyes full of concern.

I managed a smile and nodded. I was fine, just momentarily freaking out. At least it didn’t hurt like I’d thought it would.

“I’m going to move now.”

He gradually pulled out of me and then back in. The slow buildup was torturous. He was so gentle, so perfectly controlled, that I wondered if he was feeling anything at all.

One look at his face told me that he was feeling everything just fine.

I reached out and touched his arm. “You don’t have to be so gentle.”

Grant smirked at me and shook his head. “Yeah, I do, Princess.”

“Would it be that bad?”

“Bad?” He chuckled and then pushed into me harder.

I gasped at the feeling. My eyes bulged.

“Amazing.” He nibbled on my earlobe and then kissed his way down my throat. “If I took you how I wanted, I’d end up tearing you in half. We have time to get to that.”

My fear spiked through the roof, but I was tinged with a sense of curiosity. And then all thoughts were lost. Grant grabbed both of my hands in one of his, and he held them above my head as he continued to slide in and out of me. He picked up his pace and moved his other hand to grasp my hip. I was breathless at the feel of him.

My whole being shook. It felt so good, better than anything else I’d ever felt, yet it was also painful. It was a mixture of the two. It was both hot and cold. Down was up, and up was down. The world tilted. My body ached and pleaded and retreated and demanded. It was so many things all at once that my thoughts, feelings, senses mingled together into an indescribable sensation. It was a bit like reaching the top of a roller coaster right before I felt like I was going to plummet to my death and a bit like the first time I’d gotten tipsy and still more like riding with the top down in the convertible. It was all of those things and none of those things and so much more that I could never even think of.

“Fuck,” Grant grunted under his breath. His body shuddered against mine, and then he was still.

My breathing was ragged, and I was shaking from head to toe—not just light shaking, but uncontrollable trembling.

Grant seemed to recover himself, and he pulled back to look at me. “Hey, are you okay?”

“Um…just shaking,” I stated the obvious.

He took a few seconds to get rid of the condom. Then, he yanked the covers back and rolled me toward him. “Was I too rough? Did I hurt you?”

“I think I’m fine. It was…it was good. Overwhelming,” I breathed.

“You felt amazing.”

I giggled and leaned against his chest. “You sound like you want to go again.”

“Babe, I don’t think you’re going to be able to walk tomorrow.”

“Oh.” I hadn’t thought about that. “What about skiing?”

He grabbed my chin in his hand and kissed me roughly on the mouth. “You think I’m letting you out of my bed now that I’ve got you in it?”

Chapter 31: Grant

“Seriously, you can’t keep me in here all day,” Ari said, flopping back on my bed. “I’m going to need to eat.”

“I’ll order us something.” I shot her a devilish smirk.

We’d spent the rest of the night tangled up in my sheets. I’d wanted to go again, but I was too afraid of hurting her. She was fragile enough, and while I’d been gentle, I could tell that she was sore by how much she winced when she walked. I would give her a day and see how she was feeling then.

It had been more than three months since I’d had sex. It had to be a record. Now that I’d tasted it again, I was dying for more. I couldn’t believe I’d held out for twelve hours straight already. If it were up to me, I would have been riding her all night.

“Can’t we just go downstairs and get breakfast?”

I leaned against one of the bedposts and arched an eyebrow. “I’d be happy to show everyone what we were doing last night.”

Her cheeks colored pink. “I think you’re exaggerating.”

“Go ahead and try walking around the room then.”

Determined, she stood and started toddling around the room.

I couldn’t hold back my laughter. “Babe, you’re all wobbly and waddling around like a penguin.”

She glared at me. “What did you do to me?”

I strode over to her and pulled her against me. “I f**ked you.”

“So crude.”

“Are you saying you don’t want me to f**k you again?” I asked, pushing a hand up into her hair.

“I didn’t say that.”

“I didn’t think so.”

“Maybe we could do it again,” she whispered hesitantly. Her hand landed on my chest.

“Are you asking me to f**k you?”

“Maybe.”

My hand slid down between her legs and gently rubbed against her. She winced and retreated from me just as I’d expected.

“I think I’m going to have to save you for dessert.”

“I think I’ll be better after your show tonight.”

I loved her enthusiasm. I kissed her on the mouth. “We’ll see. But first…breakfast.”

Room service arrived sometime later, and I threw some clothes on to go answer the door. Vin was lounging around in his boxers, watching some CrossFit championship on ESPN. I shook my head and opened the door. The guy wheeled the tray into the room, and then he was gone after I tipped him.

“What’d you get me?” Vin asked, hopping off the couch to examine the food.

“Nothing. Fuck off.” I pushed the food toward my room.

“You’ve been in there all night and morning. Do you guys even come up to breathe?”