Her Forever Hero (Unexpected Heroes) (17 page)

He’d been holding his breath, but it all rushed out in a gasp when she pulled one side of the robe open, revealing a perfectly round breast with a dark, pointed nipple. Then she revealed the other side, ran her hands across both those treasures, and moaned as she felt the pleasure from her own caress.

He was afraid he might actually explode without a single touch from her if she continued her jaw-dropping performance. “Grace . . .” he gasped again.

She pressed one finger to her lips and shook her head, those sensational eyes twinkling as she took another step toward him, her other hand trailing between her breasts, down the line of her toned stomach.

Cam had dated Grace for only one year, made love with her for months, and had thought he’d seen and done it all. But she had never stripped for him, not once, and she’d never looked as gorgeous as she looked now.

The breath escaping his lungs felt like fire, and his erection was so hard, he had surpassed the point of pain.

“Grace, I can’t take a whole lot more, not after this morning,” he groaned. To hell with commitment. They would fight about that another day. Right now, he just wanted to feel her body take him within its warm grasp.

When he reached out to her this time, she undid the robe, freezing him where he sat, and then surprised him when she stepped forward and then climbed onto his lap. Without a word, she pressed against him, took his hair in her hands, and leaned forward, connecting their mouths in a clash of power and hunger.

Cam immediately opened up to her as she rocked her hips against the denim of his jeans and moaned into the kiss, her fingers tightening in his hair and pulling hard, anchoring him exactly where she wanted him.

He wound his arms around her back, slid his hands beneath the short hem of her robe, and gripped her bare ass, groaning into her mouth at the realization that the only thing stopping him from plunging into her right now was his jeans. And, dammit, he couldn’t get to them right now.

Breaking away, he gasped before attempting to speak again. “Let me deal with the jeans.”

Instead of granting his wish, she grabbed the edges of his shirt and yanked it apart, making buttons fly in every direction. Then she bent down and sucked on the skin of his neck before moving farther downward. Now his hands found her head, and it was his turn to anchor her.

She twirled her tongue across his nipples as her hands found the front of his jeans. Cam groaned as her deft and delicate mouth moved down the planes of his stomach, his arousal pleading for freedom as she took her own sweet time unbuttoning him.

“I need to be inside you, Grace,” he cried, tugging on her hair as he tried to pull her back up.

Slipping from his grasp and kneeling on the carpet in front of the couch, she undid the final button on his pants, reached inside, and pulled him out, the touch of her fingers nearly sending him over the edge as she gripped him. Pushing herself between his thighs, she looked up at him and licked her lips before focusing entirely on the bead of moisture welling up on the tip of his arousal.

“Please, Grace. Please.”

“Mmm. Who’s begging now, Cam?” she murmured. Before he could even try to comprehend her words, she leaned forward and circled his thickness with her hot mouth. That almost sent him shooting off the couch.

Any and all thoughts fled Cam’s mind as she held the base of him in her hand and slid her lips up and down his length, letting little moans of pleasure escape her throat. He was fighting desperately to avoid releasing too quickly.

Cam had almost forgotten what it felt like to have Grace’s hands all over him, her mouth taking him to other worlds, her body telling him she was his and only his. How could he ever have forgotten the magic only she could bring him?

Her touch was unlike any other woman’s, and he desired her, and only her. And from the way she was touching him, tasting him, he knew she felt the same. There was no reason for them to fight this any longer.

“Climb on me, Grace,” he begged, reaching for her hair again and tugging.

She shook her head and stayed right where she was, sucking even harder. He felt the pressure building, felt the inevitable explosion coming on. No. He wanted to be buried in her core when he came, not in her mouth. He had to stop this.

But her hot satin mouth moved farther down around him, and when his sensitive tip touched the back of her throat, he nearly lost his mind.

“Gracie . . . your touch . . . it’s . . . I can’t . . .” He couldn’t even get coherent words to exit his throat as she moved faster, her mouth sucking him hard while one hand squeezed his flesh and the other ran up his stomach and glided over his nipples.

And then she looked up, their eyes connecting as she slid her mouth down him, then slowly back up, letting him pop out so she could lick her lips and then lick the fluid from his tip. It was the most erotic thing he’d ever watched.

His entire body tightened as he tried frantically to withhold the orgasm that threatened. Sweat beaded all over his body and he tugged on her once more. But then she took him into her mouth again and sucked while her tongue circled his tip, and the battle was over.

It felt like fire ripping up and through him as wave after wave of his hot pleasure spilled into her mouth. His entire body locked up as he felt himself pump over and over again, and with her lips clasping him tightly, she swallowed his essence.

Shouting her name, he gripped her hair and shook until the last drop slipped down the delicate curve of her throat. Their eyes connected again as the last of his ecstasy began to ebb.

“This isn’t over, Gracie. I still need to be inside you,” he sighed, suddenly weak from the pure pleasure she had just given him.

She sucked him once more, her red lips holding him until the very last second, and made him jump from the sensation of it. Cam tried to gain his breath, tried to move, but he needed just a moment. He hadn’t had that powerful an orgasm in . . . not since he’d been with her eight months earlier.

“Only you, Grace. You’re the only one who can make me so weak,” he told her as he reached for her.

Before he could take hold, she backed up and then stopped, tying her robe and looking down at him with satisfaction.

“Was that good, Cam?” Her question was so sweet.

“It was amazing. Let’s go to my room. It’s not nearly over,” he said, already feeling his body stirring again.

“Good. We’re even.”

Cam sat there a moment, totally baffled. She was halfway up the stairs before he figured out exactly what was happening. Payback from this morning.

“Grace!” He caught up to her and pinned her against the railing, his arousal already growing again. “I just said this, and I’ll say it again: This isn’t over.”

“Yes, Cam, it is. You can be the one to suffer now. I wanted you inside me this morning, and now you can think about the fact that you could have had that.”

She leaned in and kissed him hard, her lips demanding against his, making him forget what they were talking of or fighting about. He didn’t seem to know anything anymore, she had his mind so messed up.

Surprising Cam once again, she pushed away from him and climbed to the top of the stairs, and the last thing he heard was the click of her door shutting and the sound of the bolt slipping firmly into place.

He moved to her door and leaned against it. “You’re going to suffer just as much as I will tonight,” he called out to her.

“It will be well worth it,” she called back.

With a groan, Cam crossed the hall to his room. Hot damn if she wasn’t the sexiest woman he’d ever known. There was no way in hell he was letting her get away from him.

Grace should have felt better, should have felt some sense of peace. After all, she’d finally gotten one up on Cam. But her victory was hollow. She’d spent just as much time as she was sure he had in just the same way—aching, lonely, needing to feel
something
.

So her victory had been short-lived. There was now no doubt in her mind that she was on a fool’s errand, trying to fight against the man who had stolen her heart so long ago. But what did time matter, when it seemed so endless?

After throwing on some clothes, she made her way down the stairs of his impressive home, all the while listening for the sound of his voice. It was soon obvious that she was here alone. Her shoulders sagged in relief as she walked into the kitchen and made a fresh pot of coffee.

After a few hours, she paced Cam’s place restlessly. This was ridiculous. She certainly wasn’t a prisoner. Just because he’d insisted on her coming there, that didn’t mean she had to stay. Her best friend would soon be home, and she could go there if she couldn’t return to her apartment.

For that matter, she was sure that Sage would let her stay at her place even though she wasn’t home. Why hadn’t she thought of that sooner? Putting on a jacket, Grace stepped onto the front porch and looked at the sky, seeing clouds gather in the distance.

A spring storm seemed to be brewing. No matter. She’d been through many of those before. After making her way to her car, she slipped her key into the ignition and turned. Nothing. She tried again. Again nothing.

“Dammit!” Hitting her hands on the steering wheel in frustration, she pulled her cell phone from her purse and dialed Cam.

“I hope you slept as poorly as I did last night” was how he answered.

“You tampered with my car? Really, Cam? Was that necessary?” There was no time for pleasantries.

“I didn’t touch your car, Grace. Maybe it’s just old and the battery died.”

“I don’t believe you. For some reason, you’re trying to keep me trapped at your place.” With that, she hung up, knowing it wasn’t going to do her any good to argue with the man.

But she wouldn’t be held captive. Stepping from the car, she looked again at the sky. Yes, it looked ominous, but she’d been born and raised in Montana, and a little rain wasn’t going to kill her.

Sage’s property couldn’t be that far away. They’d driven from her house the week before and it hadn’t taken them long to arrive at Cam’s. She looked in each direction, smiling when she spotted the road she was sure they’d come in on.

She began her walk, too stubborn to wait for a mechanic to come and fix her car. She noted the trees were starting to change from ugly brown to new green, buds reaching for the sun, wanting to open, and animals peeking out from the burrows that had kept them safe during the snowy months.

Montana winters could be harsh and cruel, but the spring, summer, and fall were full of wonder and activity, and out of all the places she’d lived over the past ten years, no place had felt like home as much as this sleepy country town did.

Looking around at the scenery as she walked, her body fighting off the cold suddenly ripping through the air, she enjoyed the sight of a flowing stream, a source that ran year-round and kept the cows hydrated while also nourishing the plant life.

The farther she moved from Cam’s house, the more she was able to focus on the sounds of the woods. She kept going, listening for the chirping of the birds and the scratching of chipmunks in search of food.

A chill ran through her, and Grace looked around as another layer of clouds covered the sun, making the shadows deepen and sending a streak of fear through her. Maybe this wasn’t the best idea she’d ever come up with.

No, it was fine. As long as she followed the road, she would reach Grace’s house. And by doing this she was letting Cam know that he couldn’t control her, couldn’t tell her how to live her life or where she was supposed to be.

When the first touch of cold settled upon her nose, Grace looked up, and a new shiver of fear raced through her. It was spring, a time for birth, for new beginnings, for the ice of winter to melt away. But as she stood there in amazement, snow soon dotted her shoulders, and Grace knew she needed to hurry this up.

How long had she been walking? She wasn’t sure. It had to have been an hour, maybe a little more. She’d been so lost in her thoughts, she hadn’t paid attention. Her only goal had been to reach Sage’s welcoming house, where she could go inside, warm up, and have a nice hot cup of coffee.

That plan had failed. Grace turned around and began following the road back, fear a constant as the path that had been laid out before her quickly filled with new snow. Within fifteen minutes, she stopped.

The road was covered, as was the forest floor around her. She could no longer tell where the road ended and the forest began. If she stepped off the pavement, she’d be lost in the woods. But if she didn’t keep moving, she had no idea how long it would take someone to figure out that she’d gone walking toward Sage’s house.

She knew it didn’t take long for frostbite to set in. She had to forge ahead. The road was a winding one, though, and without being able to see it, she might go straight instead of making a necessary turn. She might wander farther inside the woods and end up making them her eternal home.

How foolish she’d been in her anger. No wonder the birds hadn’t been singing, the forest had been so quiet. The animals had been smart enough to keep hidden from the encroaching storm. They knew not to get caught in the unforgiving torrent of snow that weighed heavier and heavier upon her shoulders, making each step so much harder to take.