Made in America (16 page)

“You’re an animal,” I say.

“You ain’t seen nothing yet,” he promises.

Pulling me off the desk, Grant spins me around and bends me over it. His fingers work their way up and down my wet cleft and it isn’t long before he’s pushing himself inside me once more and we’re going at it like jackrabbits.

I could definitely get used to this.

- 17 -

Grant

I breathe in the fresh scent of my Esmerelda Special Auction Grand Reserve Geisha, savoring the aroma before taking my first sip of coffee. I take my time with it, allowing the world’s most expensive coffee to trickle down my throat before it hits my stomach, awakening my senses. I paid a whopping $475 per pound for this, and normally I’d sit at the kitchen bar—alone—feeling a deep sense of pride at that.

This morning it all seems so…different.

Not that I don’t appreciate it, I do, but ever since meeting Raven the expensive things in life are beginning to pale in comparison to the simple pleasures.

Touching her.

Smelling her.

Being inside her.

Those things are quickly overshadowing every guilty pleasure I’ve ever indulged in, because I’m beginning to realize she’s my guilty pleasure now.

Glancing at my phone, I pick it up and click over to my text messages. She sent me one in the middle of the night while I was fast asleep. It’s a picture of her beautiful shaved pussy, freshly showered and clean, with the message
hope you slept well
to go along with it.

I did sleep well, thanks to her. On a night when I should have been tossing and turning, consumed with anger and thoughts of revenge against Alan, I could only imagine the way she felt wrapped tight around me. The way she looked into my eyes when I came inside her. She replaced all the negative feelings I normally would have had with positive, soul soothing ones that sent me drifting into one of the best sleeps I’ve had in years.

Smiling, I text back:
I’d love to be licking that right now.

She replies almost immediately:
Sorry, you gave me the day off.

I chuckle, knowing she’s right. After the hellacious couple of days we’ve had working so damn hard, I figured I owed it to Raven and to myself to take a day to recuperate, both from work, and each other.

But I can’t help craving her. It’s like a constant ache in my cock, and now that I’ve experienced what it’s like to come inside her, I want more. Always more.

Taking another sip of coffee, I stare out the window, sighing at the sight of New York. High-rises, throngs of people always going somewhere, but never getting anywhere. It’s a concrete jungle I’ve lived in all my life, and for the first time I’m beginning to tire of it. Normally it’s the kind of adventure I thrive upon, but now? Raven’s my adventure.

Making a snap decision, I look back down at my phone and text:
You wanna get out of here?

RAVEN: What do you mean, like for breakfast or something?

GRANT: No, out of the city. Let’s go to the beach.

My phone rings and she says, “The beach? You mean Long Island? That’s a pretty shitty beach, you know. Gonna have to work harder to impress a girl.”

Laughing at not only her accent, but her wonderful sense of sarcastic humor, I reply, “How does a beach house in South Carolina sound?

“No shit? You have one of those?”

“Two, actually. Right beside each other on a little stretch of land on Edisto Island. I think we should go.”

Raven pauses, humming and hawing as if she’s having trouble deciding. A little perplexed, I ask, “What’s the problem? You don’t want to go away with me?”

“No,” she says happily, causing my heart to perk up. “No, it’s not that. It’s just, I sort of promised Tito and Frankie that I’d hang out with them today. I haven’t really seen them since the night of their engagement party, and you know, they’re my besties and all that.”

“So?” I shrug. “Bring ‘em with you. We can stay in one house, and they can stay in the other.”

She pauses once more and I can hear muffled sounds on the other end of the line, like she’s covering the phone to talk to someone.

“Raven?” I ask. “Are they with you now?”

“Yeah, sorry. Early morning breakfast. Look, I really appreciate the offer, but I think—”

There’s a rustling sound, she shouts at someone, and suddenly her voice is replaced with Tito’s as he jumps into the conversation. “We’ll go,” he shouts. “We’re totally there.”

“You sure?” I ask. “I know it’s short notice.”

I can hear Raven protesting in the background as he says, “No, it’s cool. So much better than hanging out in the city.”

“My thoughts exactly. Tell Raven I’ll have a car pick you guys up in an hour to take you to JFK. We’ll spend four or five days there, come back on Sunday. Sound good?”

“Sounds fucking great, man.”

“And Tito?”

“Yeah?”

“This is on me. Don’t worry about paying for a thing.”

“Seriously?”

“Sure,” I nod. “Call it an early wedding present.”

“Cool. Thanks, dude.”

“See you in a bit.”

I hang up, a bit confused by Raven’s hesitation to want to spend the weekend with me, and her best friends. After last night, I thought we’d pretty much settled on the fact we were a couple, but apparently not. I’ll have to make sure to spell it out for her on the plane, just to make sure she gets the memo.

I wonder if she’s a member of the mile high club?

Shrugging, I make my way into the bedroom to pack a small bag. The beach houses I own are maintained and well-stocked year round for occasions like this, so they already have food and clothing. I just need to grab the essentials to take with me, call the office to let everyone know I’ll be out for the remainder of the week, and notify Abel to make sure he lets the airport know we’re coming. I have my own private terminal out of JFK, complete with a small jet and pilot.

One of the perks of having more money than God.

Shoving some toiletries into a black duffel bag, I rummage around my drawers looking for anything else I might need. There’s a comb, a toothbrush still in its package, and a wallet-sized photo album I forgot I had tucked away. Sitting on the bed, I trace the leather cover with my fingers, suddenly feeling an overwhelming sense of guilt wash over me.

Opening it, I look down at the photographs contained within. They’re pictures of a different me, from a different time, and as I flip through them all looking at the person I once was, my eyes rim red with emotion that I choke back, because I’m
not
that person anymore.

We’re
not those people anymore.

Just be sure to tell her you’re still married.

Alan’s words sting my conscience and pierce my heart. A moment ago I was on top of the world thinking about Raven, and now? Looking at these pictures I wonder how I can wrap my mind around running away with her for the weekend. It’s my cross to bear, but she has no idea the secret I’m hiding, and if she ever finds out it would hurt her beyond measure, and that’s the last thing I want to do.

I can’t think about it. Not now. Not after experiencing the way she makes me feel. Not just from the pleasure her body brings me, but when I’m around her everything else just fades away and I don’t have to think about the consequences because she makes my world a better place.

I’ll tell her. One day.

And pray to God she can find it in her heart to forgive me.

Getting to the terminal a little over an hour later, I’m pleased to see Raven’s already arrived, with Tito and Frankie in tow. The two men offer me smiling waves standing near the stairs leading up to my private jet, while Raven runs over to embrace me in a big bear hug. I kiss the top of her head and she looks up at me, pouting.

“Is that all I get?”

I lean in, planting my lips to hers with a tender, appreciative kiss. “Better?”

“Much.”

“You look nice,” I tell her, stepping back to admire the wicked little sundress she’s wearing. A dress that leaves little to the imagination with its sheer fabric. The darn thing could almost pass for a nightie.

“So do you,” she purrs, admiring my khakis, or rather what’s beneath them.

“Are you okay?” I ask.

Puzzled, she replies, “Why?”

“I don’t know,” I shrug. “You just seemed hesitant on the phone. Like you really don’t want to be here.”

She gives a haphazard scoff, brushing me off. “Don’t worry about it. Just cold feet is all.”

“Cold feet?”

“Yeah, you know. We’ve only really begun hitting it off and now here you are, whisking me away for some weekend getaway. Seems a bit lickety-split, don’t you think?”

“I guess I never really thought about it like that. I just want to spend time with you. Is that so wrong?”

“No,” she shakes her head, “and that’s my point. There’s nothing wrong with it at all. I’m here, aren’t I?” She winks for emphasis. “I just got turned around a little, is all. You scrambled my brains last night.”

“I’d like to scramble them on the plane,” I tell her, copping a feel of her plump ass.

She slaps me away. “You,” she trails off, spinning to rejoin her friends.

I follow, greeting Frankie and Tito with firm handshakes and warm smiles all around.

“Thanks again for the invite, Huffy,” Tito says.

“My pleasure. I’m glad you two decided to come along.”

“We’ve been needing something like this,” Frankie adds. “It’s going to be so nice to just get away from it all. The city, the wedding planning—it’s gonna be good to recharge the batteries.”

“How’s that going?” I ask. “The wedding stuff?”

They both look at one another and complain about the disagreements they’ve been having as I usher everyone up the stairs and into the cabin. Tito apparently wants to have a small, indoor ceremony with few people, and Frankie is more interested in having something outdoors, and a big celebration afterward.

“I think they should just run down to city hall and get it over with,” Raven says as we all take our seats. “Save themselves the hassle, and the money. So much pomp and circumstance for a few hours of fun, when really you’re already living together, and when it’s all over you’re going to go back home and loaf around on the sofa anyway. Don’t see what the big to-do is with a wedding.”

I say nothing, but take note of her feelings as the pilot comes over the intercom to give us our flight instructions. It’s a two hour flight, taking us to Charleston International in South Carolina. From there we’ll drive the remaining hour to Edisto Island, being transported to a whole other world in comparison to New York. I can’t wait to show it to Raven.

“Have you ever been anywhere other than New York?” I ask when we’re in the air. Tito and Frankie are busy playing Words With Friends, leaving the two of us to ourselves.

She shakes her head. “Nope. Always wanted to, but just never had the time or the money.”

“Well,” I smile. “Now you have both.”

She rolls her eyes. “Your money isn’t my money though, is it?”

I spread my arms, gesturing around the plane. “This is all for you, Raven. I mean that. I know you were a bit hesitant to come along on this trip, but I just want you to know this isn’t some whimsical getaway for me. I’m serious when it comes to you—to us. Because that’s what we are now, an
us
. Just so we’re clear.”

She bats her eyelashes, opening her mouth like she wants to say something, but can’t find the words. I find them for her, leaning in to plant another deep kiss on her luscious lips as if placing an exclamation point on my statement.

When I pull away she whispers, “Why? What do you see in me, Grant?”

I take a deep breath. It’s a question I’ve thought a lot about since our first meeting. By all rights this shouldn’t work, her and me. Not just because of the financial difference, but because we’re total opposites. The thing is, opposites are supposed to attract, right? So who am I to argue?

I place my hand on her knee and smile. “I see someone who is absolutely drop dead gorgeous. I see someone who challenges me like no one has before. Someone who takes comfort in the simple pleasures of life, reminding me that not everything is about money or work.”

“Go on,” she grins.

I slide my hand further up her thigh. “I see someone I’d like to spend a lot of time with, clothed or otherwise.”

She giggles, and it’s quickly replaced with a gasp of delight as my fingers inch closer still to her panties. She chances a look over her shoulder at Tito and Frankie, but they’re so immersed in their game they have no idea what’s going on just ten feet away.

“Go on,” she murmurs, leaning her head back against the plush headrest.

Raven parts her legs slightly and my hand finds its way home, cupping her mound beneath her dress.

“I see someone I’d like to slide my tongue all over,” I whisper in her ear. “Someone I’d like to lick like an ice cream sundae.”

My index finger slides up and down her cleft. I can feel the fabric of her underwear dampening as I nibble on her earlobe. She whimpers, “Go on,” and I tug at her flesh with my teeth, teasing a moan out of her.

“I’d like to lay you down on the beach, licking the salt water off your nipples,” I purr. “Teasing and sucking them so hard in my mouth.”

I push the panties to the side and slide a finger inside her. Raven stifles a cry of pleasure, narrowing her eyes at me like I’m some sort of instigator. She has no idea.

“I’d like to spread your legs and dive in between them with my mouth, tasting every inch of you.”

My finger sinks deeper between her folds. She’s sopping wet but still so damn tight.

“I want to glide my tongue up and down your pink, drinking you in.”

My thumb finds the sweet spot and I rub her in circles while my finger slips in and out, in and out.

“More,” she begs.

“I want to suck on your clit. Tugging and pulling on it with my lips. Pressing my tongue hard against you.”