Three Rivers (9 page)

Had sex always been like this?
Althea wondered as waves of warmth crashed over her.

She'd been a pretty reserved bookworm growing up. Not really blossoming until senior year of high school, she'd not lost her virginity until she was nineteen, having had sex with two guys before she met Jack. Bumbling college boys, both of them. One was a sensitive guy who was also an English major, like her, with little to no knowledge of the female anatomy. The second was a short-lived boyfriend from a good fraternity and an even better family who'd bored the hell out of her. Once she met Jack, that was it, there was never anyone else. Until now.

She was indeed Griffen's right then and it felt amazing.

Sex with Jack had been wonderful — sweet, loving and intimate. The safe lovemaking of two people who knew each other better than anyone because they'd grown up together. But there was nothing safe about this. This experience was animalistic and intense, while also protective and warm. Griffen was no boy and her body was acting all woman.

"Christ," she gasped, as Griffen pulled his head up, trapping her with his eyes as he placed his hands under her ass, tilting it up until he went even deeper, hitting some point inside her that made her clench, the warmth turning to ripples of energy throughout her body, and she screamed his name yet again.

Griffen used his other hand to stroke her still sensitized clit. "I feel you tightening around me, gorgeous. You're so incredible." The words, the stroking, the pumping of his hard body and the intense look on his face were all too much. Althea tingled from her core ubiquitously, coming even more spectacularly around him.

"Oh Griffen. Oh God."

"Yes. Yes gorgeous. Fuck, yes."

She came again, as Griffen grew harder and stiffened inside of her, coming right along with her.

"Althea," he shouted. Griffen held her as she stayed seated on the desk and they caught their breaths. He disposed of the condom, then his slacks and boxer briefs, which they hadn't made it to taking off yet.

He picked her up, which gave her a burst of awkwardness, but she tamped it down — like everything else tonight, she would let herself enjoy it. He carried her to the nearby bed with an amount of ease that made her feel downright girly. They were both still lightly panting, kissing each other everywhere they could reach. He placed her gently on the bed and lay down beside her.

"Jesus, Althea, you were amazing," he whispered as he stared at her and ran his hand up and down her body.

"Well, I, uh, do a lot of yoga," she whispered seriously.

He barked out a laugh. "That's not what I meant, but good to know," he said with a smirk.

She laughed and looked up at him as he stroked her hair. "In that case, you aren't so bad yourself, stud."

Althea felt warm and content, yet also exposed, stripped bare and mildly terrified in the best way imaginable. She felt so free, and that was the scariest thing for her.

Maybe the girls were on to something. Break herself in with a sexy stranger just passing through. No worry of seeing him again or him expecting anything. No risk that he would want her to be whole — someone capable of any real future with another person. This was all she could give, and if it gave her so much pleasure in return, it couldn't be bad, right?

But if I want no strings, then why did I love the closeness, his possessiveness? Why did I like being his good girl so much?

She told herself, that's because this was a perfect fantasy.

She'd belonged to no one but a ghost for years — simply living out her life sentence of grief without parole — subject to solitary confinement with nothing but memories to keep her warm in her cell.

But this was real. This was beautiful. She was owned by this stunning man for this tiny safe moment in time, and it had felt wonderful.

They lay together in his bed for some time, kissing and occasionally talking in hushed tones. Althea rolled over revealing her rounded breasts above the sheet and Griffen had to take them in his mouth again.

Pulling up, he rested his face in her neck, whispering, "So beautiful. Althea," as he moved her hair to kiss her earlobe and neck. She moaned and his cock began to harden again like he was a teenager who couldn't be satisfied. "Baby. You keep moaning like that and I'll have to take you again."

Althea turned and smiled wickedly. "You promise?"

She made him as hard as he could ever remember being. Talking to her all night had been stimulating, to say the least, but now he could barely contain himself from thrusting inside her again. It felt good to feel. To be excited about something for the first time in years. Certainly the most interested he'd ever been in every aspect of a woman.

He wanted her so pleased by each part of him that she couldn't forget him. He had no idea why, but he knew he had to mark himself on her and he wasn't going to question it.

Griffen growled and rolled on top of her. He grabbed a condom packet, tore it open with his teeth and had it on in a matter of seconds, so quickly ready to be inside her again. Griffen bracketed her chest with his arms, his shoulders and biceps tense and flexed. He looked down at her, his heart feeling a strange clench.

"Griffen," she whispered looking at him with her huge hazel eyes, green flecks dancing in the dim light of the room. She stroked a lock of wavy, dark hair off his forehead and he pressed his face into her hand.

He smiled at her and entered in one slow thrust. They moaned and leaned toward each other. Griffen stroked into her, gently this time, slowly bringing her body to another orgasm, even as he kissed her entire face, her eyelids, her cheeks, and her lips. Althea held him tightly as she moaned, curling into his body.

Jesus, she is way too hot for it to have been so long like she said
.

It had surprised Griffen how much he'd liked hearing that. He didn't want to think about her with some other guy, even though that had never mattered to him before. The thought of her choosing to be with him rather than anyone else made him even harder inside her. He grabbed her hands in one of his and held them above her head, pushing her back so he could pound into her even more deeply — possessively and intense.

"Griffen!" she shouted as he thrust into her deep, until his balls were flush with her body as they both came again.

He shouted her name like a song and collapsed on her, still semi-hard inside her tight body. "Fuck, Althea, I think I need to chain you to this bed. You're so incredible."

"Hey, you promised my friends you weren't crazy," she laughed.

"I promised I wasn't a serial killer. Never said anything about not being crazy. And you," he said as he brushed his lips against her neck, "make me crazy." He rolled off, and immediately missed the feeling of her body wrapped around him. He tossed the condom in the trashcan by the bed and gathered her in his arms.

As Griffen began to doze off, he pulled her soft body closer against his hard, muscular frame, fitting his legs between hers. She was warm and stunning, but he felt something greater — joy, perhaps. Though that was one sensation with which he was not very familiar. Especially not here in Pittsburgh.

Something about her was so familiar but also so exciting. He was overtaken by a desire to enjoy that feeling again, like a drug that he knew would get more potent with each hit. He began to work out the possibilities in his head.

Griffen didn't do relationships. It wasn't that he had anything against them in theory, but he'd learned the hard way that committing yourself to someone — relying on them in any way — left you open for a world of hurt. It was better for both parties to know their limits, and for him, his cutoff came at attachment. Maybe if he and his Mom had lived by that code when he was growing up, they could've been spared years of torment at the hands of his father.

But, that didn't mean he couldn't spend some more
unattached
time with Althea. That would certainly make his stay in this place that had been the site of so much hurt for him more bearable — pleasurable even.

In the morning he would propose she help him enjoy his two weeks in town — preferably in his suite, but he was flexible on location.

Suddenly being back in his hometown didn't seem so heart-wrenching after all.

"Goodnight, my gorgeous good girl," he whispered against her hair. "See you in the morning." Griffen felt peaceful and happy, in a way that was alien to him. He pulled her close and fell into a deep sleep.

The morning? What? Oh God. I've got to get out of here.

Althea swallowed dryly around the panic that started to creep into her throat. She'd been almost asleep when those words broke through her consciousness.

Althea knew she couldn't be there when he woke up, that was most definitely
not
the plan. Her heart went from a lazy sleeping rhythm to a frantic pace. She tried to stay calm until Griffen finally seemed to be completely asleep, then carefully slid out from under his arm, intending to shimmy off the bed. Unfortunately, her trademark clumsiness kicked in and she plopped flat on her bottom on the floor. She grimaced and looked up at Griffen in the bed from her undignified perch on the floor. He took a deep breath and rolled over closer toward her face, though she could tell he was still asleep.

She gulped but didn't hesitate to take another long perusal of his handsome body and face.

Way to go Tea, that is one hot male!

She shook off her gawking and found her phone. She made sure it was silenced and texted Jenna to pick her up at his hotel.

After she dressed, Althea sat on the floor of Griffen's hotel room silently admiring him and wishing life was different. He was so good looking, but more than that, he was confident and charming, with a vein of intensity and strength that made her feel at once contented and unsettled. Their lovemaking had been passionate and hot, but it had also been so much fun.

What if she were free enough to stay till morning like he asked? To make love again, shower together, wear a fluffy robe and feed each other room service while planning a fun day in, and out, of bed. The fantasy wrapped around her heart and mind so clearly she could almost smell the room service coffee and pancakes.

She hadn't had this much fun with anyone since Jack died.

Dammit! What about Jack
?

And there it was, the guilt. The feeling that she'd cheated on her one and only. He was gone, but it still felt like he would come back the next week from a trip, even after all these years.

The sadness and memories had become a form of comfort to her — they were a partner that would be with her forever, one that would never die.

But she'd felt no guilt while having sex with Griffen, in fact, so many facets of his personality reminded her of Jack's charming strength and beauty inside and out that it made her feel connected to Jack in some way, even if for only this brief time. She hadn't felt the usual sadness or guilt tonight until just now when she'd decided to leave.

She actually felt disappointed, like she was leaving a wonderful vacation and wishing she could buy a home and move there permanently, but knowing she would never be able to afford it.

The light on her phone shocked her back to consciousness.

It was Jenna. "
I'm downstairs. C u soon.
"

Althea stood, grabbed her purse and walked out of the door quietly in her bare feet, ridiculously high heels in hand. She scuttled through the now empty hotel lobby, which was resting until the dawn of a new day, with no hint of the boisterous conversations and antics of only hours before.

As she stepped through the revolving door, her heart leapt at the sight of Jenna. She heaved a sigh of relief and climbed into the passenger side of Jenna's practical Ford Focus.

She looked over and smiled. "Hi girl," Althea said.

"I'm glad to see that phase one of 'Operation Get Tea a Life' appears to have been a success."

"It was. Whew, was it ever."

"And you feel okay? Not entering some kind of Tea shame spiral?"

"I did for a minute there, but I forced myself to stop. I'm letting myself be happy about it."

"Good for you!"