An Ounce of Hope (A Pound of Flesh #2)

“Wallet,” he grunted into her shoulder.

Holding back her moans, and with his fingers continuing to pull pleasure from her very bones, Grace reached over for his wallet and quickly pulled out the two condoms she knew would be there. Throwing the wallet back on the nightstand, she held one of the condoms out to him. He opened his mouth and took it between his teeth.

“Come,” he grit out around it. “I know you’re close.”

He wasn’t wrong. He knew her body as well as she did. She groaned and nodded, relaxing herself from head to toe, allowing him to bring her to a climax that was sharp, loud, and altogether incredible. He shushed and soothed her, his palm stroking her between her legs until she was shivering in his arms.

“It’s all right. I’ve got you,” he told her, pulling back slightly to remove his underwear.

Grace rid herself of her cami and shorts and watched over her shoulder, entranced, as he rolled on the condom. He was just so damned gorgeous to look at. He glanced up at her, waiting, as he always did for her to tell him that she was fine for him to start. She smiled gently, gaining one in reply. He lifted her thigh and ducked his head, kissing her shoulder blade softly as he pushed into her from behind.

That feeling. That feeling right there where they joined was something Grace could never explain. He filled her, yes, but it was more than that. It was as if, when he pushed his body into hers, her soul exhaled in relief, as though it had finally found what it had been searching for for so long.

He drew back his hips and pushed back, pushing a moan from Grace’s throat. He clutched her to him, his hands on her breasts, his mouth right by her ear. “He wants this,” he said, anger teasing the words. “He wants you just like this.”

Knowing “he” was Caleb, Grace moved her hand to the back of Max’s head, over her shoulder, and gripped his hair. “He can’t have me like this,” she told him. “He’s never had me like this. He’ll never have me like this.”

He mumbled her name into her neck. “Why? Tell me why, Gracie.”

She turned to look at him, struggling with the angle. “Because only you have me like this.”

The sound that came from Max’s throat was unconcealed possessiveness that lifted the very hairs on Grace’s arms. He thrust firmly, growling and holding her so hard his fingers pinched.

“Wait,” she gasped. “Max, wait.”

He slowed, his hips still rolling, but his voice panicked. “Was I too rough?”

“No.”

“What is it?”

“I want to see you.”

He didn’t hesitate. He pulled away and lay on his back waiting for her to ride him.

“No,” she said, pushing her unease away as her gaze prowled down his magnificent body. “I want you on top this time.”

There was a flash of surprise with a hint of uncertainty across Max’s face before he nodded. “If you’re sure.”

“Absolutely.” And she was. She trusted the man climbing over her and settling between her legs more than any other man she’d ever been with, and whether he’d admit it or not, she knew that he cared for her enough to never harm her. Max’s placed his hands at either side of her shoulders, still careful not to put any weight on her.

“Put me in you.” His request, said, as always, in that unintentionally erotic way of his, turned Grace’s bones to mush.

She put her hand around his cock and guided him. He slipped in perfectly as he always did, only this time she could wrap her legs around his waist. In doing so, she brought his weight onto her. Her breath faltered, panic teasing at the edges of her psyche, making Max pause. “I’m okay,” she urged. “Honestly.”

Long-lashed Hershey’s Kisses roamed over her face until, seemingly satisfied with what he saw, Max began moving again, breathing heavily, eyes closing, then opening, then rolling back while his lips twitched and pursed whenever his teeth weren’t worrying them. Seeing the muscles in his shoulders bunch and his neck cord was hypnotizing. He was sublime. Their eyes met and he groaned, dropping his weight to his forearms, and his face to her throat.

“You feel so good,” he said, lifting her thigh farther up his hip and shoving hard into her.

He hissed and lifted his face to her jaw. His stubble rubbed her as he moved over and over, hot and eager. He felt divine. He wound his hips in a tantalizing figure eight, pushing into her farther.

“I want to make you come again,” he moaned. “I want to feel it on my cock.”

Grace’s eyes rolled back at his commanding tone. “Oh God.”

She whimpered as they rocked together, sopping and hot. The sensation of him moving inside her made it impossible to think, let alone move or form words. She was beyond coherence, and it was sublime.

I love you.

“There,” she gasped as he hit one particularly toe-curling spot.