Secrets of the Tulip Sisters

Kelly meant the comment to be teasing, then realized too late it was probably in poor taste. Her father’s mouth flattened and Helen turned away. Kelly guessed her friend was trying not to roll her eyes in public. Helen had always been supportive of Kelly’s dislike of her mother, but she hadn’t meant to remind her dad of what was happening at home.

“Sorry,” she told him.

“It’s fine. She can do what she likes. I don’t care.” He put his hand on the small of Helen’s back. “I need to get this one some water. She has a big solo coming up.”

Kelly sighed as they walked away. “I shouldn’t have said that. About Mom.”

“If it makes you feel any better, my brother’s still not talking to me.”

“I guess that helps a little. I just hate being socially awkward.”

“You’re not. Want to get out of here?”

She nodded and he led her back to his truck. He drove to his place and took her inside. After pouring them each a glass of wine, he sat next to her on the sofa.

“Still beating yourself up?” he asked.

“No. I wish my mom would go back home but that’s all. Tell me what’s new with you?”

“I’m thinking of expanding my business. I heard the storefront next door is going to be available. I’ve talked to the landlord and the price is good.”

“What would you do there?”

“Have a showroom with different options for finishes, along with a completed tiny house as well as my cross sections showing construction.”

“That’s a great idea.”

“It wasn’t even mine.”

Before she could ask whose it was, he leaned in, took her wine from her and put it on the coffee table, then kissed her. She relaxed into his touch, letting herself absorb his nearness. When he stroked his tongue against her bottom lip, she parted for him. He slid inside and began that slow, sexy dance.

She liked how Griffith kissed. He moved his tongue against hers in a way that invited rather than took. His lips were firm yet soft. She felt his attention to detail and sensed he enjoyed the process. It was more than a pit stop, it was its own destination.

He drew back enough to nibble his way along her jaw, then down the side of her neck. The light scrape of his teeth on her skin made her shiver. Her small breasts grew more sensitive with every kiss and the silky fabric both aroused and irritated her nipples.

“This is one sexy top,” he murmured as his hands moved up and down her arms. “It had me distracted all evening.”

“That was the point.”

“Then it’s a success. From what I’ve been able to figure out, you’re not wearing a bra underneath.”

She smiled. “No. You’d be able to see it if I was.”

“And these two hooks are the only thing holding it up.”

“So it seems.”

“Nice.” He straightened. “Look at me.”

She did as he requested. When their eyes locked, she felt his fingertips lightly touch her nipples. Not her breasts—just the tight, sensitive tips. Her breath caught as need and heat wove through her.

“I’m not going to say the C word,” he began, “so you can relax.”

“Thank you.”

“I don’t want you to have an orgasm.”

She blinked. “Excuse me?”

“Not tonight. It would be too much pressure.”

He lightly pinched her nipples between his thumb and forefinger. Sensation shot through her and she had to fight to keep from gasping.

“O-okay.”

“Instead we’re going to play. I want to try different things and you tell me if you like them. Sometime later we’ll put it all together, but tonight is just one big experiment with no pressure.”

While she liked the sound of that, she wasn’t completely convinced it would go well. Not that it was easy to think when he kept touching her nipples. She loved what he was doing and couldn’t helping thinking how much better it would feel if he undid her top and sucked on her. Hard.

The image filled her brain, of his head bent and his mouth closing over her. She wanted that. She wanted to feel his mouth on her and—

“Kelly?”

“Huh?”

“Is that okay?”

“Um, sure.”

He dropped his hands to his lap. “What are you thinking?”

She felt herself blush and wanted to stomp her foot in frustration. Not just because there was a problem with her having an orgasm like a normal person but because she couldn’t even talk about what she wanted him to do.

This was Griffith. He liked her. He wanted to please her—of course he would want to know what she was interested in. Dammit, she ran a successful multimillion-dollar business. She was smart, capable and there was no earthly reason why she couldn’t simply tell the man she was dating that she wanted him to suck on her breasts.

Except the thought of doing that left her feeling humiliated and nauseous.

“I can’t please you if I don’t know what to do,” he said gently.

“My breasts,” she managed to say, motioning to the front of her chest.

He smiled. “I like them, too. Can you unfasten your top?”

She had a feeling the question was more about getting her to participate than him worrying about the closure. She nodded and reached behind to her neck and undid the hooks. The material fell, leaving her naked to the waist.

Griffith made a low, guttural sound in the back of his throat before leaning in and taking her left breast in his mouth. He sucked as deeply as she’d imagined, pulling pleasure from every part of her. He swirled his tongue and sucked again, then moved his fingers against her right breast. She arched into him and groaned.

He switched breasts and repeated the process, then drew back and blew air on her damp skin. The blast of cool made her laugh and break out in goose bumps. He pulled her to her feet.

“Let’s take this upstairs.”

They hurried to his bedroom. As he started to undress her, Kelly felt herself getting tense. She reminded herself of what Griffith had promised her. No pressure. Just an experiment, which she had to admit was going really, really well.

He waited while she stepped out of her shoes. Her pants followed, as did her bikini briefs. She was about to point out that while she was completely naked, he was still dressed, only he startled her by dropping to his knees.

The movement was so unexpected, she didn’t know how to react. Before she could ask what was going on, he eased her legs apart, leaned close and kissed her. There!

Her breath caught. Yes, Sven had done that a couple of times and her college boyfriend had, too, but not for very long and never in that position. There was something about standing, or trying to stay standing while he licked her.

The sensation was delicious—more hint than full-on contact. She parted her legs a little more and wanted to hang on to something, only she was standing in the middle of the room, with no furniture around and grabbing onto Griffith’s head seemed rude.

So she did her best to stay balanced as his tongue darted forward and back, lightly touching the very center of her. With each teasing second of contact, desire zinged through her, making it harder and harder for her to stay standing.