Текст книги "Take Me for Granted"

Автор книги: K. A. Linde

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Текущая страница: 6 (всего у книги 18 страниц)

Chapter 16: Aribel

After I’d fallen asleep in Grant’s arms, the rest of the world kept spinning at its normal speed, but my life felt like it was moving in fast forward. I’d been shocked at how far I let things go with him, but it had also seemed so easy to just let it happen. I had thought I was going to give myself up. I had never felt like that before in my life. When I was with Grant, I felt safe and secure. Although not completely comfortable in my skin, I was definitely more so with him than I’d ever felt before. And as much as my defenses were normally up, I could feel him crumbling them with ease.

I was glad that Cheyenne had planned to visit her parents in the city for the weekend, so she wasn’t there to see me getting ready for my date on Friday afternoon. I chose a dark blue dress and paired it with my jean jacket and ballet flats. I’d even curled my hair and let it hang loose past my shoulders.

When Grant knocked on my door, I was surprised to find him out of his normal T-shirt and into a polo and dark-wash jeans. He’d cleaned up, too—freshly shaven, his hair styled, his tattoos hidden. My heart skipped a beat.

“Hey,” he said, pulling me against him. “I’ve been thinking about you all week.”

I started to chastise myself for getting giddy because he’d been thinking about me, but then I just let myself feel what was working its way through me. When we weren’t at each other’s throats, I kind of liked being around Grant.

We walked out to his truck, and I hopped up into the passenger seat.

“Hope you don’t mind a little drive,” he said.

“Where are we going?”

He smiled at me. “Down the shore.”

It was an hour before we arrived at a small pizza place. It didn’t look like much with a small sign that read Duffie’s overhead, but the parking lot was jam-packed. I was a little worried about finding a table, but Grant didn’t seem to have any anxiety.

We hopped out of the truck and Grant came around to my side. When he saw the concern on my face, he just laughed and took my hand. “Come on, Princess. It’s the best pizza I’ve ever had. You do like pizza, right?”

Uncertainty crossed his face for a moment, but then it disappeared as soon as I nodded.

We walked into the building together, and a hostess greeted us. Every single table in the place was filled. Waiters were carrying trays of drinks and pizza and joking around with customers. The restaurant had an energy about it that made me relax. I hadn’t known what to expect with Grant, but I was kind of glad he hadn’t taken me anywhere fancy. That was what I typically went for, but that didn’t seem like Grant to me.

“Great. Thanks,” Grant said to the hostess.

“This way,” she said.

We followed her through the crowd, out a set of double doors, and onto a balcony overlooking the ocean. Exactly one table was unoccupied, and it had to be the best seat in the place. How are we so lucky?

I sat across from Grant and waited for the hostess to leave before speaking. “This is…really nice. How did you find this place?”

“I used to come here a lot when I was younger.”

“Oh, really? Are you from the area?” I asked, leaning forward. For the first time, I realized that I knew next to nothing about the man in front of me.

“Moved here from Knoxville when I was ten, and I’ve been here ever since.” He looked a little sheepish before admitting, “This was actually my first job. I worked here through most of high school.”

I’d never pictured him working, which was out of the ballpark of normalcy for me. What do you do?—that had been the only question that really mattered in my parents’ circle of friends.

“I bet you brought all the girls here,” I said lightly. Yes, bringing up other girls is smart on the first date.

“Uh…no, not really.”

“No?”

“I didn’t have to take girls out. I guess this would be the first time.”

I gaped at him.

“So, how am I doing?” Grant asked, spreading his arms wide.

The first time? Like, his first date ever?

No. No way. That can’t be right.

Surely, someone like Grant had had tons of girls flocking for his attention in high school. He’d had to date someone…sometime.

Right?

The longer I stared at him with that smirk on his face, the more I saw the layer underneath. He was…nervous. Grant McDermott was nervous to be on a date with me.

“You’re doing great,” I reassured him. I couldn’t believe it, but so far, this was better than the dates I’d gone on with guys from Princeton.

“Grant!” an older man said as he walked up to our table. “So good to see you home again and with such a beautiful date.”

“It’s good to be back, Randy. This is my friend Aribel.”

“It is a true pleasure, Aribel.” The man took my hand in his, large and strong from use. He had kind eyes and a welcoming smile.

“Randy’s the owner,” Grant filled in for me.

“Oh, well, I love your restaurant.”

“Bah! You haven’t even tasted the food!” He glanced at Grant and laughed. “I like her.”

Grant seemed completely comfortable when his eyes shifted from Randy’s back to mine. “I like her, too.”

My cheeks heated, and I looked away from him. I couldn’t figure out how Grant made my stomach flip the way it did. I’d always been so logical, practical…and he threw those qualities out the window with only a smile.

“We’ll have the special and some water. Unless you want something else?” he asked me hesitantly.

“That sounds fine.”

Randy picked up the unopened menus from the table. “Don’t be a stranger, Grant,” he said before leaving.

“You’ve been incredibly accommodating tonight,” Grant said. “I keep waiting for a snarky comment.”

I shrugged. “Well, you haven’t made any asshole sexual comments yet.”

“I could if you like.”

“Oh, yes, my dream in life is to be sexually objectified every chance I get.”

He cracked a smile. “There she is.”

“Does it ever get tiring?”

“What?” he asked, leaning in closer to me.

“The sexual objectification, the constant stream of girls. Don’t you ever just want more?”

“Babe, I’m usually getting more.”

“Ugh! Not what I meant,” I said, turning my face out to the ocean. “You’ve never been on a date before. From everything I’ve heard about you…you sleep with women and then never talk to them again.” I could feel the heat of his gaze on my face, and I forced myself to look at him. “Haven’t you ever thought there was more to a relationship than that?”

Grant stiffened at my question. There I had gone again. I couldn’t keep my mouth shut. I couldn’t keep myself from asking exactly what was on my mind. I was messing this thing up, whatever it was with Grant, before our first date had even come to a conclusion.

“To be perfectly honest, Ari, until you, I’d never given two shits about anyone that wasn’t family.”

Chapter 17: Grant

Ari and I left Duffie’s after we finished dinner, and she started walking back toward my truck. I hadn’t driven all the way down the shore just to get pizza. We were on my first date, so I was going to go all out.

I grabbed her hand and looped it with mine. “This way,” I said, taking a side entrance to the boardwalk.

Her dark blue eyes were wide and alert as she took in the scene before her. The sun was low on the horizon and reflecting against the water for miles.

“You ever been down the shore before?”

“Yes. My roommates took me last summer. Shelby and Gabi are from Atlantic City, so they showed us around—um…me and Cheyenne, that is.”

“Where are you from?”

“Boston.”

“Never been there.”

“Oh, you’d love it. My dad is a CEO at a bank downtown, so I—”

I straightened visibly at that word. CEO. Fuck me. Who the fuck am I to take out a girl whose father runs an entire bank?

“What?” she asked, noticing my discomfort.

“Nothing,” I covered quickly.

She knew I was lying.

“Well, you’d love Boston,” she finally said.

Silence lingered between us. I felt something crawl into my chest and spread out, like it was trying to fester through my whole body. I didn’t know what the fuck was wrong with me. I liked this girl. That has to be it. I was completely out of my element. I’d fucked spoiled princesses whose parents had too much money. I hadn’t discriminated against who landed in my bed. But this…this felt fucking different.

“You have something on your mind,” she whispered finally.

“Yeah.” I drew her into me and kissed her hard on the mouth. Maybe I could drown out my own thoughts.

Her arms wrapped around my neck, and she wound her fingers through my hair. She shivered in my arms, and I wasn’t sure if it was from our kiss or the crisp air as winter rolled in on the boardwalk, but I just kissed her harder, more desperately. I didn’t care who her father was or how much money they had or how much better than me she probably was. She was kissing me back. Whether I deserved it or not, Ari wanted this, too.

As always, Ari pulled away first. Her dark blue eyes met mine, and she giggled against my lips. Since I’d known her, she had always worn such a stern expression with a particularly prominent scowl, so her giggle made me smile.

“Something funny, Princess?” I asked, pulling back to look at her.

She shook her head. “No. I’m just surprised I’m having a good time with you.”

“Ouch,” I said, bringing a hand to my wounded heart.

“Oh, no…I didn’t mean it…” She trailed off and bit her lip. “Sorry. I have a problem with spewing the first thing that comes to mind.”

“It’s not a problem,” I told her quickly.

Actually, I liked it. She knew I was an asshole, and she had still gone on a date with me. I hadn’t given her any other option, but still…

“Well, I’m not one to sugarcoat,” Ari said.

“Me either. That’s why when I told you that I wanted you in my bed, I meant it.”

“Oh, I know you meant that.” Her cheeks turned a soft shade of pink. “But what I didn’t know was if all of this was just an excuse to get me there.”

Huh. As much as I wanted to fuck this girl, that hadn’t been in my game plan, not the way that she was thinking at least.

“And?” I finally asked. “What do you think?”

She took a few steps away from me and leaned her elbows against the railing of the boardwalk, facing out to the ocean. My body responded to the beautiful sight of her body pressed into the wooden railing and her tight little ass sticking out. She glanced over her shoulder and saw me checking her out.

“Well?” I prompted when she said nothing.

“I think you want me there, but you like me here, too.”

Well, if that isn’t the damn truth.

I closed the distance between us and turned her to face me. My hands slid down the sides of her dress as I whispered in her ear, “I want you any way I can have you.”

She cleared her throat as I felt her body reacting to my nearness.

“I’ll be sure to remember that.”

Her words sounded like a promise, and I wondered what I’d gotten myself into.

When we arrived at Ari’s house right before midnight, I walked with her up to her door, all the while restraining myself from pouncing on her. Physical restraint had never been my strong suit.

Images of Ari—her lips on mine as I’d pushed her through her open doorway, her body wet from the rain, her nestled against my chest, her laughing on the boardwalk—all hit me with a fresh wave of desire. I wanted to be near her, with her, in her—and I wanted it fucking bad.

When we reached her door, I kissed her pleadingly. Please let me stay. Please let me show you everything I can do to your body. Please let me give you what we both want right now.

I wasn’t going to walk away without trying.

She whispered something so softly that I hadn’t even heard it in the breeze.

“What?” I asked.

Ari turned her head away from me, a red blush touching her cheeks and the tips of her ears. “Nothing. Sorry. Stupid of me.”

I took her chin in my hand and forced her to face me again. “What did you say, Ari?” My pulse was keeping time in my ears.

Her blush just deepened. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

“If I don’t want to what?”

“Come inside…” she said quietly.

I couldn’t keep the smile from my face. Fuck yes, I want to come inside. That wasn’t the only place I wanted to be coming in right now.

Aribel fumbled with the key before opening the door and leading us into her place. I’d been inside before, but it was a different experience to actually be welcomed. She shrugged out of her jacket and tossed it across the back of the couch. She teetered from one foot to the other, not making eye contact with me from across the room.

“Which room is yours, Princess?”

Her eyes widened, but she didn’t answer. I could see what was written on her face—I’m not going to have sex with you.

“I know,” I told her.

She startled as if I’d read her mind. “Grant…”

“Which one?”

She nodded her head behind her. When she didn’t move, I walked across the room and guided her back toward it. I could take control. That was fine with me.

Once we were in her room, my lips found hers, and my mind went on autopilot. I needed her. I needed this.

I pushed her back until her legs met the large bed in the center of the room. It was one of those fancy-ass beds that was too high to sit on comfortably. A million useless throw pillows lay on top, and I reached out and wiped them all from their neat arrangement. Then, I grabbed her by the backs of her legs and set her down effortlessly. Her blue dress bunched around her upper thighs, and I hardened at the sight. My hands slid up under the material, and she shivered against my touch.

“Grant,” she whispered.

I thought she’d meant it as a hesitation, but it had come out as a moan.

“St-stop.”

“Ari, please.” My voice was hoarse. I wanted something, anything at this point.

“I’m not going to—”

“I know. I know.” I held back my irritation. “I’m just going to make you feel good.”

“Grant,” she said with a definite warning in her voice.

Well, I’ll just have to fucking show her then.

I dropped to my knees in front of her and saw her eyes widen as her grip tightened on the bedspread. Good.

My hands pressed gently against her knees, spreading her legs farther apart. She squirmed uncomfortably, but I just ignored her. She’d be squirming for other reasons in a minute. I ran my fingertips ever so lightly from her knee to the sensitive skin hidden beneath her dress. She gasped at my touch. That did the trick. My lips followed. Each inch that I kissed brought a new wave of trembles from her body. The anticipation of what I was going to do was getting her riled up, and fuck was it turning me on, too.

When I reached her dress, I glanced up to get an okay to continue, but her eyes were firmly closed. The look on her face was doing anything but discouraging me. I flipped up her dress and kissed my way down the soft lace of her pale blue underwear. She quivered beneath my touch, and it took considerable effort to slow my racing heart and focus on the matter at hand.

I eased her back on the bed, so she was lying flat. Her eyes flew open, and she stared at me with a mix of desire and terror.

“Trust me,” I told her.

She swallowed and nodded.

I pulled her underwear slowly down her legs. All I wanted to do was rip them off of her as fast as I could and bury my dick inside her, but I went slow. I wanted her to be comfortable.

Who the fuck knows if she is going to let me be this close to her again after tonight? She might come to her senses and realize that I was no prince in disguise; I was just a frog waiting for a kiss from a princess.

With the barrier between us removed, I started at her knee and worked my way back up. She was practically panting by the time my mouth found her lips for the first time. I ran my tongue down the length of her and then swirled experimentally around her clit, savoring every sound of pleasure escaping her. And I wasn’t going to stop there. My tongue flicked against her until she could barely keep her hips still. I worked her into a total frenzy before finally inserting one finger into her and then another. Her body spasmed around my fingers as I worked them in and out of her.

Oh fuck. Her body was so responsive to my touch. I just wanted to feel everything that was going through her. I wanted to sink my dick into her wet pussy and ride out that wave with her, but I’d let her have hers. My own breathing was turning ragged as I brought her closer and closer to the brink.

I felt her body seize all at once around my fingers. She stiffened slightly. Her hands dug into the bedspread. When her orgasm faded out, she relaxed. No big fanfare. Typical Aribel.

“Why…why did you stop?” she asked breathily after a moment.

“Because I wanted to watch you come.”

She blushed. “Um…I didn’t.”

I leveled her with a you’re-kidding-me kind of look. “Um…yes, you did.”

“I think I’d know.”

“I’d think so, too. Want me to show you again? Because that was a fucking hot sight if I’ve ever seen one.”

What the hell is she talking about? My dick was throbbing so hard in my pants from her orgasm, and she hadn’t even known that she had one. Am I missing something?

She sat up and self-consciously covered herself. “Um…no.”

“Hey,” I said, taking her face in my hands, “it’s a compliment. I’d do it all over again to watch you one more time.”

She furiously blushed again. I took her hand in mine and placed it on the front of my pants. She jerked back really quick, but I grabbed it and laid it on my dick again.

“See what you do to me.”

“Grant,” she said softly, removing her hand again, “I don’t…I’ve never felt like this. I’m not this…”

She splayed her hands out before her, but I wasn’t sure what she’d meant. All I heard was that she’d never felt like this. About a guy? The orgasm?

I decided to push my luck. Pretty standard for me. I started climbing on top of the bed, and she scrambled backward. My hands latched on to her waist, and I laid her out flat beneath me.

“You know,” I said into her ear, “I’ve never felt like this either.”

I started grinding my hips against her, and she whimpered. Her hands gripped my forearms, neither pushing me away nor pulling me closer. I wanted nothing more than to loose my dick from my pants, slide it against the wetness I’d created between her legs, and ride her as hard as she’d let me. My body was literally aching to be inside her. I was sure she could feel my need as it put pressure between her thighs.

Aribel groaned and pulled me down until my lips met hers. I indulged her as I slid my hand down her bare thigh. I reached underneath her to grab her ass, and she jumped slightly. My cock twitched as she thrust upward against me.

“Please,” I groaned. “Please, Ari.”

She shook her head, but her eyes were filled with the same desire consuming my body. I wanted so desperately to ignore her. I wanted to take what was lying beneath me, take what was mine.

Aribel Graham is mine.

Chapter 18: Aribel

Ever since Grant had left my apartment without a word three days ago, I’d been sleeping like shit. I knew that I shouldn’t agonize over what had possibly gone wrong, but I couldn’t figure out what had happened. The only thing that stuck out was the fact that I hadn’t slept with him. That must be it. He must have thought that after just one date, I’d give it up, and when I hadn’t, he’d moved on. I couldn’t think of another explanation.

And I was amazed, quite shocked actually, that I was physically and emotionally beating myself up about it. For a minute, I’d wanted to rush over to his house and offer myself. The logical side of my brain told me that wouldn’t keep him around any more than me denying him had, but it was difficult to keep myself in check.

Deep down I’d known it was happening. When I had agreed to go on a date with Grant—maybe even before then when I had called him to help with my car—I’d known that I was falling for him. But I’d thought that one date would prove that he was everything I’d thought he was—an arrogant, conceited, manipulative, asshole, playboy rocker who cared for nothing but which bed he was landing in. While that image hadn’t wavered because he was absolutely every one of those things, I’d managed to find that there was more to Grant McDermott…and that had been my downfall.

I’d really thought we had some kind of moment, a connection even, but it all came back to sex. How could I ever think I would hold someone like Grant McDermott’s interest? What did I have to offer that he couldn’t easily get somewhere else? Just thinking about it was irritating me all over again.

And look, I hadn’t even been paying attention to my chemistry professor, so I had missed the entire slide with the homework assignment on it.

I caught up to Kristin as she exited the classroom. “Hey!”

Kristin stopped and waited for me. “What’s up?”

“I forgot to write down the homework assignment. Do you think I could get it from you?”

“You? What?”

Yeah. Great. Just point out the fact that I’m not myself. “So, do you think I could see it?” I asked.

“Um…sure, hold on.”

She pulled out her paper, and I started scribbling down the pages and pages of work I needed to read and all the problems I had to finish before lab on Thursday.

“So, not to be nosy or anything, but after Grant got your number last weekend, did he, like, actually call you?” Kristin asked.

Ugh! Grant.

She must have seen my grimace because she quickly said, “Never mind. He was probably just trying to get some ass, like always. You shouldn’t feel bad that he didn’t call you.”

Breathe in, breathe out, Aribel. Think before you speak for once in your life. “Don’t feel bad for me. Grant McDermott is as likely to get some ass from me as I am of getting a B on the next test.”

“Wait, you mean he didn’t have sex with you at the League?”

“Who told you we did?” I asked carefully.

“Everyone. I mean, everyone was talking about it. Something about a quickie in the back room.”

I saw red. I didn’t even know what to think or do about the situation, but it felt like in one easy swoop Grant McDermott had ruined my carefully constructed reputation.

“I didn’t have sex with Grant. You can tell that to everyone else who asks you, too.”

Kristin looked at me skeptically. “But you were backstage with him, right?”

“Just because I was backstage doesn’t mean I had sex with him!” I snapped.

A few people glanced our way, and I reminded myself to breathe. I scrawled the last few notes into my notebook and then passed hers back. “We didn’t have sex.”

“Okay…you didn’t have sex.”

I ground my teeth together at the disbelieving inflection in her voice. I didn’t even know what else to say, so I just turned around and walked away. I hadn’t bothered thanking her for her notes.

I snatched my phone and dialed Grant’s number. I couldn’t believe that I was giving in and calling that bastard again.

He picked up on the third ring. “Hey, Princess.”

Cocky, conceited, arrogant prick. I wanted to wipe the smirk right off his face. I wanted to forget ever going on a date with him or kissing him or letting him do more. I wanted to forget the last three days of exhaustion, wondering why he had snuck out of my house and why he hadn’t called me back. I’d never had those thoughts before, and I just wanted him out of my life, so this could all stop.

“You told everyone that we slept together?” I asked, nearly hysterical.

“What?” I heard the genuine confusion in his voice.

“You told everyone we slept together!” I repeated. “Congratulations! You have single-handedly ruined my entire reputation. Now, everyone thinks I’m some dumb groupie slut. I can’t believe I trusted you. I can’t believe that I was foolish enough to go out with you. Why didn’t I see this coming? I must be so naïve. You couldn’t get any from me, so you just told everyone that you did.”

“I would never do that.”

“Then, why is everyone saying that, Grant? Hmm? Do you think I’m stupid? I told you I didn’t want to play this game.”

“Ari, would you slow down for one second? I never told anyone that we had sex. Who did you hear that from?”

“My friend Kristin told me that everyone was talking about it.”

“Well, they’re probably just assuming that it happened since you came backstage with me. I didn’t tell anyone that. I haven’t even told anyone I’ve been seeing you.”

I didn’t know why that bugged me just as much. “I’m so glad that not only does everyone think we slept together, but I’m also your dirty little secret. Fantastic.” I reached my car and wrenched the door open.

“Ari, you need to fucking chill the fuck out right now. I’m trying to tell you what’s going on, so shut your smart mouth for one goddamn second and actually listen to me.”

Oh, he did not just go there. “Don’t talk to me like I’m an idiot.”

“No one in the whole fucking world could think you’re an idiot, Ari. Just calm the fuck down,” he growled. “You know what? Fuck it. Let’s just meet up. I’m tired of you yelling at me through the phone.”

“Fine. I’ll just yell at you in person.”

“I like my women vocal,” he said with a chuckle. “Your place or mine, sweetheart?”

“Ugh! You’re so exasperating! Just forget it.”

“Princess, you should learn to take a joke. Just be at The Coffee Bean in fifteen.”