All I Ever Wanted(34)

"Oh . . . sure," she said lightly, but he could tell by the stiffness in her posture that she was upset.

Grady knew he should offer some sort of apology, but he didn't.

"See you in the morning, then," Arabella said without looking over her shoulder. When she hurried out the door, it took everything in his power not to go running after her. But he hated the way he'd felt when she left the first time, and she was going to do it again in just a few more weeks. The whole sex-only thing had seemed like such a great idea a week ago, and now he wished he'd done the damned sensible thing and kept his hands to himself. How in the hell was he supposed to carry on living his life after she was gone?

Grady scrubbed a hand down his face. "I did it before. I can sure as hell do it again."

But later, after a hot shower and a cold beer, he felt restless. His brain couldn't handle any foundation work, even though he tried for almost an hour. He finally flopped down on the leather couch and flipped through a hundred television channels but couldn't find anything remotely interesting to watch. Giving up, he strolled into the kitchen and opened the fridge. Although his stomach rumbled, nothing appeared remotely appetizing, and Grady knew why.

All he wanted was to be with Arabella, eating chicken and salad, sipping wine, watching whatever happened to be on TV-it wouldn't matter what it was-and making love to her until every ounce of energy was depleted from every inch of his body.

Closing the fridge door so hard that things inside rattled, Grady paced and stared out the window, considering going for a swim, but then he remembered the last time he'd been in the pool, he'd been naked with Arabella. The thought immediately made his dick respond. "Ah, dammit! This is bullshit!"

Grabbing his car keys from the kitchen counter, Grady headed out the door and got behind the wheel of his silver Porsche convertible, pretending he was just out for a drive and didn't have a destination. To his credit, he drove past her beach-house driveway twice before finally giving in to his craving for Arabella York.


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After killing the purr of the engine, Grady started having second thoughts. He wasn't one for getting nervous, but his heart thumped as he got out of the car and walked up to the door. He rang the doorbell and waited. When she failed to answer, he wondered if she had looked out the window and seen it was him, and was too pissed to answer after his earlier brush-off. He contemplated whether to ring again or try the door to see if it was open. Of course, he had a key, but using it didn't feel right and neither did boldly walking in. He could call her . . . no, send a text message?

Or turn the hell around and leave in a cloud of dust.

Retreat was neck and neck in his mind with sending a text when the door swung open. God . . . Arabella . . . in a short pink terry-cloth robe cinched at the waist, showing enough damp skin to make his mouth water. Her abundance of hair was piled in a messy bun on top of her head, with little tendrils curling around her rosy face. "Sorry, I was taking a bubble bath," she explained, and Grady immediately pictured her in the tub he'd had installed just for the bubble baths that he knew she loved. She stood there looking sexy as hell but with a bit of uncertainty in the depths of her eyes. "Would . . . you like to come in?" she finally asked.

Unable to find words, Grady nodded, and she stepped aside for him to enter. As soon as he was inside the doorway, he pushed her up against the wall and kissed her like he'd dreamed of doing throughout the entire day. She smelled of lavender and vanilla. Her skin felt moist, warm, and with a flick of his fingers he untied the belt and exposed her body. Parting the soft cotton, he kissed her shoulder and the swell of her breast, then parted her thighs to slide his finger into her slick heat. She shivered, either from the cool air or from anticipation. Grady longed to take her right there against the wall, but he knew he needed to have her in the bedroom overlooking the ocean.

Scooping her up in his arms, he headed to the master bedroom and put her down on the big bed. "You smell delicious. And now I need a taste."

Arabella gasped when Grady tugged her to the edge of the bed and then, spreading her legs, hooked her ankles over his shoulders and buried his head between her thighs. He kissed her, licked her, used his tongue, his lips, and his fingers until she fisted her hands in the covers, arched her back, and cried out. He could feel her throb and pulse with his tongue while she rode out her orgasm, but instead of stopping he licked her oh so lightly, flicking where she was pink and swollen.