"Thank you," she whispered, her shoulders dropping with the sensation of having him so close, as though his mere presence helped her breathe easier.
"Just until it passes," he replied, his voice gruff, but quiet.
She reached out to turn off the lamp. "Okay."
It was before dawn when Grace woke again. It was still dark. The thunder had eased but still the rain came. Grace nuzzled the pillow and sighed. While they slept, Max had moved closer, his body molding around hers, his hand tentative on her hip. He'd done this before when they'd fallen asleep together despite claiming that he wasn't one for hugs or spooning. He was full of it, though; the man was made for snuggling.
In spite of their heated words, Grace smiled when his breath washed against her neck. He felt so good behind her that she was unable to resist shifting back in an effort to feel more of him. It had been too long since she'd felt so safe. Surely, he was feeling what she was, right? The expanding that occurred in her chest every time she saw him, the butterflies when he smiled, the insane lust when they came together. It had to be real.
"Quit moving," he grumbled sleepily, his nose pressing into the skin behind her ear.
It was on her next breath to ask why, but the way his hips flexed against her ass told her loud and clear why his words sounded tight. Wow. The way he was so blatant about how his body reacted to hers never failed to make Grace warm all over. Life would be so much simpler if he could be so open with his heart.
"Sorry."
"No you're not," he retorted, calling her out at the same time she pushed against him again. He huffed a breath. "Don't start what you can't finish."
Grace was struck with how perfectly those words fit their relationship. Their argument had done nothing but underline just how fragile they still both were, while the overwhelming feeling that, inevitably, they were headed for a serious conversation filled Grace with resounding fear. She didn't want to lose him. She couldn't.
"Max." His name slipped between her lips before she could stop it and she placed her hand on the back of his as it traveled up her waist and back down to the top of her thigh.
"What do you want?" he asked, his tongue flicking out to taste her skin.
She swallowed back the many things she wanted from him, for him, for them, and said simply, "You."
His fingers dipped teasingly to her inner thigh at the same time he pushed his erection against her ass. "Just me?"
She turned her head sharply at the unspoken insinuation of his question. Meeting his tired yet hopeful eyes, however, made the angry response curl back heavily into her chest. She was so exhausted hiding what she felt for him, what she wanted with him. She could only be honest and hope that, in time, he would return the favor. "It's always been just you. Nothing happened with Caleb, Max. He got my lights working again and left. I swear to you."
He closed his eyes briefly, as though her words were exactly what he needed to hear, and slipped his hand swiftly between her legs and under the elastic of her sleep shorts. Grace arched when his fingers found her. They played her perfectly, firm but teasing, fast then slow, dipping and rubbing her in ways that had her calling out nonsense, clutching his forearm just to feel the muscles as they worked her.
"Yes," she breathed. "Please."
He slipped two fingers into her, curling them to stroke her in places that made her call out his name.
"Who?" he growled in her ear, his hips undulating against her, while his hand began to move faster, his fingers fucking her so perfectly.
"You, Max," she groaned. "Don't stop."
"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.