I looked at her body and contemplated what exactly I should remove. The sheer blouse was an easy choice. Her shorts? I debated that for about two seconds and said fuck it. I went to unzip her shorts.
Except there was no zip. I rolled her to her back and found only a seam. Did she just pull these on? Women’s clothes were mystifying. Grace’s hand went to her side and pulled down a tiny hidden zipper. Underneath I saw all-lace, black panties. I broke out in a sweat.
Boot camp wasn’t nearly as painful and trying as this. I pulled down Grace’s unfastened shorts and placed those on top of her shoes. I looked at her for a full minute, and, yeah, I even stroked her lightly over the lace nestled between her thighs. She liked it. Her legs fell open to grant me easier access, and she thrust up against my hands.
Jesus, the shadowed valley between her legs called to me. The musk of her arousal rose up in the air, and I wanted to fall on her and devour her. I pressed my forehead into her belly and prayed to someone for a little strength.
I took a deep breath, unbuttoned her blouse, and left her in her bra, tank, and lace panties. I deserved a goddamned medal for this.
When I covered her up, Grace leaned up on her elbows. The weight of her body pulled her tank top down so her plump breasts looked bigger and the cleavage looked deeper.
“Noah?” her tone was questioning. “Are you coming to bed?”
“I’m going to sleep on the couch tonight,” I admitted.
“What? Don’t you want me?”
“Fuck, of course, I do. Jesus Christ, it’s all I can do not to fall on you like some crazed beast, but you’re too drunk tonight.”
“I’m not,” she said truculently.
We could play this game all night. I went to the bathroom to get a washcloth and wiped her makeup off as much as I could. There wasn’t much but it must have felt good, because she made another moan.
“That feels so good,” she repeated. She reached for me, and I bent down to kiss her freshly cleaned forehead. Her head tipped. Despite her tipsy state, she was able to make contact with my mouth, her tongue tracing my lips. Involuntarily, my mouth opened slightly and her tongue darted inside, sweeping around my teeth and deeper to stroke my tongue.
I managed to pull back. “But why?” she cried.
“I’m going to make you feel so good the first time we make love that you’ll want to jump my bones every second afterward. If you don’t remember it, my plan will fail,” I explained, knowing she wasn’t listening to me.
“You and your damned plans,” she said and turned over on her side.
“I love that you’re drunk and horny, but we’d both feel like shit if I did anything to you tonight,” I said. This was a special kind of torture.
There was some muffled response. Possibly a curse word. I heaved to my feet. One last thing before I could crash. Ejecting Jack.
I went to knock on Lana’s door that someone had shut. “Time to go, man,” I said and pounded again. Jack opened the door a crack.
“What the hell, man? Are you cockblocking me?”
“Don’t be that guy,” I warned. My patience was thin.
“You’re being an asshole.”
“At least I’m not the one trying to get in a girl’s pants when she is drunk. Put your pants back on and come back tomorrow when you’re both not fully lit.”
“Just because you are boning her—”
I’d had enough of this dipshit. I covered his mouth with my hand and said, with all the frustration of the night in my voice, “You don’t even want to go there. Either you go put your pants on or I throw you out bare-assed. I don’t care either way.”
My words or menace must have finally penetrated, because Jack came out a moment later, fully dressed, and stomped out the door. He may have wanted to slam the door, but I wasn’t going to let him.
I shut the door and locked it. Lana was passed out in her bedroom. I made a mental note to tell her that her taste in men sucked and shut the door. Looking at the hard sofa and then at Grace’s bedroom, I muttered, “Fuck it.” I was going to sleep in that big ass cloud bed with my girl.
Grace
When I awoke the next morning, I heard the crinkle of paper as I rolled over to find the bed empty except for a note.
Grace,
You looked so beautiful and peaceful, I couldn’t wake you. There’s a glass of water and two aspirin on your nightstand. Hangovers are mostly dehydration. We’re going to have a party tonight at The Woodlands. Don’t plan on drinking much. I want you to take advantage of me. All night long.
Love, Noah
Love, Noah. I hugged the note to my chest.
Chapter Fourteen