Take Me for Granted (Take Me #1)(70)
Author: K.A. Linde

“Grant…”

“I know, babe,” I said before covering her mouth with mine. “I’m going to f**k you now.”

Her eyes were wide. She wanted what I was offering, but a spark of fear still crept into her features. Everything about her was f**king hot. Just the way she had her mouth opened slightly like that made me want to shove my dick down her throat. But it was too cold, and I wanted her around me—hot and wet and tight.

I slipped on a condom, and without warning, I thrust forward inside her. She yelped as she expanded to fit me. Fucking hell, she feels so f**king amazing. Everything else paled in comparison. There was only Ari and me.

My fingers locked in her hair, and as I slowly slid out of her, I brushed my lips against her. “Princess, open your eyes.”

She complied, and those big blue eyes stared up at me.

I started up a steady rhythm. “Tell me if I hurt you.”

“Okay,” she whispered throatily.

“Because I’m not going to be gentle.”

Her eyes widened as I took what was mine, and I slammed back into her, hard. She made a small cry, but she didn’t tell me to stop. And I had no plans to. Our bodies met over and over as I picked up the pace. I could tell that I was close to coming, but I needed to hold out long enough for her. I could hold out for her second orgasm…even if it felt like I might explode any second.

“Fuck, Ari.”

“Grant,” she breathed.

“Louder,” I encouraged, and I thrust into her harder.

“Oh God,” she cried a little louder.

“My name. Scream my name.”

She bit on her lip, so I slammed into her again and again until her eyes rolled back into her head, and she really was calling out my name. She probably didn’t even know how loud she was.

Fuck, I couldn’t hold out any longer. I came as soon as I felt her walls contracting around me.

“Fuck, f**k, f**k,” I said, leaning over Ari. I shuddered, and then I was spent.

Her breathing was ragged, and to my surprise, so was mine.

I pushed her hair out of her face, kissed her lips lightly, and sighed. “I love you.”

She smiled up at me in a dreamy haze. “I love you, too.”

Chapter 50: Aribel

After our escapade, we retreated back to Duffie’s for warmth. Grant still had keys to the restaurant. He started a fire in the fireplace, dropped the blankets down on the ground, and snuggled us up in front of it. There was so much that needed to be said, yet…it felt right. Things felt right again.

It wasn’t just the sex. But holy shit, the sex…

My body flushed from just thinking about what had happened outside. As cold as I was, my whole body was also super heated with energy. I’d come here to talk to Grant, and somehow, he’d just unraveled all my plans. Now, we had to decide where to go from here.

Grant’s mouth found mine again, and just when I thought we might have a repeat performance, he pulled back and just stared into my eyes. There was longing, pain, desperation, and desire all rolled into one.

“Ari, about what happened at the lodge…”

“No, you don’t have to say anything,” I said quickly. “Kristin told me nothing happened.”

“I don’t mean about that. I mean, about what I said. I was so angry, and you just laid out every reason I’d been telling myself why I didn’t deserve you. I shouldn’t have said those things. I shouldn’t begrudge you the good life you had growing up. You deserve everything that you have. I love your f**king mouth, and I love how smart you are. I’d never change that because those are the things that made me fall in love with you in the first place.”

I smiled slowly and then glanced down. “I shouldn’t have said you were worthless. That’s not fair to you. You are ambitious. It’s just not what I’d been raised to believe ambition was.” Henry’s face appeared before my eyes, and I shuddered.

“I’ve actually been thinking a lot about what you said, and on some level, I think you’re right. I’ve been coasting most of my life because of what happened. It consumed me, and I never let myself get past it. And…I might not be the CEO of a company, but I got a job.”

“You did?” My mouth dropped open. I wasn’t sure why I was so surprised, but I’d just never thought about Grant working. “Doing what?”

“Working at a recording studio. It’s not a big deal right now, but I like the work. Plus, I wanted to do better, be more for you.”

“Grant,” I said with a smile, “you’re already everything I want.”

“That’s not true, Princess, and we both know it. You deserve a CEO.”

“But I want you.”

“And I’ll be thankful every day for that, but I still have to try.”

He was so earnest that I really believed him. I didn’t think he needed to better himself for me, but I had told him that he wasn’t good enough and that he hadn’t done anything to prove he had changed. Well, here was proof.

“I appreciate that,” I said finally. “But you know you can’t quit the band, Grant.”

“What? Why would I quit?” he asked, shocked.

“McAvoy said you were thinking about it.”

He ran his hand back through his hair and cursed. “No, that’s not what I meant. I’m not quitting the band. I’d never quit the band.”

“Good, that’s really good.” I breathed a sigh of relief.

I couldn’t be the reason he gave up music. He’d eventually regret the decision and blame it all on me. It was a part of him just as I was.

Still, I had one nagging question. “And you…really weren’t with any other women?” I asked, feeling vulnerable.

His hands found the sides of my face, and I stared up into his dark brown eyes. “You are the only person in this world that I want to be with. Other women don’t even exist since I’ve been with you, Ari.”

My heart skipped a beat at his admission. “You took me for granted,” I whispered before I could stop myself.

He nodded solemnly. “And it probably won’t be the last time. But I’m trying to make it better every day.”

I believed him. Things wouldn’t always be perfect. We were too stubborn, too strong-willed, but we could work through them if we tried, if we really wanted to. And oh, I wanted to. I’d never felt like this with anyone else. I’d never let myself open up enough to be hurt, but I’d also never opened myself up to be loved. And I loved Grant McDermott with everything that I was.