Fallen from Grace (11 page)

No, I want you to stay and let me make love to you.

“What I want isn’t relevant.”

Grace wiped the tears from beneath her eyes. With the fire cracking behind Judas, and the dim lamp next to the couch, it
looked
romantic, but with the overwhelming presence of Ellis in the room-and hanging off her index finger-the passion was dwindling away faster than the smoldering logs.

“I don’t want to leave.”

And just like that, Judas’s desire flared like gasoline on the fire.

“What
do
you want, Grace?”

She swallowed. “To stay here, with you.”

“Take it off.”

She glanced down at her dress.

“The ring, Grace. I’ll be the one taking your clothes off.”

Even in the dimly lit room he saw her cheeks flush, and it did crazy things to him. She looked at the ring, then pulled it off and walked past him. Laying it on the mantle above the fireplace, she slowly turned around to meet his heated gaze.

“Are you sure this is what you want?” His voice was raw, husky…he couldn’t sift out his desire, and he could barely contain himself as he stared into her hazel eyes. The light from the fire reflected in her gaze, drawing him closer and warming his blood.

“If you’re not sure, tell me now because I’m about to peel that gorgeous dress off of you, then kiss every inch of your body.”

“I’m sure,” she crooned.

Judas pulled her against him and found the zipper as her lips seared him with a heated kiss. Pulling it slowly down, he slid the dress from her body and revealed a black corset, garter belt, sheer black underwear and matching stockings.

“Dear god…” He took a step back to look at her. “You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”

Grace grabbed the lapels of his suit and pulled his lips to hers. He picked her up, and she wrapped her legs around his waist as he walked her to the couch, then dropped down to his knees and lowered her onto the ivory cushions. Grace laced her fingers through his hair as his hand found the apex of her thighs. She moaned and he kissed her, inhaling her pleasure into his mouth. Fumbling the buttons of his shirt, she stopped.

“Take it off,” Grace demanded.

He grinned and shrugged out of his suit, then pulled the button up and undershirt over his head. He quickly removed his shoes and socks, watching the desire heat her cheeks, and her gaze flaring with lust as he removed his pants. He leaned forward and hooked a finger inside the lacy cup holding her breast and drew it down, sucking a nipple into his mouth while unhooking the bra and tossing it to the floor. She had perfect, round breasts, and small nipples that pebbled from the cool air.

“Night after night I’ve thought of nothing but you, and now I’m going to have you, Grace Winters.” She gasped as he dropped down between her legs. “I’m going to taste every inch of your body. Is that what you want?”

“Yes,” she breathed.

He grinned as he leaned down and ran his tongue across the tender skin inside her thigh, pulling her underwear to the side and tasting her sweet sex. She moaned and twisted her fingers in his hair as Judas slipped a finger inside of her, slowly pushing it deeper and massaging it against her soft, wet walls.

“Judas, please. I want you inside of me.” Her hands left his hair and her nails gripped his shoulders.

He plucked her off the couch, and she screamed, then laughed. “Seriously, you make me feel like a doll,” she said as he laid her on the fur rug next to the fireplace.

Judas shook his head, grinning. “It’s not my fault you weigh less than my tool box.”

“Wow, how romant—”

He kissed her. Grace was so tiny and delicate, so sweet and pure. Judas grabbed a pillow off the couch and tucked it beneath her head. She watched him with wild eyes as he laid her leg over his shoulder and unhooked her garter, removing the stockings one by one. He stretched the elastic of her garter belt over her hips and slid it down her legs.

Kissing the inside of her thighs, he removed her silk underwear as Grace pulled him against her, but he hesitated for a moment as he kissed her lips. He didn’t have a condom.
How could I have not thought about this until now?

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“I don’t have a condom.”

“Oh,” she murmured, dragging her finger across his shoulder. “Are you clean…I mean have you ever been checked at the doctor?”

He nodded. “I have. And I am. I haven’t even slept with anyone since then and I’ve always used protection.”

“Me too and I’m on birth control.” She flushed. “I know this is an awkward conversation. And kind of ruins the moment.”

“Grace, with you, I could never be turned off,” he said, lightly brushing his lips across hers in a gentle kiss. 
“Are you sure you’re okay with this?”

“Yes, I’m sure.”

“Good because I think the only condom I do have is upstairs in my bedroom, and it’s about five years past expiration.”

“Well, I guess it’s your lucky night.”

He laid on top of her, settling between her legs and tucking a curl behind her ear as he gazed into her heavenly hazel eyes.

“I don’t want this night to end.”

“Me neither,” she whispered.

Judas leaned down and gently pressed his lips to hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck and smoothed her calves over his, then reached between them and stroked her hand down his erection. Judas moaned, and she devoured his ardor with a heated kiss as she took him inside of her.

“Grace,” he moaned as her heat encircled him.

He started out slow, a sensual rhythm that eventually had Grace squirming beneath him, and when she screamed out his name, he let her take what she wanted…what she
needed
from him. Holding him tight and meeting his every thrust, he felt her come undone around him as he found his own release. She didn’t let go until he stopped moving, clinging to his body with her legs.

Panting, their foreheads pressed together, she smoothed her hands down his muscular back as she attempted to slow her breathing. She closed her eyes when he moved inside of her, and moved with him. She wanted more, and he wanted to give it to her.

She opened her eyes and smiled. “Hi,” she said and kissed him. She laid her head back on the pillow and laughed.

“What?” he asked, kissing her neck, then propping himself up on his right arm.

“I’m starving. I haven’t eaten anything since,” she grimaced as her stomach rumbled, “since breakfast.”

He kissed her brow and loved how the simple act warmed his heart.

G
RACE
WORE
J
UDAS
’
S
WHITE
UNDERSHIRT
—and nothing else—as she walked around his kitchen.
God, does it smell incredible.
His spicy scent made the muscles deep in her belly spasm, and she couldn’t wipe the cheesy grin off her face.

Judas’s after sex bliss was really cute. He kissed her about a dozen times before promising he’d be right back, then jogged amorously from the house to find food.

She never imagined she would use the words cute, Judas, and sex in the same sentence. He was a difficult person to read. On the outside, he really did look like a
bad
boy
. Those sultry, chocolate brown eyes beneath dark, enigmatic brows, and a sharp jawline that always seemed to have this sexy stubble shadowing it…

Grace had to force herself from the erotic path her thoughts were leading her down. No man had ever affected her like this, and it was exactly what she wanted—passion, fervor, and the excitement of being with someone who wanted to be with her just as badly.

Forcing herself to focus on anything besides the amazing, mind blowing sex she’d just experienced, she decided to look through the bare cabinets. There was dust and cobwebs inside the beautiful oak cabinetry, and the house had a sad, lonely air. Had his mother lost interest? It didn’t seem possible as the house and location were awe inspiring. It was night, but Grace remembered the view from the ocean as if she were looking upon it from the boat in the water—through the sixteen year old eyes of the girl she’d forgotten.

How was it that they could have lived so close together, shared the same friends, and never met? She laughed as she tried to imagine a young, adolescent Judas.

“What’s so funny?” he asked, placing two brown grocery bags onto the counter.

“Nothing. I was just trying to imagine what you were like as a teenager, here on the island. I bet you drove the girls crazy.”

He chuckled. “Not intentionally. Most of the time I had my head buried in a book.”

Stepping around the counter, he wrapped his arms around her, and she suddenly felt safe—like she was home. There was a connection between them that defied the laws of physics. It was pure attraction—raw, hungry and unlike anything she had ever felt. Grace could feel the energy flowing between their bodies and she knew Judas could feel it too. It was why he’d immediately walked to her and was still holding her in his arms. They kissed, and it was tender, warm and highly intense.

Was this love?

Grace laid her head on his chest, then hugged her arms around him and inhaled a mixture of soap and spice. She wanted to wrap it around her—swim in it and taste it all at the same time.

What about Ellis?

The solitary question made her weak in the knees as the guilt deflated the wind in her sails. She couldn’t think about him right now, and it frightened her how quickly he’d disappeared from her thoughts the moment Judas spoke.

“I didn’t know what you liked to eat, so I stayed American.” He walked over and started unpacking the grocery sacks.

Grace slipped her arms around his waist. “Mmmm...grilled cheese,” she said with a smile as she watched him unpack bread, cheese and butter. “Definitely a classic, and one of my favorites.”

“Good.” He turned around and kissed her, then abruptly picked her up and sat her on the counter.

She screamed. “Brrr! Are you forgetting I couldn’t find my underwear?” They had spent nearly five minutes looking for them before her need for food overpowered the matter.

“Oh no, I’m fully aware of the matter, and quite honestly, it has been driving me mad.” His voice was low and husky.

Situated between her legs, he slid his hands up her thighs, and Grace instantly felt the warmth spread throughout her entire body, “No way, uh-uh, food first, fondling later.”

He laughed. “As long as I’m with you, I’ll do anything. Cooking for you gives me just as much pleasure as
fondling
.”

Judas’s grin made her stomach do a flip-flop; the air in her sails had returned, and she was floating on cloud nine again. His palms were face down on either side of her legs, and when he turned to grab a pan, she trapped him with them.

“Really?” she asked, arching a brow. “Is it really better than
this
?”

Grace slid her hand between them and gently brushed it down his considerable length. She watched his jaw tighten, and his dark eyes fill with need. He leaned down and sucked her lower lip into his mouth as his hands went back to her bare thighs. Grace’s hunger for food was replaced with her hunger for Judas Woods, and she didn’t hesitate. Undoing his jeans, she guided him inside her. His moan vibrated against her lips, and his hands gripped her hips, pushing himself deeper and deeper.

“Grace,” he murmured.

She gripped Judas as he moved inside of her, feeling the cold wood of the cabinets against her back. The familiar torturing rhythm he’d ridden her with the first time returned and added to the warmth growing within her. When she couldn’t take it anymore, she screamed his name.

“Judas!”

He changed his pace just as an explosion of warmth erupted and reached every corner of her body, stimulating every nerve, every molecule, and continuing to rage until Judas stopped.

This wasn’t ordinary sex—these were two souls intimately mingling. And for that split moment, when they both found their release, everything in the universe was exactly as it should be.

They never stopped touching each other. Judas either held one of her hands while he cooked, or she leaned against him as he made their plates and carried them to the fur rug by the fireplace. Grace sat with her back against the couch as Judas sat facing her with his back to an ivory, antique table. He grabbed her feet and laid them across his legs.