Grady's Awakening (33 page)

Now that she was in his arms, his words flowed more freely, as if a dam had broken inside him. He clutched her waist, pulling her against his hard body. She could feel his hardness through the layers of their clothing, and she wanted nothing more than to feel him claim her in the most elemental way.

“Let’s go to your room,” she suggested. “I need you, Grady. I want you to make love to me. Now.”

She’d barely finished speaking when Grady swept her off her feet. She wasn’t sure where he was taking her, but she didn’t care. All she wanted was to be with him—making love with him—as soon as possible. She nibbled his neck, his ear, his firm jaw as he strode swiftly through the cavern and into one of the buildings. A door opened and closed and then he placed her on a soft bed, following her down onto it.

“I’ve dreamed of this,” he whispered as he leaned over her. He kissed her, claiming her mouth with a thoroughness that left her gasping.

When he let her up for air, she smiled. “I thought about you too, during my travels. I missed you, Grady.”

“Your words are music to my ears.” He rewarded her with a series of nibbling kisses that eventually trailed their way down her neck to her collarbone and lower. He nudged her clothing out of the way, unfastening tabs and baring her as he went along.

Before long, she was naked beneath him and she was tugging on his clothing eagerly. One of them was overdressed.

When she had him bare, she spent time rubbing against his heated skin. Alvian body temperature was a little higher than a human’s. She loved the feel of his warmth against her, teasing her, comforting her, but she wanted more.

Wrestling him into a roll, she straightened atop him, straddling him, her hands on his muscled chest. She smiled down into his questioning eyes, petting him and purring like a kitten. She loved the feel of him under her.

“Let me touch you, Grady. We’ve never really had time to explore each other. I want that. I want to learn your body’s secrets. What makes you gasp. What makes you moan. What makes you come.” She interspersed each sentence with a teasing lick of her tongue over his flesh. Bending over him, she teased him, loving the way his temperature rose and his breathing increased. She was having an effect on him. That was good because he was affecting her as well.

Already she could feel dampness gathering at her core. It would ease his way when she was ready to claim him. She liked the feeling of power he gave her. She knew he could easily reverse their roles, but he was giving her this time, this exquisite moment, to learn about him as she wanted. She loved him for that…and for so much else.

What she felt in her heart for Grady was deep and true love. She didn’t know what that would do to their futures, but she had to take the risk. She had to act on the love pouring out of her heart for him. He was so alone. He needed…so much. She wanted to give him everything, be everything he needed, to stay with him forever.

But circumstances were against them. They both knew it and yet were powerless against the love that drove them both toward each other.

She teased his hard body, loving the way he was letting her have control. He was so much bigger than she was, in close quarters like this, he had all the physical advantage. If he’d wanted to fight her for dominance, he would surely have won. But he wasn’t fighting. He was letting her do as she liked and oh, boy, did she
like
his hard body.

“You are beautiful.” Her words whispered against his sternum as she kissed her way down his chest.

She felt his chuckle. “Men are not beautiful.”

“You are.” She took a moment to meet his gaze. “On the inside. You have a beauty of spirit. A sense of honor and a gallantry about you that women dream of. And on the outside…you’re just plain hot.”

He seemed uncomfortable, squirming a little from side to side. “My body temperature is higher than a human’s—”

She cut him off with a finger over his firm lips. “That’s not what I meant. I love that higher temperature, by the way. You keep me warm.” She smiled and licked her lips. “I meant
hot
as in, totally buff, handsome and gorgeous. Your body is
hot
—wickedly attractive to the opposite sex. Women drool over your physique, and men are jealous of the feminine attention you get.”

A perplexed frown creased his forehead. “Really?”

She kissed the frown away. “Really.” She sat up, moving downward, straddling his thighs. “And I get jealous every time a woman looks at you, but I know you’re all mine. And then I gloat inwardly. They’ll never know how truly magnificent you are.”

“Yours, eh? I like the sound of that.” He reached up and stroked her hair away from her face with one hand as she lowered her head again and began kissing her way from his chest to his abdomen.

“All mine. So don’t even think of spreading your love around,” she teased.

“I’m a one woman man, Gina.” The teasing had gone out of his voice. “You’re the only woman I want or need.”

Gina paused, her hands on his hips, his cock hard and needy only inches away from her head.

“I love that, Grady. I don’t know how this will work. How it will end for any of us. But I love that you want me as much as I want you. I love you, Grady. I want you to know that and never doubt.”

If she were a betting woman, she would bet she rocked his world then, sliding her tongue downward, around his hard cock. She took him inside, bathing his sensitive ridges with swirling licks and light suction that increased as his response did. From the way his thigh muscles strained against her hands and the groans he couldn’t hold back, she knew he liked what she was doing.

That was good because she’d never considered herself any kind of expert when it came to giving head. The opportunities in her past had been few and far between. Truth be told, she’d never felt so strongly about any of her past partners that she wanted their pleasure first and foremost above her own. With Grady, that all had changed. Jim too, she had to admit. What was it about these two men—so different, yet so alike in the way they made her feel?

When she cupped his balls in one hand, Grady stiffened and reached down to hold on to her shoulders. He moved fast, shifting his hands under her arms and lifting, drawing her away from his cock and back up his body.

“Now why’d you do that? I was just getting into it.”

Grady laughed aloud at her teasing. “So was I. A little too much if you must know. I want to be inside you when I come, Gina. I want you to come with me.”

“Oh.” Her body revved up at his words. “Okay. I can do that.” She grinned at him, reaching between them with one hand, positioning him. All she had to do was raise her hips and then lower…

“Let me go, Grady. Let me do this.
I
want to make love to
you
this time.”

“You always make love to me, Gina.” He drew her head down for a quick kiss that he met halfway, his abdominal muscles rippling in a way that made her mouth water. “Every time.”

But he let her have her way, releasing his grip on her arms and allowing her to do as she willed. She enveloped him, bit by bit, dragging out the pleasure of their initial joining, loving the way he filled her. He was long and strong, hard and hot. He filled her so completely she wanted this to last.

Passion rose and she was helpless in the fierce tide that swept over her, dictating her actions. She began to ride him, her thighs working alongside his as she met his upward thrusts with downward pulses of her hips. It started slow, and quickly rose to a fever pitch to the point where she was crying out at every thrust. He fit her perfectly, hitting the secret place inside her that set her off like a skyrocket.

Just when she thought she couldn’t take any more and stay sane, she felt him gathering beneath her. Having all that raw, male power between her thighs was something she could easily become addicted to. The only thing that could make it better was if Jim could share in this moment somehow. Even as she made love to Grady, she missed Jim, illogical as it seemed.

Grady tensed, pulsing up into her as she met his thrust eagerly. She was so close, she knew she’d come the moment he did. And then she didn’t have to wait anymore. Grady came with a roar of her name, and she screamed as she climaxed long and hard.

She felt his heat inside her, and it set off another spasm of pleasure. She collapsed over him after long moments, placing drowsy kisses along his chest.

“I love you, Grady,” she said just before sleep claimed her.

“I love you too, my mate.”

Jim woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Any side was the wrong side when Gina wasn’t in the bed at all. She hadn’t come to their room last night, though her pack was still in one corner. He had her stuff, but not her.

Of course, he knew damned well where she’d spent the night. With that bastard Grady.

Jim tried not to let it get to him, but damn it, it hurt. Without even a word, she’d gone to the alien bastard. She’d forgotten Jim easily, it seemed, but he knew he’d never forget her.

Gina Hanson had haunted his memory for years—and that was when he thought she was lost forever. Now, having had her, knowing she was alive, it would be impossible for Jim. It would drive him nuts if he let it.

Maybe he and Grady had something in common there.

Jim swiped at his itchy jaw as he dragged himself out of bed and headed toward the small bathroom. He showered and shaved by rote, enjoying the slightly updated facilities in this complex. In comparison to his home, this was a much newer facility with more modern—for the old world—conveniences.

Much as he hated to admit it, he thought he understood how Grady might feel if he was forced to live without Gina. Jim felt the same way. Maybe Jim wouldn’t go clinically insane without her, but knowing she was with Grady would definitely make him a little crazy.

The aliens were different. Maybe there was some truth to the idea that they really couldn’t handle emotions. The pain of heartbreak might just turn the guy psycho. Jim wouldn’t be really surprised if it did. Grady was an alien after all. He’d lived most of his life without emotion and now, suddenly, had to deal with things humans spent a lifetime trying to figure out.

No one ever went crazy from happiness, but heartache and depression were hard for even well balanced people to handle.

There was a solution—loath as he was to admit it. He’d seen the way the cousins both enjoyed the company of their shared mate. Jaci seemed happy and well balanced between her two men, but then, Jaci was an alien. She might have emotions now, but she hadn’t been raised with them, with the expectation of one husband to share the rest of her life.

Of course, humans didn’t age anymore. Not like they used to. Jim had heard they could live for a couple hundred years, so maybe they weren’t fully human anymore. Maybe there was an opportunity to reshape the world in which they lived. To make it what they wanted instead of what they were used to. Maybe a three-person relationship might actually work.

It would depend on Gina.

Jim would never force her into something she didn’t want. Hell if he knew how he’d handle being in a three-way relationship with her and that damned Grady, but if the alternative was not having her in his life at all, he’d learn how to deal with it. Somehow.

That is, if she wanted him. Could be she only wanted the alien. Jim didn’t know what he’d do if that were the case.

That dismaying thought in mind, Jim left his quarters and headed for breakfast. Besides the personal turmoil, he still had work to do here. He was here on behalf of his people in Colorado, and he couldn’t forget it. The connections he made here could prove useful in the future, and he had to do his best to scout out the possibilities and make assessments of both the people and the facility while he was here.

Jim shared a companionable breakfast with some of the people who lived and worked in the facility. After breakfast, Mike and Dave signaled him through BURTIN’s paging system. Mick O’Hara had called and wanted to speak to him. The call was already in progress as Jim entered the communications room.

“…and the home crystal will replenish the Earth and reawaken those waiting in the coldest places, wielded by one who is of both worlds.”

“What do you think it means?” Mike asked over the line.

“Caleb is seeing people trapped in ice. Not just any people. Tall, blond, beautiful people.”

“Alvians.” Dave’s voice was full of accusation. Jim noted they’d set up a speakerphone so they could all talk and be heard over the communication array. It was a nice mix of alien and human tech that seemed to work, though Jim had never seen such technology blended before. He was amazed it worked at all and knew Wally would have a field day with something like this.

“Yeah, he thinks so. He also thinks our son, Harry, is the one who is of both worlds. The big question is, where are these frozen Alvians hiding out?”

“We haven’t seen anything like that around here.” Mike looked to his cousin, who nodded in agreement. “But we’ll let you know if we find any Alvian popsicles.”

“Ask your newcomers. Something like this—if anyone’s stumbled across it already—would be ripe for gossip. We need to find these frozen guys. Caleb says it’s imperative.”

“We could send out some search parties. At the very least,” Dave looked pensive, “we could search the depths of our cave structure. We’ve been here for months, but we still haven’t managed to reconnoiter every tunnel. This place is vast and there’s a network of intricate natural caves and tunnels beyond the boundaries of the installation proper.”