Grounded By You (13 page)

“This isn’t going to change anything between us, right?” she asked.

Sam wondered where the question was coming from, and decided not to jump to the conclusion that she was asking if they’d still be just friends. From what he had gathered from Millie over the last few times they’d seen each other, there was a lot of anxiety and uncertainty about her future.

“I can’t promise that I’m not going to want to kiss you thoroughly every time I look at you, but other than that everything will be exactly the same,” he said solemnly as he brought his hands up to knead her shoulder blades. He knew that he hit a good spot when her eyes closed, and a small sigh escaped her lips.

“I’m serious, Sam. If this happens, I need to know you’re not going to disappear. We’re still going to be friends, and we’re still going to want to spend time together. You’ll still help me with my art, and I’ll still help you rehearse your lines. It’ll still be us in the morning?”

Sam rolled up so that Millie straddled his lap. He put one arm around her and took one of her hands. First he kissed the palm, and then he placed it against his chest, holding it tightly there. He looked deeply into her eyes.

“I’m not one of those kind of guys, Millie. I meant what I said earlier. I want you, and that means I want every part of you in every part of my life if that’s what you want. This doesn’t end here, not by a long shot.”

He saw the tears glistening in her eyes. He kissed the tears away gently. Then his mouth drifted to hers, and he felt her pressing against him. The time for words was past. He knew that he hadn’t asked anything of her in return, but he was willing to take that risk. His need to possess her couldn’t be ignored.

She broke the kiss and climbed to her feet. She pushed against his chest to keep him on the floor and shook her head with a smile. Then she reached behind her back, and he heard the slow rip of a zipper. He swallowed hard as she shrugged one strap of her dress off of her shoulder and then the other. The dress fell into a pool on his lap.

His eyes never left hers as he helped her carefully step one foot and then the other out of the dress. His hands found the zippers on her boots, and she kicked one off and then the other. He eagerly slipped his fingers up and down her legs, delighting in how smooth her skin was. Her body mesmerized him.

Standing there, bathed in the moonlight, he couldn’t pull his eyes away from her. He wanted to explore inch of her skin, and his hands moved higher on her thighs. Millie sighed in pleasure but pushed them away. She slid back to the floor on all fours and captured his lips kissing him deeply. Then she started to inch backwards.

He flipped over onto his hands and knees and followed her with his mouth. When he felt the surface of the floor change beneath his fingers, he realized that she had deftly led him to the plush rug in the middle of her living room floor. She rose up on her knees, and he did the same as she curled a finger and motioned for him to come closer.

Her fingertips found the knot of his tie, and she loosened it. With a devilish grin, she slipped it from around his neck and dangled in on one of her fingers. “Maybe we can use this later?”

At those words, any medium of self-control that Sam had left broke apart. He grabbed her hips and pulled her close. He claimed her lips and kissed her urgently even as they both went after the buttons on his shirt. Their lips never left each other. As soon as his skin was exposed to the air he couldn’t stop himself from groaning at the delightful sensation of feeling her bare skin against his. The clasp of her bra was easy work, and then he sank down with her onto the rug.

He pulled himself onto his elbow and slowly ran his eyes down her body committing every piece of it to his memory. She reached up and cupped his face with her hand like she had done that afternoon that seemed so long ago. He saw the unspoken words in her eyes. She was fully present with him, and she needed him as much as he needed her. He couldn’t ask for anything else.

Millie felt as if she were in the midst of a surreal but wonderfully erotic dream. The sensations spiraling through her body made her blood pound in her temples, and she clenched the muscles of Sam’s back as his mouth descended down her collarbone. He took his time as if he was worshiping every part of her. Millie had never felt that kind of intensity before. If she could have formed a coherent thought, she would have said that it felt as if it were her first time.

In a way, it was. The feelings she felt for Sam were alien to her, but she was tired of trying to label them or fight them. In this moment, nothing else mattered but man above her and the way he made her feel.

When his lips found her already taut nipple, she gasped at the sensation of his teeth lightly scraping against her sensitive skin. Her back arched up against him. He didn’t need any further invitation to draw it into his mouth, and she moaned, digging her fingers deeper into his hair to pull him ever closer. She didn’t understand why, but she couldn’t seem to get him close enough.

She felt his hand caressing her thigh again, and this time, at the gentle nudge, she opened her legs willingly. She had nothing to hide from him. Not anymore. When his fingertips touched that moistened area between her legs and began to explore, she bit back a scream. She was so keyed up and sensitive that she couldn’t stand it. She needed the release.

“Please,” she whimpered.

He rolled up her body to nibble her earlobe again. “Soon, baby. Soon.”

She opened her eyes and saw that he was drinking her expressions in, even as his fingers delved even deeper inside of her. She felt the building tension, and she welcomed it, but she didn’t want to go there alone. Not when she had this incredible man there with her.

He whispered nonsensical words next to her skin as he kissed her neck, her shoulder, and her breasts. She felt the world begin to spin away. Then his hand between her legs began to stroke faster, and she knew that it was pointless to resist him. It was coming, and she couldn’t stop it. He would take her there.

Fingernails dragging into Sam’s back, Millie let the wave of pleasure crash over her and swallow her beneath its depths. Even then, she knew that Sam watched her intently. Eventually, his ministrations slowed, but were still there teasing every last ounce of intoxicating pleasure from her.

As her heart rate and breathing finally slowed, she opened her eyes. He smiled down at her. “You should definitely paint that,” he said with a low chuckle. “I’d buy it in a split second and hang it on my wall across from my bed.”

Millie blushed, which was completely unlike her. She felt shy now. “Maybe,” she replied. She brushed her fingers lazily across his stomach and felt his muscles flex beneath her touch. “What about you?”

Sam sighed. “I realized a little too late that I didn’t bring anything with me.”

Millie blinked before she understood what he was saying. It might also have been because Sam was gently playing with her nipple and distracting her. “Medicine cabinet. Top shelf.” She laughed when he dumped her unceremoniously on the floor and disappeared seconds later. “Why didn’t you say something?” she called out.

When he returned to her, his expression was serious. “Being with you, like this, is something I’ve imagined a million times over the last year. Watching you and knowing that I was the one touching you and making you feel those things was amazing. I’m serious. You should paint that.”

His words warmed her. She sat up and drew him back down to the floor. She slid her hand up his thigh and felt that, no matter what he said, Sam was still ready for something more. She grinned and took the small package from his hand.

Then she unbuckled his slacks. She was the one doing the watching now. His head fell back, and his eyes closed as she peeled off the rest of his clothes. She felt powerful and amazingly in control. When her hand wrapped around his hardness, Sam jerked up. He grabbed the back of her head and pulled her body down on top of him.

His lips were rougher now and more demanding. She understood his need. She felt it too. Tearing the wrapper, she enjoyed the slow torture of rolling it over him and feeling every inch of him. His hips bucked slightly, just like she remembered in the hallway, and this time, she was ready for him. She straddled his waist and looked down at him. His eyes were heavy with lust and longing.

“I don’t think I’ll ever get enough of you,” he whispered.

That was the only thing she needed to hear as she maneuvered her hips so that he was right next to her entrance. The rush of heat that engulfed her as she slid down his hard thickness was the most erotic and amazing feeling she had ever experienced. When Sam grabbed her hips and hauled her around so that she was on her back, she cried out but didn’t protest.

His forehead fell against hers as their bodies locked together. Sam plunged deeper, and she bit her lip. Then his lips were on hers, and she felt him surge deeper and faster inside of her. The heat built again in her core with every thrust. She wrapped her legs around his waist to pull him in deeper and then joined her fingers behind his neck.

Sam’s head whipped back, and she heard the groan begin in his chest just before it exploded from his lips. Her crescendo echoed his and then he collapsed on top of her, covering her face in small, butterfly kisses.

“That was amazing,” he said, his breath coming in short gasps. “You are amazing.”

She chuckled as she stretched against him. “You are pretty amazing yourself.”

After a few moments, Sam stood up and then bent down, pulling Millie into his arms. She leaned her head against his chest as he carried her over to the bed and gently laid her down on top of it. He kissed her nose. “I’d like to stay with you tonight.”

She wanted to kick herself for regaling Sam with tales of how she slept with men and then sent them packing. That had been early in their friendship, when she stupidly thought that she could treat him just like every other guy she’d ever met, and that would be something that he’d want. She wasn’t that woman anymore. It made her question what other misconceptions he might still have about her.

In answer, Millie crawled under the covers and then swept them up behind her. She held up her arms wide open. “You’re not going anywhere.”

A pleased smile crossed his face as he sank down onto the mattress next to her. He fit his body tight against her and nuzzled her hair. There were so many things that Millie wanted to say to him, but seconds later she was asleep.

Millie woke up to the smell of coffee brewing, which was one of her favorite smells in the entire world. She blinked in the morning light, and then the rush of memories invaded her mind. She and Sam might have fallen asleep after the first round, but that didn’t stop him from waking her up two more times in the middle of the night. She had a feeling she’d be wearing a grin from ear to ear for the rest of the day.

Her lips were swollen, and the ache between her thighs was a fond reminder of how much she enjoyed Sam’s body. She grabbed her dressing robe that was hanging on the corner of her headboard and wrapped it around herself. Then she padded softly out into the main room of the apartment where she could see the kitchen.

Sam was just plucking two coffee cups from the cabinet when he caught sight of her leaning against the wall.

“Good morning, gorgeous,” he said with a wink. “Coffee?”

“God, yes,” she said as she moved toward him. As soon as she was within reach, he grabbed her around the waist and ground his hips against hers. He fingered the silk of the robe next to her collarbone. “Perhaps I’ll forgo breakfast. You look good enough to eat.”

She nipped at his chin. “You too, but we both have work to do today. The piece I’m working on could be perfect for my meeting with Evelyn, but I have to finish it first. And I imagine you have some kind of important movie work to do.”

Sam groaned. “I’m meeting my agent for lunch. I am sure she’s going to tell me at least ten things that I’m not doing right. This movie star business is hard.”

Millie grabbed one of the coffee cups and playfully punched him on the arm. “I feel so sorry for you,” she said sarcastically. “You can grab a quick shower here if you want.”

“I should probably head back to my place,” Sam said, looking at his watch.

She flipped on the television to catch the morning news.

“In entertainment news, rumors are flying that the newest Hollywood coupling is none other than the young stars of the upcoming romance movie Where My Heart Breaks, which is based on the bestselling book by Walter Moolen. Carter Samuel Groveson and Delaney Rose were spotted out having dinner together in Manhattan last night.”

Next to the news anchor’s head was a picture that had obviously been snapped outside the restaurant the night before. Sam’s arm was around Delaney’s waist, and they were both trying to avoid looking at the cameras.

Millie turned the television off.

“So, about that,” Sam started.

Millie looked at him and took a deep breath. “All’s I need to know is if there is anything going on between you and Delaney?”

“No, of course not,” Sam said. “Is there anything going on between you and Will?”

She heard the note of jealousy in his voice, and knew that was definitely her fault. “No. He’s a nice guy who is a friend of my brother’s. He works at my father’s firm.” Her face pinched. “Crap.”