Grounded (Up in the Air #3)(57)

He pulled out slowly, dragging himself along every perfect nerve, playing me like an instrument, then pounded in again. His size, and the unrelenting position, made each thrust border on painful. He repeated the torture, again and again, and I came with a ragged cry torn out of me.

He didn’t stop, just pounded faster. He bottomed out and came inside of me with a rough shout. I loved it, absolutely relished the moments when he lost it like that.

He pushed my legs apart, shifted me onto my back, and moved into me, kissing me languorously. He pulled out of me slowly, drawing it out, until I wanted him again as though we hadn’t just made love.

Once he’d separated his body from mine, he moved flush against me again.

“Wrap your arms and legs around me,” he ordered against my ear.

I did, my body obeying but my mind still in that soft dreamy place that only he could take me. He picked me up, rising slowly.

It was only as I was flying through the air that I realized his intent. I hit the water with a surprised little yelp. I was glaring as I surfaced.

He just grinned, diving in after me.

We played in the pool for a long time. Like children, I thought, only we were skinny dipping in broad daylight. I loved every second of it. I thought that playful James might just be my favorite.

He pulled me against him, kissing me hotly, and then thrust me away. “Run,” he told me with a wicked grin.

I made it just to the edge of the pool and one step out before he caught me, yanking me back into the water and against him, his front flush against my back. He bit my neck and rubbed against me. His rock hard erection poked hard into my backside.

“You’re insatiable,” I told him, my voice breathless.

“Yes,” he breathed into my ear. “I am. Now run.”

I made it out of the pool, across the concrete, and into the grass that time. It was only as he was tackling me onto my stomach that I realized it was exactly what he’d wanted, exactly what he’d planned. He was entering me from behind rather roughly within seconds.

He f**ked me in the grass, on hands and knees, pumping into me with a purpose.

“Say it, Bianca,” he ordered into my ear, his voice so low and gruff.

I came apart, but not enough to keep from saying it. “I’m yours, James. Only yours.”

He continued the jarring rhythm while my body squeezed him convulsively, as shivers of pleasure wracked my body. He kept going until every little shocking wave had passed. He moaned low in his throat when he let himself go.

My hands and knees were raw and grass stained when James carried me back to the pool. I couldn’t imagine that his were in much better shape.

He tossed me back in the pool. Even knowing it was coming, I let out a little shriek before I hit the water. When I resurfaced, James was striding towards the house, a towel slung low across his hips.

“Where are you going?” I called out.

“To check in with the other man in your life,” he called back.

I thought that was the sweetest thing in the world. And so very James. Nothing could soften me more than him understanding my bond with Stephan, and understand it, he did. He always knew which strings to pull. Manipulative, perceptive, wonderful man.

When he returned, he moved straight to the lounging sofa where we’d discarded all of our clothing. He pulled on his low-slung gray swim trunks and grabbed my bikini, moving back to the pool with a purpose.

He cornered me in the pool.

I kissed him. “Thank you for being so understanding about Stephan. That means everything to me.”

“I have nothing but love for that man. If I have to share you with someone, I’m glad that it’s him. And I will do anything it takes to stay on his good side. I know that a happy Stephan is a happy Bianca.” He gave me one hard kiss and began to slip me back into the tiny series of strings that he called a bikini.

“The guys wanted to hang out,” he continued. “So I told them to come over. Not sure how he did it, but Stephan turned the whole thing into an impromptu pool party. I don’t even know who’s coming. I may have met my match. That man is cunning.”

That made me smile real big. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black…

“I need to go put on a cover-up or something,” I told him. “If we’re having a party, I’d rather not be showing this much skin.”

He eyed me up, running a tongue over his teeth in a luscious display. “Yeah, I agree. I’d rather not share this much of your skin with company. Especially since I don’t even know who’s coming. I can’t even tell you the havoc that will wreak with security. A last minute party with no guest list.” He shook his head, then smiled suddenly. “I guess that’s why I pay them so well. Now let’s go get you a cover-up.”

Stephan and Javier arrived first, not even thirty minutes later. They were both already in their swimsuits, shirtless and smiling.

I eyed the three hot, half-naked men around me. “What did I ever do to get so lucky?” I asked.

Stephan flashed a dimple at me, and that dimple was always mischievous. He picked me up, running through the house with a happy shout. He never had been able to behave himself around water.

Unlike James, Stephan jumped in still holding me, rather than throwing me. I had a sudden but clear epiphany about the two major men in my life, and just how alike they were in so many strange ways, both so relentlessly, affectionately physical, and emotionally open for me, if on different levels.