Page 55 of Grumpy

“Do you know how incredibly sexy you look right now?” His voice was a low husk that sent heat flaring through her veins.

Kelly felt powerful, knowing she’d affected him so viscerally. Recalling how his pupil had dilated before when she’d held his gaze as she licked him, Kelly did the same again as she ran her tongue from root to tip up the velvety smoothness of his cock.

Grumpy made a sound that was uncharacteristically not Grumpy-like. He threaded his fingers through her hair, making her grateful she’d taken out her braid before. While his grip was tight, it wasn’t painful. He didn’t maneuver, but held her like he needed to be anchored down.

She licked him again, this time following her tongue with her hand up his hard shaft. She wanted to be confident, to be the sort of woman who instinctively knew how to pleasure her man. But this was a territory where she was very unsure of herself. Add in his injuries, and Kelly’s certainty that this was a good idea started to wane.

“Kells?”

Shit. She must have hesitated too long. Rather than desire, she heard worry in his voice. Not knowing what else to do, Kelly lunged forward, dropping her entire mouth down on his erection.

And in true Kelly fashion, she gagged.

Gasping and coughing, Kelly pulled herself off his cock. Tears filled her eyelids as she fought for breath, her frustration with herself making the reaction worse.

“Damn it, Kelly. What the hell did you do that for?”

Uh oh. She knew she was in trouble if he just full-named her. Grumpy reached over to the sink, a task she wouldn’t have been able to achieve with her shorter arms if their positions were reversed. He fought with the protective wrap for a second before freeing a small plastic cup provided by the hotel. After filling it with water, he handed it down to her.

As embarrassed as she was, Kelly accepted the drink and gulped it down. “Shit. I’m so sorry. I⁠—”

“What the hell was that? Why would you do that and risk hurting yourself?” His anger blazed not only in his eye, but also in his voice. When his emotions ran high, his words started to slur more.

Standing, Kelly refilled the cup and handed it over to him. As he drank, Kelly crossed her arms over her bare breasts and leaned her ass against the counter. “I’m sorry,” she repeated, hanging her head. “I hesitated on what to do next and then I just went for it.” She hastily wiped at her mouth, ensuring there was no extra spit or water coating her chin and lips. “It was stupid, I know.”

Grumpy handed her the empty glass. “Not sure what to do next because you didn’t want to hurt me or because you didn’t know what to do next.”

Her discomfort rose again. “Both, I guess. I know you don’t like to talk about it, but I’ve never liked giving blowjobs. I’ve always felt, for lack of a better word, used after them. But with you, I felt powerful. I really wanted to,” she insisted, not liking how his anger flared at her explanation. “I just…panicked.”

Grumpy watched her for a solid minute before he held out his hand to her. “Come here.” His voice was gentle. Kelly went to him immediately. The towel she’d been kneeling on had gotten kicked aside in her coughing fit. He used his foot to bring it back to its previous position and then guided her down.

Grumpy once again cupped her face between his hands. “I would rather use my own hand as my only source of sexual pleasure for the rest of my life than risk you ever feeling ‘used’ when with me. That’s not what I’m after, and that’s not what I want. I know things are…different right now. I’m not strong enough to treat you as you deserve, to touch and hold you as I’ve dreamed of doing for nearly a decade. Now, if you would like to continue, I’d be more than happy to instruct you on how I like to be touched. For instance, I’m not a big fan of deep throating.” To her shocked expression, Grumpy nodded evenly. “I know a lot of guys like it, but I never have. And as much as I do enjoy being on the receiving end, personally, I’d rather be the giver in this scenario.”

Kelly’s eyes widened even more. “Really?” She’d only ever had one boyfriend go down on her regularly. Another had tried once, but he’d scrunched his nose up in disgust so much that Kelly became self-conscious about her smell.

Grumpy bobbed his head up and down. “So how about we get ourselves into the shower, and once we’re both squeaky clean, I can work on getting you dirty again?”

CHAPTER 11

Used to rising early, Kelly’s internal clock roused her long before Grumpy the next morning. At his insistence after their shower and reapplying new compression garments, Kelly had gotten into the same bed as him to sleep. The extent of their ability to cuddle was clasped hands between them, but somehow that felt just as intimate. Especially after that shower.

Kelly reached forward, her fingers threading through the long mane of his golden-brown hair. She couldn’t wait to braid it this morning. Some might have been disappointed or even angry in her place, expecting a luxurious lovemaking session. But those emotions were the furthest from her heart. Kelly felt like she was floating, elation, love, and serenity lifting her until she was as light as a balloon.

Hell, she wouldn’t have been surprised if she was emitting a happiness glow, like the ones pregnant women had.

Maybe last night hadn’t gone to plan. Kelly didn’t give a shit. Last night had been perfect, more so. She’d have never forgiven herself if Grumpy had powered through for her sake and hurt himself further. Sex was not the be-all-end-all of their relationship, and they’d proven that last night.

Both of them were going to have to get over their squeamishness when it came to his eye. Wasn’t like his original one was ever going to grow back. But damn. Kelly was fine when the prosthetic was in his eye socket and when it was in the protective case on the bathroom counter. It was when he was putting it in or out that she couldn’t stand.

Maybe she needed to talk to Tally. The woman also had prosthetic eyes. How did she and Scar handle it? Though, Kelly couldn’t image Scar getting squeamish. Still, Tally had a right to privacy. Maybe it was just something she took care of when she was alone.

Though she had to use the bathroom, Kelly had no desire to move. Grumpy lay so peacefully, and the last thing Kelly wanted to do was disturb him. Looking down her left arm, she saw that their hands were still twined together. This surprised her, because it meant she hadn’t moved around in her sleep as she normally did.

Kelly smiled to herself. She hadn’t just soothed Grumpy’s restlessness last night; he had soothed hers, too.

Unfortunately, as much as she wanted to remain where she was, nature called. Kelly slowly extracted herself, sliding inch by inch until she ungracefully managed to get herself to her feet. She paused, watching Grumpy in the dim light cast through the thin curtains but he didn’t move or show any sign that she’d roused him. While the clock on the nightstand between the two beds showed it wasn’t too early to rise, Kelly wanted him to sleep as long as he could.

Peeking out of the bedroom to ensure Jackson wasn’t delivering breakfast or coffee, Kelly slipped naked to the bathroom. It was silly, but she felt giddy, almost naughty, trudging about the hotel in the nude. Having lived with her mother all her life, it wasn’t a luxury she normally had.