Author: Abbi Glines

I picked her up and began to pump in and out of her while she moaned and begged for more. The little uptight Harlow was gone when she was like this. She was my wild, sweet girl. When she raised her knee and wrapped a leg around my waist and clawed at my back, I knew she was close.

I wasn’t wearing a fucking condom. Shit!

Harlow screamed my name and grabbed on as she found her release. I let her ride it out while grinding my teeth and holding back. When she started squeezing my dick with her tight little hole, I pulled out and covered her thighs with my release.

She was still holding on to me but she went still as the warmth of my come ran down her legs. Her eyes lifted to mine and went wide. She was just now realizing we had done this without protection. But I’d pulled out in time and I knew I was clean.

“I’m clean. I swear. I get checked regularly and I always wear a condom.”

“You’re sure?” she asked, still standing very still.

“Very sure.”

“I didn’t realize, but it felt different. Better.”

God, yes, it had felt like fucking nirvana. I had never had sex without a condom. I had no idea this was what all the fuss was about. Holy hell, I wanted that again.

“Let me wash you,” I told her, stepping back.

She immediately looked down at her legs and then back up at me. A small smile touched her lips. “I feel kind of marked.”

I stopped reaching for the soap and stared at her. Had she really just said that? “If you like being marked then I’ll mark you any damn time you want me to,” I told her before taking the soap. “Turn around. I’ll start with your back,” I instructed.

Harlow

When I opened my eyes Grant’s arm was wrapped around me and I was nice and warm, tucked against his chest. I glanced at my closed door. The clock beside the bed said it was after eleven in the morning. Nan would be awake by now. Was I ready to face this?

“Stop thinking so hard,” Grant mumbled sleepily.

He wasn’t at all worried about Nan. I didn’t understand their relationship at all. If I was smart I wouldn’t be snuggled up in bed with someone who had any kind of relationship with Nan. But having the willpower to ignore Grant’s sexy smile and smooth-talking ways was almost impossible.

“I won’t let her do anything to hurt you,” Grant said into my hair.

That wasn’t what I was worried about. I could take on Nan if I had to. I was more concerned with making a choice that would eventually break my heart. Could I love Grant? Was I falling in love with him? Was it fair for me to love him?

Yes. I was positive I could love him. But I wasn’t in love with him right now. This was simply attraction, and possibly a crush. He flashed his smile and I did dumb things. That would be considered a crush, right? And if he wasn’t in love with me then would it hurt for me to love him? Even if he didn’t know my secret yet?

“Turn around and look at me,” Grant said, letting his tight hold on me go so I could actually move.

“Why?” I asked.

“Because I don’t like where your head is. I need to fix it,” he replied.

He had no idea where my head was. And he really needed to get over wanting to fix everything for me.

“I’m not worried about Nan,” I told him. Okay, maybe I was a little. I didn’t like confrontations, and the one I had waiting on me when we left this room was going to be dramatic.

“Then why are you so quiet?”

“I’m trying to figure out what we’re doing. If I’m headed for possible heartache in the future,” I replied honestly. There was no reason to lie to him. I wasn’t one for pretenses.

“Turn around,” Grant growled, pulling my arms around him this time.

This was a bad idea. His face looked even better all sleepy. His eyes weren’t fully awake, which only made his long lashes more obvious. And his hair was all messy. Made a girl want to run her hands through it.

“I don’t do relationships. Closest I got was with Nan, and that was because she was so damn needy. I liked being needed. No one ever needed me. She did. But then she was also crazy as fuck and heartless, and that ended things for me. So what you and I are doing right here is a first for me. I’ve never wanted to wake up and cuddle with a female in my life. I’ve never missed her when she wasn’t around. You’re all I can think about, Harlow. Where I’m headed is new to me, but I damn well want to go there as long as that’s where you’ll be. You’re worried about getting hurt, but I don’t think you understand yet that you’re holding all the damn cards, sweet girl. All the damn cards.”

I stared up at him and let his words sink in. Why me? What was it about me that made this man want to do something he had never done before? Was I needy? Did he think I needed him? Because I was pretty damn self-sufficient.

“I’m not needy,” I told him.

He grinned. “I already figured that out. But I am—at least where you’re concerned.”

And there went my resolve to strengthen one of the walls I had built around myself. Instead, it crumbled a little. This man knew exactly how to make me weak.

I started to say more when a loud banging noise sounded at the door, followed by “Grant Carter, get your fucking worthless ass out here NOW!”

And there was Nan.

I jumped out of bed, thankful to be wearing my pajamas and not naked, like Grant had wanted. “She figured it out,” I whispered.

Grant sighed and lay on his back as if he didn’t care. “Go away,” he called back.

She started banging on the door again. “I will not go away, you motherfucker! Get out of there now! I won’t let her do this. She has it all, why the hell does she have to take you, too? Stupid slut!”

My eyes went wide. I’d never been called that, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about it.

Grant sprang out of bed and stalked to the door. The murderous look on his face had me backing up against the wall. Maybe I wasn’t as brave as I thought I was. Grant was an even-tempered guy, so I’d never seen him look so . . . pissed.

He jerked the door open. Then he reached for her. I watched as he grabbed her shirt and pulled her close to his face. “Don’t ever call her that again. Do you fucking understand me? Ever.” He let her go and she stumbled backward, and then he slammed the door in her face. The sound of the lock turning echoed in the silence around us. I think he had shocked her into silence, too.

His shoulders were rising and falling hard as he laid one hand on the door and stared down at the floor.

I didn’t move and I didn’t speak.

Finally, he turned to me, and the anger I had seen earlier was gone. He looked like Grant again. Fun-loving, easygoing Grant. “I’m sorry,” he said simply.

I didn’t know what to say to that. “Okay” didn’t seem like the right word to use here. I just nodded.

“She just wants to hurt you. I’ve tried to talk to her and help her see that nothing is your fault, but she won’t listen. If I could muzzle her I would.”

A mental picture of Nan muzzled made me smile. Grant smiled back at me in return and then walked over to me. “She should’ve never called you that. You’re so far from that, and she knows it.”

He was talking about the slut comment. Was that what set him off?

“I think you scared her. She’s not saying anything.” I wasn’t even sure she was still there.

A frustrated frown touched his forehead. “She isn’t done. She’s just too mad to react right now. I’ve never been that tough on her. I typically just walk away and let her talk. But that,” he shook his head, “that shit was going to be dealt with.”

“Are you trying to fix things again?” I asked, wondering why he thought he had to fix all my problems.

He grinned and bent down to press a kiss to the corner of my mouth. “No, sweet girl, I’m just correcting a wrong. No one can fix Nan.”

I was afraid he was right.

Grant

All I wanted to do was get Harlow naked and back in that bed. But I was behind on work and we both needed to leave the room and get this Nan shit over with.

I let Harlow get dressed while I cleaned up in the bathroom. I couldn’t watch her dress because we’d end up back in bed. Screw work. Once we were both dressed, I opened her bedroom door slowly, just in case Nan was standing out there, waiting to pounce.

Harlow waited behind me and I was pretty sure I heard a sigh of relief when we saw the hallway was empty. I reached back and took her hand as we walked out of the room and to the stairs. I didn’t think Nan was going to jump out of a damn corner and attack, but I still felt safer with Harlow as close to me as possible.

I wasn’t going to let Harlow stay here alone until I was sure Nan was over this. I didn’t know what she’d say to Harlow, and I wasn’t going to let her lash out at her without me there to protect her and shut that shit down.

“Hungry?” I asked her as we reached the bottom step with no Nan sightings.

Harlow jumped when something made a loud noise in the kitchen. Guess we wouldn’t be eating here. “I, uh . . . probably not a good idea,” she said, staring at the kitchen.

“Want to just leave?” I asked.

Harlow shook her head. “No. I live here, too. I want coffee before I leave. I won’t hide; this is my home, too.”

The way her shoulders straightened reminded me that behind the sweet face was a spine of steel. She’d been through a lot. I just nodded and let her lead the way.

If she was getting coffee then so was I.

Nan was standing in front of the microwave and turned to glare at us when we entered the kitchen. Her eyes dropped to our joined hands, and her glare turned to pure hatred.

“You have got to be fucking kidding me. Really, Grant? Holding hands? My God, you have lost your mind.” She snarled and jerked the microwave open and pulled out a small bowl.

Harlow let go of my hand and walked over to the coffeepot. I had to make myself stand still and not run after her to guard her. She wanted to do this and I was going to let her.

“He gets bored easy with your type. I don’t know what he’s telling you but he likes excitement, which you could never give him. Don’t let that little heart of yours get involved, because you’re not Grant Carter’s type,” Nan said in a haughty tone as Harlow went about making coffee and avoiding her. When she set her mug down, she turned and gave Nan her full attention.

“He may get bored with me, but that isn’t your business. It’s mine,” Harlow replied.

I had already realized I would never get bored with her. She was so damn fascinating, no one could get bored with her.

“Grant likes to fuck. He isn’t into hand-holding and talking about your feelings. He likes it rough. Right here across this counter, he’s thrown me down and ripped my panties off and fucked me. He loves it, and he’ll be back for more.”

Yeah. That was enough. I started walking toward Harlow to get her the hell out of there before Nan gave her any more details I didn’t want her to hear. She didn’t do well being reminded of my past sex life.

“Then I guess that makes you the slut, Nan. Not me. Because I’d never give you details. That’s just trashy.” Harlow picked up her mug, then turned to me. “Ready?” she asked, as if Nan hadn’t just given her a play-by-play of something I didn’t want her to know.

“Uh, yeah,” I replied, and glanced back at Nan, who was seething. That only made me smile. Damn, my sweet girl could cut deep with no drama. She just did it with ease.

I slipped my hand around her waist and led her to the door, where she grabbed her purse and keys. When we stepped outside, she moved away from my touch and looked back at me.

“That’s done now. I told you I could handle her. I missed tennis so I need to talk to Adam and apologize. Thanks for going with me yesterday. It meant a lot,” she said, then pressed a kiss to my cheek and started to walk toward her car.