K. Linde - Take Me for Granted

“Because I’m not going to be gentle.”

Her eyes widened as I took what was mine, and I slammed back into her, hard. She made a small cry, but she didn’t tell me to stop. And I had no plans to. Our bodies met over and over as I picked up the pace. I could tell that I was close to coming, but I needed to hold out long enough for her. I could hold out for her second orgasm…even if it felt like I might explode any second.

“Fuck, Ari.”

“Grant,” she breathed.

“Louder,” I encouraged, and I thrust into her harder.

“Oh God,” she cried a little louder.

“My name. Scream my name.”

She bit on her lip, so I slammed into her again and again until her eyes rolled back into her head, and she really was calling out my name. She probably didn’t even know how loud she was.

Fuck, I couldn’t hold out any longer. I came as soon as I felt her walls contracting around me.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” I said, leaning over Ari. I shuddered, and then I was spent.

Her breathing was ragged, and to my surprise, so was mine.

I pushed her hair out of her face, kissed her lips lightly, and sighed. “I love you.”

She smiled up at me in a dreamy haze. “I love you, too.”

After our escapade, we retreated back to Duffie’s for warmth. Grant still had keys to the restaurant. He started a fire in the fireplace, dropped the blankets down on the ground, and snuggled us up in front of it. There was so much that needed to be said, yet…it felt right. Things felt right again.

It wasn’t just the sex. But holy shit, the sex…

My body flushed from just thinking about what had happened outside. As cold as I was, my whole body was also super heated with energy. I’d come here to talk to Grant, and somehow, he’d just unraveled all my plans. Now, we had to decide where to go from here.

Grant’s mouth found mine again, and just when I thought we might have a repeat performance, he pulled back and just stared into my eyes. There was longing, pain, desperation, and desire all rolled into one.

“Ari, about what happened at the lodge…”

“No, you don’t have to say anything,” I said quickly. “Kristin told me nothing happened.”

“I don’t mean about that. I mean, about what I said. I was so angry, and you just laid out every reason I’d been telling myself why I didn’t deserve you. I shouldn’t have said those things. I shouldn’t begrudge you the good life you had growing up. You deserve everything that you have. I love your fucking mouth, and I love how smart you are. I’d never change that because those are the things that made me fall in love with you in the first place.”

I smiled slowly and then glanced down. “I shouldn’t have said you were worthless. That’s not fair to you. You are ambitious. It’s just not what I’d been raised to believe ambition was.” Henry’s face appeared before my eyes, and I shuddered.

“I’ve actually been thinking a lot about what you said, and on some level, I think you’re right. I’ve been coasting most of my life because of what happened. It consumed me, and I never let myself get past it. And…I might not be the CEO of a company, but I got a job.”

“You did?” My mouth dropped open. I wasn’t sure why I was so surprised, but I’d just never thought about Grant working. “Doing what?”

“Working at a recording studio. It’s not a big deal right now, but I like the work. Plus, I wanted to do better, be more for you.”

“Grant,” I said with a smile, “you’re already everything I want.”

“That’s not true, Princess, and we both know it. You deserve a CEO.”

“But I want you.”

“And I’ll be thankful every day for that, but I still have to try.”

He was so earnest that I really believed him. I didn’t think he needed to better himself for me, but I had told him that he wasn’t good enough and that he hadn’t done anything to prove he had changed. Well, here was proof.

“I appreciate that,” I said finally. “But you know you can’t quit the band, Grant.”

“What? Why would I quit?” he asked, shocked.

“McAvoy said you were thinking about it.”

He ran his hand back through his hair and cursed. “No, that’s not what I meant. I’m not quitting the band. I’d never quit the band.”

“Good, that’s really good.” I breathed a sigh of relief.

I couldn’t be the reason he gave up music. He’d eventually regret the decision and blame it all on me. It was a part of him just as I was.

Still, I had one nagging question. “And you…really weren’t with any other women?” I asked, feeling vulnerable.

His hands found the sides of my face, and I stared up into his dark brown eyes. “You are the only person in this world that I want to be with. Other women don’t even exist since I’ve been with you, Ari.”

My heart skipped a beat at his admission. “You took me for granted,” I whispered before I could stop myself.

He nodded solemnly. “And it probably won’t be the last time. But I’m trying to make it better every day.”

I believed him. Things wouldn’t always be perfect. We were too stubborn, too strong-willed, but we could work through them if we tried, if we really wanted to. And oh, I wanted to. I’d never felt like this with anyone else. I’d never let myself open up enough to be hurt, but I’d also never opened myself up to be loved. And I loved Grant McDermott with everything that I was.

“I can live with that.”

He laughed and kissed my forehead. “I sure hope so because I’m not letting you go again. Next time you want space, can you not jet off to Boston for a few weeks?”

I laughed, taking it lightly. “Yeah, but I don’t think I’m going to need space again.”

“Oh, you underestimate me.”

I smacked him on the arm and rolled my eyes. “Why do I like you again?”

“Something to do with my charm.”

Charm. Right.

“What made you decide to come out here anyway?” I asked. “I mean…it’s freezing. I stopped by your place first, but obviously, you weren’t there.”

“I, uh…” He sighed. “I got into a fight with Donovan. He said that…well, that we wouldn’t work out, and I’d never get signed. I, more or less, told him to go to hell and that I’d prove him wrong.”

“With your fist?”

“He deserved it.”

“I’m sure he did.” I remembered the kiss Donovan had taken from me, and I pushed it out of my mind. I hadn’t wanted that one either. “You know you don’t have to prove anything to anyone.”

I reached out and laced our fingers together. He looked like he had more to say, but he couldn’t decide whether to tell me or not. I didn’t like the haunted look in his eyes, but I gave him the time he needed.

“There’s more…”

I squeezed his hand when he paused. “You can tell me,” I said, bracing myself for the worst.

“My dad is getting out of jail.”

“What?” I gasped. “When? How did this happen?”

“I just heard from my uncle today. I don’t know all the details.”

“Are you going to go see him?”

Grant’s eyes hardened. “No.”

“Do you think…he’s going to try to see you?”

After a moment, he answered, “Yes.”

I swallowed the fear that settled over me.

His father was a murderer, and he blamed Grant for what had happened.

“Do you think he’ll try to hurt you?”

“Yes,” he said flatly.

The End