Free Until Now (Not Yet #2) by Laura Ward Page A

day?” I followed her to the couch and sat down next to where she had her laptop open and several books laid out. Running my palms along my jeans, I wiped away my sweat. Was I… nervous?
    Grace’s eyes softened at my question. She sat next to me, her fingers knotted together. “Good, thanks. The usual. Classes, work, picked up Finn. We ate, and he played for a while before bed.” She turned to face me. “How was your day?”
    It hit me that as much time as I spent with the opposite sex, I wasn’t sure I’d ever checked on someone like this. I never wanted to know how their day had gone. Everything was different with Grace. “It was good.” My words rumbled out of my chest, and I brought my thumb to her lip, running it across the bottom. Her lips opened, and she kissed my thumb.
    My body jolted. She hadn’t even used her tongue, and I was hard as a rock. “Grace,” I pleaded. I couldn’t study. Not yet. I had to taste her. I had to feel that connection again.
    Grace slipped her glasses off her face and moved closer to me.
    “You look sexy as hell in those glasses, Red.” I moved even closer to her until I felt her breath wash over my face.
    She wrinkled her nose and leaned back. “No way.”
    “Yes, way. But it’s good you took them off.” I cupped both hands around her face and lowered my head until our lips met. We started the kiss with tender movements, but when the fire raced through my blood, I was lost. I groaned, and she opened her mouth to me. Our tongues slid together, each meeting the other with matching ferocity. Our hands moved everywhere in an attempt to feel everything all at once. Hers moved from my arms to my hair, tangling in the strands, pulling me to her. Mine traveled from her face down to her hips, along her rib cage, her back, and then finally moving into those long strands of red hair, just like I had imagined.
    “Mmmm,” Grace moaned against my lips, and when I pulled back to look at her, my dick swelled at the sight of her swollen red lips. I pictured her lips on me, and I wanted to beat my chest and grunt.
    We were both breathless, but I couldn’t take my hands off her. I couldn’t stop watching her, dark pink cheeks, the way her eyes were hooded. Her fingertips traced her lips, almost as if she wanted to feel them because they were plump from our rough kisses.
    “I guess we better study, huh?” I chuckled, and Grace took a deep breath, putting her glasses back on her face.
    “Sorry. I got carried away.” Grace’s voice was hesitant, and she looked down at her hands again.
    I scooped her up onto my lap. “One thing I need you to do for me, Red.” She waited, head cocked to the side. “Never feel embarrassed around me. Especially about wanting to touch me or kiss me.” I shifted her back a little so that she would feel how much I wanted her.
    Bingo.
    Her eyes widened, and then her face flushed red. She closed her eyes and licked her lips. “Oh.” She swallowed, and I considered moving her again so that she would be straddling me and could feel me even better. But that was too much for tonight. Grace needed me to behave and move slowly.
    “You got me, Red?” I kissed her softly on the lips.
    Grace opened her eyes and nodded. “Time to study, right?”
    I moved her next to me, placing an arm around her shoulder. “What’s your major?” I couldn’t believe how little I knew about her. I wanted to know everything. Every little detail that made up her whole.
    “Business. Yours?” She moved a book onto her lap and handed me a bottle of water.
    I took a long drink before answering. “Marketing. I’m graduating this December, a semester early.”
    Grace opened her textbook and smiled. “Whoa. And here I pegged you for a dumb jock when we first met. Look at you, graduating early. How were you able to manage that along with playing football for a team like IU?”
    I rubbed my thumb along the soft material on her shoulder. “I’ve taken summer classes since freshman