“It’s a good car. You got lucky, June. It didn’t need much.”
There’s that word again: lucky. My chest lightens, and I grin, because more and more, that seems to be the truth. Maybe it’s finally my turn to have things work out for me, or maybe I really am manifesting my luck turning around, but either way, I try not to look at it too closely.
“Here’s the keys, you’re good to go,” he says, and I glare at him.
“I have to pay,” I remind him, and he grins, shaking his head before rolling his eyes.
“You’re a pain, you know that?”
“It’s pretty much my one job in life to make your and Grant’s life a misery.”
“And now Graham’s,” Miles adds. I look over my shoulder at the man in question.
“No, he likes it, trust me.”
A loud laugh fills the garage, and it’s not until I’ve paid and I’m following Graham back to his place in my car that’s never run smoother that I realize Graham never argued my point.
THIRTY-THREE
“Want to watch the fireworks?” Graham asks after a takeout dinner at his place. I’m in a pair of boy shorts underwear and one of his tees, and I hadn’t planned on putting on real clothes again. Because of that, I look at him, then to the darkened sky, confused.
“Fireworks?” I ask, and he nods.
“Yeah, on the beach. They have them every other Thursday night.” I knew this, of course, since planning that is in Claire’s jurisdiction, but I rarely make the effort to see them. He looks at me for a moment before tipping his head, not to the front door, but to the stairs.
“Come on,” he says, then stands, putting a hand out to me.
“I don’t really want to get dressed and go out,” I murmur, biting my lip. He laughs, twines his fingers through mine, then leads me up the stairs.
“Good thing we don’t have to,” he says, then opens a door I’d never been through, leading me to a rooftop patio. I look up at the night sky in awe, the boardwalk lit up, the stars bright over the ocean. It’s enclosed with a railing and a couple of feet higher than the other rooftops, meaning nothing is impeding our view.
“This is all yours?” I ask, looking around in awe. I knew the place was tall, but I didn’t realizehowtall. Suddenly, I’m desperate to come up here first thing in the morning and watch the sun rise on the water with a cup of coffee and my sketchbook.
The wind blows gently, a cool breeze off the water, making me shiver a bit, and Graham pulls me to the edge of the railing with a waist-high bar table built in along the edge.
“I didn’t want to share a private space,” he says with a shrug. “I need to get outdoor furniture out here, though.” He moves so his chest is to my back, holding me against him.
“Can I help?”
“I was hoping you’d do it for me. Shopping isn’t my favorite.”
I nearly squeal with excitement.
“Oh my god! This will be so much fun!”
He shakes his head before dropping his head to press his lips to my neck. My breath hitches, and my mind travels to things that could be done up here, both secluded and out in the open, and…
Since Graham and I have gotten together, my long-buried libido has been on overdrive, my body constantly filled with need and desire for this man. While I normally have no libido whatsoever during my period, it seems that changes when Graham is around.
With a shake of my head to clear it, I take a deep, steadying breath, then release it just as the first firework explodes over the ocean. It sends a colorful burst into the sky, with sparkles crackling as it falls. I’m captivated, unsure of the last time I actually watched fireworks, which is why I barely register when his hand starts to move. One stays planted, splayed over my belly, but the other travels lower to the edge of the tee. His thumb moves up, sliding along my bare skin.
“You look good in my tee, June,” he murmurs, then his hands slide forward to my inner thigh. He tugs my thigh a bit, and Iwiden my stance without thought. His fingers slide in and up over my center. “But I like it even better because that’s all you have on.”
“Graham, we can’t. I have my period,” I murmur.
“Doesn’t bother me in the least, but right now I’m only focused on you.” His fingers slide up my center over my panties, making my breath hitch. “Orgasms are good for cramps,” he repeats his refrain from earlier, and despite never being into this, my center throbs.
“You don’t have to—” I start, but as another two fireworks burst into the night sky, his hand moves up then slides down into the front of my panties, his warm fingers settling over my now needy clit.
