Shaken Read Online Free Page A

her fingertips inward. Tighter and tighter she coiled around him, her mouth leaving his to cry out over and over. His hold became crushing, his thrusts wild. A desperate scream tore through the air as they both lost control, as she lost connection to anything but him…and drowned in pleasure.
    Slowly, languorously, she came back to the surface, took a breath. She tried to, but to her surprise, she realized she was crying, tears streaming down her face, air coming to her lungs in soft hitches.
    Grant pressed his face into the side of her neck, spreading soft, soothing kisses up the column. For a second, she was transported all the way back to when they’d first become lovers. The intensity between them in the beginning had frightened her, made her cry and shake, no matter how she tried to hold it in. Making love to Grant had always involved everything she had—heart, body and soul. It hadn’t been a choice to give him so much of herself. He’d known it, gentling her until she understood she could trust him with such naked vulnerability. Loving him had simply been a part of her. Leaving had nearly killed her.
    Because each one of those kisses was a promise. A promise to hold her. To support her. To be there when the passion faded. To never break her heart.
    “Grant?” Her voice was still husky, her body still quaking around him.
    “Mmmm?” His hands smoothed over her bottom, petting her, taking the sting from the imprint of his fingertips. Already, she could feel her response building again. Her body was putty for him. Her heart belonged to him. But her mind, her will, they were all she had to fight with. The only way she could stand up for herself. For them .
    “Grant.” She swallowed, willing strength into her voice as she wiped her cheeks with the back of her sleeve. “You have to let me go.”
    His hand froze on her leg.
    “Grant?”
    “No.”
    Just that. No other words. No other movement.
    “ Grant. ”
    He lifted his head. The flush across his cheeks could have been the flush of passion still staining him, but Julia knew better. It was anger.
    “No. I’m not letting you go ever again.”

Chapter Five
    If he had to stay inside her for the rest of his life, he would keep that vow. She couldn’t do this. Give him this glimpse of heaven, of blessed peace, then throw him back into hell. She couldn’t.
    Her blue gaze remained firm, even if her pink lips were soft and still wet. “I’m not escaping, Grant.” The unspoken and neither are you echoed loud and clear. “We have to talk.”
    “We are talking.” He leaned in to take her mouth while he spoke. Her lips slipped across his, sleek and smooth. Slick. He licked the top one, hoping to tease her. Her hands tightened on his shoulders and for a moment, she began to melt again. Then suddenly, she stiffened. She pushed, her head rearing back, stealing her kiss away.
    “No. I don’t want this.”
    He stared at her for any sign of indecision, but her mouth was firm, her gaze resolved. She didn’t want this…or she didn’t want him ? “Why? Why now and not ten minutes ago?”
    “Because letting you fuck me doesn’t mean anything has changed.”
    The hard words did what nothing else could have. He pulled from her, his cock leaving her sex almost roughly. She flinched, something that stabbed him more than his own discomfort, but said nothing as he put her back on her feet. Once sure she was steady, he made quick work of adjusting his own clothing. She wiped at her face with her sleeve, taking away the tears he’d sipped at. Grant backed to the other side of the elevator, watching her sniff while she tried to tuck her hair into some semblance of order with one hand and tug at her skirt with the other. She turned to face the wall, the tangled white gold of her hair streaming down her back. Rebuilding her walls again. Shutting him out.
    “You wanted to talk.” His voice sounded like a bark and her shoulders jumped at the sound of it. He swallowed the