grew along the marble supports.
Most of all, she was aware of Grim, of the sheer size of him, the hard jut of his jaw and the sculpted beauty of his features, the gleam of the afternoon light on his cinnamon hair.
Tiny lines were etched at the corners of his golden eyes. Sorrow had left its mark on him. Regret and hate had separated him from his kind. His resulting loneliness had brought Dell to life. That spoke volumes about the heart that beat beneath his tough exterior. Sassy ached to soothe him, to take away his pain and give him ease. Not out of obligation or anxiety or compulsion, but because she loved him.
Grim wrapped his hands in her hair and kissed her, taking her mouth in slow nibbles, applying the meticulous attention to detail Sassy had noticed about him earlier and admired. Stroking, licking, tasting, nibbling, he explored her mouth, dipping his tongue inside for a taste, sucking gently on her bottom lip before delving inside once more.
Hooray for OCD! Butterflies of delight fluttered in Sassy’s belly and brushed the sweet spot between her legs.
“Grim?”
“Hmm?” Turning his attention to the column of her neck, Grim dragged his hot mouth across her sensitive skin.
Bunny rabbits, that felt good. Sassy relaxed in his arms. Bracing her shoulders with one arm, he blazed a tingling trail of kisses down her throat. His mouth lingered on the tops of her breasts. Nibbling the tender skin there, he soothed the injured spot with his tongue.
Sassy’s concentration scattered. What had she been saying? Oh, yes.
“T-There’s something I need to ask you.”
“Can it not wait? As you can see, I am most pleasantly occupied.”
“It’s important.”
He raised his head at once and looked at her, really looked at her. It was one of the many things she loved about him, the way he stayed tuned into her, to her moods and feelings, like she was the most important thing in the world.
“Do you know when I fell in love with you?”
Grim raised her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles, one by one. Slowly.
“No.”
“When I punched you in the nose.”
He blinked. “I see.”
“It was the first time I lost my temper,” Sassy explained, “or hit anyone in anger.”
“I confess I am somewhat alarmed. Will I be called upon to render this service with great regularity?”
Sassy chuckled. “Of course not.”
“My nose rejoices at the news.”
“The point is, I can be a real person with you. I don’t have to be sassy every moment of the day.” She played with a lock of his long russet hair. It was cool and silky to the touch, and it smelled clean, like him. “I can be mad or bad or sad, and that is such a relief.”
“You can be however and whoever you like with me. Always.”
“What about her?”
“Her?”
Raising her eyes, Sassy met his serious gaze. Taking a deep breath, she blurted out what was worrying her. “The purple whatzit.”
“I like the purple whatzit.” With the tip of his finger, Grim smoothed the frown line between her brows. “She is powerful and sensuous. She takes what she wants.”
“She’s scary and she has a major sugar jones.”
“She is part of you. And I liked her shoes. I found them . . . provocative.”
Oho, so Grim liked Bad Sassy’s sexy shoes. Quite a change from Mr. Thou Shalt Not Wear Frivolous Footwear.
She forgot her amusement as Grim’s hands slid from her waist to her rib cage. His skin was hot. Tongues of fire licked her belly, her breasts, and the juncture of her thighs—wherever he touched her. He dipped his hands under the bird’s gushing beak and dribbled the warm liquid on her breasts. Sassy’s heart thudded in anticipation as he followed the downward path of the droplets with his fingers; teasing, circling, but never quite touching her sensitive nipples.
With a cry of impatience, she lifted her breasts and offered them to him, shuddering with relief when his lips closed around first one aching peak and then the other. Heat spread through her body like wildfire.
Sassy whimpered and stirred in his arms, the needy restlessness growing. It was too much. Too powerful. Too . . . everything. She would fly apart.
“Shh,” Grim murmured. “Do not fight it. Let go.”
The delicious ache spread from her breasts to her sex. He slid his hand between her legs and brushed her clitoris. Sassy gasped and opened her thighs to him. Slowly, he inserted one finger and then another and began to stroke, his thumb lightly