TITLE: Desolate
SERIES: (Grace #1)
AUTHOR: Autumn Grey
GENRE: Romance
PUBLICATION: September 24th, 2018
I had it all figured out: finish high school, attend seminary and finally answer my calling of becoming a priest. What I hadn’t counted in the equation was her.
Grace Miller.
The girl who was always out of my reach. The girl who still makes me lose my breath with just a look.
Little did I know she would become my temptation and vice, and quite possibly, my ruin.
Now I’m standing at a crossroads, and my head is a battlefield. How do I choose sides when it means losing a part of who I am?
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“Can I ask
you something? It’s totally fine to say no.” She adds the last part quickly.
She smiles and looks at the spot over my shoulder, her fingers tapping a quick
beat on the table. She looks vulnerable, her eyes wide, allowing me to see how
nervous she is. I mean, how can I say no to her?
“Sure.” I
settle back on the seat and stretch my arms along the back of it.
“Can I . .
. can I kiss you?” Her eyes snap back to mine, and she hurriedly adds, “I know
you’re heading to Boston in a few weeks and—” She sucks in a deep breath. “I really want to kiss you. I promise I
won’t try to do anything else. Just kiss you.”
Holy. Shit.
I take a
deep breath, letting her words sink in, and realize I’m breathing faster than
normal. My gaze falls on her mouth, and I literally stop breathing because that
mouth, God help me. It’s like a
gateway to a whole new galaxy where secrets and wishes are waiting to be
unveiled.
I need to
kiss her. I want to discover the universe beyond those full lips. I’ve been
fighting the need to kiss her since I walked inside the diner and saw her
wiping down the counter. But my brain is telling me it’s a bad idea and kissing
her will irrevocably change me. Change my life. I know I won’t be able to come
back from that. But the other part of me, the part that has a hopeless,
desperate crush on this girl, just wants to drag her onto my lap and let her do
whatever she wants.
“It’s
getting late. We should probably lock up and leave,” she says in a small voice
when I take too long to reply. She pushes her hair back before standing up and
starting to stack our plates together. Her gaze meets mine briefly. “Look, I’m
sorry I made this awkward. It’s not fair to you—”
I reach
out, curling a finger through the belt loops on her jean shorts, and tug. But
she doesn’t move toward me. Instead, her grip around the plates grows tighter,
and she turns to leave.
“Gracie.” I
tighten my hold, forcing her to set everything back on the table and look at
me. “Come here.”
I pull her
close while placing my other hand on her hip. Then, I slide both hands in the
back pockets of her shorts, pulling her closer until all I can see is her face
and her lips—so close to mine.
Her chest
rises and falls quicker than before, and I realize mine’s doing the same. We
stare at each other. I wonder if she regrets asking to kiss me. That thought
makes my chest ache. Right now, in this moment, with my face inches away from
her boobs, I’d do anything for a chance to know what she tastes like. My
fingers skim along her arm and bury themselves in her hair. She trembles
against me, so I know she wants this as much as I do.
Earlier
today after leaving work, I drove home. My mind was preoccupied, and I was restless,
so after taking a shower, I got into my car. And somehow, I found myself
parking the truck outside the diner. Maybe this is why I came here; I don’t
know. But I really want to find out.
“Do it.” My
voice is a whisper. I’m almost breathless with want. I want to yank her down
and kiss her myself, but she looks like she’s about to flee. So I let her come
to me. “Kiss me.”
She sinks
her teeth in her bottom lip as she comes closer. I’m glad I’m sitting down
because my knees are shaking with anticipation. Then her lips touch mine, her
eyes on me the whole time. Need has my fingers tightening in her hair as she
presses her lips more firmly to mine. Her tongue peeks out, running along the
seam of my lips. I groan and shift on the seat to ease the discomfort in my
pants. My mouth opens, and the second her tongue touches mine, my body rattles
with a shiver. This moment feels sacred. Like a blessing. It feels blasphemous
and holy all at once. It scares me.
Tugging her
into my lap, I fist her hair in my hands as I incline her hear further, fusing
our lips together more firmly. But our noses are in the way, and we have to
find the right angle to stop bumping into each other. It’s frustrating at first
because I want her lips on mine and her breath mingling with my breath. Our
heads finally slant in the right positions, and our lips fit perfectly. We both
exhale in relief and groan at the contact.
Something
in me breaks loose. Suddenly I’m pulling at her hair frantically, and my kisses
become hungry and aggressive. I’m trembling and desperate and all I can think
is I’ve never felt anything like this before, and I don’t ever want to stop or
let her go. I don’t need to wonder if she’s enjoying this kiss too. Her hands
fisted in my hair, yanking me closer and closer are all the answers I need.
She’s pressing her chest into mine, and I swear I can feel her heart hammering.
Neither one of us wants it to end.
We break
apart and gulp for air, and my hands leave her hair, greedy to explore other
parts of her, but they end up on her hips, pulling her further into me.
“More,” I
beg, because right now, that’s all I can do.
Beg like my
life depends on it. At this point, I feel like I’m about to go up in flames.
Autumn Grey writes sexy, angsty contemporary romance that always ends with a happy ever after. She loves reading stories with flawed and quirky characters, broody alphas and sassy heroines.
