Read Online The Rules According to Gracie by Stefanie London - Free Book Online

essence.
    Protective urges flared within him, but he resisted…he had to. There was no way he’d take advantage of a moment of her weakness or insecurity. He certainly wouldn’t start something unless she gave him the okay, even if he was about to spontaneously combust. He gripped the hard edge of the desk, anchoring himself.
    “Looks like you’ve figured me out,” she said, her tone even and guarded. “I’m Gracie Greene: conservative, innocent, and inexperienced. My mother is desperate to marry me off because she thinks I’m going to turn into a spinster and all she cares about is amassing grandchildren. I date guys who are wrong for me, and the one guy I do have a connection with has realized what a fraud I am.”
    The sting in her words pierced Des’s chest. She sounded downtrodden, as though she expected dismissal.
    “You’re not a fraud.” Des reached for her hands and pulled her up so she stood between his legs. “Don’t let your family get into your head, you’re young—there’s nothing wrong with being single.”
    “The sad thing is, I don’t want to be single, but as soon as I bring someone home, Mother will be calling the wedding planner and picking out strollers.”
    “Then don’t bring anyone home.” He sighed. “Gracie, it’s your life. You make the decisions, you call the shots, and you can tell her how it is.”
    “It’s not that easy.” She shook her head.
    “Yeah, it is.” He cupped her face with both hands. “It’s about time you started doing things for you.”
    She closed her eyes and stepped closer to him, until her slender hips nestled right between his thighs. He hardened and cursed internally. It took every ounce of restraint not to tear open her shirt. He wanted to hear the ping ing of her buttons as they flew across the room. He wanted to bury his face in that flawless satin skin of hers. But he sat still, daring only for a shallow breath lest he inadvertently rub against her.
    “Did you miss the part where I said you were the one guy I had a connection with?” She speared him with one soul-searching look. A shy smile curved her lips at the corners.
    “You didn’t explicitly say you were referring to me,” he teased. Her dark gaze scorched him, unblinking as she waited for him. “I didn’t miss it.”
    How could he have missed something like that? His cock ached to be inside her. He’d thought of nothing else but holding her tight while he pleasured her over and over. It kept him awake each night, until he tossed and turned himself to sleep.
    “What if I said I wanted to explore that connection a little further?”
    God help him, he was about to break. “How?”
    “With my hands,” she said, running her palms up his thighs towards the section where his erection was clearly pressing against his jeans. His mind swam as her fingertips skated near the spot he wanted her to touch most.
    “With my mouth.” She leaned forward and pressed her sweet lips to his neck.
    Fire shot through his system, his neck heated by her kiss. He wasn’t going to be able to hold back much longer. Her vanilla perfume and the subtle scent of shampoo in her hair combined to assault his senses.
    “With my body.” Her lips brushed his ear. The whispered words pushed him to the edge. She wrapped her hands around his and brought them to her hips, her lashes fluttering as he gripped her tight.
    “Last chance to back out,” he said, each word torture as he held himself in check.
    She shook her head, and he reached for the ornate pin that held her bun in place. Slowly, as though prolonging their desire to the last possible moment, he slid the pin from her hair and watched it tumble in a glorious mane around her shoulders. He set the pin down and ran his hands up the back of her neck, threading his fingers through the layers that curled and kinked every which way.
    He dipped a finger into the waistband of her jeans, tugging out the neatly tucked shirt and running a knuckle across the