Griffin

by Marie James

  “Belongs to you?” I don’t even recognize the huskiness in my voice.

  “Your mouth.” He presses his lips against mine once again. “Your skin. Your curves. Every first. All of it belongs to me.”

  “Please,” I beg, trying to ignore the voice in the back of my head telling me all of this is only going to lead to heartache. He’ll drink again, or have one of his moods, and this Griffin won’t be the same man who gets angry so easily. Giving everything to him only for him to turn around and toss me out like trash would be unbearable. That voice, the warning, and the pain I know I’m going to face later are somehow overridden by the growing need to accept whatever he’s offering and deal with the consequences later.

  His mouth leaves my skin as he presses his forehead to my neck. “We can’t do this. There’s so much I need to tell you. I won’t put you in this situation while you’re uninformed.”

  “Do you have a wife or a girlfriend I don’t know about?” Being a home-wrecker is about the only thing capable of stopping this train, and I’m certain I would know those huge things about him if he did have one or the other.

  “I wish it were that simple.” His lips find my ear once again. “I’m going to tell you everything, but will you shower with me first?”

  “Shower?” I chirp, my voice cracking at the end. “Together?”

  “No pressure,” he says, but it’s the hard flex of his hips that makes the decision for me. Contact, even with clothes on, makes me delirious.

  I want nothing more than the opportunity to see suds running down the length of his abs, but we have to have some ground rules.

  “I’m not having sex with you in the shower.”

  “I know.” His tone is marked with sincerity, so when he climbs off me and offers me his hand, I take it and follow him into the shower.

  With the way my whole body trembles as he turns on the water, you’d think we were planning on going all the way.

  “Hey.” I don’t even notice that he’s stepped so close until his knuckle urges my head up. “You don’t have to. I don’t want you to feel pressured. I can shower alone.”

  “I want to.”

  “You sure?” The second I nod my agreement, his hands skate over my body to the hem of my t-shirt. “May I?”

  All I can manage is another nod, and he lifts my shirt. The backs of his hands feel like ice on my skin as he raises the shirt until I’m forced to lift my arms for it to be pulled over my head. My first instinct is to cover up, but he clasps one hand in his preventing me from doing it.

  “You’re beautiful,” he says, trailing his finger down my side.

  My shaking is renewed when his free hand reaches behind me to unclasp my bra.

  “I’ve never been naked in front of a guy before.”

  “I know.” When the straps of my bra slide down my arms, his eyes focus on my breasts as they’re revealed. “I love being the only man to see you like this.”

  After my bra falls at our feet, his hands find the button and zipper on my shorts.

  “Are you still sure?”

  Brazenly, I push down my own shorts but leave my panties up.

  “Your skin is perfect.” I could say the same thing about his bare chest, but I seem to have lost the ability to speak as his fingers trace the top band of my underwear. Muscles I didn’t realize I have jump under his touch and that tug is back low in my belly.

  “I can’t seem to stop touching you.”

  “I l-like your hands on me.”

  As if I’ve given him permission, his hand traces around my bellybutton and work its way up higher.

  “So soft,” he praises as he draws closer to my breasts.

  Shamefully, my nipples tighten even in the damp heat surrounding us from the shower running.

  “I don’t know what to do,” I confess once again when his palm tests the weight of one breast.

  “Just tell me to stop if I go too far.”

  Just like he took my mouth earlier without pause, he bends and wraps his lips around one puckered nipple. We both groan, and if he hadn’t wrapped his arms around my back, I’d be sprawled out on the floor from the intensity of his lips.

  The air turns cold around that breast when he releases it with a pop only to wrap his mouth around my other one. I’m a mess in his arms as he laps at my skin. My panties are around my calves before I even realize he has tugged the fabric down.

  His lips release my breast, but his mouth doesn’t stop as he licks and nips the skin on my stomach. When I feel his breath over my thighs, I’m back to shaking like crazy.

  “Shhh,” he soothes, and I can feel the rush of air on my most private flesh.

  Just the thought of him touching me there makes my thighs move a few inches apart in invitation. My eyes are clamped closed, but when he speaks again, I can’t help but look down.

  “Jesus, Ivy. Look at you.” I watch him as he stares a hole into my core. He seems enthralled, bordering on obsession as his thumbs dig into the flesh where my thighs meet the rest of my body. “So pretty. Can I touch you here?”

  I whimper my response.

  “Can I taste you?”

  How filthy does that sound? I can’t wait.

  “Please.”

  He barely waits a breath before he leans in closer, as if he’s afraid I’ll change my mind if he waits too long.

  The first swipe of his tongue is like a cattle prod to my spine, like I’ve been electrocuted and no longer have any control over my entire body. I grip the top of his head to steady myself, but this only seems to urge him on even more.

  His breaths are coming out in pants, but his tongue never stops moving. The grip of his hands on my hips strengthens to the point of near pain, but it all somehow seems to work together. When he lifts one of my legs, throwing it over his shoulder so he can work me deeper, I’m done for. Or at least I think it can’t get any better, but then his fingers find my opening, and although he doesn’t go deep, just circling around has me convulsing against his mouth.

  “I’m-I’m-I’m,” I stutter. He must understand more than me what’s happening because he doubles his efforts, and it leaves me seeing stars as every muscle seizes before I begin to pulse against his mouth.

  He doesn’t stop, though. He licks, nips, and sucks until I’m so sensitive, I have to shove against his shoulders to make him stop.

  “That was amazing,” he says after one final long, slow lick up my center.

  I know why it was amazing for me, but I’m incredibly happy if he enjoyed it too.

  Once again, he kisses up my body, nuzzling against my neck. His arousal, even more prominent now than when we were on the bed, digs into my stomach. I want to return the favor, but I know nothing about what it takes to send a man over the edge. I mean, I have a working knowledge. It’s impossible to grow up in today’s age without learning things from TV, friends, and social media, but I have no hands-on experience. The thought of touching him and him not liking it keeps my hands firmly planted on his chest rather than wandering down.

  “Let’s shower,” he says against my mouth, and the tangy sweetness from my own body marks his lips.

  I swipe my tongue against his mouth, and there’s something about the action that makes him moan again.

  “See how sweet you taste?” He sweeps his tongue over mine again. “I think I’m already addicted to you.”

  “Mmm,” I pant against his mouth, bereft when he pulls away.

  “Shower,” he insists again as he steps back and drops his sweats to the floor.

  I’m awestruck at the sight of him completely naked. The tight muscles on his stomach, pointing down in a perfect angle toward his groin, draws all of my attention. The tingle returns when he clasps himself in his hand, stroking his length in slow, measured movements.

  “Your eyes on me make me crazy,” he confesses. “Your hands on me would send me to the moon.”

  Chapter 29

  Griffin

  “C-can I touch you?” Her eyes never le
ave my cock, and I nearly come right then.

  “Shower,” I grunt again. It’s the best I can manage without confessing that a single touch from her would have the ability to make me blow my load immediately.

  Watching her ass as she steps over the edge of the tub, I grip my cock just below the head to the point of pain and beg it not to embarrass me. By the time I step in with her, she’s already lathering up a sponge.

  “Where did that come from?” Distraction seems to be my best bet right now until I’m able to calm down some.

  “My mom brought some things over for me.”

  “Does your dad know you’re here with me?” The thought of Kincaid barreling in here while I’ve got his little girl naked in a shower is just what I need to calm my libido enough to function. My cock doesn’t soften. There’s no way that can happen at the sight of Ivy’s perfect tits jiggling as she continues to lather the soap, but I feel like I’m in a more manageable position. That all flies out the window when she presses the sponge to my chest and works it over my muscles.

  When I freeze at her touch, her mouth turns down.

  “You don’t want me to touch you?”

  I can tell I hurt her feelings, but she’s reading this all wrong. I go for broke and tug the sponge out of her hand. She stares as it drops to the bottom of the tub.

  “Just your hands.” Gripping her hand, I urge her to continue soaping my chest.

  “Wow,” she mutters, and I smile thinking she’s enjoying the feel of her skin against mine as much as I am, but when I look down at her, I notice her eyes are much further south than my chest and abs.

  “You’re good for my ego, baby.”

  Her hands drift further, and I don’t have the ability to tell her that what I did standing in the bathroom doesn’t have to be reciprocated in any way.

  “Show me what you like.” Her eyes meet mine briefly, and I can’t tell if the pink in her cheeks is from the hot water cascading down on us or if she’s embarrassed.

  Holding her hand in mine, I have her wrap her tiny hand around me as best she can. I groan uncontrollably when she squeezes me.

  “Did that hurt?” The worry in her voice is unfounded.

  “No. It feels perfect,” I praise. I urge her hand up and down the length of me. “Like this.”

  Her hand continues when I pull mine away.

  “I can’t believe that it’s somehow soft and yet so hard.”

  My cock kicks in her hand. If I thought her touching me was enough to make me blow, adding in her innocent words nearly makes me lose it.

  “So big,” she breathes.

  Yep, I’m about done for.

  It’s all over when I reach up and palm one of her breasts.

  “Don’t stop,” I manage when my release races down my spine. My nuts draw up, and without warning, I paint her stomach with my orgasm.

  I can tell she stops breathing as we both watch my cock kick over and over in her hand.

  “That was—”

  “Sorry. I should’ve warned you.”

  “I was going to say amazing.”

  Her eyes find mine, water droplets clinging to her lashes. She’s the most beautiful creature I’ve ever seen.

  “Is it always so hard?”

  I don’t even have to look down to know what she’s talking about. I’ve barely flagged even after the earth-shattering release.

  “Only around you,” I confess

  She huffs. “Don’t start lying to me now.”

  Instead of explaining that it’s taken more than a little work to get me to the point I can barely perform, I lean in and kiss her lips. I don’t imagine it would go over well even if I’m praising her for her ability to get me hard and keep me that way. I saw how she reacted earlier when I mentioned wanting to climb back in bed with her. I have to keep in mind that she’s so pure, and even though I can’t do anything about my past, I don’t have to rub it in her face either.

  As my tongue gains entrance to her mouth, her hand once again strokes down my length. I don’t have the strength to tell her to stop, so I do the next best thing. I slide my own hand down her stomach, probing at her heat with the tip of one finger. She whimpers into my mouth as I press deeper, but I swallow her cries and pinch the hard tip of one of her breasts with my other hand. She’s putty in my arms when I find that spot just inside and stroke it over and over.

  By the time we both find our releases once again, the water has run cold. Neither one of us seemed to notice.

  “Let me dry your back,” she offers as we each grab a towel from the rack.

  I present my back to her and smile at the hoarse sound of her voice. I’m thankful that Cannon’s room is on the other side of the wall. There’s less of a chance of anyone else finding out what was happening in here.

  “That’s not drying,” I chastise when I feel Ivy press her lips against my skin rather than the towel.

  “I don’t want to leave this bathroom,” she says against my skin.

  “The bed will be much more comfortable,” I offer, but I’m in agreement with her.

  I feel like we’re both safe in here, as if we’re somehow cocooned and nothing bad can happen, but I know that believing in the false sense of security only puts us further into harm’s way.

  “What’s different when we walk out of here?”

  “What do you mean?” I turn around, wrapping my arms around her naked body and pull her against mine. It seems we’re about to have some sort of moment, so I’m grateful for the towel wrapped around my waist. I don’t want to have to explain the biology of why my body responds to her while she’s trying for a serious conversation.

  “Have things changed?”

  “Changed how?” I ask.

  “Since we,” she angles her head to the shower, “since we did that stuff?”

  “Are you regretting it already?” I hitch a finger under her chin when she tries to look away. “Look at me.”

  Her eyes find mine, and I see pain I don’t understand clouding her otherwise gorgeous eyes.

  “Everything changed the moment I realized that not only can I not live without you, but that I don’t even want to try.”

  “But back at the cottage you sa—”

  “Everything has changed.” I swallow the lump forming in my throat. I have to let her know what she means to me, what I want going forward, but I know I’m doing it now before she finds out the truth because it will make it harder for her to walk away.

  I’m a selfish bastard like that.

  “What are you saying?” Fear taints her voice, but it’s edged in hope. She honestly has no clue what I’m trying to tell her.

  “You’re mine.”

  “Yours,” she agrees. “But do you belong to me as well?”

  “Is that what you want?”

  “For years.”

  “I’m yours then.”

  Her lip twitches as if she’s going to smile, but it’s a contradiction to the tears beginning to form in the corners of her eyes.

  “Are you just saying these things to get me in bed?”

  “I thought the bed was where we were heading anyway?” I wink at her, but from the look on her face, now isn’t the time to joke about such things. “I’ll wait for you as long as you need. Whatever it takes to make you see what you mean to me, I’ll do anything.”

  “Why now?”

  As always, she’s going to leave no stone unturned before she’s satisfied with my answers.

  “I couldn’t see what was right before my eyes when I came home. The alcohol, my anger, the pain of what I’ve done, all of it kept me from seeing you.” I brush a strand of wet hair from her face and tuck it behind her ear. “Why now? Because nothing is standing in my way any longer.”

  “Not even my dad?” Her eyebrows raise in challenge, and I’ll be honest, the thought of facing her dad doesn’t fill me with warm fuzzies, but I know she’s worth the hoops he’s going to make me jump through in order to deserve her.

  “How about w
e face that part after I tell you everything you need to hear?”

  “There’s nothing you can say that’s going to make me change how I feel about you.”

  “I’m not so sure about that,” I mutter and take a step back. “But I can’t concentrate while you’re naked, so get dressed and let’s have this conversation.”

  As if just now remembering she’s standing there stark naked, she gasps and covers her front with the plush towel. Pouting when I laugh at her, she pushes her bottom lip out for emphasis.

  Reaching up, I trace her lips with my fingers. “The things I want to do to this mouth.”

  She gasps, her cheeks turning that rosy pink I love so much. Given the opportunity, I press my thumb against her tongue. As if she’s done it a million times, she clamps her lips around my digit and sucks. The drawing pulls register in my dick.

  “Maybe we can postpone our talk until tomorrow,” I begin, but I’m interrupted by a knocking on my bedroom door.

  “Griffin,” my dad’s voice echoes into the bathroom. “We need to talk.”

  Ivy squeals, reaching for her clothes like there aren’t two doors between my dad and us.

  “Be right out,” I say to appease him, but from the tone in his voice, I know what he wants to talk about. Seems my time is up, and my secrets are about to be laid out.

  Chapter 30

  Ivy

  “I’ll wait for you in here,” I tell Griffin as he pulls a clean t-shirt over his head. I hate that his skin is disappearing behind the fabric, but I’m a ball of nerves with the thought of going out there so soon after what we just did in the bathroom.

  “I don’t want to do this alone.” His eyes search mine, pleading without his mouth actually saying the words.

  How can I tell him no? I’ve told him I’m here for him, and if this is what he needs right now, then I’ll face whatever unease I feel by showing up in front of his parents with wet hair and guilt all over my face.

  I don’t regret what we did. I never imagined I could feel the way he just made me feel, but the timing isn’t perfect either.

  “Lead the way,” I urge, sweeping out my arm toward the door.

  He surprises me when he clasps my hand as we hit the stairs.