Three Rivers (A Gateway to Love Novel)

by Barlow, Chloe T.

  CHAPTER TEN

  It was Wednesday and Griffen called Trey on the way to campus to teach his Investigative Journalism class. He knew he needed to focus on a lesson plan but his mind kept wandering back to thoughts of Jack.

  Griffen had spent the last two evenings with Althea and Johnny and it shocked him just how enjoyable that time had been. When he'd arrived for his first dinner there Althea had been pretty shy, understandably. It was very important to her that Johnny not have any idea that she and Griffen were — well, whatever they were.

  Yet from the first moment Griffen arrived, Johnny had been eager to spend time with him, playing football and learning more about his dad. Each moment filled Griffen with happiness in a way he'd never anticipated.

  The time with Althea also became better by the second and they even found the boldness to sneak a kiss or an embrace every time Johnny was outside or in his room, well before Johnny went to sleep, when Althea and Griffen would go to her room and enjoy their heated nights together.

  Even though Griffen had to leave both mornings long before Johnny awoke, he couldn't deny the bizarre sensation of joy he felt at being a part of this unit. The pleasure of being with Althea and Johnny was so foreign from everything he'd ever known before. Each moment with them filled him with an emotion he couldn't quite name, but didn't want to lose, if even for this brief time.

  That happiness quickly turned into a desperate fixation on a need to resolve why Jack — the actual touchstone of this family — had reached out to him so many years ago.

  Griffen had always known that he would never be free of guilt as long as the mystery of why Jack reached out to him before he died still hung out there. It was still a blinking spotlight on Griffen's greatest shame, but now it was more than just the matter of resolving his own regrets. It now represented Griffen's opportunity to leave Althea and Johnny with some of the peace that Jack's unexplained death had stolen from them.

  Now he felt an overwhelming desire to resolve this issue for Johnny and Althea's sake. He knew he needed to leave them soon, that he would never be more than a passing visitor in their lives, but maybe he could use his skills to give them some peace by getting to the bottom of what Jack had been working on when he'd asked for Griffen's help.

  "Hi Trey."

  "Dude. I was just about to call you. I got your flash drive late Monday night. So are you finally writing another book or is this just for you?"

  "Both. I'm including the investigation in the book like I always do, but it's also for my own peace of mind. So, what do you think? All I was able to open were a couple of requests for proposals from the military. Did you have any more luck?"

  "Of course I did, that's why you called me, right?"

  "Yes, you arrogant ass. What have you found?"

  "Hey, play nice, man. I just speak the truth is all. But I'll tell you this is some serious technical security on here. Your friend knew what he was doing."

  "I believe that. Can you crack it?"

  "Well, it's not that simple. Basically, he loaded data on this flash drive over a period of several weeks. The first materials were pretty simple to break into. There were military contracts following up on those requests for proposals you mentioned and drawings of some components for robotics equipment for the military. With each file he loaded, his security features became more extreme. I'm peeling through them as I go, but I won't be able to resolve everything all at once. Do you know what he was working on? That may help."

  Guilt rose like acid from his throat. "No. He, uh, reached out to me asking for my help with something before he died."

  "And what did he say when you talked to him? Anything could be helpful."

  "Nothing."

  "He called you and wouldn't tell you anything. That's weird."

  "I never called him back, all right!" Griffen shouted into the Bluetooth speaker, his fingers white from clenching around his steering wheel.

  "Oh, shit man... Well, I guess I don't want to go there. Doesn't matter now. That's all done, right?"

  "Right," Griffen blurted out sarcastically.

  "You did know him, though, and he knew you. If you really want to figure this out, you have to think, why would he have wanted your help? You don't know robotics or computers."

  "No clue. I was hoping his flash drive would tell me."

  "Well, he didn't need you for technical shit. He certainly had that covered. Only other thing you’re good at is digging up shit other people did and maybe kicking somebody's ass."

  "Trey — you're right! Maybe something was going on and he was trying to figure it out."

  "Or..."

  "Or what?" he growled out.

  "Or maybe he was involved in something bad and needed your help to get out of it. You do know some tough dudes and you've disappeared for long periods before."

  "No way. Jack was a golden boy, no way. Got it," Griffen said adamantly but he hated that the same thought had invaded his brain.

  "Right, sure. Thing is...I was able to open up one pretty interesting file, it was an email that had markers of what I'm pretty sure are the CMU server, but sender and recipient are hidden. It's referencing military projects I saw in the contracts I found, but they're broken out and tagged with notations regarding which ones 'the Chinese want.'"

  Griffen suddenly felt sick.

  "Point is Griff, I think I should go beyond the flash drive, maybe look into..."

  "Jack. You want to look into Jack."

  "I think we have to. Either way I'm going to keep plugging away and you see what you can figure out over there. Okay?"

  "Okay. Do what you gotta do."

  "I always do, man."

  Althea was watching as the clock on her computer slowly ticked forward. All she could think about was getting down to Oakland to see Griffen. Just the thought of his hands on her again made her feel hot all over. She was starting to wonder if maybe she should just leave when her office phone rang.

  After reading the caller ID she answered and said, "Hey David. What's up? I thought you were teaching class today?"

  "It's done, I just wanted to check in with you. How are you?"

  "Good. You have a doctor's appointment later, don't you?"

  "Yeah. Just a lot of the same, I'm sure. More bad news about what the accident did to my body...want to cheer me up after? Maybe have dinner tonight at your place?"

  "Oh, that would be nice, but I'm having dinner with Jack's old friend Griffen." Why do I feel so shy about this?

  "The guy from Johnny's party?"

  "Yeah, that's right."

  "Why are you having dinner with him? Are you sure he's an okay guy?"

  "Calm down, David."

  "You know I worry about you is all."

  It still touched Althea that David did so much to help her. Even thought it could be cloying at times, he'd always been there for her after Jack died and she couldn't just stonewall him now.

  "Griffen's in town for two weeks and he wants to take the time to reconnect with Jack's life."

  Dammit, now she was thinking about connecting with Griffen and it was getting her all hot and bothered again.

  "Does that mean you'll be spending a lot of time with him?"

  "I don't know, maybe, why?"

  "Well, what do you really know about him?"

  "I know he was a dear friend of Jack's, and that's enough reason for me to get to know him."

  "Sorry, it's just Jack was important to me. You and Johnny are important to me, I don't want anyone to take advantage of you."

  "Oh, David, you are always so good to me. You know I appreciate it. I promise we'll have coffee soon."

  "And dinner, but only once you stop entertaining this interloper, I suppose."

  "Oh David, stop. You know you're like family to me, nothing will change that."

  "Right, family." His tone sounded so much like jealousy that Althea paused.

  "David, what's going on?"r />
  "Nothing," he said with a false brightness that didn't fool her, even through the phone. "Have a great day. I'm fine. I'm not going anywhere. Trust me."

  She smiled. "Thanks David. Take care!"

  "See you soon, bye."

  Althea craned her neck up and stared at the University of Pittsburgh's Cathedral of Learning, a fierce spire of a building, imposingly reaching to the heavens, piercing the steel gray sky. It was an urban campus right in the heart of the city, barely three miles from her office downtown, but she did everything she could to avoid this whole area.

  Fact was being back on Pitt's campus was yet another thing that brought back a flood of memories and feelings of panic for Althea. She walked away from her car and by the grand Carnegie library, catching sight of the eager students spilling out of it, so full of promise with the start of the new school year. They were all blissfully unaware of how precarious — and brutally fragile — life truly was.

  Althea's mind went back to that painful last semester after Jack died. She'd buried herself in her studies and law review, all while her belly swelled with baby Johnny. The law school had been kind and sympathetic. Offering to let her take a sabbatical until the next semester, but she'd declined. Even then she suspected that time wouldn't make anything easier or the ache in her body and heart subside.

  No, all she felt truly sure of was that work and achievement were the only things that hadn't deserted her. Being driven and wanting to do their very best at everything was one of the aspects of their personalities that she and Jack had shared. Somehow it felt to her like graduating on time, and well, would make him happy — proud of her. So that was what she did. She went back with everyone else after the holidays, managing to avoid the whispers and looks of pity from the other young students with no understanding of what she was going through.

  Her heart was still racing, hurting, as she walked onward. Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out, Althea recited to herself as she walked toward Griffen's office, until she finally pulled herself together.

  Before she knew it she was standing in front of a door designated as Professor Stevens' office. She breathed deeply and put on a smile before she knocked. When she opened the door Griffen turned and smiled at her, both dimples showing, and she forgot all about feeling melancholy.

  How did he always make her feel lighter? Instead of fixating on the turmoil of her final months at this place, all she could think of was how quickly she could peel the hot, nerdy tweed blazer right off his body.

  "Why, Professor Tate, hello."

  "Hello to you, Ms. Taylor. Made it for my office hours I see."

  "I think I definitely need some individual assistance, I've had this problem all day I just couldn't handle by myself."

  Griffen groaned and pulled her into his office. "You're going to get me in trouble Ms. Taylor."

  "Hmm, I've never gotten anyone in trouble before. You know, I really am such a good girl," she said emphasizing her big eyes and pouting her lips for full innocent appeal.

  "So you say. Well, your recent actions make me question how good your behavior really is."

  He pulled her in closely and kissed her until every last negative thought of the day was gone. They were breathing as one and he was sucking on her bottom lip so delightfully that she felt almost dizzy, until she couldn't help but grab his arms and pull away to catch her breath.

  She stroked his arms. "Mmm, it's so good to see you. Wait, oh God, are those patches on your elbows?"

  "You like them? I thought I'd go all out. You know, do the whole academic look," he said, dramatically stretching his arms and flexing his biceps to show off the jacket to its fullest.

  "I like it all very much. I, uh, think you're frying my brain."

  "That's the idea, gorgeous." He placed his hands on her hips, spreading his fingertips so they skimmed her ass. Then pulling her into him even more closely, parting her thighs just enough so that his erection rubbed deliciously against her core.

  "I have a confession to make," Althea whispered thickly.

  "What's that, gorgeous?"

  "I've always had a fantasy about, you know, having sex with one of my handsome professors in his office. What do you think that means?"

  "Um, well, I'm having a hard time analyzing anything right now after you said that, seeing as all the blood has left my brain." She giggled and loved that his eyes couldn't leave her mouth, until they moved down to stare at the rising and falling of her breasts. "Perhaps you have a thing about giving into authority."

  "Hmm, maybe."

  "I think it's very healthy to act on these kinds of urges, you know, for your personal growth."

  "I feel your personal growth right now. What does that mean?" she asked, rubbing herself teasingly against him.

  He smiled and shook his head, appearing to make a decision about something. Quickly, he schooled his face into a serious scowl. He stepped away from her and walked across the office to a small chalkboard, grabbing a long wooden pointer from the metal tray at the bottom.

  Flexing the wood slightly in his hands as he turned to look at her, Griffen said, "Ms. Taylor. I was extremely disappointed in your recent exam. It seems to me that you're not focused on applying all of your talents to me — or my class. I have no choice but to fail you."

  "Oh no Professor Tate! I can't fail your class. I'll lose my scholarship. I need that scholarship. I'll do anything to keep it." He turned to her as she placed a hand dramatically on her chest.

  "Well, I never offer extra credit, but..."

  "Oh please..."

  He slammed the desk with the pointer and she jumped. "Do not interrupt me Ms. Taylor. You're already treading on thin ice as it is."

  She looked down, to stay with the moment, but also to hide the delicious grin that was spreading across her face.

  "Of course. I'm so very sorry, Professor Tate."

  He approached her and looked down into her eyes, making the most of his impressive height.

  "What I was trying to say, before you so rudely interrupted me, Ms. Taylor, was that I never give extra credit, but I feel that I may be willing to make a special exception in your circumstance. Since you are so desperate and you do have so many skills you've not had a chance to bring to bear in my class." He placed a long finger into the V-neck of her shirt and pulled down ever so slightly until Althea's heart quickened. "It seems only fair that I give you the opportunity to show me what you can really do."

  "Oh yes, Professor Tate. Whatever you think is best."

  "Excellent. We'll begin the extra credit now."

  "Now? Here, Professor Tate?"

  "Oh yes, Ms. Taylor." He stepped back. "Lock my office door." She blinked at him deliberately. "Now, Ms. Taylor."

  She scurried over and locked the door, stepping back in front of him.

  "Good. Now turn and grab the edge of my desk." She swallowed and did as he said. "Well done. Now pull up your skirt for me," he commanded, running the pointer slowly up one leg and underneath her skirt, lifting it up, until she trembled in response.

  Althea was so turned on she started to yank her skirt up. "Eh, eh, slowly," he growled, correcting her with a light swat of the pointer against her clothed bottom sending tingling sensations throughout her body. She slowed her movements and wiggled her hips with each swipe of the fabric up her skin. "Much better. I'm glad that you can finally take some instruction, Ms. Taylor. Now lean forward. Deeper. Do as I say or I will force you to bend deeper myself. There you go, that's better. Perfect."

  Althea couldn't see him but she felt the pointer rubbing across one cheek, then the other, until it moved between her legs.

  "Spread your legs, Ms. Taylor. Excellent. Now, touch yourself where you want me to touch you." Althea's hands trembled. She'd never touched herself in front of someone else, not even Jack. The pointer slammed on the desk hard. "What did I tell you to do, Ms. Taylor? Answer me or this extra credit opportunity will stop right now."<
br />
  "Y-you told me to touch myself where I want you to touch me."

  "And why am I still waiting, Ms. Taylor?" he whispered in her ear hotly, his voice taut with tension and his whole body bent over her back from behind.

  Despite his complete control over her in this moment, she could feel his erection pressing into her and his breath quickening. It drove her even crazier to know that this most private fantasy of hers was turning him on, too.

  He stood and she immediately missed his masculine warmth as he stepped away from her. Terrified that he would stop this delicious torture, Althea became bold, bending over more fully so that her ass was completely in the air as she touched her warm center, making sure that he could see every desperate stroke.

  "Much better Ms. Taylor. I knew you could be a good student." Althea felt the cool tip of the pointer against her bottom again. "Spread your cheeks with your hands, so that I can see you better. Ah, perfect. Such a good girl. Now touch yourself faster. Are you wet for me, Ms. Taylor?"

  "Y-yes," she stammered out, feeling her clitoris hot and swollen beneath her rapidly moving fingers. She heard him grunt out a curse from behind her.

  "Very good. Are you going to come Ms. Taylor?" he rasped.

  "I'm close, so close," she whimpered.

  "Don't come yet. If you come there will be consequences," he warned as he rubbed the pointer up and down the side of her leg slowly.

  She was so wet and close to release that she had to breathe steadily until she could calm down and keep from coming as he'd instructed.

  "Better, Ms. Taylor, such a good student. I knew I was right to have faith in you." She started to turn to him to enjoy the praise until the pointer struck on the desk next to her again. "No, no, no. Just when you were doing so well. Look forward, Ms. Taylor. Now," he growled.

  She did as he said but found herself so desperate to see his face and to feel him touch her that it was almost unbearable. Before she could stop it, a soft whimper escaped her throat. Suddenly his body was close to hers again, draped across her from behind.