Welcoming the Bad Boy: A Hero's Welcome Novel

by Annie Rains

  “Take me inside,” she said, going up on her toes and kissing him again, wrapping her hands around the back of his head, pressing her body tighter against him. “We’re getting wet out here.”

  The rain. She was talking about the rain. A nice guy would escort her inside and help her get dried off. Which was exactly what he intended to do. But he didn’t plan on stopping there.

  Chapter 12

  Val had never felt sexier in drenched clothing and with her hair in wet chunks. In fact, this wouldn’t be sexy at all if not for the man pressing her against his living room wall, running his hands up and down her waist and kissing her.

  Trooper barked behind them and Griffin pulled back with a groan. He didn’t take his eyes off her, though. “I need to take Trooper out before the storm gets worse and he gets too nervous. Wait for me?”

  She nodded, even though she wasn’t sure what she was waiting for. He reached for a towel in a pile of folded laundry in the middle of the living room and tossed it to her. She caught it, watching him go.

  She looked at the towel and then her drenched clothing, and headed down the hall to look for a bathroom. Finding one, she slipped inside and started peeling off her wet shirt and jeans. She wrapped the dry towel around her body and collected her clothes to go seek out Griffin’s dryer. When she opened the bathroom door, he was standing in front of her. His eyes traveled south. Really, a towel covered as much as any of her strapless dresses. Strapless dresses involved hooks and zippers, though. All Griffin had to do if he wanted to see her naked was pull the end of the towel tucked beneath her arm.

  She took a breath, really wanting him to pull. What was the point of a summer fling if she couldn’t live out her wildest fantasies? In fact, if she were writing one of her books right now, her heroine would probably tire of waiting to see what the gorgeous bad boy was going to do and drop the towel herself.

  Val slowly lifted her arm and dropped the towel to her feet. No going back now, which was completely fine with her.

  “What are you doing?” Griffin asked. There was a deep edge to his voice.

  “Drying off.” Her heart thudded inside her chest. Her hands were shaking. This wasn’t like her. She didn’t seduce men. She should pick her towel up off the floor right now and pretend like that was an accident.

  Instead, she stood frozen.

  Griffin reached for her in the dark hallway, tracing a finger from her neck down to her breast. Then he anchored a hand on her waist and pulled her toward him, kissing her again, harder this time. Deeper. A little gasp caught in her throat as his other hand reached between her legs and started to caress her, finding a rhythm that had her clutching his still wet body to keep from falling on the ground.

  She reached for the hem of his shirt and started to lift his wet clothes off him. Unbuttoning his jeans, she pressed them down, working until he was as naked as she was.

  “Are you sure this is what you want? We’re breaking all the rules in those romance novels you like to read,” he said, his voice gravelly.

  She swallowed, burning for him. Needing to feel his hands on her. His mouth. His tongue. “I want this. I want you.”

  A small smile lifted his mouth. He took her hand and started leading her down the hallway, passing Trooper as they went.

  “Sorry, buddy. You have to stay behind,” Griffin called, pulling her into his bedroom and shutting the door. “If it starts to thunder we’ll have to stop,” he said between kisses.

  “A woman should never come between a man and his dog,” Val agreed.

  “You know me so well.” He kissed her again and then he pulled her toward his bed, turning and guiding her to lie down beneath him.

  It was decided. They were going to have sex. Tonight was going to be the night that all of the sex scenes in her future books would be based on. This was research, she told herself, ignoring the niggling feeling that that wasn’t all that was happening here. That there was more at play. Feelings. She didn’t want to think about that right now, though. Didn’t want to think at all. She just wanted to feel Griffin inside her.

  —

  This was the first time Griffin had been with a woman since his mother had come to live in Seaside. He’d given up dating and the casual hookup. Hookups were rarely ever casual, anyway. Usually the woman wanted more from him than he had to offer. This was different, though. This time Val didn’t seem to want anything more from him, and yet he kept giving her more. He’d already told her more about himself than he had most women. She’d learned some of the most private, well-protected details of his life in a matter of weeks. How had she done that?

  He opened his eyes to find Val watching him. Holding her gaze, he lowered himself and kissed her mouth, slow and gentle. How could anyone taste her and not want more? She was so much more than the casual hookup that he wanted her to be.

  He continued to move down her body until his face was between her quivering thighs. He wanted to go slow with her, build both of their anticipation. His anticipation for her had been building all damn summer. He wanted to savor this moment, enjoy it.

  He scraped an unshaved cheek against her thigh, making her moan and arch. Then he ran the tip of his tongue up toward the apex of her legs, slowly slipping it inside her, where he longed to be. She arched harder as he found his rhythm, bringing her to the edge so easily. Everything was so easy with her.

  Crying out, she called his name, again and again. It was nearly enough to make him come before he’d had her. Griffin took a moment to slip a condom on. Then he climbed back up her body and thrust himself inside her, again and again until she clutched his back, closing her eyes and quaking in his hold a second time. The second time, he couldn’t hold back, he shook and rode his own wave of pleasure, finding it even better than he’d fantasized when he’d thought about having sex with Val.

  Releasing her, he sprinkled kisses from her temple down to her cheek, following the fine curve of her jaw and neck.

  “I’m sorry,” he finally said, rolling off her and onto his back.

  She rolled onto one elbow, her face contorting into a frown. “Sorry?”

  “You deserve flowers and candy.” Shit, he’d never brought a woman flowers before in his life. He’d never even wanted to. But he wanted to with Val.

  “Candy?” Val’s eyes lit up, teasing him. “Well, I do like chocolate.”

  He reached up and swiped her hair out of her face. “You deserve that ferry ride and picnic we talked about.”

  “But you said it was too late.”

  “For tonight. I just want you to know, I should’ve done things differently with you.” That was always his story: he should’ve done things differently.

  She grinned at him, which wasn’t at all the response he’d expected.

  “What?” He grinned back.

  “Here you are, ruining your reputation with me.”

  “Am I?”

  She nodded. “You’re really a good guy in disguise. Which is too bad.” She poked her lower lip out teasingly. He wanted to snatch it between his teeth and turn her on all over again. “I’m taking a break from good guys.”

  His hand followed the curve of her waist, resting it on her backside. “I’m not that good. Trust me.” His gaze lowered. “My thoughts right now definitely aren’t innocent.”

  She arched toward him, pressing her body to his in all the right places. “No?”

  He shook his head, then pulled her toward him, wanting her again. She took away the defeating weight of how he’d broken his mother’s heart, at least for a moment, which was as much relief as he’d gotten over the last year.

  “I’ll be good tomorrow,” he said into her neck. Because right now, he hadn’t had his fill of her yet.

  “I told you, I’m taking a break from good guys,” she whispered as her breaths grew shallow against his skin. “Bad is exactly what I need this summer. The badder, the better.”

  —

  Val closed her eyes, losing herself in the man lying next to her.<
br />
  And after this summer, she thought, she’d let Griffin go. Her father already considered her a disgrace. Dating a guy who walked and talked like sex on a stick would give him a heart attack. And even Kat and Julie had agreed that a relationship with Griffin wasn’t practical. It wouldn’t lead to marriage and children, the natural order of things. Things she’d found herself wanting lately.

  What this relationship would lead to, however, was heart-stopping looks and tingles that made it hard for her to breathe. It’d been a long time since someone else had made her feel so alive, so needy for someone else’s touch. She pulled back, waiting for him to enter her again.

  “Go out with me again tomorrow?” he asked, hovering over her now.

  She stopped writhing and looked at him. “Maybe. Depends on how well you deliver tonight on whether or not I come back for more.”

  “Damn.” He tipped her chin up with his index finger, looking at her with his dark molasses eyes. “I’m serious. I want to go out on a date tomorrow. A real first date. No sex.”

  “No sex?” she asked, still breathless from the workout he’d just given her.

  “Just flowers and chocolates. And lots of kissing. Say yes to me,” he said, kissing her mouth again, making it impossible for her to tell him no.

  “But there is more sex tonight, right?” she asked, moaning as he lowered his mouth to cover one breast.

  “Say yes, Val,” he said, as the rough, unshaven edge of his jaw scraped against her sensitive skin, feeding her arousal.

  “Yes,” she said through shortened breaths. “I say yes.” She’d agree to pretty much anything he asked right about now, with his tongue flicking her nipple and one of his hands cupping her bottom.

  He emitted a low laugh that tickled against her. Then he moved back up her body and thrust himself inside her again, making up for the arrangement they’d just made for tomorrow. Making up for all the lonely nights she’d had until this one. And all the lonely nights she’d have after he was gone.

  —

  At some point in the night, Val fell asleep with her cheek resting against Griffin’s chest. The soft patter of rain, along with the exhaustion of sex upon sex, had tired them both into slumber. Now she lifted her head and blinked through the darkness to see Griffin staring up at the ceiling. Not asleep. She glanced at the digital clock on his nightstand. It was after midnight.

  “Hey,” she whispered. Even though there was no one else in the house to disturb, using a regular tone of voice would feel too obtrusive.

  He turned to look at her. “Hey, yourself.”

  A sleepy grin stamped her face, and she kissed his chest. “I guess I dozed off.”

  He rubbed his hand along her back. “It’s okay. Want me to take you home?”

  “I better.” Her brow furrowed. “But I don’t have any clothes. They’re all wet.”

  “You can wear something of mine.”

  She frowned. “If I fit into your clothes, I will throw myself off the Seaside pier.”

  He laughed. “That won’t kill you,” he offered.

  “No. But it will punish me enough to cut back on my chocolate addiction from now on.”

  Kissing her cheek, he shook his head. “You can wear one of my T-shirts home. I’ll drive you in the Explorer.”

  “Oh.” She’d kind of liked riding behind him on the back of his motorcycle earlier, but the Explorer was more practical when she was half naked in the middle of the night. “Okay.” She sat up, fully naked and at his mercy until he got her a T-shirt. He took his time retrieving it, making no effort to hide how his gaze washed over her.

  “You’re gorgeous, you know that?”

  She hugged her arms around her body, not really feeling self-conscious. Being with Griffin made her feel beautiful. Even so, she wasn’t ready for him to see all of her just yet. Not physically, but as a whole. “Thank you.”

  He grabbed a shirt from his chest of drawers and walked toward her. “Lift up your arms,” he said. “I’ll put it on you.”

  Doing as he asked, she lifted her arms and waited for him to pull his shirt over her head. He took his time with that, too, stroking along her sides as he carried it down. Then he kissed her mouth.

  “I’ll take you home before we get distracted and end up in my bed all night.” He reached for her hand and pulled her to stand. Collecting her things, she followed him to his SUV.

  “Thank you for tonight,” he said.

  “You don’t have to thank me for, um…” She cleared her throat and smiled.

  “Not that. Although I’m thankful for that, too.” The corner of his mouth turned up. “You were there for my mother.”

  And if he wasn’t such a good guy, he might be blaming her for his mother’s fall.

  Reading her mind, he shook his head. “It wasn’t your fault. It was mine. She got upset because she saw a picture of me.”

  Val hadn’t told him that. There was no way that he could’ve known. No one knew.

  “I’m right,” he said, running a hand over the top of his hair. “She can’t even remember why she hates me so much, and she’ll never forgive me. She’s incapable. I’ve lost her.”

  Val reached out to touch him as they stood beside his Explorer. “Don’t give up on her. She needs you, and she loves you. I don’t believe love is ever forgotten. It’s still there, I know it is.”

  “Are you always this optimistic?”

  Laughing, Val shook her head. “No. That’s usually Kat’s area. Maybe she’s rubbing off on me.”

  “Yeah, well, you’re rubbing off on me.” He pressed her against the passenger side of his SUV and kissed her until her head was spinning. Then he opened the door for her and watched her get inside.

  “So sweet. And sinful at the same time,” he said, shaking his head, then closing her door and walking around the vehicle.

  Sweet and sinful. That was her problem. There was no residing between the two. She’d always been torn, never been able to choose which side of her should win out. The sweet side or the sinful one? But somehow Griffin seemed to see both sides of her, and he seemed to like both equally, which made him different from anyone else in her life.

  Chapter 13

  Griffin stirred in bed, only semiconscious, but very aware of the hard bulge in his boxers. He was on the edge of a dream about Val and all the things they’d done last night. He sighed and cracked one eye, groaning at the slant of light streaming through his window. It was Saturday morning. He didn’t have to work today, which was one motivating factor toward getting him to sit up. Another factor was that the day would end with seeing Val.

  What was wrong with him? A chick hadn’t gotten to him this way since…well, ever.

  Griffin shifted uncomfortably, maneuvering himself around the bulge. Val was haunting him even in his dreams. Trooper barked beside him—motivating factor number three.

  “Just a minute, Trooper. I’m dealing with an issue here.” He visualized himself naked, in Alaska, cold as fuck, and on display for a group of senior citizen tourists. It was something he’d been doing since high school, when he’d rather have died than leave his room with a boner for his mom to notice. It always worked. One hundred percent of the time. Except this morning, Val kept creeping back into his brain. Her mouth. Her tongue. Her hands running all over his body.

  Naked. Alaska. Senior citizens.

  Trooper barked again, a little more urgently this time.

  “Fine.” He opened his eyes and sat up. Then he rolled his neck and looked over at his furry friend. “If I didn’t love you so much…” he said, pointing a finger. Trooper wagged his tail, then his gaze moved down to the tent between Griffin’s legs. “Quiet, dog. It’s Val’s fault.”

  He opened the back door and let Trooper run along the fence while he headed into the kitchen to start the coffee brewing. He had a full day ahead of him. First up was checking on the other woman in his life. His mother was being released from the hospital today and he had offered to drive her back to the nu
rsing home. She was probably better off going with a complete stranger. She seemed to prefer anyone over him these days, and he couldn’t blame her.

  After two cups of black coffee, he grabbed his phone and, unable to help himself, texted Val.

  Still on for tonight?

  Within a minute, she responded. Looking forward to it. I’m hoping you changed your mind about your rule, though.

  Yeah, what had he been thinking telling her they weren’t having sex tonight? He must be crazy for this girl. He leaned against his kitchen counter and rubbed his forehead. Yeah, he was.

  No sex. Just me and you on a real date.

  Better bring me those chocolates then, she texted back, which made him laugh. And laughing was good because he wasn’t looking forward to heading over to the hospital to see his mother right now. Or the encounter he’d probably have with her.

  His phone beeped again. Glancing at it, he shook his head.

  And Sweet Cheeks wants more of those yummy dog treats, Val texted him.

  I’ll see what I can do. Later, he answered back and headed to the shower to try his luck at visualizing naked, Alaska, senior citizens. Something had to work for his growing problem.

  —

  Griffin had never been a fan of hospitals. He was born an adrenaline junkie, which meant he’d often visited the local emergency room for stitches and casts, but he’d never had a bad experience in one per se. They just weren’t his favorite place, with the sterile smells and mind-numbing beeps from every room. He took the elevator and headed to the third floor, where his mother was resting. The plan was to sign the discharge papers and take her home, if you could call Seaside Harbor home. Home was the place where she’d raised him in California, making every holiday like one out of a Hallmark movie. Home was where she’d taught him to read, cook, and bat a ball.

  And to forgive.

  He remembered being a sullen adolescent after his father had left. He’d been angry at the world and had gotten in a couple of scuffles at school. The principal called his mother half a dozen times that year. The principal could never say anything to make sense of things for Griffin, though. Then his mother had come and gotten him from school one day and she’d made sense. She’d driven away from the school in complete silence. In fact, Griffin was actually scared about what she was going to do. It wasn’t like his mother to be so quiet. She usually yelled. He preferred yelling to the void expression on her face that afternoon. Then she pulled over at a park and got out, walking around to the front of the car and waiting for him to get out and stand beside her.