With a sigh, he headed back downtown and struggled through mid-day traffic and pedestrians who didn’t understand that jaywalking was actually a crime. Between the businessmen with too much self-importance, the college kids who forgot to look up from their phones to pay attention, and the random hipsters who didn’t care about crosswalks, Griffin was ready for a cup of coffee or something stronger by the time he pulled into the back parking lot for the employees of Montgomery Ink.
He was cranky, tired, and missed Autumn.
And that pissed him off.
He slammed the car door shut then made his way into Taboo for a cup of coffee first. Hailey stood behind the counter and raised her brow at him before sliding over his favorite hazelnut coffee with chocolate shavings on top.
“How the hell did you know I was coming in here?”
She smiled. “I saw you pull in, glower a bit, and figured you could use your favorite. Was I wrong?” She tilted her head, her expressive eyes seeing far too much.
“Thank you,” he said in lieu of answering. He leaned over the counter and kissed her cheek before leaving a twenty on the marble. “Keep it, Hailey. You need to pay your bills.”
She rolled her eyes then froze. Griffin frowned and turned to the door that connected Taboo to Montgomery Ink. Sloane stood in the doorway, his massive arms crossed over his chest. His jaw was so damn tight, Griffin was afraid the man might lose a filling.
“Sloane.” He tilted his head at the other man and did his best to convey that he wasn’t poaching on Sloane’s territory. Hard to do, when Hailey was right there, staring at the both of them and technically not with the other man. Plus, she was her own woman, and calling dibs on women tended to lead to black eyes for the dude involved.
“Montgomery,” the other man growled. Damn. Griffin wasn’t a small guy—none of the Montgomerys were—but Sloane was big.
Griffin didn’t look at Hailey again. He’d already said his thanks, and he honestly didn’t want to risk another broken bone. His hand ached like a bitch as it healed, and he figured Sloane could do more damage than a car.
Sloane studied him another moment then turned to the side, letting Griffin pass silently. Griffin let out a breath as he made his way into the tattoo shop and met Austin’s eyes. His big brother snorted and shook his head.
“You mess with Hailey again?” Austin asked.
He had one hand on his sketchbook, the other twirling his pencil. The shop wasn’t that busy, and Griffin figured it had to be the lull before the storm. The shop’s artists—Austin and Maya in particular—were booked for the next couple of years with big projects, and usually had people in and out for the little ones besides. Callie bounced from foot to foot as she worked at the computer, and Maya had her head down, her focus on her sketchbook, as well. Just because they weren’t laying ink, didn’t mean they weren’t working. A lot of prep went into a tattoo when it was larger than a postage stamp, and his siblings—as well as those they hired—were the fucking best at what they did. Hence why Griffin’s body had so many tattoos to begin with.
“I said thanks for the coffee.” He took a sip and moaned. “Dear God, she’s a goddess.”
Sloane pushed past him and almost knocked the cup from his hand.
Austin gave Griffin a look that said, “You’re a fucking dumbass,” but had the grace not to say it.
Sloane closed the office door and Austin snorted. “You’re a fucking dumbass, Griffin.”
So Austin didn’t have said grace. Whatever.
“You here for a reason, or are you hiding from Autumn?” Maya asked, her attention on her book rather than him.
“I don’t hide from anyone,” he said through clenched teeth.
“Sure, honey,” Maya said with a smile. “I’m working on a sketch for Autumn right now, actually. You want to see it? I’m sure you could imagine the exact place on her body we’re going to put it.”
He closed his eyes and refused to look at the drawing. His cock ached, and he knew he had a hard-on in the middle of a fucking tattoo shop because he couldn’t stop thinking about Autumn. His sister loved teasing him, but damn it, he didn’t want to deal with this.
Instead, he turned on his heel, headed back into Taboo with the laughter rolling behind him, set his cup on the counter, and left the building. He’d go home and write. Or maybe jerk off. He didn’t know.
But he couldn’t deal with whatever the fuck was going on with him right then. Not when he had no idea what it was, and his siblings were having way too much fun razzing him for being with Autumn. He may not have mentioned he was with her, might not have truly been with her in public other than holding each other at his parents’ home after his father had given them all the good news, but everyone knew there was something going on between them.
Griffin didn’t know what that was, however.
And he was going to have to do his damndest to keep that something casual.
No strings, she’d said.
He could do no strings.
Even if it killed him.
Chapter Thirteen
Autumn adjusted her non-prescription glasses with the clear lenses on the bridge of her nose and held back a grin. Griffin had been in a mood all day, and she was tired of it. She’d shown up that morning and had gotten right to work. He’d spoken of car chases and explosions, all the while staying true to the characters and the emotions deep within. He would lie on his thinking chair or pace around the room, trying to voice the thoughts in his head, and she would type them as fast as he spoke. They’d gotten their word count in, and now she was going to have a bit of fun. He needed fun. Even if he hadn’t been writing as much as he should have been before she’d shown up, it hadn’t been fun for him. She could see the strain in his eyes when he looked at the date, but knew there was hope mixing in, as well. They were getting closer and closer to the end, and she couldn’t wait to see what happened next.
She paused.
The end of the book.
Not the end of it all.
The end of them…whatever they were.
Of course, that was true wasn’t it?
She pushed those thoughts from her brain and adjusted her glasses one more time. It could be a tremendous mistake to do what she was about to do, but she wanted to try it.
Wanted to try a lot of things with him. She quickly ran her hands down her very tight pencil skirt with the slit in the back. Without that slit, it would be hard to pull the garment over her hips later.
Yes, she’d thought about positions where she’d be on top of him or bent over in front of him while picking out the skirt to pack for that afternoon. Priorities and all.
Her shirt was buttoned up to the neck and covered her all the way to her wrists. She’d have fun slowly undoing the buttons when the time came. Or maybe he’d undo the buttons for her. Her heels weren’t the prettiest, but they were tall, black, and screamed Fuck Me. Not that bad of an outfit when she didn’t own much to begin with.
She twisted her hair up into a bun of sorts and stuck two pens inside, praying her hair would let her have this moment. A few tendrils curled down the back of her neck, and a strand or four fell to the sides of her face. It worked with the look she wanted, so she didn’t try to put them back in the bun. If she did, her hair would probably fall down and laugh at her.
Griffin was in his office, waiting for her to come back so they could work some more. Oh, they’d work a bit longer, then hopefully they’d have some fun. Because no matter how much work Griffin had left to do, he needed fun, as well.
And damn it, so did she.
If recreating some truly horrible porn with some very hot sex made them have fun, then so be it, she’d bend over and take what he gave her.
She held back a snort. Okay, so maybe she shouldn’t have watched so much terrible porn to make sure she had the outfit and lines down. It sadly hadn’t made her hot until she thought of her and Griffin in those positions. And, well…let’s just say she’d had to get herself off in the shower the night befor
e.
Again.
It was going to hurt once she left.
Damn it. Not now.
She raised her chin and strutted back into the office. In her heels, she could only strut.
“Good. You’re back.” Griffin had his attention on his notes, his uninjured hand in his hair as he tugged on it. He looked so damn sexy with that longer on top, short on the sides look. She couldn’t wait to have her hands in his hair.
She stood in front of the desk and bent over a bit, playing with a pen. “I’m here,” she said, her voice purposely breathy.
Autumn could tell the moment he looked up. His breath caught in his throat and he did that little growl thing, that, when done between her legs, made her come practically on command. As it was, she had to press her thighs together. The excitement of being the one to seduce, to call the shots was thrilling.
“Um…you changed.”
She tilted her head. “I thought I’d get into something a little more…comfortable.”
His gaze traveled down her curves, over her legs, to her heels, and back up again. “I like the outfit.” He grinned at her, and she relaxed some. He wasn’t going to call her crazy and kick her out of his office. This was good. He smiled and even laughed a bit. That was so much better than the bear of a mood he’d been in earlier.
“Thank you,” she said primly. She ran her hands down her sides as she stood straighter. “I’m ready for dick-tation, sir.”
He smiled full out and tapped his pen on his notepad. “Dick-tation? Is that right?”
She nodded quickly. “Oh, yes, sir. My fingers are ready to type.” She giggled, and he laughed. “Well, you know, my fingers are ready for all sorts of things.”
“What the hell kind of porn did you watch before you came in here, Fall?”
She scowled and picked up the ruler she’d placed on his desk that morning. She wacked it against her palm a couple of times. “You know, you have to play along. I was going for sexy secretary and dirty boss, but we can do school teacher and bad adult student.”
His eyes grew dark and he licked his lips. He ran a hand over his denim-clad cock and tilted his head. “Why don’t you sit down and start typing. I want you to get what I’m saying word for word. You think you can do that, miss?”
She grinned then, thankful he was playing along. She needed him to smile, to laugh. She didn’t want to think about why that was so important to her so she pushed it away, focusing on sitting down primly on the edge of the seat instead. She adjusted her breasts so they plumped up nicely between her arms as she typed, and Griffin snorted. She might be going for sexy, but the farce was a little much. Again, she’d take the laughter…and whatever else he gave her once her skirt was above her hips.
“Once, there was a very, very bad secretary…” Griffin started.
“Is this a new book, sir?” she asked, typing away on a blank page.
“Did I tell you to interrupt me?”
She bit her lip and glanced at him, a laugh threatening to break free. “No, sir.”
“You did a very bad thing, miss. I think you’re going to have to be punished.”
She widened her eyes and put her hand in front of her mouth. “Oh, sir, not a punishment.”
Griffin stood up and prowled toward her. There wasn’t another word for it, not the way he moved, all grace and strength and power. She licked her lips, and he took her chin in his grip, forcing her gaze to his.
“You’ve been a bad girl, Fall. Stand up.”
She swallowed hard and stood. Her ankles went wobbly in her heels, and Griffin gripped her hip with his casted hand.
“You okay, honey?” he whispered, not in the game.
“Just fine,” she whispered back, a smile on her face.
“Good.” He narrowed his eyes then stood back. “Bend over the chair, Fall, and pull up your skirt. I think you need to show me how bad you are.”
She moved past him, slowly sliding her body against his as she did. She went to the side of the chair and bent over, wiggling her hips as she slid her skirt over her waist.
“Holy fuck,” he whispered. “Did you forget panties this morning?” He came to her then and ran his large hand over her backside. “Actually, if I remember right, you had panties on this sweet ass of yours when you were in your yoga pants. That means you took them off for me.” His fingers dipped inside her heat and she moaned. “You’re wet, Fall. Is that for me?”
She looked over her shoulder as he licked his fingers and she groaned. “Jesus, Griffin. You are so sexy sometimes.”
He smiled. “Only sometimes?”
“Well, sometimes you’re an asshole, but I like you anyway.”
He slid his hand over her ass again, squeezed. “I like you, too.”
So serious.
Too serious.
Then he knelt behind her and licked her. She gripped the edges of the chair, burying her face against the leather as he buried his face in her. He licked and sucked, his lips doing amazing things to her clit. She pressed her hips back, riding his face as he ate her out. Soon she was coming, calling out his name as her knees went weak. Griffin was there though, holding her up and keeping her close as she came down from her high.
She hadn’t planned to come by his mouth right off the bat. First, she wanted to do something for him. As soon as her mind cleared, she tried to get back to her plan.
“Don’t fuck me,” she panted, and Griffin froze.
“What’s wrong? Did I hurt you? Is it your heels?” He quickly sat on the chair and pulled her onto his lap. His cock pressed against her bare ass, and he ran his hands over her body.
Hell. She could fall in love with this man. Fall in love with the way he called her Fall, the way he cared for her when he didn’t realize he was doing it. She could fall easily. And she had to pull back before she broke under that feeling.
“I’m okay, Griffin.” She paused. “Better than okay. But I wanted to do something before you fucked me hard and I forgot my plan.”
His shoulders relaxed and he let out a breath. “Fuck. You scared me.”
She cupped his face and kissed him softly, loving the taste of herself on his lips. “I’m sorry.”
He pulled back, just a little to know that he was trying to close off feelings, as well. Good. She wasn’t sure what she would do if they both had to deal with those issues. Better to get back to the hot sex that meant friendship and nothing else.
“I want to have you in my mouth,” she said into the silence. “Can I?”
He laughed then, a full-bodied laugh that went straight to her heart. “You want to give me a blowjob? Hell, yeah, you can suck my cock. You want me to sit here and keep my hands off you while you do it? Or will you take off that shirt of yours, keeping the skirt and heels on, of course? That way I can play with your tits as you suck me off.”
She rolled her eyes and hopped off his lap. Well, hopped in the sense she wiggled off while he kept his hands on her hips so she didn’t fall in her heels. He squeezed her hand before helping her to her knees, and she had to swallow hard. She wasn’t supposed to be feeling anything but lust when it came to Griffin Montgomery.
She quickly took off her top, forgetting she’d planned to be slow and sexy with the buttons, and threw her bra to the floor, as well. She wanted him in her mouth, and frankly, wanted to forget anything that didn’t have to do with sex. Feelings couldn’t matter. He helped her undo his pants and held the base of his cock as she looked up at him through her glasses.
He reached out with his casted hand and played with the edges of her hair with his fingertips. “I didn’t know I had a thing for a girl in glasses as she gave me a blowjob. Good to know.”
She rolled her eyes and put her hand over his, squeezing his cock. He let out an oof and she lifted up slightly to lick the slit at the head of his dick. He moved his hands from beneath hers and went to her breasts, cupping them and playing with her nipples. She hummed as she swallowed the head of his cock before pulling back and l
icking up and down the shaft. She liked giving blowjobs. Liked the feeling of being in control. And she would be the one in control. At least until he tangled his hand in her hair and kept her still while he fucked her mouth. But even then, she would be the one giving him pleasure even as he took it. It was a heady and sensual power, and she wouldn’t take it for granted.
When she swallowed him whole, he shuddered and did indeed slide his fingers into her hair. She kept up a steady rhythm, loving the way he groaned and called her name. She rolled his balls in her palm before sucking on each, letting them go with a popping sound. When he stiffened and groaned again, she kept him in her mouth even when he would have pulled away. The first spurt hit the back of her throat, and the rest filled her up. She swallowed each drop, her gaze on his as he came.
When he pulled away and reached for her, she leaned back, needing to catch her breath. She’d seen something in his eyes that scared her. Something that was far too close to non-just-sex. She couldn’t afford to let him get closer, couldn’t afford to do more than they’d already done. Perhaps she couldn’t even afford that.
“Come with me to the bedroom,” he whispered. “Stay the night.”
She hadn’t stayed over since that first night, and she wouldn’t be doing it again. She couldn’t.
“I have to go,” she said, her voice oddly hollow. “Thank you.”
She didn’t know what she was thanking him for, but she stood up and grabbed her clothes, putting them on as she made her way into the living room.
“Autumn!”
“Bye!”
She left with her shoes in her hand and her bag on her shoulders. She was out of the house and in her car by the time he made it to the front door, but she didn’t listen to him as he called her name. Things were getting too close, too dangerous.
And when danger came, she did what she did best.
She ran.
****
Griffin stared at the TV but wasn’t really seeing what Jake and Decker were doing with their video game. His turn would come next, but first, he had to figure out his brain. Or at least try to. His mind was on Autumn and the fact that she kept running. She’d surprised him with that outfit and role-play. He’d had fun, and had enjoyed licking her until she came. And the blowjob? Fuck. That had been the best blowjob of his life, and had popped his top faster than ever before. Maybe not since he’d been a teen.
Written in Ink (Montgomery Ink #4) Page 14
