Almost Married

by Kylie Gilmore

  “I asked Chief O'Hare not to release you until I could talk to you,” Steph said.

  Matt stepped back, giving them some space.

  “Steph.” Dave leapt to his feet, then winced and held his head.

  “Hey, babe,” Griff said, sitting up and taking his time getting over to her. Omigod. His nose was swollen, and he had a black eye. Dave really did kick his ass. Her gaze trailed back to Dave, who slowly made his way over. Look at that badass. She licked her lips as she took in Dave’s rumpled hair, his stubble, his broad shoulders, the trim physique that was full of power. A thrill ran through her. Cool it. This is wrong. What Griff and Dave did was wrong. So why was she so turned on?

  Steph gave them each a hard look. “The entire town is talking about your barroom brawl. It's completely embarrassing. I teach their children! No more fighting. You’re two grown men in your thirties, who are way too old to be getting drunk and taking shots at each other. You especially, Griff. This is all over the Internet.”

  Griff rubbed his stubbled jaw. “What are they saying?”

  “They’re saying you got your ass kicked by a middle school math teacher.”

  Dave’s chest puffed out.

  “It was a lucky shot,” Griff said. “Let me out of here, Steph. I’ve got some serious damage control to do with my people.”

  “Not until you promise me”—she pointed her finger at both of them—“no more fighting.”

  Dave held up a hand. “I swear. No more fighting. I don't know what came over me.”

  “Thank you,” Steph said. She turned to Griff.

  “Whatever,” Griff grumbled.

  “No, not 'whatever,'” Steph said, completely out of patience. “Promise! And promise you’ll sign those divorce papers too!”

  Griff scowled.

  “I swear I’ll leave you in here to rot!” Steph hollered. “I want your word, Griffin Huntley!”

  Griff cringed over her yelling. “All right, all right, I promise.”

  “To both things,” she clarified. “No fighting and sign the papers.”

  “Yeah, yeah,” Griff muttered.

  “Good.” She turned and called to the deputy, “Matt, you can let them out now.”

  “Got it.” Matt, seemingly used to holding drunks from Garner's for the night, casually walked over and unlocked the cell. “Don't let me see your faces in here again.”

  “No, sir,” Dave said.

  Griff gave a mock salute and sauntered out. Once they'd gotten their possessions back, Griff stayed behind to call his driver, and probably his manager, lawyer, and publicist too. She figured he wouldn’t face the reporters waiting outside without a game plan.

  Dave held Steph's hand. His larger hand enveloped hers in warmth. “Sorry.”

  She shook her head. “Things like this always seem to happen when Griff’s around.”

  “You'll never have to bail me out of jail again. Promise.”

  “I know.”

  They walked outside into a crisp October day.

  Dave squinted at the morning light. “I never should’ve done shots.”

  She ran her hand up and down his arm. “You think you’ll be up to getting together later?”

  He swallowed. “Uh, yeah. Tonight?”

  “Maybe sooner. Afternoon?” She ran her fingers through his hair.

  He gazed down at her. “Sooner’s good.”

  “My place. I’ll be waiting for you…naked.”

  “I’ll be there,” he said in a strained voice.

  “Good,” she purred.

  ~ ~ ~

  “Now that’s what I’m talking about,” Griff said when Steph answered the door naked later that day.

  She gawked. Griff had cut his long hair in a short, close-cropped style, and he was clean-shaven. She’d never seen him like that. He looked younger, sweeter. Except for the black eye.

  “I feel overdressed,” he said with a grin.

  She slammed the door, face flaming. She grabbed the blanket from the sofa and wrapped it around her. Someone must've let him up because the buzzer hadn't rung. She should tell her neighbors only to let Dave up, but everyone in town was fascinated with Griff. Her neighbors kept asking about him, her coworkers, even the principal. Jaz told her people at Garner's were betting—Team Dave vs. Team Griffin. She was mortified by all the talk. She'd moved here to get away from all that. Anyway, she was one hundred percent Team Dave.

  And what were the odds of Griff showing up at her apartment on a Saturday afternoon? She’d thought he’d be gone by now. And why had he suddenly shed his famous locks? All that hair. That beautiful hair.

  “Babe,” he called through the door. “Don’t be shy. You’re looking good. Just like I remember.”

  He was being kind. Her body wasn’t what it was five years ago, but she smiled a little, appreciating the sentiment. She really had to get him out of here before Dave arrived.

  She opened the door again. “You look so different. Why the change?”

  “Can I come in?” he asked. “Seems like you were hoping I’d show up.”

  She let out a breath of exasperation and let him in. “Obviously I wasn’t expecting you.”

  He gave her a quick up and down, lingering on her cleavage. She wrapped the blanket a little higher around her.

  She met his eyes, and he gave her a slow, sexy smile. She still couldn’t get over this new look. He looked like a clean-cut guy, not the badass rocker she knew him to be. She’d be lying if she said his new look was unappealing. The swelling on his nose had gone down too.

  He ran his fingers through his short hair. “I feel like I shed twenty pounds.” He laughed.

  She stared.

  He crossed to her, stepping into her personal space. “I wanted to show you I can change.”

  She swallowed hard. She didn’t know what to say. A haircut didn’t mean he was a different person. But he just looked so different. He looked like the sweet boy she’d seen in some of his mother’s photo albums. Little Griffin smiling at the keyboard.

  He pushed a lock of her hair back and it brushed over her bare shoulder, reminding her she was nearly naked with the wrong man.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked. “I thought you were flying back this afternoon.”

  “The gig fell through,” he said. “I’ve got another week. I want to spend some time with you. Just the two of us.”

  “No.”

  “Steph,” he said softly. “Come on.” She was overwhelmed with his scent of leather and freshly showered male. “What are you afraid will happen if you’re alone with me?”

  She said nothing.

  “What do you hope will happen?” he asked in a sultry voice.

  She met his eyes and said in a cool voice, “I’m over you, Griff. Nothing will happen.”

  He gave her a pleading expression, looked deep into her eyes, and said the one word she never, ever heard from him, “Please.”

  Still, she needed to move on, not get tangled up with him further.

  She shook her head. “I’m done. It took me a long time to get over you.” She gave him a hard look. “A long, painful time. But I did. And I’m not going back. I’m with Dave now. Nothing you say or do will change that. Please let me move on with my life.”

  He cradled her cheek with one hand. At his touch, she remembered vividly his gentle, sweet side. The many times he’d cradled her cheek, always before—

  “I still love you,” he said, gazing into her eyes.

  Before he said something from the heart.

  She backed away, tripping on the area rug, and would’ve toppled over, but he reached out and righted her. She straightened the blanket and stood stiffly. “It’s too late for that.” She took another step back, because memories of a long ago time didn’t make up for the years between. “I love Dave.”

  A flash of hurt crossed his face before he dropped his gaze, staring at the floor. He heaved a sigh and rubbed the back of his neck. He looked at her. She looked steadily back.<
br />
  “We’re going to visit your brother tomorrow,” he said. “You and me. His family.”

  Her stomach twisted. “Joey’s not your family. Not anymore.”

  “Last time I visited, he told everyone I was his big brother.”

  Her jaw dropped. “You visited him? When?”

  “Last year when I was on the East Coast.”

  Griff was an only child. It must have meant a lot to him to have a little brother, even if it was only by marriage. She suddenly found herself choked up.

  “I didn’t know you visited,” she said over the lump in her throat. “How long have you been doing that?”

  “I never stopped.”

  Steph blinked, suddenly hurt. Griff had visited her brother for years, and not her? Joey only lived two hours away from her.

  “If I’d known, I would’ve met up with you guys,” she said softly.

  Griff shoved his hands in his pockets. “I knew I didn’t deserve you. I’m sorry, Steph. For everything.”

  She studied him for a moment. “Okay.”

  He met her eyes with a pained expression. “I never really gave our marriage a chance. I regret that. Very much. It was all my fault.”

  She softened at his words. “It was all your fault.”

  “So will you come with me tomorrow? Joey always asks about you when I visit. What does he know about how complicated relationships are? As far as he knows, we’re married, so that makes us all family.”

  She nodded. “Yeah, I’ll go.”

  “Go where?” a voice asked from behind Griff.

  “Dave!” Steph exclaimed. “I didn’t hear the buzzer.” One of her neighbors must've been Team Dave and let him up.

  Dave took in her blanket, still showing lots of leg because she had to cover her cleavage and the blanket only stretched so far, took in Griff, and narrowed his eyes. “Your neighbor let me in. What’s going on here?”

  “Griff was just leaving,” she said.

  Griff inclined his head. “See you tomorrow, sweetheart.” He smiled smugly at Dave, who scowled back.

  Steph followed Griff to the door, locked it behind him, and turned to face Dave. His jaw was clenched tight as he took in her nearly naked state. She wasn’t sure if he was going to yell at her or tear the blanket off and have his way with her. She knew which one she wanted.

  She dropped the blanket.

  ~ ~ ~

  Dave closed his eyes, torn between his baser urges and the need to find out what the hell Steph was doing with Griff just now and what she was planning to do with Griff tomorrow. He rubbed his temples hard. Think. All the blood had drained from his brain. But he was still seeing red. Their first time shouldn’t be angry sex. Right?

  Her arms wrapped around his waist as she pressed herself against him. Instinct took over. He grabbed the back of her head and kissed her hard, forcing her mouth open to his invasion. He kissed her long and deep, nearly out of his mind to have her. To claim her. He shoved the coffee table out of the way. Within seconds, he had her on the floor, his pants halfway down. He felt like an animal, but he couldn’t stop, and he couldn’t slow down. He thrust his hand between her legs, felt the wetness there, heard her moan dimly in the roar of blood rushing in his ears just before he settled between her thighs and drove deep.

  The feel of her so hot, so tight around him broke the last of his control. He slammed into her, taking what was his, vaguely aware of her legs wrapping around him, her nails digging into his shoulders. Their bodies, slick with sweat, slammed together again and again, until he thrust deep one final time as he exploded inside her with a roar. He collapsed on top of her, spent.

  She was pushing at his shoulders, and he belatedly realized he was crushing her. He propped his weight up on his elbows and looked down at her. Her lips were rosy, swollen from his kisses. He wanted to apologize for the way he took her, so fast, too rough, but what came out was the truth.

  “You’re mine,” he said. He was still buried deep inside her, half hard.

  She stared at him in wonder. “I didn't know you had it in you. That was so…intense.”

  He gazed into her eyes. “You’re mine. Not Griffin’s. I need to hear you say it.”

  “I’m yours,” she said.

  He relaxed again, kissed her tenderly, and wished he could just let it go at that. Even knowing it would make him mad all over again, he had to know. “Tell me what you’re doing with Griffin tomorrow.”

  She stroked his hair. “We’re visiting my brother.”

  “I thought Griffin was leaving.”

  “He’s here another week.”

  He grunted, not happy with that. “I’ll go with you.”

  She kissed him, her hot tongue stroking him, and he felt himself pulse inside her, growing harder again. “I don’t want fighting in front of my brother,” she whispered near his ear. “It’ll be okay.”

  He was about to roll off her, irritated with himself for wanting her when she was clearly playing with him, when she informed him, “I’m on the pill and healthy, just so you know. So we can—”

  “Fuck,” he muttered. “Birth control.” He couldn’t believe he’d forgotten that. He never forgot.

  She laughed. “Yes, fuck.”

  He let out a breath. “I’m healthy too.”

  “Good.” She cupped his ass and squeezed.

  He bit back a groan. This was not good. The wanting. The sharing her with another man.

  “Maybe you should work things out with your husband,” he said, hating himself for saying that when he loved her so damn much.

  “Don’t you give up on me!” she exclaimed just as she smacked his ass with both hands, hard enough to sting. Instinctively, he thrust inside her, hard and deep. She moaned and looked at him, challenge in her hazel eyes. “Teach me, Dave. Teach me that I’m yours.”

  Raw desire pounded through him. He stood, kicked off his jeans and boxers, and pulled her to her feet. Dave was not one to back down from a challenge. Or a teachable moment.

  ~ ~ ~

  Steph lay down on the bed and watched as Dave set his glasses on the nightstand and pulled his T-shirt over his head.

  “Steph,” he said in a low, husky voice. “I’m honored that you chose me.”

  Tears unexpectedly stung her eyes. Honored. He made it sound like she was something precious. He settled on the bed next to her, lying on his side. She reached for him, and they connected with a white-hot heat as their lips found each other. His large, warm hands roamed over her body as they kissed, and she lost herself in his taste, his touch, this fire burning between them.

  “You’re mine,” he murmured before brushing his lips across hers. “All mine.” Then his mouth claimed hers, hard and demanding again, and she surrendered with a sigh. His hands slowed, stroking her back, as his mouth slanted over hers again and again. She pulled at him, wanting him on top of her, inside her, and he complied, settling between her legs. But then he nuzzled into her neck, kissing and licking, before working his way down her body, from her collarbone down to her breasts, where he lingered, drawing her nipple into his mouth, making her hips move side to side restlessly.

  “Dave,” she gasped as his teeth scraped against her sensitive nipple. “I want you inside me.”

  He tsked. “I’m teaching you. That’s what you wanted.” He suckled the other breast, using his teeth and tongue, and the throbbing between her legs intensified. She was going to come if he didn’t stop. She wanted him, needed him, inside her.

  “Forget the teaching,” she gasped out.

  He moved back to kiss her, sucking her lower lip into his mouth. He released her and gazed down at her lips. “Mine. My mouth. Say it’s mine. No one else kisses you.”

  “Yours,” she said on a sigh. She never should’ve asked him to teach her she was his. Now he would be slow and thorough like his kissing usually was. She was so turned on already.

  He ran his tongue along her earlobe. “Mine,” he growled.

  “Yours,” she said. She
moved her hips restlessly against him, desperate for more. His palm flattened against her hip, holding her still.

  He kissed along her neck, his teeth scraping her with a delicious thrill. “Mine.”

  She sighed.

  His teeth held her by the side of the neck, waiting.

  “Yours,” she finally gasped out. She tangled her hands in his hair. “Please,” she begged, but he wasn’t done teaching her.

  His hand cupped her breast. He dipped his head, flicking his tongue over her erect nipple. “Mine.”

  “Yours,” she said immediately.

  He rewarded her quick response with deep suction that had her crying out. Her nails dug into his back as the pressure built on the edge of release, but then he stopped. She panted as he moved to the other breast, cupping it. He looked into her eyes, waiting.

  “Yours,” she quickly said.

  “Good,” he murmured, before he gave that breast the same treatment, sucking and grazing her with his teeth, making her arch up into him. Her insides clenched, the pressure built unbearably, and then when she was teetering right there on the peak of what promised to be a hell of a climax, he stopped. Her eyes flew open, and she caught his small smile. He knew she was on the edge; he was deliberately holding her back. He kissed his way down her stomach and his tongue dipped into her navel. Before she could yell at him to stop teasing her, he shifted lower and pressed a kiss to her center.

  “Yours, yours, yours,” she cried.

  His fingers dipped lower, sliding up and down her slick folds. “Who touches you here?”

  “You.”

  “Only me. This is mine.”

  “Yes.”

  His fingers slipped inside her, stroking her on the inside. She cried out, bucking her hips. He pressed in further, his thumb resting on her hard nub, and held her firmly. “All of this is mine.”

  She panted, tossing her head side to side because the rest of her was caught in his large hand. Close, she was so close.

  “Look at me,” he said. “Your orgasms are mine. Every one.”

  She opened her eyes at his intense gaze and whimpered. His thumb applied pressure, and she gasped. She bucked her hips, needing more. “Yours,” she said, but it was more a command than a submission. She wanted what the word gave her.