Hard to Hate: An Enemies to Lovers Romance (Hard to Love Book 1)

by L. M. Reid

  I’m a simple girl. I didn’t grow up in a flashy lifestyle. Dresses that have more zeros on the price tag than my paycheck, just aren’t my thing. I don’t need them. For whatever reason though, he feels the need to give them to me.

  Me. You’re impossible.

  Griffin: I’m also five minutes away. Put that dress on so I can take it off you later.

  When he puts it that way…

  Five minutes later, as promised, there is a knock on the door. My mouth hangs open when I see him on the other side. The bright blue button-down shirt he’s wearing is a perfect contrast to the rest of his dark features, black hair, and tanned skin. He looks incredible and I feel inferior to his perfection even though he’s looking at me like he’s ready to devour me.

  “Christ, you look amazing,” he says. It’s all I need to make me step into him, my lips on his. We get carried away in seconds, just like we always do. Nat clears her throat behind us.

  “Can you two reel it in a little? Unless I can join in of course?” Nat says from behind us.

  Griffin cocks an eyebrow at me. “I don’t share,” I inform him.

  “Worth a shot,” he says with a smirk. “Ready to go?”

  He extends his arm to me and I wrap mine around it.

  “Have her home at a decent hour,” Nat says in a motherly tone, a knowing smile on her face. If Griffin has his way, I won’t be home at all tonight. I’ll be in his bed, just like I have been most nights.

  We settle into the limo and Griffin pours champagne for us.

  “To us,” he toasts clinking his glass against mine.

  “I like the sound of that,” I say surprised by just how much two simple words could affect me.

  “You sound as surprised as I feel,” he laughs. “It wasn’t long ago that you hated me.”

  “Who says I still don’t?”

  His hand runs up my thigh, straight under the material of my dress. I gasp when he reaches me knowing exactly what he’s going to find. I’m wet. So completely turned on by just being in his presence.

  “More,” I pant out as he runs his finger up and down.

  “You still hate me?” he asks.

  “Yes.”

  “Really?” His finger slides under the fabric of my panties. His skin against mine has me arching into his touch.

  “No, I don’t hate you. I want you,” I say giving up my little attempt at this game. “Even when I hated you, I wanted you.”

  Satisfied with my admission, he retracts his hand.

  “Hey,” I say in protest.

  His lips press to my neck. “I promise, there is more where that came from, but unless you plan on giving Gabe and Emily a show, we may want to wait.”

  Just then the door to the limo opens and Gabe and Emily step inside.

  He and Gabe start chatting and going over his speech for the night as I chat with Emily.

  “I am so happy for you two,” she says in a hushed voice. “It’s been forever since Griffin would open up enough to let anyone in.”

  “I’m happy too,” I agree. “Thanks to him.”

  “Don’t say that too loud, his ego will inflate even more than it is,” she says with a laugh.

  “Chloe knows my ego is properly inflated, just like another piece of me,” Griffin chimes in giving me a wink.

  Glancing around the limo, I try to take in the fact that this is my life. It was only weeks ago that everything felt like it was ending. Now, in such a short time, I feel like life is just beginning. I look at the arrogant man with a heart of gold that’s sitting next to me. He’s the reason. He has made all the difference.

  “I don’t know if I’m going be able to wait until we get home to get you out of that dress,” he whispers in my ear.

  “We could skip the party,” I say.

  “Miss out on Hal’s dad’s yacht? No way. You have to see this thing.” Lowering his voice again, he says, “But I know where all the bedrooms are.”

  “I bet you do,” I say with a laugh.

  His past doesn’t matter. Who he was before me, without me, it isn’t who he is now. I trust him implicitly. He’s shown me how he feels in the most significant of ways. The way he touches me, looks at me. He says it in the things he thinks I can’t hear, when my head is resting next to his on the pillow and he thinks I’m asleep.

  I may have hated him before, but now – I think I’m falling in love with him. And I don’t want to stop.

  “This is incredible,” I say as I step out of the limo and onto the dock.

  “You haven’t seen anything yet,” Griffin replies, offering me a hand to help me board the yacht.

  We step onto the main deck. Lights are strewn around, music is blaring and drinks are flowing. It’s like Lust on water.

  “This okay for our first date?” he whispers into my ear as he stands behind me, hands resting at my waist.

  Turning to face the man that has captured my heart and made it whole again, I smile. “I don’t care what we do, as long as I’m with you.”

  “Good answer. Come on, let me officially introduce you to the guys.”

  I’ve seen Griffin with his friends, Grayson, Hal and Cooper around Lust. I’ve even chatted with each of them a few times. This time seems different though. As we approach the three handsome men, I feel nervous. These are his friends. Friends that are more like family to him. I want them to like me. I want them to approve of us.

  “You okay?” he asks.

  “Just nervous,” I admit. “I know how much they mean to you. I want them to like me.”

  “That won’t be an issue,” he says gesturing to where the three men stand. “All that matters to them is that you make me happy. And that they can tell all their stupid little secrets about me to you.”

  “Secrets, huh? Like what?” I ask.

  “Like how our little Griffin here was a late bloomer,” Grayson says with a laugh. Griffin just shakes his head. “The ladies’ man you see before you, didn’t actually lose his virginity until he was twenty.”

  “And that was only by accident,” Hal chimes in.

  “I hate you guys,” Griffin laughs as he hugs each one of them.

  The jabs, the jokes, the smart ass comments don’t stop there. They keep going and give me a look into just how close these four men are, how much they mean to each other. Griffin and his father may not get along, but he still has family in these guys.

  “I can’t believe a smart girl like you fell for him,” Cooper says, clearly flirting. Or at least, pretending to. “When you could have a guy like me.”

  “What kind of guy is that, Coop?” Griffin asks. “One that still can’t get over his ex after six years?”

  “She’s not my ex,” Cooper argues.

  “Yet, he’s not denying that he isn’t over her,” Griffin says in a hushed tone, but loud enough that everyone can still hear. “Can I trust you idiots to take care of her, while I make my rounds?”

  “I’ll be fine,” I assure him.

  Griffin throws a look Cooper’s way. “Hands to yourself,” he warns him.

  Cooper snakes his arm around my shoulders, “We’ll see.”

  With a shake of his head, Griffin walks away. My eyes follow him as he approaches every single employee, talking with them, laughing with them. Seeing him like this, it makes me wonder how I didn’t see it before. His big heart, the kindness in him. Griffin loves his club, he loves his employees. Him being with me is a huge risk. Yet, he didn’t seem to care. He was willing to jump in feet first. Why did I hesitate so much?

  “Hey girl,” Ginger says as she approaches us. She gives me a quick kiss on my cheek before turning her attention to Cooper, not Hal. “Hi, Handsome.” Ginger plants a kiss on Cooper’s cheek.

  He has a shit-eating grin on his face as he holds his hands up in surrender.

  “Enjoy your night,” she says before walking away to the bar.

  I glance over at Hal who simultaneously looks hurt and pissed. I’m confused by the exchange. From what Ginger
had said, her date with Hal had went well. Now this?

  “Excuse me,” I say, leaving the group and making my way to Ginger.

  “Everything okay?” I ask her even though I already know the answer.

  “Aside from Hal being a total dick?” She takes the shot that the bartender set in front of her. “Everything’s great.”

  “I thought the date went well,” I say.

  “That makes two of us,” she replies.

  “Then what happened?”

  “Ask him. The asshole,” she says loudly. Enough that Hal clearly heard her. He looks down at the ground. “Fucking coward.”

  Griffin emerges behind me. “Something wrong?” he asks, looking between us.

  “Hal,” I whisper. Griffin just shakes his head.

  He turns to Ginger and gently touches her cheek. “He’s one of my best friends, but he’s a fucking idiot when it comes to women. You can do better than Hal, Ginger. Besides, you might be lucking out here. His family is fucking crazy.”

  “Thanks Griff,” Ginger says throwing her arms around Griffin. “Time for me to have some fun.” Ginger walks away and joins Ramon and a few others from the club.

  “Dance with me,” Griffin says as he takes my hand and leads me to the dance floor.

  We move to the beat of the music, his hands roaming my body as we do.

  “I didn’t know you could dance,” I say.

  “There’s a lot you still don’t know about me,” he says with a smile.

  “Such as?”

  “Well, for starters, I’m a gamer.”

  “A gamer?” I laugh.

  “Shhh… the guys don’t know. They would give me such shit. But yeah, like video games, okay? Gabe got me into it. We play Call of Duty with some other guys and…”

  “Oh my God. I really assumed all you did was hang out and Lust and fuck every woman that walked past you.”

  With a shake of his head he says, “Not even close. I assure you I’ve been with far fewer women than you would think.”

  I roll my eyes at him. “I’ve seen you around. Hell, I even walked in on you.”

  He pulls me tightly against him. “I sent her home. I was only with her to try and forget about you and when that didn’t work, I told her to leave.”

  I’m not sure what to say, or which part of what he said affects me more. The fact that he felt the need to try and forget me or that because of me he told her to leave.

  “So, what you’re saying is…”

  “You’re the only one for me, Chloe Scott.”

  “Why don’t you show me to one of those bedrooms you mentioned?”

  His eyes widen and that smirk of his that I’ve come to love is present on his face. “Right this way,” he says leading me to a nearby stairwell.

  We disappear below deck and while I’m sure everyone upstairs knows exactly what we’re sneaking off to do, I don’t care. Screw his look and don’t touch rule. Screw what people think. Right now, I feel incredible. Now I just want to feel him.

  We walk through the white door into what I assume are sleeping quarters. The room is bigger than my dorm, complete with an expansive bed in the center of it. He makes his way through the room and looks out the window onto the water. The light from the room cascades over him, giving me a picturesque view of the frame of his body. He’s tall, lean, and hard. Even without a word he can command a room. Hell, right now he has me willing to bend at his will and he isn’t even facing me.

  I walk up behind him and wrap my arms around his waist, my hands settling on his belt buckle. His hands cover mine, caressing them as I rest my head against his strong back. “I want you to be my girlfriend.”

  “What?”

  He turns and faces me, holding me close to him. “I need to know that you feel the same way,” he says. His voice is wary; there is a shyness to it that I would never expect to hear from Griffin of all people. “I need to know that we’re real before we go any further.”

  I’m not sure where his sudden need to define us is coming from. It was only moments ago that we were smiling and sneaking away to have sex. While I’m not complaining, his need to define us so suddenly has me a little concerned.

  “Where is this coming from?” I ask.

  Griffin is not a man of emotions so when he shuts his eyes, I know it’s because he needs to collect himself. When they flutter open, what I see in them makes my breath hitch.

  “I’m falling for you Chloe, hell, I’ve already fallen. Before I get in too deep, I just… I know it’s stupid, but I need to know.”

  Love and emotion radiate off of him despite him not using those exact words. “I’ve fallen for you, too.” I press a small kiss to his lips. “I want to be with you Griffin.”

  I kiss him again. This time it’s a lingering kiss, soft and slow. It’s a kiss that never breaks as we strip each other of our clothes. It’s a kiss that seals our feelings as we dance our way to the bed.

  Every dream that I never knew I had, every desire I never knew existed are wrapped up in this moment. What I feel for Griffin far surpasses anything I’ve ever felt before. Nothing has felt so wrong, yet so right. Nothing has made me physically ache in the most amazing of ways like his touch does.

  The heat that pooled between my thighs the moment we were alone together is only more intense. There’s an ache in my belly, my body craving the feeling of him inside me, the pleasure that only he can bring me. Except, this time, I want to be the one to give it to him.

  “Lie down,” I whisper as I nibble on his earlobe. He begins to speak, but I silence him with my finger. “Lie down,” I say more directly this time.

  He slides his now naked body onto the bed. He lays there, his hands behind his head and a smirk on his face. I kiss his lips, then his jaw. I trail my way down his neck, his rock solid chest, and the rippled ab muscles. God, who knew that a six pack was actually this perfectly real? I continue my descent, further down to where what I am searching for is waiting.

  My hand encircles him, gently gliding up and down his shaft. His eyes are on me, watching every move I make. The moment my tongue makes contact with his head, his eyes widen and he cries out, “Oh Christ.”

  The sound of the pleasure I’m bringing him on his lips has me eager to see what other responses I can urge out him.

  26

  Chloe

  “Thank you for doing this,” I tell Griffin over the phone as we discuss the plan for tonight.

  Since Griffin and I started seeing each other I haven’t been able to spend as much time with Nat as I would like. So, tonight, he’s helping me change that.

  Tonight is all about Nat and I. I owe her that much after everything I’ve put her through since the semester started. Through it all, her friendship never wavered. Even when her perfect guy dumped her. Asshole. Well, tonight, I make up for all of that. With a little help from Griffin.

  “Anything for you. The room is set, just let me know if you need anything,” he tells me. “And uh… there is one thing.”

  “What’s that?” I ask.

  “You save at least one dance for me.”

  Recalling our night on the yacht, the way his body moved with mine. I have absolutely no problem saving a dance for him.

  “Maybe I’ll even give you a private one, later.”

  “Don’t tease me,” he says.

  The door to the room opens and Nat walks in. “Gotta go.” I disconnect the line and turn to Nat, “Hey there!”

  “Hi Stranger,” she says. “Surprised to see you here.”

  “I know I haven’t been around much, but I promise tonight is all about us,” I say.

  “So you’re just going to assume that I will drop whatever plans I have to spend time with you?” There is an attitude in her voice. It tells me one, that she doesn’t have any plans, and two that she’s really hurt by how little attention I have been paying to her.

  “I’m not assuming. I know you will. Especially since I got Griffin to give us a private room and bottle ser
vice at the club.”

  Lust is exactly the type of club that Nat would love. I know because it’s the polar opposite of a place that I would normally spend time in. So, when I told Griffin my dilemma he offered to set us up in one of the private rooms. I tried like hell to tell him I would pay for it, that he didn’t need to be so generous.

  The man plays dirty though. He trailed kisses along my seam until I gave in and accepted his generous offer, followed by his cock.

  Nat springs from the bed and heads to the closet. She’s tossing items to the ground phrases like “no” and “that’s not right” and “not for Lust.”

  “Oh yeah, I forgot,” I say as I hand her a small boutique bag. “Happy early birthday.”

  She pulls the slinky silver dress out of the bag and holds it against her. “This is too much,” she exclaims.

  Sure, the dress set me back a bit, but after everything that happened with Griffin and Gabe mixed in with how neglectful I’ve been, it was worth every penny.

  “Shut up and get dressed,” I laugh. “We need to get this party started.”

  For the first time since my interview, I walk through the front door of Lust. Micah let us in without issue, much to the chagrin of everyone waiting in line. If anything, it only made the night that much more exciting for Nat. If there is one thing she enjoys, it’s being envied by others.

  “Ladies,” Griffin greets as we enter the club. “May I escort you to your suite?”

  He sounds so professional, and so damn sexy. It almost makes me nervous to know that he’s out here doing just that with every woman that walks in. It’s part of his charm, and moreover, it’s part of the draw to Lust. Women come for him; men come for the servers. It’s a win-win for everyone. Except me. Because so many women want Griffin, a huge part of me is always left feeling intimidated and insecure.

  We each take one of Griffin’s arms as he escorts us to our suite. I feel like royalty walking through the club. Women are gawking, men are too. A hint of a smile works its way onto my face.

  “Here we are,” Griffin says when we arrive at suite one. “I’ve taken the liberty of starting you out with some champagne.” He hands each of us a glass. “Ramon will be your bartender and Ginger will be your server. Whatever you need, you let them know.” He turns his undivided attention to me. “No dancing with other men, understood?”