Page 89 of Havenfall Harbor
Quinn
Griffin is walking soclose to me, we keep bumping into each other with every step. I ask Evan with my eyes if everything is okay. I think he understands me when he gives a small shrug and pulls open another door for us to pass through. His answer doesn’t settle me though.
Instead of taking the stairs, Griffin leads us to an elevator behind the main floor desk. It’s not as fancy as the one on the staff side, but nice enough. When Evan steps in behind us, I scoot back against the wall as far as I can go. Heat rises up my neck when I realize how close we’re standing together. Evan looks at me over his shoulder, then turns his body to face me. I can barely meet his eyes for fear of him seeing just how much I like being this close to both of them. Without taking his eyes off me, Evan reaches back and hits a button on the elevator panel that has the door closing. I peer around him as he goes to hit another button—a red emergency stop button. I open my mouth to warn him, but he’s too quick.
The lift jerks to a halt just seconds after we begin to ascend. “Oops,” Evan says while watching me, but the ‘oops’ sounds fake. I meet his eyes and he takes another step closer, crowding me even more. I swallow, my mouth suddenly feeling dry.
Griffin tightens his fingers on mine and draws my attention to him. “Are we stopped?” I ask dumbly. I know we’re stopped. I just don’t know why.
“Yeah, it’s going to be a few minutes. Once the emergency stop is hit, the system has to reset before it will start working again.”
“Oh, okay.” I’ve never heard that before, but it seems reasonable. By this point, Evan and I are only separated by a few millimeters.
“Since we have some time, have you thought about our proposal?” I clear my throat and volley my gaze between the two men.
“Proposal?” I feign cluelessness. I’m not used to Evan being so forward. Griffin has been the one who’s been bolder. Evan is always more practical, more reasonable.
“Surely you haven’t forgotten.” Griffin somehow sounds as if he’s playfully chastising me.
I reach up and tuck my hair behind my ear. “I think I need more details about the arrangement you’re proposing, b-but should we be t-talking about this now?” I stammer, knowing I’m avoiding the topic, but I kind of have a good reason.
“Unless you can think of something better to do to pass the time?” Evan looks over at Griffin. “Maybe we should show her the advantages.”
Griffin stays staring straight ahead, but I watch the corner of his lip tip up in a tiny smile. That miniscule change in his facial features makes my heart skip a beat. He’s too damn gorgeous for his own good.
Evan reclaims my attention by closing the infinitesimal space he’d left between us. The bar along the back of the elevator nestles into the small of my back, making me arch against him. His eyes track the rise and fall of my chest as my breathing becomes more erratic.
Griffin turns and leans his shoulder against the back wall next to me, not releasing my hand. I almost feel surrounded by them.
Seconds tick by with none of us uttering a word, but the tension in the small space continues to rise. Finally, Evan makes a move. With exaggerated slowness, he leans forward, bringing his head close to mine, giving me plenty of time to stop him if I want to, but I’m not interested in stopping him. I want to know what he’s going to do next.
Especially if he’s going to kiss me. My stomach hollows in anticipation, but right before his lips would touch mine, he stops. He’s so close I can feel his warm breath, and it makes me want to lick my lips, but with him so near, I’d probably end up licking him. My breath catches as I feel a finger slide under my chin, lifting, and my eyes begin to drift closed at the first brush of Evan’s full lips against mine. I’m pretty sure it was Griffin’s finger under my chin, lifting my mouth to Evan’s.
I tighten my fingers around Griffin’s hand as Evan slowly begins to kiss me. There’s no awkwardness or hesitant fumbling. Evan kisses me like a man savoring his first bite of ambrosia, like he has all the time in the world to caress my lips with his. My body melts a little, and a small sigh leaves my parted lips. Evan takes the opportunity to run his tongue along the seam of my lips, the tip caressing just under my top lip, and I open for him. I feel his hand thread into the hair at the nape of my neck as he cradles my head just as gently as he takes my mouth.
The tenderness comes as a bit of a surprise. Evan is a big man, and I somehow figured that would translate into him being rougher. Not in a bad way, but this, this is like he’s worshipping me with a kiss.
Just as he leans into me a little more, enough that I can feel the press of his body, the elevator car jerks. I gasp, I’d forgotten we were even in the elevator. I open my eyes slowly as Evan pulls back. His eyelids are lowered, making him look somehow sexier. I lick my bottom lip, still tasting him.
“Greedy,” Griffin accuses, but I don’t hear any real heat in his words. Still, I look over, expecting him to say something else. When our eyes meet, I take note of the way he’s looking at me. He doesn’t look upset. In fact, I’d say he’s regarding me like we just shared an intimate moment. Which I guess we did. I’ve never been kissed the way Evan just kissed me, especially with someone watching.
Even though the kiss was short, and I feel like we were just getting started, there was something about it that felt deeper. I give my head a little shake to dispel the lusty fog clouding my mind as the elevator quickly arrives on the third floor. The dip in my stomach is nothing compared to the butterflies dancing inside from Evan’s touch.
Evan takes a step away, but doesn’t back off too far. “Don’t pretend you would have been any less greedy.” Griffin doesn’t bother replying. Instead, he brings our entwined fingers up and places a kiss on the inside of my wrist, his eyes never leaving mine. I feel the wet stroke of his tongue drag across the skin there. I never realized how sensitive that area was until now, or maybe it’s just him making me feel that way. My knees feel a little loose.
Evan’s heat dissipates as the doors slide open and he steps out. Griffin’s eyes hold mine for a few seconds longer, giving me a silent promise that he isn’t finished. I follow him out, scanning the area and blinking. I need to get myself under control if they’re about to confront some kids. Right now, all I can think about is Evan’s kiss and Griffin’s mouth, and it’s probably written all over my face.
Evan leads the way. I tuck myself behind him—to take a moment to compose myself—as he makes his way over to the third-floor desk. Griffin still hasn’t released my hand, which I find a little alarming since we’re about to see the security staff, but I’m also grateful for his touch.
“Hey, Evan.” I can’t see the woman who greets him, but her voice is friendly.
“Olivia, can you call Michelle and Minka down?” Evan’s voice isn’t unfriendly, but it’s so different than the one he was using with me just a few minutes ago, the playfulness is gone.
“Sure, anything I can help with?” she asks, while I step out from behind Evan. Olivia’s eyes dart over to me before going back to Evan as she picks up the telephone receiver.
“We need a place to talk to them, any ideas?”
“I can clear out the rec room, or you can use one of the unoccupied dorm rooms, we have a few.” Olivia hits a button on the phone and brings the bottom part of the receiver up to her lips. “Michelle and Minka, come to the front desk.” Her announcement is broadcasted above our heads on a PA system. I look around at the ceiling, not finding any speakers.
