Page 25 of Griffin
He shrugged.“Not usually.You seem to bring the bossy out in me.”
Should have pulled away and gone back to my own apartment to sort out what the hell had just happened.Instead I closed my eyes and listened to his heartbeat under my ear and felt the warm weight of his arm across my back, and the exhaustion I’d been holding off for the better part of two days finally caught up to me all at once.
The last thing I remembered before I went under was his hand at the base of my skull, his fingers threading through my damp hair, and his low voice saying something I didn’t quite catch but felt like a promise anyway.
Chapter Nine
Veda
I woke up sore in places I didn’t know could be sore.My ribs still throbbed where I’d hit the alley floor two nights ago.My palm pulsed under fresh gauze.My thighs ached in a way that had nothing to do with the bike crash and everything to do with the man who’d held my wrists above my head and fucked me until I forgot my own name.Somewhere under my left shoulder blade, a bruise the size of a fist made itself known when I shifted against the mattress.
The room smelled like coffee.I cracked one eye open and saw a thin slice of gray morning leaking past the edge of a heavy curtain.I had no idea what time it was.I didn’t know what day it was.I knew Griffin’s pillow under my cheek still smelled like him and, despite everything, I smiled.
Griffin sat on the foot of the bed with his back to me.Bare shoulders, dark ink crawling down to his elbows, a pair of jeans hung low on his hips and nothing else.He had a mug in one hand and his phone in the other, thumb scrolling slowly, and the line of his back was relaxed.
I should have said something.Made a joke.Cleared my throat.Instead, I lay there and watched him for a long, stupid minute, because seeing him quiet like that felt like a thing I was stealing, something no one but me got to see.
He spoke without turning around.“You’re starin’, honey.”
“I’m assessing.”Just because he called me out didn’t mean I’d cop to anything.
“Assessing what?”
“Whether you’re a flight risk.”I rolled onto my back, winced when my ribs protested, then settled.“You look like a man who’s about to bolt out the door and pretend none of this happened.”Right.Like I hadn’t been considering the same thing.Not because I didn’t enjoy the hell outta myself, but because I enjoyedthe fuckoutta myself.
He turned his head just enough that I caught the curve of his mouth.“Pretty sure if I tried to bolt right now, I’d pull a hamstring.”
“Good.I take that as a personal compliment.”I gave him a cheerful, if sleepy, smile.
“You should.”He nodded to the nightstand where a steaming mug of coffee was within easy reach.“Cream, no sugar.”
I dragged a hand down my face and tried to find my voice.“What time is it?”
“Little after nine.”
“Christ.”I sat up, holding the sheet to my chest, and reached for the coffee mug, bringing it to my lips and taking a tentative sip.Then a larger gulp as the ambrosia of the gods slid down my throat to give me a hit of energy.
“You needed the sleep.”He stood and stretched, the muscles across his back making the ink ripple.Christ, the man was sex on a big, muscled stick.How could he look so gorgeous when I probably looked like I’d been ridden hard and put up wet?What’s worse, the man hadn’t asked how I took my coffee, but he’d guessed right.Which annoyed me a little.
He handed me a folded gray T-shirt.“Yours got blood on it.Mine’s clean.”
“Thank you.”Then I registered what he’d said.“Wait.Yours?”
“Mm.”Apparently, his grunt was all I got.
I sipped the coffee.It was good.Griffin watched me drink without saying anything, and the quiet between us felt… fuckingnormal.
“Eggs or toast?”he asked.
“What?”
“Eggs or toast, Veda.I’m makin’ breakfast.”
“Both?”
“Greedy.”He stood again.“Eggs or toast.Pick one.”
I blinked, not sure I understood the conversation.The wicked expression on his face when he looked at me scrambled my brain more than the eggs he’d offered.“Uh…”
