Chapter 6
six
GRIFFIN
T he phones would not stop ringing. Griffin was at his wit’s end. It was impossible to do the work that needed to be done and also manage the office. This was why he needed a secretary. It’s too bad he fired Delilah, but he did not need the complication in his life right now.
There was no denying it. He needed help. His orders were already delayed by a couple weeks. At the rate he was going, it would take working all day and night for the next month to make up for the delays. Something he was more than willing to do.
If it came down to it, Griffin knew Julio and Sean would help him play catch-up if necessary.
He didn’t want it to come down to it, though.
They worked hard enough to help him keep the business afloat.
They deserved to enjoy their time off. He just needed to find some temporary help with managing the office.
I f Jacob Henderson called one more time to ask for an update on his car, Griffin was going to toss the phone through the window.
He’d have to pay someone to fix the window, but it might just be worth the added expense to stop the incessant ringing which interrupted him from doing what needed to be done under the hood of the Impala he currently had in the garage.
Henderson dropped off his vintage Mustang several weeks ago.
They talked about doing some basic modifications to the engine a while back, but Griffin didn’t hear from Henderson since giving him a quote for the work requested until he showed up with his shiny car.
Instead of calling ahead to ask if Griffin was available to fit in the work, Henderson just dropped off his keys at the front desk and hitched a ride with his new girlfriend of the month before Griffin was even aware he had come and gone.
When he pulled his head out from under the car, he’d seen the shiny red Mustang sitting in his parking lot and cursed.
Griffin stomped into the reception to find Delilah painting her nails.
She hadn’t seemed too concerned about Henderson’s unannounced visit, nor did she seem to understand what it meant for his timeline.
This time of year was busy for the shop, and he didn’t need a surprise order on his case.
A low growl rumbled in his chest, but he forced it down.
His voice was tight as he told Delilah she needed to leave early.
His jaw was clenched so tightly he could have cracked a walnut.
Her retort died on her lips when she saw how angry he was, for which he was thankful.
He was in no mood to handle her mood swings.
After Delilah made her dramatic exit, Griffin stalked into his office to clean up the mess.
Henderson was blasé about the whole affair, not understanding it would be weeks before Griffin could even look at his car.
Though he seemed uncaring at the time, the multiple phone calls he received each week were a different story.
Unfortunately, he’d fired Delilah shortly after. One of her main responsibilities, besides answering the phones, was to take inventory and order the necessary parts for the job. Which meant he’d have to do those menial tasks himself, taking time away from fixing the cars sitting in the shop.
What a mess.
Despite the added responsibilities, he had no regrets about firing Delilah.
She worked with him for a year and still needed frequent reminders.
She always showed up late to work. Delilah was good with the customers, though, which was a skill he appreciated when he could barely tolerate talking to most people.
If he didn’t get help soon, he’d have to stop taking new orders, which meant income would slow down.
He needed to at least pay Julio and Sean or risk losing them to the auto body chain that opened up across town and boasted better pay and benefits than his small shop could offer.
They were both loyal and hard workers. He’d have a hard time replacing them.
Slamming the phone down on his desk, Griffin ran his hands through his hair. The sounds of music floated through the bay windows. His office was otherwise quiet as he tapped his fingers on his desk.
He could probably post a ‘help wanted’ sign in the window and ask around town if anyone was looking for work the next time he went into town. The busy season would be over in a few months, then he could pretty much handle the rest of the year alone.
His thoughts drifted to the woman temporarily residing just above his head.
She was a temptress. The worst part was that she had no idea.
The moment she’d looked up at him through her dusty car window, her dark brown eyes, magnified by the grime, locked onto his, and he knew he was in trouble.
Her red-rimmed eyes, swollen and puffy from crying, combined with her tear-stained face, tugged at the dark corners of his heart.
A deep-seated, overwhelming need to protect her seized him, overriding all other rational thoughts.
It was jarring and disorienting. He hated it .
Her soulful eyes trapped him, held him in his place, making the breath catch in his lungs.
Is my heart racing?
She looked so magnificent with the fading rays of the sun streaming through the dark strands of her hair. He was gripped with an urge to find out if her hair was as soft as it looked.
Is she soft everywhere?
He wondered what brought her to Willowbrook.
There was not much to this side of town.
It was mostly quiet with some mom-and-pop shops.
The trendier part of town most people frequented was on the opposite end, closer to the city, which is now known for its up-and-coming hipster bars and shops.
That was the side of town Griffin avoided at all costs.
If he ever needed to get anything, he’d send Delilah, who loved to spend her day and his hard-earned money picking up supplies.
The entire trip into town was agonizing. He concentrated on thoughts of his deadbeat father to avoid his body reacting to the temptress in his truck. His breaths were shallow as he tried not to inhale her intoxicating vanilla scent. A scent which was both tantalizing and torturous.
Known as the town grump, Griffin admitted he was rougher with her than others to mask his discomfiting reaction to her.
He’d never been so affected by the mere presence of another person before.
Even with his last relationship, he’d never had the urge to rip off her clothes and have his way with her on the side of the road.
It took a great deal of effort and thoughts of his delinquent parents to keep his cock from rising to the challenge.
After dropping her off, he’d hightailed it into his bathroom and jerked off in the shower.
He’d come to thoughts of her on her knees, looking up at him through those dark lashes on the side of the road, her face tear-stained from choking on his cock as he fed it to her hungry mouth until he spilled himself down her throat.
A dangerous fantasy he never knew existed until he met her.
He’d gone to bed slightly satisfied and fought off the urge to beat off again in bed as the thought of her sleeping just mere feet from him tried to invade his mind. He’d fallen asleep with a semi and woken up to a raging hard-on which was impossible to ignore.
The loud alarm yanked him out of his dreams just as he was about to plunge his aching cock into her willing pussy. He’d nearly ripped the alarm out of the wall and thrown it across the room for its rude awakening.
Fuck . He should not be this fixated on a stranger. His cock wouldn’t listen, even as he’d gripped it under the covers. Another cold shower failed to calm his libido. Instead, his mind conjured up how her brown eyes looked, wide and innocent, as she’d looked up at him last evening .
When he’d knocked on her door later that morning, he knew the universe was working against him.
He was not prepared to see her barely dressed and her long legs on display.
The shirt she’d been wearing was barely long enough to reach her upper thighs.
All she needed to do was bend over a little, and he’d glimpse her panties. If she even wore panties.
It took a Herculean amount of effort not to shove her against the wall and take her right then and there. He had to keep his fists clenched and lock all his muscles in his body so he would not act on the impulse.
He was mortified when his voice came out deeper than normal. It was like he was a damn horny teenager all over again, with no control over his thoughts or his cock.
He didn’t like how he acted when she was near. Griffin did not need the distraction.
The bell above the front door chimed as someone entered the main office. Griffin bit back a groan as he heaved himself up out of the chair to meet the guest. He’d only taken a couple of steps out into the hallway when a soft body ran right into him.
“Oof.”
Griffin reached out instinctively to catch his assailant before they fell backward.
It was a mistake. As soon as his hands made contact, he knew exactly who was in his arms. The heat of her body burned his hands.
Instinctively, he dropped them and took a large step back to create distance between them.
“Sorry. Didn’t see you there.” She let out a small chuckle. “I was just heading back to the apartment.”
She looked up at him through dark lashes, and he fought the urge to take another step back. She could bring him to his knees with just her eyes. The thought terrified him.
Griffin only managed to grunt in response.
“I wanted to talk to you anyway, so I’m glad I ran into you. Literally. I mean, I’m sorry I ran into you. I hope I didn’t hurt you. Are you okay? You look like you should sit down.”
“I’m fine.” If his voice sounded deeper than usual, it was probably because all of his blood flow went straight to his dick since she’d run into him. He got a taste of what it was like to have her body pressed against his.
“Oh. Okay. That’s good.”
She seemed nervous. He noticed the stack of books in her hands and reached out to take them from her.
“Oh, that’s okay. I can get those…” Her voice trailed off as he motioned for her to lead the way to her apartment.
After a moment, she stepped past him, making sure not to touch him in the too-narrow hallway. He probably could have stepped back to give her more room to maneuver, but a part of him wanted to feel her body against his, even for a second .
As he followed closely behind her, he realized the terrible mistake he had made. With her mounting the stairs ahead of him, it put her ass in the direct path of his treacherous and gluttonous eyes. Her perky bottom was temptingly swaying and beckoning more than just his eyes to appreciate it.
Griffin almost dropped the books and ran back into the office. Instead, he averted his eyes to distract himself from thoughts of her bent over the staircase as he fucked her from behind and watched as her ass bounced with each of his thrusts.
This was a bad idea. He shouldn’t be staring at her ass like this, but he couldn’t help himself.
Even worse, the knowledge that he was following her upstairs, where she’d slept the previous night, made his cock stir with attention.
He glanced down at the stack of books cradled in his arms to distract himself.
There was a shirtless man on the cover with some neon font displaying the title of the book.
Griffin clenched his jaw at the unexpected stirring of jealousy in his gut.
He had no right to be jealous if she was ogling another man.
They barely even knew each other, but it didn’t stop the possessiveness from rearing its ugly head.
He knew she wasn’t married by the lack of a wedding band on her ring finger, nor was she recently divorced, since her smooth hands lacked a tan line where a ring would have been .
It didn’t mean he could assume she was single. For all he knew, she could be in a serious relationship and came this way by herself. The thought only angered him more.
What kind of idiot would let his woman travel miles alone? What if something happened to her?
Before his thoughts could continue to spiral down its dark path, she stopped abruptly at the front door and turned around to face him. He kept his distance, stopping at the top of the stairs a few feet away from her.
She shifted her weight on her feet as her hands played with the hem of her top.
A strand of hair escaped her bun and partially covered her face from his view. He resisted the urge to push it back so he could look his fill.
“Um, thank you for helping me with the books.” She slowly raised her hands up as if she was scared he’d bite her.
Griffin carefully handed the stack of books back to her, making sure their skin did not make contact.
Every time they touched, he experienced a rush of heat which made a beeline straight towards his traitorous cock.
He did not need to get a boner in the hallway right now.
There were still a lot of hours left in the workday.
“You’re welcome.”
If his voice sounded too gruff, he blamed it on all the attention it took to keep his cock from stirring. The hallway was oppressive as her scent drifted to his nose. Before he could take his next breath, he was already backing away.
“Oh, Griffin?”
Her soft voice made him pause in his escape.
“Yeah?” Was she going to ask him to go inside? He shouldn’t want that.
“When do you think my car will be ready? I don’t want to be in your way any more than I am…” Her voice trailed off, no doubt unsure why he was glowering at her. The thought of her leaving so soon suddenly made him want to commit a crime.
He would not, could not, intentionally delay fixing her car so she was forced to stay a little longer.
Right? Right.
“I’ll take a look at it tonight.”
The distant sound of his phone ringing filled the silence between them.
Groaning, Griffin rubbed his hands over his face.
“Fucking Christ.”
Hands on his hips, Griffin made to leave again when her soft hand on his biceps stopped him.
“Do you…Do you need some help? You know, with the office stuff?”
The sight of her small, tanned skin on his pale arm was a sight he wished he could forget. Images of her hands on other parts of his body flashed through his mind.
“No. I’m fine.”
“Are you sure? I don’t mind helping. Besides, I’m kind of stuck here anyway until you fix my car, so…put me to work. I know how to do the basics, at least.”
Griffin knew it was a bad idea. He should say no. He definitely should not entertain the idea of her in his office.
“Yeah, fine. Come down when you’re ready.”
With that, he stomped down the stairs before he made any more terrible decisions.
Like fuck her against the door.