Chapter 4
Griffin
Her fingers on my shirt sent electricity through my whole body. I caught her wrist...meaning to push her away...but somehow ended up holding it instead, my thumb brushing over the rapid beat of her pulse.
"You don't know what you're asking for," I warned.
She rose to her knees on the bed, bringing us eye-level. "I'm not asking. I'm offering."
My free hand moved of its own accord to her exposed shoulder. Her skin was soft under my callused palm.
"I'm not a nice man."
"I don't want nice." She leaned into my touch. "I want you."
"Damn it, Lucy." I pulled back, but she followed, pressing herself against my chest.
"You're making this impossible,” I said.
"Good." Her hands slid up my arms, leaving trails of fire. "Impossible is more interesting than easy."
I could smell my soap on her skin, see my shirt hanging loose on her frame...and something primitive in me growled at the sight.
Mine.
Which was ridiculous.
She wasn’t mine. Couldn’t be mine.
"You should be sleeping," I managed.
"I should be a lot of things,” she replied. She tilted her head, exposing the curve of her neck. "But right now, I’d rather be kissing you."
That was it. My control snapped.
I tangled one hand in her wavy brown hair, the other gripping her hip as I crashed my mouth to hers. She made a small, desperate sound that shot straight through me, her fingers clutching my shirt like she never wanted to let go.
The kiss was wild. Hungry. Everything I’d been holding back since the second she walked through my door. She tasted like coffee and kissed like she wanted to climb inside me.
"Griffin," she gasped when I moved to her neck, nipping at the sensitive skin just below her ear. "God, yes."
I backed her against the headboard, caging her in with my arms.
"This what you wanted? To drive me crazy?"
"Maybe." She arched against me as I sucked at the curve of her throat. "Is it working?"
Instead of answering, I kissed her again... slower this time, but no less intense. Her hands slipped under my shirt, nails scraping lightly across my abs, and I growled into her mouth.
"Careful," I warned, catching her wrists.
"Or what?" She nipped at my bottom lip. "You'll punish me?"
Jesus Christ, this woman was going to be the death of me.
I pulled back just enough to see her face... flushed cheeks, swollen lips, and baby blue eyes full of mischief and heat.
"You have no idea what I want to do to you,” I said.
"Show me." She tugged at my shirt. "Please, Griffin. Show me."
The please nearly undid me.
I caught her wrists again, pinning them above her head with one hand. "You sure about this?"
"I’ve never been more sure of anything."
I studied her face for any flicker of doubt, finding only heat, hunger, and something deeper I wasn’t ready to name.
"Last chance to back out."
She wrapped her legs around my waist, pulling me flush against her. "I don’t want to back out. I want you to kiss me again, and then I want you to..."
A loud crack from outside split the moment in half. The lights flickered once. Twice. Then died completely.
"Shit." I released her immediately. "Generator."
"No, no, no," she protested, trying to pull me back. "It can wait."
"It’s fifteen degrees outside. It really can’t."
She flopped back against the pillows with a groan. "You’re killing me."
"Join the club." I adjusted myself in my pants, grateful for the darkness. "Stay here. Stay warm. I’ll be right back."
"Promise?"
The vulnerability in her voice hit me straight in the chest. "Promise."
I forced myself to leave before I could change my mind. The generator needed fixing. And we needed to cool off before this went too far... or too fast.
But as I stepped out into the bitter cold, all I could think about was the taste of her, the sound of her moans, the way she melted under my hands.
And for the first time in years, I wondered if maybe letting someone in wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.
I shuddered as the wind cut through my shirt...
Or maybe it was the heat still burning in my veins.
I absently grabbed my throbbing cock through my pants, aching for release. But that would have to wait.
I had to fix this fucking generator.
Then I could get back inside...
And finally get my own fix.