Griffin Colson #2
“Self-defense? Sure.” I let out a dark chuckle.
“But if someone hurts you, if they so much as make you flinch like that night in your shop, then no, it won’t be self-defense.
It’ll be me makin’ sure they never think about touchin’ you again.
” My tone is light but I’m dead serious.
“That what you want to hear?” I’m waiting to see if she bolts.
“I guess so?” She taps her fork against her plate and looks off to the side. “I really meant more about your job and what that would look like with us together. I live and work at my store. But I’ve noticed you don’t really have set hours. So...” She frowns again.
I am taking bites in between pauses in conversation.
“I take jobs as I get them. Sometimes there’s a few weeks, months even, without somethin’ comin’ up.
Sometimes it’s back-to-back. I have no set time frame or schedule.
I travel all over the world. Doesn’t matter where.
I’ve been in Africa, then gone the next day for London.
Or the Middle East. Then back to France and all the way to Indonesia. It changes.”
“Okay, so we do the long distance thing then?”
The fact that she’s asking questions means she’s serious about giving this a shot. An unfamiliar warmth expands inside my chest, stealing my breath.
“Not if I can help it,” I say firmly. “I don’t leave you behind unprotected. Either you come with me, safely tucked away in a hotel while I handle the job, or I arrange security for you. Jax, Bishop, someone trustworthy.” I continue quietly, “But ideally? You’re with me. Always.”
“I don’t make enough at Moonglow to leave it closed for extended periods of time. And I can’t afford to hire someone.”
She has a wistful gleam in her eye. The look on her face makes me want to pay off every bill she has. She’s bleeding money into her store and the interest rate on the mortgage she took out is swallowing her profits.
“Seriph, you realize I wired you fifteen grand like it was pocket change, right?” I would pay off her bank note if I thought she’d let me. “I’m not sayin’ you have to take my money. But if this is gonna work? Then your store’s security, and yours, becomes my priority too.”
“We aren’t there yet.” She shakes her head.
I make an obscene amount of money off the contracts I take.
Hell, I put the money from the cartel for Stepan and Viktor in an account with her name on it.
It’s enough to pay her bills for the next three years.
I plan to give it to her whether this goes anywhere between us or not.
She deserves something after what those bastards did to her.
“Fine,” I reply, conceding for now. “We’ll table it. But we are circlin’ back to that.” We finish eating. And I can’t ignore her state of undress anymore. “After we address the fact that you’re eatin’ spaghetti in pasties like it’s a completely normal Tuesday.”
“It was a completely normal Tuesday until you insulted my dress.” Her fork hits her plate a little too hard at the reminder.
I groan, remembering how poorly I handled this situation when I came in.
“Yeah, I was bein’ an ass,” I mutter, looking up at her.
“But in my defense that dress was a goddamn distraction. And now?” I make a show of trailing my eyes over her bare skin so I can watch her flush again. “Now you’re playin’ dirty.”
I push back from the table, clearing it before I lose control and have a repeat of the wall incident.
I wash the dishes. I hope if I don’t look directly at her, I can push down some of this raging fire in my veins.
It works, somewhat, until delicate hands and soft arms wrap around my middle and flatten on my stomach.
I suck in a breath and stiffen when the rest of her is pressed up against my back.
The plate I’m holding rattles as it hits the bottom of the sink. I turn off the water.
“Seriph.” My voice is strained. I’m holding on by a thread.
“I said I wanted to take the relationship slow. But does that mean we have to wait?” She sounds calm but vulnerable.
I can imagine how hard it is for her to take this step after what happened. The only reason I haven’t fucked her on the table, the floor, and the counter by now is because I’m determined to take this at her pace. I refuse to take from her like they did.
“No.” I white knuckle the edge of the sink. “We don’t have to wait.” I turn around, slowly.
I’d rather carve out my own heart than let this hurt her. The look on her face almost breaks me. Her chin is tilted to the side and her shoulders are set. She wants to beat what was done to her and she wants me to help her do it.
I reach down, grasping the edge of my shirt. I pull it off in one smooth motion, tossing it on the counter. “You tell me to stop, I stop.” My gaze locks to hers. “You tell me to go slower, I go slower.”
She places her palms flat on my chest. “I trust you.”
Her words are like a balm, healing in places I didn’t know were broken. My lips graze the shell of her ear. “Let me show you how much that means to me.”
I scoop her up, one arm under her thighs, the other cradling her back. She squeals and clings to me.
“Not gonna drop you.” I chuckle and hold her closer to my chest, carrying her to the bedroom.
I carefully lay her on the bed. My gaze drifts over her, committing every line, dip, and valley to memory. The mattress sinks under my weight as I crawl over her, caging her between my arms.
“Lift your hips.”
She complies and I drag her thong down. I let my fingertips brush against her legs.
My hand travels back up her body, over her hip, the soft curves of her stomach, up over her breast, before stopping at her throat.
I apply enough pressure to feel her pulse as I settle between her thighs.
I watch her closely for signs of hesitancy, any pauses, catches in her breath that are more fear than pleasure.
I bring my mouth down on hers. My tongue seeking entrance.
She opens her mouth to me and I plunge inside.
I move down the column of her throat, to her collarbone.
I lick, bite, and suck my way to her chest. I gently nip at the edge of one pasty, pulling it away with my teeth.
My mouth takes its place instantly. Sucking her nipple until it’s taut and pebbled before moving to the other side and giving it the same attention.
Her gasp makes me groan. I linger at her breasts a moment longer, pressing an open mouthed kiss to the newly exposed flesh once more before murmuring against her skin.
“Still with me?”
She nods and her hands trail over the lines of my tattoos. Her fingers tracing the ink up my arms and across my chest until her fingertips dig into my shoulders.
My muscles tense and flex beneath her touch, I have to fight myself to keep from moving too fast, taking too much. “Fuck.”
My mouth crashes down on hers again. My body is braced above her, but I don’t move closer, not yet. I draw back after a moment, my breathing ragged, the space between us heated. I prop my hands on either side of her shoulders. “I want to taste you again.”
“Okay,” she answers breathlessly, skin flushed.
My eyes nearly roll back, her permission being the single most erotic thing she’s ever said to me. I bend down, shifting as I move down her body. My mouth grazes the underside of her jaw.
“Gonna go slow,” I mutter as I drag my tongue down her throat, pausing briefly to kiss the space between her breasts. My eyes flick up to hers as I nibble my way down her stomach. “Lift your hips again.”
Her brow creases, but she complies. I shove a pillow under her hips before settling between her open knees.
I smirk against her skin as I nip the inside of her knee.
I hook my arms under her thighs, lifting them over my shoulders.
I dip my head, pressing a tender kiss above her mound.
Wasting no more time, I spread her wide with my fingertips so I can seal my mouth over her clit.
The second my tongue makes contact with her skin, my eyes roll and I growl low in my throat.
I take a long swipe before falling into a rhythm that has her writhing beneath me.
The sounds she makes nearly break my resolve to go slow.
My other hand slides up her forearm before tangling my fingers together with hers like an anchor.
My mouth works her over with devastating precision, alternating between languid, teasing licks and firmer strokes that make her arch off the bed.
I press down on her lower stomach slightly to keep her in place while I adjust my angle to draw more delicious noises out of her.
“That’s it,” I growl against her clit, “just like that.”
She comes and I feel the wet rush of her release coat my tongue.
I let out a hum of contentment. I don’t stop until I’ve pulled every last gasp and tremble out of her quaking core with relentless focus.
I lift my head, meeting her hooded eyes.
I love the way she looks coming undone for me.
It’s a damn good thing she agreed to take a chance on this because I’m fucking addicted and I don’t ever want to stop.
I let her thighs slide off my shoulders and I press another gentle kiss to her lower stomach before crawling up her body.
I pause to brush my lips across her skin in a series of soft, reverent kisses.
I’m touching something priceless and I want her to know it.
I plan to make sure she understands what it means to be worshiped after a life that’s only ever taken from her.
I hover over her, looking down I smile softly. “Beautiful.”
My mouth claims hers in another kiss. I let her taste herself on my tongue. It’s a different kiss than before, slower but just as hungry. I lean back and brush a lock of hair off of her forehead. I linger there, staring into her eyes.