Chapter 23
twenty-three
My brothers glance at me judgmentally.
Leo, my oldest brother, runs a hand through his hair. “You married a smart one.”
Atlas grabs my shoulders and squeezes. “Welcome to married life, little bro. Where you’ll fuck up every day of your life and pay for it, too.”
Nico snorts and grabs a crate of the stuff I threw in it. Leo pokes a finger into his chest. “Don’t think you’re still not disappointing Mom by not settling down yet, fucker.”
“Yeah, yeah. I’m the disappointment. I get it.”
He shoves him aside and walks out the door.
“Why do you gotta say that shit to him?” Atlas growls, grabbing some clothes from my closet in Delta House. “You know he’s doing good recently.”
Leo rolls his eyes and points at a chair in the corner, but I shake my head. He murmurs, “Recently is the word. I’m just waiting for him to show up with more track marks. Any day now.”
“Remind me to never make a mistake in front of you,” I tell them as I head for the door. But that’s how I’ve lived my life. There are no secrets in the Griffin family. My brothers have a way of finding out. Taunting you into submission. And the competitions are fierce.
Who can earn the most money at their franchise of Griffin Motors?
Who takes the best vacation?
Who will have the most kids?
Where Nico decided to bow out of the entire thing, I keep my mouth shut and hope to be the sneaky winner at the end of the day. Because at least I’ve got the advantage of being the youngest boy in the family.
But shit may hit the fan when I don’t go into the automotive repair trade.
So I try to make up for it now in other ways.
Vying for Delta president being one of them. Taking my appointed and getting married now being another. And, hopefully, I just started a family with Scout last night.
By the time we gather everything I want to bring and head over to the new place, it’s early afternoon. I get giddy hoping she’ll already be there.
A tinge of disappointment laces the excitement I feel opening the door for the first time. She’s not home.
But the place is grand.
“Wow. Better than the hole in the wall I lived in when I moved out,” Leo says, his broad shoulder bumping into mine as he enters with a few boxes.
“Okay. I’m mad. This looks new, Ape. Maybe I should have gone to university and sucked the president’s dick, too.” Atlas grabs me around the neck and rubs my head like he used to when we were kids. I shirk him off as he tumbles in toward the living area.
“Don’t fucking call me that anymore. I’m a grown man. With a wife and an apartment.”
He digs into an open box and holds up a pair of my Star Wars boxers with Chewbacca on the front. “You sure? Then can I burn these?”
I rip them from his finger and wander toward the bedroom. Shit… I thought Delta House was nice. The walls are plain and the furniture is modern. But everything smells of freshly cut wood and paint.
Tossing my underwear into one of the dresser drawers, I leave room for Scout’s things. On the top is a white bottle and a note. In the plastic container are some pills that look like vitamins. Scout’s name is written on it and some of the instructions are for her to take two a day.
“I need to get to the store. Buy some things to make it nice,” I murmur, studying the bottle with a furrowed brow. Is this part of the fertility drugs the president mentioned?
What I don’t tell my brothers is that I’m hoping that Scout will like this place and want to stay. The way she left this morning makes me worry that she won’t comply. We’ll both be fucked if she doesn’t.
Leo rattles his keys as Nico sets down the last of my stuff.
“I’ll drive you to the store, but Nico has to go with us. He’s the one with an eye for color.” He says it mockingly, quoting something Nico said previously, and Nico punches his side.
They wrestle all the way to the truck.
As I stroll into the parking lot, my phone buzzes with a notification. I step away from the guys to have the phone read me the text.
President Alert
I noticed Mrs. Griffin hasn’t moved into the apartment yet.
My heart pounds hard against my ribs. Shit. I swallow and hover my thumbs over the keyboard.
I can’t come up with a damn word. And I’m still thinking when another message blares over my speaker.
President Alert
I’d like to see some pictures on your social media. Make moving-in day a big thing. Not to mention some posts about trying for a baby!
My hand reaches for my hair, and I tug on it until it hurts.
Where’s my wife?
Scrolling through my contacts, I find hers and press call.
“Hello?” She sounds breathless.
“Hey. Are you, uh, still at the library?” I can’t help the sharpness in my voice.
“In the medical library. Why?” Her tone is just as harsh as mine.
“Because you shouldn’t be focused on your studies right now. You’ll get your As without even taking a fucking test. Don’t worry about that. Just focus on moving in.” I swallow. “And getting pregnant.”
“Excuse me?”
“The president of the university left you some vitamins here to take. I think they’re from the Wellness Center. And our orders are to move into our new place today.”
“I have an exam coming up—”
“Doesn’t matter. They’ll pass you. This is more important.”
There’s a pause, then a huff of an exasperated breath. “You tattled on me to the president for not moving in?”
“I didn’t say shit. She already knows. But as far as I’m concerned, it’s rude not to be here right now, and I—”
She hangs up on me.
She hangs up on me.
Her husband.
Chest banded with frustration, I take a deep inhale to steady my sprinting pulse.
“Everything okay?” Nico asks with a knowing look.
“No. But let’s go get some stuff for the place.”
I need to calm down before I do what I need to do.
One grocery store and a discount superchain later, I’m unpacking bedding and stuffing food into the pantry. Still raging. In fact, the anger has morphed into something worse.
Every moment she’s not here, and every second the daylight dips into darkness, I’m twitching with rage.
We’re supposed to be doing this to show the university we’re their premiere couple. Instead, I got a woman who wants to put herself and everything else above our marriage.
Maybe that’s the real sore spot. The thing that’s eating at me under my skin.
I’m trying already to be the best husband for her…
but is she willing to be my wife? I never asked.
I assumed that if I showed her how good this could be, she’d go along with what the university says.
Even get excited about this new life. But I think I have a problem on my hands.
Scout’s acting as if she doesn’t want my help. And if I’m not useful, what good am I? The wrath settles in me like wildfire. Burning through my nerves. The first time we made love? I saw what she wanted. This beast raging to get out. Not the man.
Right there at the entry, I drop all my shopping bags, grab my keys, and throw open the front door. It’s freezing outside, but I don’t feel it. Not even as I straddle my bike and head toward the medical school on the north end of campus.
I’ve never been inside, but it doesn’t take me long to find the library on the first floor. The place is old and smells of mildew. Which only makes me even more infuriated.
She’d rather be here than at home with me?
No. Un-fucking-acceptable.
A few students eye me like they’re scared. And I get it. I’m pretty scared of myself right now.
But I brush past tables, scanning every area for a little woman with dark hair.
I spot her at a long table alone, books spread out around her and a laptop open in front. Her hair’s in a loose bun on her head and a pair of thick-rimmed glasses perch on the end of her nose. She’s wearing loose sweats and a big NU sweatshirt.
All the ire I have inside travels immediately lower…and my cock fills with blood at the sight of her. So studious. Unaware. Almost at peace.
I want to ruin it.
Marching over to her table, I reach the chair across from hers. Then I slap my hands on either side of the pile of her study materials. She flinches, eyes flying wide to my face as she gasps. I lean forward and grit my teeth.
“I got your number, tulip. Yeah… You pretend you don’t want to be told what to do, but you want it rough. Thick. Hard. And want to be manhandled by someone paying attention.”
Barely above a whisper, she protests, “Nope. Nope.” But her face belies everything she’s saying. It’s almost hysterical. But I’m too mad to laugh.
“Out of that fucking chair.” I lower my voice to a snarl. “Now.”
She carefully stands like she’s new to her body, and I snag her upper arm, eyes darting around the room, looking for some place to take her.
I guide her toward a study room in the corner. One dark and away from the main area. As soon as we enter, I slam the glass door behind me and don’t bother to turn on the light.
She starts to cross her arms, but I grip her waist and toss her ass onto the table. My thighs spread hers wide.
“You can’t just do this.” She panics, glancing behind my back, but even as she’s protesting, she’s leaning back.
I smile at that. “Oh, but I am.”
Gripping her hip, I flip her over and tug her sweatpants down frantically. Her palm slaps at my hand, and I almost stop. But then, she helps me by shoving them below her hips.
I snort a laugh into her ear while freeing myself, my cock rigid in my grip.
“Spread wider for me, baby. Shove that ass out and show me how bad you want it.”
“I don’t!” she huffs out angrily, but she does exactly as I say.
While she wiggles, I stroke my heated length, squeezing the tip so I don’t come too fast. When my fingers find her clit, she moans. I rub and flick and tease until she’s shaking beneath me.
Pressing my lips to her ear, I mutter every nasty thought I have about her.
“I love your little ass, pressing against my dick like you can’t wait for me to be inside.”
“I won’t come that way. Doesn’t matter.”
“You won’t, huh?” I ask, and she shakes her head.
My hand slips away, but she drags it right back where she needs it. Right over her clit. I grin as her hips writhe against me.
“No?” I ask again, lining myself up. Wetness slicks the swollen head as I press forward—slow, careful—until she takes just the tip.
Teeth clenched, I try to stop myself from the urge to thrust.
She attempts to grip the wood table but gives up and tosses her head and hair back as it falls from the loose bun. “Oh, my god! How are you this big?”
I want to apologize, but instead, I lift her thigh, placing it on the table so I can get a better angle and make it comfortable. I press a chaste kiss to her temple, then wallop a smack on her butt.
That’s when I shove in. Full force. Length soaked with her arousal and gripping me like she can’t get enough. She chokes on a gasp.
“How big?”
“So… So fucking big.”
She grunts as she tries to get away from me, but shifts her weight back so far that she takes all of me. I watch as her pussy engulfs my entire cock.
I take over. Thighs burning. Back aching. I plunge deep inside. And deeper. And deeper.
Fucking hell! She feels incredible. Every time she bounces off my abs, my balls smack her in return.
Her breathing picks up the pace, and my fingers flick her clit the way I think she likes. Instead of holding me there, she shifts that hand up. Higher. And higher. I think she’s aiming for me to cup her breasts, and I do, squeezing a little. But she continues shoving it up.
All the way until I’m gripping her neck. My eyes squint with lust. “Yeah, my girl. You like that? Losing your breath while I fuck you hard?”
“Please!”
With a muffled chuckle, I tighten my grip and put pressure on her throat. My hips work rougher. The hand around her neck pulls her back into me until our skin smacks loudly enough I worry about who may come in. And see me using my wife’s body the way I want.
The way she needs.
“Not going to come, though?”
Locking tight around me, her pussy gives away what her mouth won’t.
“No!”
But then, she loses control. Body shaking. Legs slumping. Arms flailing out at her sides.
She screams. Loud and unrestrained. Like she has to have me take over because it’s the only vacation her busy mind gets to have is when she’s like this.
I shove her head down by the back of the neck until she’s bent over the table. She’s jelly. Loose and compliant now. I use her pussy for what must be several minutes. Taking my time until I’ve had my fill and she’s a whimpering mess.
Holding back a deep sigh of satisfaction of my own, I plunge in deep and come. Pleasure rips through me until I have nothing left. I fold my heaving body over hers and hold on. Pulling her closer. Pressing little kisses against her shoulder. Breathing heavily in her ear.
I remember the fury I had when I arrived. It’s gone. But to teach her a lesson, I straighten up, pull out, and situate myself while she’s reeling, collapsing on the table. Her knees buckle. Sweatpants puddle around her ankles.
I set her upright and face her, leaning in and kissing her harshly. Biting her lip. Shoving my tongue inside.
As soon as I pull back, I swipe my thumb over her panting mouth and smirk. “See you at home.”
I’m proud of myself. It’s not really my nature to be so gruff. But she’s bringing it out of me. The way she looks at me with shock and the heat in her eyes as I leave the study room makes me think she’ll follow and do what’s right.
I hope she does.
Taking a deep breath of the night air, I saunter toward the lot and my bike.
When I pull into our apartment complex, I’m practically singing. It’s been so long since I had regular sex, I’m not sure my brain will be able to function with the number of times I’ve come recently.
Just before I dig out my keys, I spot a shadow near the woods at the back of the lot.
“Hey!” I call out.
Is this the same guy I saw the other night at Omega House?
The figure takes off into the night.
I pull out my Glock, racking the slide to load the chamber. Then, set off on a pursuit. But by the time I’m to the tree line, the fucker has disappeared.
Evaporated like he never existed.