Chapter 31
thirty-one
She’s not fully awake, but her hand is reaching for me. Not just me, but my dick as it slots between her ass cheeks. Firming right up as she squirms in bed next to me.
I grunt a sleepy reply, and she shifts. Her hips search for more.
“You awake?” I whisper as gently as possible, pressing a little kiss to her shoulder. I spoon her, pulling her harder against my chest. She’s so small.
“No,” she mumbles, and I snort a laugh. Instead of stopping me, she widens her thighs, shoves her panties aside, and slots the head of my hard cock between her legs.
“Tulip?”
She doesn’t respond, only whimpers and wiggles.
I take the hint, slip a hand to her clit, then nudge the head of my cock in carefully.
Holding her, lying on our sides, I lever myself so I can get in deeper. And even deeper when I lift her thigh. She sighs like a seductive siren. Every roll of my hips, she bounces her ass off me in return. Letting me slide in deeper. And deeper.
I slip my arm under her to hold her throat the way she likes.
“That’s it, my wife.”
“Tell me I’m safe.”
A ripple rolls through me with the urgent desire to give her everything she wants. Everything she needs. The skin on her neck warms as I press a kiss there until she shivers. Suckling the skin into my mouth, I murmur, “You’re safe. I’ve got you.”
Her nails dig into my forearm as she picks up the pace. Now wanton and unrestrained.
It’s not long until she releases one of her signature screams. This one hoarse from the morning and the way I cut off her air.
I follow her over the edge with a guttural groan, squeezing my eyes closed and tugging her body even closer to mine. Our skin sticks together with sweat. With warmth. I surround her. I’m inside her. And she’s inside me.
“Don’t leave,” she whispers, her hand slipping to my ass to pull me against hers. “Stay.”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
Besides, it’s the best way to get her pregnant.
Let my dick plug my cum deep inside her.
But I’m starting to think…if she doesn’t want to get pregnant right now?
Maybe there’s a way I can still keep her safe.
Give her everything she wants at the best time.
We could just…wait. She wants school first. That’s understandable.
Will the president accept that?
What happens if she doesn’t?
Scout falls back to sleep.
I don’t.
When I finally get up, she’s still out. Her breath tickles my arm as she dozes. I slip out of her, then edge off the bed, trying not to disturb her. Picking up my phone, I’m surprised that she slept in so late. Has she missed a class?
Maybe that’s good for her.
I clean up, brush my teeth, and get dressed. In the kitchen, I write her a quick note.
The breeze is sharp. Too chill for just my hoodie. Should have brought my coat. But it’s not a far walk to the corner market.
Along the way, I think about what just happened. About the president bringing up how paranoid Scout is. That she’s not taking her vitamins, which I don’t really want to bring up again. Are those the fertility pills? How do I justify her not taking them to the president?
And the wellness band. I’m too afraid to broach the subject while Scout and I are on such good terms. I can’t shake Scout’s reluctance to wear it for fear that we’re being tracked for some unknown nefarious means.
What if my wife is right?
Worse. What do I do to protect her if she’s determined to be disobedient?
I swallow it down. Because being right won’t matter if we’re dead.
Every step toward the corner store, I feel the weight of a decision splitting me open. I need breakfast before I can think.
I pick up a few things I want, stop into another store, then hurry back home. As I approach our door, my neck tightens, hoping that Scout’s still asleep when I arrive. I don’t want her to be afraid that I’m gone.
Unfortunately, when I step in the front door, she’s just exiting the bedroom.
“Where were you? Your note just said, b.r.b.”
I stroll over and plant a kiss on her cheek, then present my gift. “I was getting these.”
The wrinkle of worry in her brow flattens, and a broad smile crosses her lips. “Tulips… You got me tulips.”
I place the flowers in her waiting arms.
“These are gorgeous!”
“Like you. I didn’t know what your favorites are, so I bought those.”
A sparkle shines in her blue eyes. “They’re my favorites now.”
That warms me up inside. Fuck yes. Nailed it.
I set the bags down in the kitchen. “Also got stuff for a quiche we didn’t have. Do you like artichokes?”
“Yeah, I do.” She squeezes around me as I wash my hands in the kitchen sink. We don’t have a vase, but she reaches for a tall jar instead. “Can you—”
“Got it.” I stand behind her, snag the vase with one hand, and poke her ribs with the other until she laughs.
We move around each other like it’s always been this way.
After snipping off the ends and arranging them to her taste, she places the flowers on her study table. I like watching her. Especially when she takes a moment to admire them.
She wanders back to the kitchen. Bashfully, she blinks at me several times while I crack eggs, shoving my hoodie up my arms.
“What?”
“I feel guilty. I missed my first lecture this morning. I’ve been doing that recently. And that’s not typical of me.”
I shrug. “You needed the sleep after everything that happened yesterday.”
“I need to go to my afternoon classes, though. I should go.” There’s hesitation in her voice, and I scramble to think of a way to keep her at home with me. “But I also want to know how to make a quiche.”
I smile, letting loose a chuckle of relief. “Then stick around and learn.”
Her hand trails across my lower back as she studies my work. “I will. But then I do need to get ready for my afternoon lab.”
“Fair.”
“When do you go to class?”
My face gets hot. “I think I already passed this semester.”
She sneers. “Of course. President of Delta has his grades in. Bet they’re perfect.”
“Presidential benefits.”
“Aren’t you worried about not learning things that you’ll need for the future?”
“I won’t need to know geology to run a restaurant.”
As if we’re both shocked, there’s a palpable stutter in the conversation. I can’t believe I actually said my dream out loud like that. It’s the first time I’ve stated it so plainly. Like it’s real. Like it might actually happen.
Not Griffin Motors franchise boss. Not a mechanic.
A restaurant owner…
“You want Karina,” she says softly as I work on the crust, crimping the sides in the pie pan.
I nod. “You say that as if I’m going to cheat on you.” With a snort, I turn to her, but she’s not laughing.
“Sort of.”
“What is it?”
She gazes at the faux wood floor tiles. “I think there are Greek restaurants near Johns Hopkins.”
My chest almost caves in. That’s it. Scout Griffin has locked a place in my heart. She wants me.
Maybe almost as much as I want her.
I swallow, building up the nerve to say something, but a text chime interrupts me.
She grabs her phone and lets out a loud gasp. “Oh my god! Dean Dutta is missing!”
Damn. That was quick.
Her eyes narrow as she scans my ear. As if she’s sharp enough to remember the blood there last night. And she is.
Carefully, she says, “They suspect foul play.”
“Do they?” I place the quiche in the oven, trying to steady my voice. “Huh.”
My phone buzzes in my pocket, and I flinch. Pulling it out, I see Valen’s name. And a thumbs-up. We should be safe.
Scout studies me as she twists her hair around a finger.
I lean my ass against the counter and cross my arms. “How do you feel about that?”
“I’m feeling like…” Her eyes scan my frame until I worry she may turn into an enemy. But in a fraction of a second, everything about her softens. As if she’s made a declaration in her mind of the truth. “Like maybe I married a good man.”
My chest damn near squeezes the breath out of me. My wife just called me a good man. After what I just did. I think I can die happy. I clear my throat. “Why do you say that?”
Dropping her voice to a whisper, she slides over to me and dips underneath my arms. Her fingers crawl up my chest. “Did you have something to do with this?”
I press my lips against her forehead and nuzzle her neck. “No one messes with my wife.”
Her chin rests against me as we gaze into one another’s eyes. Slowly swaying. Flecks of aqua dance in her irises beneath the deeper ocean blue. A tiny scar juts across the top left of her forehead. One white hair peeks out near her right ear.
Each little bit, I subject to memory. Like it could all vanish in a moment. And, given where we live, the situation we’re in?
It could.
“I can’t watch you everywhere. That’s a problem.”
She sighs, dropping her face to murmur. “If Dean Dutta is missing, maybe that means Ayan won’t be on campus today. I don’t think he’d do anything to me where everyone can see him. Like in class.”
I lift her chin. “I have another concern.”
“What’s that?”
“Valen. Do you know my friend Valen?”
“Olivia’s Viscount? I’ve seen him around. He’s the man who always wears the mask. I think they call him…”
“Vanq. Yes. That guy. He’s my best friend, and he’s had similar experiences that you’ve had. A man in a cloak has been hovering around campus, following them. Possibly derailing any attempts that go against the Seven. But they don’t know who he is, and he’s been looking into it.”
“It’s Ayan! It has to be! Leaving me lollipops around... Showing up wherever I am. He’s pissed at me. Because of you. He hates to lose.”
The timer blares, and we both flinch. Her cheeks flame red as she spins out of my grasp to take the quiche out of the oven.
“Maybe it’s Ayan. I’ll tell Valen to check into him.
” I swallow, my brow furrowed. Snagging her shirt, I pull her closer to me.
Because it brings me comfort to feel the heat from her body.
“But I’m worried for you, tulip. Ayan? He’s more than just an asshole.
Between him coordinating all of Beta to try to tag you on Thriller Thursday and terrorizing you out there in the woods… Who knows what else he’s capable of.”