Yes. Make me.
She didn’t voice the plea, but maybe her whimper provided enough of a response. Because his mouth slammed down over hers, conquering, taking, fucking. Not gentle. Not coaxing or questioning. The five years that had separated them might as well as not have existed. There was no hesitation, no relearning. His tongue thrust past her parted lips, sweeping in and tangling with hers, demanding she duel with him, giving her what she loved as if their last kiss had been seconds ago instead of years. He feasted on her, one hand abandoning her cheek to slide to the nape of her neck and the other stroking down her spine to her ass, cupping her flesh, holding her steady for the carnal devastation that was his kiss.
A low, keening cry rose from her throat. The taste of him flooded into her, and moisture pricked her closed eyes at her first savoring in so long.God, so long. His rain and wind flavor seemed sharper, more intense. And she lapped it up. Fisting the lapels of his jacket, she rose on her tiptoes, silently begging for more. Begging to be branded. Begging to be taken. She angled her head, opened wider for him, surrendering, submitting. Her nipples tightened, pressing against her dress as her pussy swelled, clenched, moistened. Preparing itself for the deeper invasion that his mouth mimicked and promised…
Shit, what was she doing?
Gasping, she wrenched her head back. And when he followed, intent on recapturing her mouth, she jerked out of his hold, stumbling before righting herself.
For several long moments, they stared at each other, their harsh breathing the only sound in the silent night air. Lust tautened his features, stretching his skin over his patrician facial bones. His eyes glittered blue fire, lips were damp and swollen. She remembered this expression well. It haunted her in the darkest hours of the night, tempting and tormenting her with what she had and lost.
Glancing away, she exhaled and retreated another step.
“I want you to forget because I don’t care,” she rasped. Lied. “You should return inside. Your father and mother will be wondering where you are.”
“You think I give a fuck about what they want?” he demanded, voice rough with the hungry desire that still lit his eyes like a flame. He shifted forward, eliminating the space she’d placed between them. “Hayden, goddamnit—” Hard fingers closed around her upper arm, not bruising, but again, she yanked out of his hold as if he singed her skin.
“Do you know why your mother can’t stand the sight of me?” she blurted out. “She knows, Griffin. She knows about us.” He froze, and she took immediate advantage, edging back, out of his reach. She laughed, and the chuckle scraped her throat. “You were right earlier. I regularly lie to her about her husband’s whereabouts, but that isn’t why she’s so cold to me. I dared to become involved with her son. She tolerated our friendship when we were kids, but sleeping with you? Thinking I could be part of your family, your circle? Then driving you away? That was unforgivable.”
“That’s ridiculous,” he snapped. “You had nothing to do with why I left.”
“And could do nothing to make you stay,” she said, for a moment, the pain as fresh, as wrenching as it’d been that night. “Doesn’t matter, though. It’s what she believes. She told me.”
His sensual lips flattened into a grim line. “Tell me.”
“One afternoon, she came to the office, and your father wasn’t in. I tried to talk to her, because while she’d always been distant, she’d never been dismissive or unkind. That’s when she let me know how she’d come by your apartment one evening and saw me leaving. Saw you kiss me. About two months later, you left home. She blamed me. You were content before me. So it was my fault her son left and didn’t return for years. Because I had the audacity to reach for what wasn’t mine.”
“That’s bullshit.” He advanced a step forward. “We both know it’s bullshit.”
“Is it?” she whispered.
“What the fuck are you talking about, Hayden? You aren’t why—”
“You left. I know. She has that all wrong. But the rest of it? For a time, I did believe you were mine. That I could be a part of your family instead of serving it. That what we had surpassed status, money, our circumstances. I loved you, and thought it was enough. ThatIwas enough.”
Shadows crept into his eyes, darkening them. His lashes lowered. “Baby…”
“No,” she cut off whatever he would’ve said. Whatever platitude or apology that would shred her and leave the ribbons littering the sidewalk. “I’m only telling you this because none of it matters anymore. It’s in the past. Here—right now—is what’s important. While you might not give a fuck what your parents want, I have to. I work for him, and have to deal with her. In two weeks, you’re back in Florida, but I won’t be. I live here. My life is here. And I can’t...”Let you back in. “Let you make it more difficult when you won’t be here for the fall out. So please.” She waved toward the building’s entrance. “Go back in there. Hold up your end of the bargain you have with Joshua so you can get your property and put Houston behind you.”
Put me behind you.
Again.
He’d nearly destroyed her last time when he’d left the last time. And in two weeks, he would walk out once more. Whatever the cost, she couldn’t allow herself to be wreckage he left in his wake.
7
Griffin raised his hand to knock on the door, but at the last second hesitated before rapping his knuckles against the wood. An unfamiliar case of nerves attacked him, rattling inside his gut.
“Fuck,” he muttered, dragging his hand over his hair. Dumb as hell, standing outside a woman’s apartment like a damn stalker. Still… He couldn’t bring himself to knock.
Goddamn. At some point between the gala four nights ago—and that kiss that had him within seconds of coming in his pants—and tonight, he’d lost his nerve and his dick. He and Hayden had been walking on egg shells around each other, being polite, avoiding mention of anything personal. Griffin hadn’t insisted she join him on any additional parties and dinners his father planned, and she didn’t offer to attend. Didn’t mean he didn’t miss her like an amputated limb.
Pinching the bridge of his nose, he squeezed his eyes shut. God, he couldn’t wipe the image of her face—her hazel eyes bright with passion then dull with sadness, her lovely features tight with pain—from his mind. He’d been the cause of all the emotion. While he loved that he’d had her whimpering into his mouth, desperate for his touch, for what he could give her, he bled inside at the hurt, the disillusionment. Since she’d come back into his life, Hayden had worn this tough outer shell that would’ve made a turtle envious. But for an instant, she’d allowed him a glimpse into the woman behind the barrier, and he’d seen the pain he’d inflicted, the damage he’d wreaked.
He, who had detested the hurt and neglect his parents so carelessly meted out with their selfishness and vanity, had done the very same thing to the person who’d mattered most in his life. To hell with a bitter pill. The knowledge was like swallowing a cyanide capsule.
Maybe he could’ve taken Hayden with him…No. He shook his head. Insisting she remain and finish college had been one of his most selfless acts in his life. It would’ve been so easy to say, yes, pack up and come with me. But it would’ve robbed her, too. Of her education, her future. Of her opportunities. Ofher.
