Reid’s hands slip underneath my ass and when he lifts me up, I wrap my arms around his neck. “I still need fresh clothes, Reid.”
He huffs out a sigh as we return to ourbedroom. “If I didn’t have to worry about other men seeing what’s mine, I’d have you sitting next to me naked.”
I give him a trembling smile. “Say that again, boyfriend. Tell me I’m yours.”
“Mine,” he growls, dropping me onto the bed and falling down over me. He braces himself above so the only point of contact is his noticeable erection against my swollen and needy pussy.
“Reid, we can’t,” I say between gasps as he rubs against me. “Poor Jake needs to pack and we’re running out of time.”
Reid brushes his nose against mine. “We can’t possibly run out of time, Quinn. We’ve still got forever.”
I’d expected a long drive back to Chicago, but we’d gone straight from the cabins to an airfield where I quickly spotted the now-familiar Griffin logo, this time on a private jet. The transfer from jet, to SUV, to swanky hotel was seamless, and it’s just after midday when we step into a penthouse suite in the Excelsis hotel owned by the Moncriefs.
Only Jake and Levi accompanied us on the flight. The rest of their team have been tasked with decommissioning the temporary base at the cabins. I’ve been promised I’ll be reunited with my Jeep soon, but at least my belongings have traveled with me.
I refuse to consider how thoroughly the Griffin’s head of security had inspected my things. Hopefully it wasn’t with the same level of enthusiasm Reid showed when he strip-searched me.
“I need to go into the office soon,” Reid explains as he joins mein front of the floor-to-ceiling windows that look out over the Chicago River. “But Jake’s going to post a couple of men outside the door.”
“Is that to keep the bad guys out, or to keep me in?”
Reid pulls me to him. “They’re to protect you, Viper. And to make me feel better about leaving you here.”
Resting my hands on his chest, I feel the sigh as it leaves him. He’s changed into his city attire of white button-down and suit pants.
“I presume I’m not allowed to come along and wait around in your offices. Are your brothers being that cautious?”
He strokes my back. “I did try, but this afternoon’s meeting is all about finding a way through this that protects us all.”
“It’s OK, I’m not offended,” I insist, tapping a finger against his chest. “I’m the one who said I can’t be trusted.”
The crisp shirt beneath my fingertips feels too much like a uniform. I miss the man dressed in black who refused a Kevlar vest in his haste to get to me, the one who exists beyond his brothers’ influence. Before me stands a Griffin. Loyal, ruthless and duty bound to follow his pack leader.
Reid stills my fidgeting by placing his hand over mine. “I’ll be back soon.”
“Fine,” I say. “I need to go shopping anyway to pick up a few things.”
“Quinn, I’m not sure that’s such a good idea. We’ll go out later, together.”
“I’m not in danger, not from Ilya, not yet. He wants me here amongst his enemies,” I say, dropping as big a clue as I dare that I’m here with his blessing.
Reid doesn’t pick up on it. He’s too preoccupied with my proposed shopping trip.
“Make that face all you like,” I continue, “but I am going out. And, in the spirit of full disclosure, I’ll be buying a new burner phone. I destroyed the last one in case Ilya got his hands on it, and I need to make contact with Strider before he starts to panic.”
“Cool,” Reid says, bringing my hand to his mouth to kiss my fingers. “You don’t have to justify your actions. You have your own agenda, and we’re not in the business of hostile takeovers. We prefer working partnerships.”
I can’t return his smile. He’s talking collectively, as a Griffin would. What if they put it to a vote about Reid staying involved with me? I know how that vote would go. Driving us apart is the one thing Reid’s brothers and Ilya have in common. Reid and I don’t stand a chance. Which is why I’m going to make every moment count.
“At some point, I need to arrange to see a doctor too. Your jumbo pack of condoms won’t last the week, and I’d like to check out what other birth control options are available.”
“Are you sure you want to do that?” he asks. “I’m happy to carry on using condoms if it’s easier for you.”
I wrap my arms around his neck, and we rock against each other. “There are enough forces trying to come between us, latex doesn’t have to be one of them.”
He rubs his nose against mine. “Nothing is coming between us, Quinn,” he promises. “But I don’t want you doing anything you’re not comfortable with. If I’ve been overenthusiastic, you will say, won’t you?”
“Overenthusiastic?” I repeat as I press up against him. This man is always hard.
