Marshall cocked a brow. “How long has this been going on? All this time you’ve been gouging my eyes out for breaking up when you’ve had someone on the side?”
Griffin stepped right in Marshall’s face. “You’re a lying piece of shit. Don’t you everdaretalk to Phoebe like that again. You may have dated her for years, but you didn’t know how to respect her, how to appreciate her, how to treat her like a real man does. She’s mine now, so stay the fuck away.”
Marshall looked shell-shocked, but the bastard recovered quickly.
“Oh, really?” he challenged.
“You say one bad thing about her, and I’ll knock your teeth out. Get the fuck away from us, and don’t bother her again. You have a realtor, communicate through them. Otherwise, if you want to reach Phoebe, you go through me.”
Marshall looked at me. “You’re going to let this controlling bastard take over?”
Those words snapped me out of my shock. “You don’t get to ask anything about my life or say one bad word about Griffin. Get the hell away from me.”
Marshall shook his head and then walked right past us to a brand-new Mercedes parked across the street. He looked at theRange Rover, and even though I couldn’t see his eyes, I knew they were full of rage. He was forever jealous of the things he didn’t have. Now that he didn’t havemeanymore, he didn’t want anyone else to either.
Tough luck, buddy.
“You’re shaking,” Griffin murmured once Marshall reached his car.
“I’m just… I can’t believe he’d show up here.”
He touched beneath my chin and brushed it with his thumb. “Do you trust me, Phoebe?”
“Yes. Why?”
He captured my mouth the next second.
I immediately opened up for him, letting him do with me whatever he wanted. He slipped his tongue into my mouth and gave me the hottest kiss I’d ever had. My entire body sprang to life. I wrapped my arms around his neck, pushing myself up onto my toes and leaning into him. He crushed my waist with both hands, pulling me tight to him, my breasts pushing against his chest.
Then he groaned, and the sound sent tendrils of heat through my body. It was impossible to fake a groan. This kiss was turning him on just as much as me. Adrenaline coursed through my veins at the thought. I didn’t care if Marshall was looking. Frankly, I wouldn’t care if an asteroid fell next to us. I just didn’t want Griffin to stop kissing me.
I was shaking in earnest now, but not because I was mad or angry. My entire body was throbbing. Energy pulsed through me like never before.
When Griffin pulled back, his breathing was ragged. His eyes were darker than I’d seen them before now. “Better?”
“Yes.” My smile stretched from ear to ear. “Yeah, much better.”
He looked over his shoulder. Marshall was rooted in his spot, staring at us. But the second he saw that we were watching him, he got in his car and drove away.
Griffin turned his attention back to me. “The way he talked to you… Fuck, I don’t even know how I kept from pounding his teeth in. He certainly deserves it.”
I was speechless. I’d kind of thought everything he told Marshall was for show.
“Did he treat you that way when you were together?”
I ran a hand through my hair. My curls were already undone. “Sometimes. Especially when things didn’t go his way. I thought that was normal, that I was supposed to lift him up. What does it say about me?”
“It tells me that you’re a very kind person and can’t always see when those around you don’t deserve you.” He pointed at the now-vacant parking spot. “But that moron, he definitely didn’t deserve you. Find someone better, someone who can give you everything.”
Why was I starting to want this “someone” to be a certain six-foot god with green eyes, like the man standing in front of me?
“Thanks, Griffin. That means a lot to me.”
Still looking at my mouth, he took a step back, putting both hands in his pockets. “So, listen, I’ll talk to Jude and get us out of it, okay? I’ll be in touch.”
“Sure,” I said even though I really didn’t want him to cancel.
CHAPTER 10
