“Perfect.” I put my hand into his and led him through the crowd.
Time to take my prey somewhere we could be alone.
Chapter 4
Taylor
I didn’t do things like this. Sure, once a month, Trav dragged me out of my shell and forced me to go to some place that I wouldn’t normally go, like an amateur MMA fight. But going somewhere with a man I was attracted to, so we were on our own and I could humiliate myself after watching him and his huge body fight and turn me on for the past two hours? Yeah, that I did not do.
Griff’s large hand encased mine as he led us through the crowd. He kept me close to his body, as if shielding me. Everyone parted for him like he was royalty. Or just really scary. We madeour way through easily enough. Five of me could fit behind his massive frame, huddled against him like we were navigating through a dangerous jungle and he was my only salvation. That idea shouldn’t have turned me on so much.
Once we were outside, he clicked a button, and a sporty red car flashed its lights. I’d assumed that Griff had nice things, so the car made sense. He seemed to ooze confidence and his clothes were expensive. The silver watch he wore always drew my eye when I was working and I could watch him from across the room.
He held the door open for me, and I slid inside, feeling completely out of place in the beautiful car. My jungle fantasy morphed into one of Griff in a tuxedo taking me away from some fancy party where we’d danced the night away. In my fantasies I was always more coordinated than what I was in real life.
“I’m not sure what sort of coffee places will be open this late. Would you like to go back to my place? I have one of those fancy machines. It makes a latte, espresso, macchiato. All the things,” Griff said. No awkwardness or hesitation in his voice. Just raw confidence sitting next to me while I shook with a need for something I could never have.
“Sure,” I said. “Although I don’t even know the difference between all of those things. Regular drip coffee is fine.”
“I don’t either,” he said. “Maybe we can learn.”
He spoke as he drove, keeping his eyes on the road, but flicking his glance toward me every so often. He had a way of putting me at ease, which then in turn made me more nervous. If I let my guard down around him, then who knew what sort of things I might say or do. My fantasies of him picking me up and manhandling me around a bedroom or any room would likely shine out of my eyes in the most obvious and embarrassing way.
“I assume you didn’t mean to leave your work with me today,” he said.
Fuck. I’d almost forgotten about that monster chapter and leaving it on his desk. I shook my head. “No. I was… I’m taking a creative writing course.” That was true. “That scene was for a homework assignment.” That was not true. My old professor would probably have a heart attack if he read the kind of work I wrote.
“Interesting homework,” he said. “Are you sure you’re not a famous writer, and that was your latest work-in-progress that you promised your readers would be available soon on your website? You were going to have the first five chapters done by the end of the month. They’ve been frothing at the mouth to learn what Grysten and Tobias were going to do next.”
I nearly choked. Thank goodness we weren’t drinking coffee yet.
“How did you know all that?”
His face remained a stoic mask. His shoulders so wide I wondered how he fit in the car. It was only the smallest amountof movement at the corner of his mouth that told me he was amused. Yet, I didn’t feel like he was making fun of me. “A little bit of internet sleuthing. Your author website doesn’t have your real name on it, but I searched for domains that you own and found it. You really should invest in the domain privacy protection.”
I bit my lip. I couldn’t deny anything that he said. I did recall that pesky popup asking me to spend extra money each year to keep my domain private. I’d declined. “I didn’t mean to be working on my other work while at work.” Gross. How many times was I going to say the word work? I was an author for fuck’s sake. Couldn’t I come up with different words? “Sawyer assured me that if it wasn’t busy, I could do homework. And—”
“Taylor, you’re not in trouble.” He looked at me for longer than a breath this time, as if gauging my reaction. “Well, not for working on your latest book.”
“How else would I be in trouble?”
He turned back to the road, and his hands gripped the steering wheel, rotating slightly as his palms caressed the leather. We were stopped at a red light now. His grin turned feral when he glanced my way.
“I have a few notes. Perhaps some advice I can give you.”
I swallowed thickly. “Advice?”
“Well, I couldn’t help but notice that your monster was roughly my size. Six-seven. Broad-shouldered. I might have some experience with being that size. Though, I don’t have the tusks. Would you like to do some research for your book?”
My breath hitched. “Yes,” I croaked.
“Good. That was what I was hoping you would say.”
At that moment, I wasn’t sure if I was living in a fantasy in my head, or if this was reality. And I didn’t fucking care.
Chapter 5
Taylor
