She nods once, her eyes glistening with so much repressed emotion that the weight of it nearly suffocates me. Her pulse beats erratically beneath my palm, keeping perfect time with mine.
“I told him that he never fucking deserved you, but by some goddamn miracle, you loved him anyway. I told him he would be making the biggest mistake of his life if he didn’t marry you, and if he let you slip through his fingers, he’d regret it forever. The same way I regretted ever walking away from you in the first place.”
“Griffin…”
“It’s my fault for not telling you sooner, Angel. I never should’ve given him room to make you doubt me. Doubtus. You were never a wager. You were never anything less than my dream come true. The way I love you isn’t logical or rational. It’s instinctual. Essential to my happiness. I love you in a way that’s maddening. Excruciating. Fucking hopeless. I love you with such reckless abandon that my heart can’t even contain it. Loving you and our beautiful little girl is my goddamn destiny. ”
Angelina
His thumb traces the line of my jaw as the words hang in the air between us, and my stubborn resolve weakens.
Regret.
Love.
Destiny.
Am I really so desperate as to let pretty words erase what I thought to be true only minutes ago? But then, wouldn’t I be letting Tyler’s words erase what’s been true for far longer than that?
I love this man with every atom of my existence. I may not have the words to convey the depth of my affections, but I know my heart unreservedly belongs, at least in part, to Griffin Hayes. It has for a long time. The other part belongs to our daughter, the little girl he chose to love without reservation.
My skin prickles with awareness as I gently lay my hands over his. Words are not enough, but I can show him. My heart hammers as I raise onto my toes and claim his lips. I revel in the low sound that rumbles through his chest.
One hand leaves my cheek, palming my hip to pull my body flush against his. We mold together perfectly, like destiny crafted us to fit. I feel dizzy and weightless as his scent swirls around me. My fingers tangle in his hair, trying to bring him impossibly closer.
His lips drift lower, over my jaw and neck like he’s mapping me from memory. Pressure builds behind my eyes with each reverent touch, and a different kind of desperation grabs hold of me.
“I love you, too.” My vision blurs as the whispered words slip past my lips.
I swallow the salty tang of unexpected tears as his lips return to mine, and I savor every languid stroke as urgency gives way to tenderness. He pulls back, pressing his forehead to my temple like he’s caging me in so nothing else exists but us. His thumbs glide gently over my cheekbones, capturing my tears. The emotional weight of the last several hours driftsaway as I breathe him in and let his ardent affection swallow me whole.
“Tell me you believe me.” The deep timbre of his voice flows through me like warm honey.
“I believe you,” I say breathily.
“Thank fuck,” he grits out. His hands find my waist, and he walks me backward until my ass hits the wall. Bracing one arm above my head, he grips my chin between his thumb and forefinger. “You’re going to go to our bedroom, strip yourself bare, and wait for me in our bed. When I get there, I’m going to remove all of my clothes and run my tongue over every inch of your bare skin. I’m going to take my time with you, Angel. Make you come over and over until you can’t take anymore, then I’ll fuck you long and slow until you can’t tell where you end and I begin.”
“What about?—”
He silences me with a finger against my lips. “Trust me to take care of everything else.”
“Ok.”
His lips press tenderly to the tip of my nose. “Go.”
Chapter 37
Just One Taste
? i’m yours - Isabel LaRosa
Griffin
After droppingJessie off with my parents, I head back to the house in search of my wife. I find her exactly where she’s supposed to be—in our bed, naked, and apparentlyimpatient.
She’s in the middle of the mattress with her back against the headboard, one hand delving between her thick thighs, the other rolling her nipple between her thumb and forefinger.
“I leave you alone for thirty minutes and you just can’t fucking help yourself,” I say, my voice low and resonant. “Did I tell you to get started without me?”
