He was beginning to care. Too much.
Chelsie awoke with a start. For a long while, she lay in Griff’s arms, savoring the feel of his body close to hers. Last night’s revelations came swarming back. She’d only told that story once before, to the police. At the time, she’d been so alone. In the aftermath of what she’d come to think of as the main incident, she’d never repeated the tale. Not to her parents, who would hate the scandal should the episode be revealed, and certainly not to her happily married sister. She couldn’t face Shannon with the shame of what she’d allowed to happen, and later of what she’d done.
The result had been a withdrawal of the only emotional support Chelsie had ever known. Once Shannon had gotten pregnant, the closeness they’d shared as siblings disintegrated even more.
To have Griff’s unconditional support now meant a great deal. But then, Chelsie had omitted select details and he hadn’t thought to ask. Her inability to have children and the way in which she’d dealt with her ex-husband would change his perception of her forever. Though she wouldn’t have lied had he questioned her, she was grateful she had been spared the humiliation of admitting the truth.
Silence still reigned in the house. Maybe she could sneak out to the couch and avoid the agony of a pseudo-morning after.
She squirmed towards the edge of the bed. Griff locked one solid leg around hers, halting her effort
“I won’t pass judgment, you know,” he said, obviously referring to her admission last night.
Chelsie closed her eyes. She’d been so close. “I never thought you would.”
“Then why sneak out on me? It’s not like we did anything and can’t face each other in the morning. At least, not yet.”
She rolled to face him and placed a hand on his forehead. “No fever.”
“Yet.” He smiled, a sexy grin she found impossible to resist. “Care to rectify things?” he asked.
Would she ever. Good thing reality prevented her from acting on her baser instincts. “Alix will be up soon.”
“Have you looked at a clock?”
She shook her head.
“It’s five in the morning. That means three things. One, Alix finally slept through the night. Two, with any luck, she’ll continue her pattern of sleeping until six-thirty or so. Three, we have to celebrate number one.” He raised himself up on one elbow and looked down at her. “Unless you have other plans, in which case you’re free to leave.”
His dark eyes simmered with a combination of amusement and banked desire.
Free to leave? Her heart already belonged to him and wouldn’t allow her to walk away. She’d held her own feelings for this man in check for so long, she now wondered if he’d done the same.
She glanced over. “You’re so kind, Griff. Always giving me a choice.” She sighed. “Let’s see. Should I stay or should I go?”
He chuckled. “What can I say? I’m a firm believer in free will.” Clasping her hand in his, he brought it to rest against his cheek. “I care about you,” he said in a more serious voice.
“More than you want to?”
“More than I should.”
“So join the club.” She laughed ruefully, understanding the full import of his words for them both. “How’d you get this?” She traced the corner of his eye with a fingertip.
He drew a deep breath, but remained still. “I jumped off a fire escape when I was twelve.”
“Girl watching?” she asked with a grin.
He shook his head. “No, Jared watching. The kids at school heard about how our mother took off with a boyfriend. Jared would get into fights and the bigger kids would wait on the corner to finish the job.”
“Protective older brother,” she murmured, brushing his hair off his forehead.
“At least I had backup.”
“Ryan?”
“Who else?” He stilled her hand midair, his fingers locking with hers. “It’s not working.”
“What isn’t?”