“Sophia. What are you doing here?” he asked, and the pain in his voice blared like it had come out of a loudspeaker. Something was not right with him tonight.
“Can I come in?” I took one step forward to signal my intention of not leaving here without talking.
He glanced down at my foot. “It’s not a good idea. Not tonight.”
I wasn’t taking no for an answer. I pushed past him and entered his home. “There’s never a right time for things, Griff. Tonight’s as good as any.”
His home – if you could call it that because it seemed more like a place where he just crashed at night – was sparsely furnished. The only pieces of furniture in the lounge room were a couch, a television, and a TV cabinet. Cream paint coloured the walls, and not a painting or frame was in sight.
I turned to face him and found him watching me with an intense stare. My gaze travelled over his body, and I took in how rigid he held himself tonight. “Are you okay?” I asked, my eyes meeting his.
“I will be when you leave,” he bit out, but I didn’t buy it.
“No, I don’t believe that. You look like something is deeply troubling you.”
He forced his fingers through his hair, and muttered, “Fuck. Do we really have to do whatever this is tonight?”
I reconsidered. Perhaps he was right. Perhaps tonight was not a good time for him. It certainly didn’t seem like it was. “No, we don’t have to, but we do have to do it at some point, Griff.”
His eyes narrowed on me. “You sure about that? I think we’ve both made our positions clear to the other.”
I stepped closer, beginning to get frustrated as hell with him. “I’ve been thinking about it, and something isn’t adding up with you.”
“What?”
“You say you’re not interested in a relationship with me, but I feel something between us, Griff. And you can deny it all you want, but I know it’s there.”
His eyes didn’t leave mine, but he did close them for a moment while he drew a long, deep breath. When he opened them again, he spoke in a low tone that felt like a warning. “Sophia, I’m not the man for you. There are parts to me that aren’t good, and if you got to know the real me, you would walk away. Starting something would only cause you more heartache in your life. So please believe me when I say that you need to forget about anything happening between you and me, and you need to go and find yourself a nice man who will be able to give you what you need. I will never be that man.” He took a step away from me as if he expected me to leave. He didn’t know me very well.
I closed the distance between us and got in his face. “You think I’m a good girl who couldn’t handle being with you, don’t you?”
“That’s not what I said.”
“You didn’t have to say the words, I can tell what you’re thinking. I’m not asking you to marry me. All I’m asking for is for us to see what this could be. Why won’t you take a chance on me?” I said, my voice rising as my frustration worked itself out.
I saw the moment he snapped. Saw the moment his carefully constructed control gave way, and he let himself go. His hand curled around my waist and he yanked me to him, his eyes wild, his breathing erratic. He dragged me up against his body, and rasped, “Because I don’t want to hurt you, and make no mistake about it, I will hurt you. I won’t be able to give you what you need.”
His tone both frightened and excited me, and my heart began beating faster. Being this close to him while he was on edge like this was a huge turn on to me, and it only made me want him more. I pressed my body into his, enjoying the hiss that escaped his lips, and said, “You won’t hurt me, Griff. I trust you.”
His eyes flared – widened in an emotion I couldn’t quite put my finger on. “Don’t say that, Sophia. You should not trust me. I will fuck that up, and all you’ll be left with is hate. And I don’t want that for you.” His chest thudded with every harsh breath he took, but the thing I noticed was that although he was telling me no, he wasn’t letting me go. He still held me close.
His pain bled from him. I had no idea what it was, but I wanted to drag it from him and tell him this would be okay. I placed my hand on his cheek, and before he could pull away, I slid it around the back of his head and pulled his face to mine. Our lips met and it was like an explosion of chemistry. I’d expected him to yank his lips off mine, but he didn’t. Instead, he growled into my mouth, slid his hands around my body and onto my ass, and gripped me hard there while his tongue desperately searched for mine.
Oh, God.
Yes.
He deepened the kiss and it gradually got rougher and harder, and at the same time, he lifted me. I wrapped my legs around him, and he walked me until we were up against the wall. While his body held me in place against the wall, his hands moved to the bottom of my tank and he ripped it off over my head. He then grabbed hold of my bra straps and yanked them down to free my breasts. Without a word, his head dipped to take one of my nipples into his mouth, and he sucked and licked me. And then he bit me lightly, and holy mother of God that felt good. The pain intersected with the pleasure, and caused my body to jerk as I let out a loud moan.
His head snapped up and he stared at me through his lust. “Did that feel good?” he demanded to know.
“Yes.”
Holding my gaze, he took hold of my breast and kneaded it before squeezing my nipple. My back arched as the p
ain and pleasure shot through me. He narrowed his eyes on me, and suddenly let me go. His movements were swift, and a moment later, he had me on my feet with my back to him, face to the wall. He grasped my hands and placed them up against the wall. With a quick flick, he had my bra off, and then he reached around and undid my shorts and yanked them down. It all happened so fast, I struggled to keep up, but I loved every second of it.
“Have you ever fucked a man who likes control?” he asked as he ran his hand over my ass.