I kissed her neck and the valley between her tits, tasting a hint of olive that was ingrained in her blood. My hand fisted her hair, and I rocked into her, my hard cock rubbing against her through my jeans.
She pulled my shirt over my head then got my jeans loose so I could finally be free. My pants and boxers settled around my ankles, and my hard cock was finally against the lace of her bottoms.
I pulled them down her legs as I held her with a single arm. Her legs were so smooth and soft, luscious against my fingertips. I widened her thighs again and rubbed my length right against her aching clit.
She dragged her nails down my back as she moaned into my mouth. “Did you mean what you said?”
I guided the head of my cock to her entrance and slid inside, burrowing into the wet flesh that belonged to me exclusively. “Do I ever say anything I don’t mean?” I held her in place, my hands under her ass and my cock fully sheathed. I watched her breathe through the stretching, watched her enjoy the way I made her feel.
“No…” She held on to my shoulders, full of me.
“Then you have your answer.” I started to thrust inside her, my cock surrounded by her wetness. Her pussy was incredible, made just for me to enjoy. Boys may have had her, but they were never man enough to claim her like I did. I erased every man who had ever been there, claimed this territory as my own, and banished any other man from coming anywhere near her. She was mine.
Her fingers slid into the back of my hair. “Griffin…”
Vanessa erased the memory of every woman I’d ever been with. She made them seem insignificant, like they never happened in the first place. It didn’t matter how beautiful they were. It didn’t matter how sexy they were. They weren’t this woman…the only woman who actually meant something to me.
She was the only woman who claimed my heart.
“Don’t ever leave me again.”
I thrust into her harder, hitting her back against the wall. “I won’t.”
“Promise me.” She moved with me, her eyes fierce and emotional.
I grabbed her neck and looked her dead in the eye as I made love to her in the hallway. “I promise, baby.”
I fell asleep right after sex. I got into bed without showering, and I slept through the afternoon and all through the night. When I woke up the next day, Vanessa wasn’t beside me. I smelled breakfast in the air and figured out where she ran off to.
I hopped into the shower first and got ready for the day before I joined her in the kitchen. She stood at the counter, a pile of burned pancakes sitting on a plate. Most of the bacon was burned too, with the exception of a few pieces.
When she noticed me, she set down the spatula and turned off the stove. “I was trying to make you breakfast…didn’t work out too well.”
I grabbed a piece of bacon and took a bite. “It’s not bad.”
“It’s not good either.”
I pressed her into the counter and kissed her. “It’s the thought that counts.”
Her hand moved across my flat stomach. “No. It’s the fullness in my man’s stomach that counts. I’m going to need to learn to cook so you don’t starve to death.”
“I can cook for myself, baby.”
“But I want to cook for you…” She ran her hands up my chest, over my black ink, and looked into my eyes with self-pity. “Maybe Lars can teach me.”
“Or I could teach you.”
“You’re busy.”
“Not anymore.” I hadn’t had the formal conversation with Max, but he couldn’t control my decisions. If I wanted out, that was the end of the story. There was nothing he could do to stop me.
She rested her forehead against my chest and sighed. “I hated having you gone…every second of it.”
My palms moved up and down her arms, comforting her. “I know. When Max told me what you said…I knew I couldn’t do it anymore. I don’t want my woman staying at her parents’ place because she’s scared when I’m not there. I don’t want to be that kind of man, a man who abandons his woman for cash.”
“I’ve never felt abandoned, Griffin.” She lifted her gaze to look at me. “I don’t mind staying with my parents either. I don’t mind missing you because it makes me appreciate you even more when you’re here. Knowing you’re in danger…that’s what bothers me. That’s why I can’t sleep. That’s why I feel scared.” Her fingers snaked over my collarbone. “I wouldn’t know what to do if I ever lost you…” Her eyes watered just thinking about it.
I cupped her face and brushed my thumb across her cheek. “You’ll never lose me, baby. I’m right here—and I’m not going anywhere.”