by Ashley Hall
The way I moved against her was almost fucking desperate—I had to be as deep as I could, as fast as I could, and I wanted nothing more than to lose my mind in her tight, hot pussy. She clenched around me like a vice, sucking me in. That, along with the sight of her lips parted, her blonde hair in messy waves on the table, was almost enough to undo me right then and there.
But I was far from done with her.
I wasn’t finishing until dear Sadie had gotten her due.
Straightening, I pulled out of her just long enough for her to whine at the loss. She arched up against me, body taut as a bowstring, as she struggled against the grip I had on her wrists. With a dark chuckle, I rearranged myself to that I could hold both of her wrists with one hand. The other crept down to smack her thigh sharply so she yelped. “Impatient Sadie. So fucking greedy.”
She all but writhed in my grip, a mewl of want escaping her. “Griffin, you can’t…”
“Can’t what?” I demanded, smacking her ass again, harder this time. “Do what I want with you? Fuck you? Not fuck you? You’re mine, Sadie. I would have thought you’d get that into that gorgeous head of yours by now.” My hand moved firmly, almost bruisingly, along her thigh a moment before I flipped her so her stomach was pressed against the table.
Those soft, perfect thighs of hers trembled in anticipation as my cock slid over her dripping entrance. “Say it, Sadie,” I growled, needing to hear the words. “You’re mine.”
Her breath hitched on a soft whimper as she rubbed back against me in need. To her merit, she only paused for a brief second before she answered me. “I’m yours, Griffin. Yours and no one else’s. Now, hurry up and fuck me.”
Jesus fucking Christ.
Still surprising me.
When I pushed inside her again, she clawed at the table, pressing back against me with a loud cry as she took every glorious inch. She immediately tightened, vice-like, around me, and there was a hot gush as she got even slicker, her thighs trembling wildly.
It was like a goddamned invitation.
Taking firm hold of her hips, I slammed my hips against hers with a force that pressed her into the side of the table. She went up on her toes and I held her there, at the perfect angle, as I pressed deeper into her with every stroke.
She tried to stay quiet, and she almost managed. Until I reached up underneath her and found the slick little bead of her clit to play with. Almost immediately, she cried out sharply, her breath hitching. All the muscles in her back tightened as she clamped down around me hard.
All her muscles contracting around my cock…milking me as she came…it was like heaven. I gritted my teeth before biting firmly into her shoulder as I staved off my own orgasm. I wasn’t quite ready to finish yet.
I still had an hour of frustration to work out.
While she was still shaking, I picked her up, grunting at the way the position almost forced my cock out of her. I carried Sadie the ten steps out of the dining room and into the living room where I draped her over the back of what I was sure was a very expensive leather couch, though I was pretty positive that I didn’t give a shit.
When I thrust back into Sadie, this time I all but lifted her lower half off the ground. She screamed—a sound that echoed around the otherwise empty beach house—her fingers curling into, and quite possibly ripping, the leather. It was gratifying as hell, knowing I was the only man to ever make her like this.
I turned Sadie Warner into a creature of raw need, and that, along with the way her body gripped mine with ravenous need, was all I needed.
Sadie
I was exhausted.
Not the awful kind that came from a week in the office with my boss riding my behind to stick to a deadline, or the kind that came after pulling an all-nighter to finish something I’d been putting off. No, I was the bone deep, sated tired that came from having my body stimulated in every way it could be.
It was a sensation I’d only come to know since meeting Griffin. For me, sex had always been something rather unfulfilling. When it was over, I usually ended up crawling out of bed to finish things myself. My previous partners probably couldn’t even find the clitoris on a female anatomy map.
Griffin, for all his lack of formal schooling, had no problem with that.
The man could literally pleasure me into unconsciousness—as had been proven by the place where I woke up.
To be honest, I couldn’t even properly recall drifting off. What I could recall was Griffin having his way with me on nearly every surface available in his beach house before finally allowing me to collapse on the sofa, my limbs refusing to support me. From there, we’d somehow ended up in a mound of pillows on the floor, and that was where I currently found myself.
It was surprisingly comfortable, considering the location, and I found myself swimming back into consciousness slowly, gently.
Any trepidation I might have felt about this trip had been melted away—victim to Griffin’s irrefutable relaxation techniques.
The thought made me smile sleepily as I rolled onto my stomach. I was naked as the day I was born and I was pretty sure Griffin owed me a new dress, but the fact didn’t bother me as much as it should have. In fact, considering that I was absolutely bare on the floor in a strange place, I felt pretty damn good. I was away from the office, from the career I thought had defined my life and everything I was expected to be.
Here, I didn’t have to be safe Sadie. I could be whatever I wanted.
Rolling over, I tucked a pillow under my back so my behind wouldn’t touch the wooden floor. Griffin was sprawled out next to me. Somehow, the man always managed to look like a Greek god, despite being in some of the most unflattering positions known to man. He was just as naked as I was, laid out on his side, his gloriously muscled body gleaming in the low light.
I swallowed thickly, trying not to remember the way the man threw me around like a rag doll and manipulated me to his whim. I was going to be sore for days and I didn’t regret one second of it.
With a wistful sigh, I leaned over to brush a few stray strands of dark hair from his face. It really was unfair that one man could be so goddamned handsome. Those cheekbones…that devastatingly dirty mouth—it was no help at all that I now knew exactly what it was capable of.
I could feel my cheeks burning and I closed my eyes, taking a shuddering breath. Griffin had my ankles behind my ears for the better part of an hour while he used his mouth on me, and I didn’t think I’d ever recover.
He had ruined me for all other men, and I wanted to be angry at him.
There were a lot of things I wanted to feel, that I should feel where Griffin was concerned. The problem was, I couldn’t quite muster the strength to bring them to fruition. I was too busy feeling absolute bliss.
And not only physically.
Leaning over, I pressed a soft kiss to his temple to smooth the wrinkles of tension there. The man grumbled in his sleep, his forehead only wrinkling further as he reached out for me. But even as tired as I was, I wasn’t going to let him get hold of me again. I needed a breather. I rolled beyond the length of his embrace, letting out a little yelp as the cold wooden floor touched my bare skin.
I quickly scrabbled to my feet, surprised to find that my legs were still wobbly, my thighs deliciously sore. I needed a shower and an entire gallon of water. Sighing, long and low, I gave a long stretch, working out all of the kinks. I wasn’t exactly sure where we were, but it was somewhere along the coast, and there wasn’t a single neighbor in sight.
Crossing my arms over my bare breasts, I wandered past Griffin and my makeshift pallet to explore the rest of the house. I hadn’t really gotten to see much of it while I’d been…indisposed.
As with everything Griffin touched, the place was simultaneously luxe and relaxed. I’d be willing to bet that he paid money to have someone decorate for him. The construction was new and modern, with high, vaulted ceilings and expansive windows that offered a gorgeous view of the ocean beyond.
I wasn’
t sure what time we had arrived, but by this point, the sun was sinking beyond the horizon, shooting streaks of gorgeous color over the sky and water. As there was no one around to see me, I didn’t mind pressing my nose to the window to take in the earth-shattering sight.
It was obvious that Griffin hadn’t chosen this place lightly. It was the perfect beach getaway, and I found myself looking forward to a little rest and relaxation.
Things at the office were hectic. If I wasn’t being hassled to finish one project or the other, my co-workers were trying to pry information about Griffin out of me. They were convinced that I was his girlfriend and so I had to know every detail about his arrest and whatever crimes he might or might not have committed. Even Stella, who I’d been fairly certain was on my side up until that point, had peppered me with inquiries until I was all but begging Andrew to bar everyone from my cube.
And even afterwards, people would sneak by, shooting me dirty glances as if I was some kind of anathema.
But even that hadn’t been enough to get me out of work. For that, I’d had to come up with a truly grandiose excuse, one my boss would accept. Ultimately, I’d gone with something that appealed to the reporter in him, that I was going to get an inside scoop on the Griffin Webb story. Since Andrew, as my boss, had a bit more decorum than the rest of the men I worked with, he didn’t make inappropriate jokes when I mentioned that I’d be going away with Griffin to get the supposed story.
He just made me promise to deliver.
Exactly what I’d deliver hadn’t been specified, and that was what I was counting on. The last thing I planned was to sell Griffin out. I was planning on going back into the office with a story insisting that there was no story. That Griffin was innocent and everything people believed about him was wrong.
All the tabloid mongers could stick that in their pipes and smoke it.
The thought gave me a kind of vicious satisfaction. After being chased down by reporters from every major tabloid in the city all week long, I’d like nothing more than to give them a metaphorical kick in their teeth.
But all that would come later. For now, I’d take the rest and relaxation this getaway offered me and try to come to terms with exactly what I felt for Griffin.
I was still half on the crazy train, in safe Sadie’s opinion, but that seemed to matter less and less as days passed. Though a lot had happened since the night we’d been together, Griffin remained steadfast in one thing: he wanted to be with me as much as possible. He’d given me the week to gather my things and prepare to go on this trip, but during that week, he’d called me every single day; when he’d done so, there was a note of uncertainty beneath all his crass banter.
Almost as if he were nervous. That he thought I’d change my mind.
Well, that made two of us.
But, somehow, here I was, making the most of it. Trusting Griffin as he’d asked me to.
I had to admit, if trusting him got me to a place as beautiful as this one, and feeling as wanted as I did, things might not be all bad.
When you weren’t watching the sun set, it seemed like it happened slowly, but as I watched the glowing red orb sink behind the horizon, it all seemed to happen in an instant. Yellow faded to orange, orange faded to red, and ultimately, a purple tinge took over the sky as night began to set in. Stars started to appear one by one—far more than were visible in the sky, and I suddenly found myself in awe of how very small I felt.
Despite the stars, however, it was soon very dark and Griffin didn’t appear to have woken up. I found myself feeling my way very carefully around the room I was in to switch on a few lights just so I didn’t kill myself. I wasn’t out to light up the entire place, just to give myself enough illumination to see by.
Once that was done, I considered only briefly before wandering into the kitchen and towards the door that led to the back balcony.
The last time I had gone onto a balcony bare, Griffin had to threaten me to get me to follow through. This time, I went of my own accord, sliding the door open and stepping out into the warm spring night air. The calming sound of ocean waves breaking gently against the beach immediately lulled me into a sense of peace and I stepped to the edge of the balcony to lean against the railing.
It was hard to remember a time where I’d felt more at peace.
Closing my eyes, I let out a long breath of satisfaction as a gentle breeze kissed my skin. If this was how Griffin lived on a daily basis, I had to give him a bit more credit. Living on the edge was a lot less dangerous than I originally thought.
At a low rustle below me, I stretched my neck out to glance at the foliage beneath the balcony. The light from the kitchen just let me see the branches of lush green—and something else.
All at once, I froze.
There was something there. Not an animal, it was much too big to be a rabbit or a bird. A decidedly man-shaped shadow was crouched just at the edge of the circle of kitchen light, completely unmoving. Every muscle in my body tensed and I forced myself not to panic. I needed to call for Griffin, and I needed to do it right that second. Maybe my eyes were playing tricks on me, but it was better safe than sorry.
All at once, there was a low, electric snap and every single light on the property went out. I was rendered completely blind, and the brisk sound of footsteps coming up the back porch steps thudded loudly in my ears.
Without hesitation, I screamed for Griffin, just before a heavy body barreled into mine.
Griffin
I went from being knocked out cold to alert so quickly it made my stomach lurch. I wasn’t quite sure what happened, but I knew that I’d heard Sadie scream.
It was pitch dark—nighttime—and she wasn’t by my side.
I forced my way out of a cloud of grogginess and leapt to my feet, adrenaline rushing through my veins.
Sadie. Where the hell was Sadie?
There was a loud crash from the kitchen and I raced towards the source of the noise, leaping over the back of the couch. I could give a shit that I was stark naked. If someone was coming after my Sadie, I was going to crush them.
I tried turning on the light in the kitchen only to find that the switches didn’t work. It took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the darkness in the room, but once they did, I found Sadie sprawled out on the floor, just as naked as I was. The door to the kitchen balcony was wide open, and she was staring back towards it, her breath coming in sharp gusts.
“Sadie!” My tone was sharp as I knelt down next to her, feeling over her bare body to make sure she wasn’t hurt. Well, mostly to make sure that she wasn’t hurt. It might be fucking ridiculous, considering the situation, but she could still put me at full attention with the simplest touch. “You okay?”
She was trembling, and the predator in me wanted to carry her to the bedroom and lock the door, protect her and claim her at the same time. “I’m…there’s a man. There’s someone here!” Her brown eyes gleamed with fright in the low light and I felt my chest tighten.
“A man? What, like a fucking reporter? Some media dick?”
She shook her head slowly. “No…bigger. He…he didn’t have a camera. Dressed all in black.”
I went completely rigid.
Fuck.
Jesus Fucking Christ.
I went from hot to cold to blazing again all in the space of a few seconds. A big guy? Dressed all in black? Here?
Almost immediately, I remembered the text message I’d received at the beginning of the week. I’d have been a goddamned idiot not to take it for the warning it was, but I never imagined Ivan would go this far. Not with Sadie around.
My blood boiled at the very thought.
“Sadie, listen to me carefully, okay?” The stern tone of my voice caught her immediate attention and she stopped shaking to gaze up at me with bated breath. “Was the guy muscular, dark hair, dark eyes, built like a fucking bear?”
Her eyes widened at my description and she didn’t have to answer me to let me know I’d hit right on the money.
Vlad, one of Ivan’s goons. Of course, he would send Vlad. After all, it was his brother I’d taken out. Vlad would be pissed, and justifiably so. But the fact that Ivan had sent him after me knowing that Sadie was with me…that was just fucking insulting.
And I wasn’t going to let it stand.
Before Sadie could say a single word, the tinkling of breaking glass came from the front entryway and she jumped.
“Fuck,” I spat, taking her arm firmly to drag her to her feet and back through the kitchen to the living room. Thankfully, it was all the way across the house from the foyer, and the furthest room from danger. Pressing down on Sadie’s shoulder, I urged her down behind the couch, even as I reached for my pants, which were dangling over the side where I’d left them. I went commando, making myself decent in two seconds flat as I covered my mouth with a finger, mouthing to Sadie, “Stay here. Quiet.”