by Box Set
“Dawson told me you were at the hospital. I didn’t expect to see you tonight.”
“I told you I’d pick you up. I don’t break promises without something a bit stronger than a fist.”
She touched his face. One that had visited her in her dreams on so many occasions since she’d started working at the diner, and he’d been newly recruited to the Wrexham Police Department. His chin had light stubble, as though he’d finished a long day at work and was headed home finally. In Griffin’s case, he’d been partway to hell and back.
She lifted onto her toes and kissed him.
Griffin kissed her right back. “I’ve dreamed about coming into the diner and being greeted like this.”
She had hoped for the same thing, but bringing their relationship into the light wasn’t a good idea right now. Too many things could go wrong. “Sit. I’ll get you some coffee. I have to brew a new pot, if you can wait.”
He sat down at the counter for his answer. “You’re a sweetheart.”
He probably had no clue how much that term of endearment buried itself into her heart. Every interaction in the diner made her more drawn to him. When she struggled in a chemistry class, he’d been the one to cheer her on. And on days when the stress of her mother’s illness made her want to run away and hide from the sorrow, his presence in the diner inspired her into another day. He was a hard worker, brave, strong, and so darn cute. No, cute didn’t quite portray the way his brown eyes crinkled when he laughed. Nor how his dusty brown hair became lighter every spring after a few softball games against the fire department. Nor the taste of his lips demanding more of her, but never pushing too far.
She grabbed a blueberry muffin and turned on the grill. Griffin always preferred his muffin grilled with butter. Then she hit the switch on the coffee maker. She’d already set it up for the morning crew to simply turn on when they arrived in order to get the coffee to the patrons as soon as possible. She’d set it up again before she left.
Five minutes later, with Griffin sitting in silence watching her, she served him his muffin and a cup of steaming black coffee.
“I could kiss you right now. This is all I’ve craved since before I pulled over the punk.”
“Punk?”
“One of the rich kids from the Main Line. He was one of the kids in the diner last night harassing you. His father was at the station with his attorney before we pulled in.”
“Maybe you shouldn’t describe him as a punk though. He’s probably just an immature adolescent who never had a good role model.”
Griffin sighed. “Sorry. I have a few worse adjectives I could use to describe him. Especially after he rearranged my face, but I’ll try to respect your need for me to be compassionate.”
“Is that the attitude you have when you head into a confrontation? I mean, if you already think the guy is bad, how can you treat him with respect?”
“I treat everyone with respect. I also need to save my own ass. If I have unlimited love and trust toward everyone, someone’s going to kill me someday.”
“So if you met someone who was say, Hispanic, and wearing jeans and a hoodie, what would you think?” She didn’t want to press him, but she also didn’t like the idea that he was profiling people.
“It’s not what someone wears. It’s the way they look at you, their stance, it’s everything. And in reality, I didn’t have an attitude toward the kid until he punched me. A lot of the time I need to use gut instinct. And sometimes, I screw up, but I swear, I try.” He took a sip of his coffee, calming the frustration she heard in his voice. Frustration that perhaps stemmed from her pushing a bit too far against his alleged use of profiling. She’d never put her life on the line. Maybe he had a point.
Griffin ate the muffin and took a few more sips of coffee. “By the way,” he said, “if I saw you in jeans and a hoodie, I’d try to get to know you better. Maybe ask you to join me for some coffee on afternoon.”
“Really?”
“Absolutely. Only I wouldn’t ask you out in front of my colleagues. You get harassed enough by the guys who come in here. You don’t need any more ribbing.”
He waited at the counter while she finished cleaning up the diner. “Thanks for taking care of me tonight.”
“Anytime.”
“Come on. It’s too late to go to the hospital. I have a comfortable couch and a hot shower you can use. Then when you see your mother, you’ll be refreshed.”
He wouldn’t take no for an answer, and she didn’t really want to give him a no. She’d spoken with the doctor earlier, and her father had been with her mother most of the day. “Sure.”
Once the coffee was reset and the counters gleamed, she grabbed her bag. Griffin stood next to her, slipping his hand in hers and squeezing. “You have no idea how much your presence relaxes me. Tonight sucked until I walked in here.”
His words touched her heart. The voice of a person who had tried to do the right thing, but had been pushed back over and over again. She felt the same with her father. She’d fought back a few times, but that tended to make things worse. She now tried to avoid him as much as possible. Griffin, however, wasn’t in a position to ignore the people harassing him.
***
At twelve thirty, they headed out the door, holding hands. Her long elegant fingers fit in Griffin’s palm perfectly. His thumb stroked the smooth skin, as though just touching her would heal all his wounds. Her constant encouragement to everyone never faltered through police shootings gone wrong, firefighters dying in the line of duty, injured soldiers returning home, and a particularly horrible hit and run of a two-year-old little girl. Coffee and a smile. It might not seem like a huge deal, but for the people suffering, her empathy meant everything.
Trinity was a fleece blanket on a rainy day. She never complained about her double shifts or running off to Penn State for a class.
“It’s nice to have company during the closing.”
“Call me anytime you’re here alone. I like being here for you.”
She walked to the door and unlocked it. “Me too.”
She brushed her finger across his cheek. His nose still hurt like a son of a bitch, but a little TLC from Trinity made everything feel almost perfect.
They were face to face now. Her breath, the scent of cinnamon and coffee, lured him closer.
“Can I?” he asked, feeling like a kid in high school on his first date, despite having kissed her just minutes before.
She didn’t say anything, just nodded and then leaned into him. The kiss was sweet. Calming, as though their lips were meant to be touching, as though he’d craved her taste for a lifetime. She lifted up a bit, no doubt on the tip of her toes, intensifying the kiss and upping the heat by a hundred degrees. His arms wrapped around her and held her as close as he could. Her body pressed into him, the touch of her breasts against his chest sent his hormones racing.
She pulled back first, wide-eyed and dazed. “Umm. Are you working tomorrow?”
He had two choices, answer the question and forget the kiss or go back in for seconds. “Mandatory desk duty for the next week, but I’ll be stopping by for some dinner. Maybe I’ll even stay late for some extra coffee and a muffin.” Okay. He didn’t exactly forget the kiss. How could he? It had been etched in his mind forever.
“I’d really like that.” She locked up. “I’m sorry you banged up your face, but I’m not sorry you had to arrive late tonight. It’s nice seeing you without half the town present,” she said, placing a hand on his lower back.
“I agree.” He wrapped an arm around her and walked her to his truck.
By the time they’d arrived at his house, Griffin was completely turned upside down. Did he continue where they’d left off at the diner, with a kiss that promised many amazing things to come? Or did he act like a gentleman and give her space? After all, he had invited her into his house as a friend and if he pressed her too far, he could lose their friendship. For some reason, he could stomach the loss of the chance to be her l
over, but losing her as a friend seemed unimaginable.
Chapter 5
Griffin was the perfect gentlemen, but if he remained on the other end of the couch for the rest of the movie, she’d be forced to head upstairs to her own room. How humiliating that the guy who had kissed her so passionately at the diner would not move closer. Maybe that sweet kiss he’d given to her in the morning had been meant to be sweet, but she’d intensified it, upping the heat and the significance. Maybe she smelled. The kitchen at the diner always left her clothes with a stale French fry odor. The more she thought about it, the more she wanted to run away.
“I’m pretty tired. I’m going to head up and take a shower and then go to bed.”
“If you need anything, holler.”
Holler? He needed to stop acting like she was a contagious disease and make a move. “Hey,” she hollered.
That got his attention. “Are you okay?”
She smothered her laughter. “I need something.”
“Anything.” He looked like he meant it too. He’d probably run out for ice cream if she asked. Men could be so dense.
“Rocky Road ice cream.”
His brows furrowed. Was he thinking of the logistics of buying dessert at one in the morning? Seriously? “Umm. Sure. I think I can go to the 7-11.”
“That would take too long. What about if I just take you instead?”
A flash of hesitation crossed his expression and then he stood. “Me?”
“Yeah. Ice cream would be a bit more satisfying, but I figure you’d do.
He remained welded to the floor in front of the couch.
Self-doubt crawled back into her conscience. She’d taken a chance and lost. No harm, no foul. “Never mind.”
She retreated toward her bedroom. By the third stair, his hand rested on her hip, causing her to stop and turn. With Trinity one step higher than him, they were almost eye to eye. He moved closer, his arms circling her waist.
Like an outlaw, with his damaged face, he clasped her hard and pulled her tight into him. “I like you so much, you make me insane. I’ve never met anyone like you, always happy, so dedicated to your family, so hardworking, so beautiful. So fucking perfect.” His lips touched hers, but he didn’t kiss her. Instead, he held onto her until the heat between them became unbearable. How much longer could he just hold her, his cheek scuffing her chin, making her hunger and want him more than she’d ever wanted anyone?
Trinity couldn’t breathe, her chest had tightened and the anticipation of what could be swirled around her taking her off balance.
“I’ve got you.” His hold tightened. They were pressed up together as though letting go could never be an option. Only being here now. “I don’t know where this will end up between us, but chatting in the diner every night isn’t enough for me. I need you, Trinity.”
Their kiss pushed away all the worries of the real world. This was a fantasy. The man she’d wanted for so long, holding her as though he’d never let her go. His strength lifted the burdens of her life and gave her a reprieve from the treadmill of taking care of her family.
He lifted her up, like a groom carries a bride. Long strides traveled straight to his bedroom. When he placed her in the middle of his bed, she hesitated. The words of her father echoed threats and warnings about men and their false intentions. She’d felt the pain first hand after being used by a boyfriend who didn’t want a relationship, but this was Griffin, a man who had never let her down.
She pulled off her shirt and remained on the bed in only her bra, a boring white one she’d purchased two years ago. He stood next to her and lifted his shirt off. Her embarrassment about her old clothes vanished as soon as his abs came into view. They were sculpted perfection. She shifted toward him and pressed her hand over the smooth skin. His stomach was solid, defined, ripped. Amazing. They stretched out together on the bed and kissed. He was every bit as powerful as she’d always believed, his strength held back as he explored her breasts, her stomach and lower. Griffin’s feather light touch over her chest and across her shoulders added something warmer to the heat in the room. Her hands followed their own path from his waist to over his wide shoulders.
They tumbled into each other, pulling at each other’s remaining clothes, until there was nothing between them. The room was dark, but the hall light provided enough light to outline Griffin’s fine form. Those muscles had amazing contours that caught the shadows and made him seem almost inhuman, like a god or a Greek sculpture.
He moved down between her legs, taking his time savoring her taste. She ached for more and his tongue gave it to her relentlessly.
“Wait.” She stopped him with a touch to the top of his head. “What about your injuries?”
“I’m fine. He didn’t punch me in the mouth.” His movements brought her higher and higher until she became oblivious of everything but her own selfish pleasure.
“Are you okay,” he whispered against her thigh. Bad timing, she needed to climb higher, not be left in purgatory.
“Not if you keep stopping to chat.” Her words were barely coherent.
He didn’t say another word. Instead, he focused on tasting her, teasing her, and taking her over the edge. The whole world disappeared in a burst of color.
When he lifted himself to her side, his magic fingers kept her hot and wet and ready for him. He paused to grab a condom from his bedside table. She would have helped him, but her body had become a mound of Jell-o, unable to do anything but wait for him and pray he’d hurry.
He slid inside of her, pressing hard, and taking her for his own needs. Their connection became irreversible. Her heart could never feel complete again without his presence. She gripped his shoulders and threw her head back as the intensity rose again and again. Nothing ever could take away this moment in time and the perfection of their coming together.
When the intensity had peaked, they lay resting in each others arms, breathless and sated.
***
Griffin woke in a dream. The woman he’d wanted for far too long was in bed with him, tucked against his chest. Her black hair spread out over his shoulder and flowed onto the pillow. The extreme contrast in the colors only heightened the images permanently left in his brain from the evening before. This had been the most perfect night of his life and now, with her mother returning home, their obligations just might prevent another night like this, although maybe if they both happened to be free one evening, she could come over early to watch a movie.
After a hot shower with Trinity scrubbing his back and him scrubbing hers, they ate breakfast and drank coffee in relative silence. He couldn’t let this end, but how to push her into more when they’d been together only a few days? She’d think he was mad. Although it was her idea to move from friends to much, much more.
“I need to get to the hospital. They’re releasing Mama this morning, and I want to be with her.”
“Sure.” He placed the dishes in his sink and then grabbed his car keys. He needed to say something, but nothing came to mind. Time was walking away with his destiny and he couldn’t stop it.
When he stopped at the entrance of the hospital, she jumped out before he could go around and open the door for her.
“Thanks for the ride.”
“Anytime.” The relationship would end if he let her walk away. How would they see each other, except at the diner? “Trinity.”
She lifted her eyebrows, a faint smile on her lips as she waited for his words.
“I just wanted to tell you how much last night meant to me.”
“Me too.” She nodded. The smile falling a bit now. “Take care of that face of yours, okay? I’ll see you at the diner later.”
“Uh, yeah. I’ll be there.”
“Great. See you around.”
“You too.”
Every step she took away from him felt as though someone were pulling out each of his organs and tossing them on the ground. But he couldn’t scream “I love you.” And he couldn’t beg her to marry him.
Too soon. Too much. They needed something she didn’t have, time.
He went back home and cleaned up the kitchen, handled the laundry that had piled up too high, and lifted weights. By four p.m., he was bored and restless. Trinity was probably at home with her mother, so he didn’t want to bother her, but damn, he wanted to.
Once his shift started, he watched everyone else head to their cars while he was stuck at his desk, monitoring dispatch. Nighttime at the station was quiet. Very quiet. Yet, the officers had a busy night. The annoyance of listening to all the shit that was occurring around him and his inability to get in a car to assist drove him nuts.
Jenna had been harassed by a drunk at a bar. She handled herself beautifully and had the idiot in handcuffs without too much problem, but if the guy had been trained in fighting, it would have been a different story. The resulting arrest took them about two hours to process, keeping him somewhat busy, but not doing what he loved.
At two a.m., dispatch called out another domestic disturbance. A neighbor overheard screaming in the house next door. Trinity’s house. He shut eyes tight as he said a brief prayer that she’d be okay. Dawson could handle the situation with ease, but Griffin’s heart resided in that house. He didn’t have to go. In fact, the captain would have his hide for leaving the desk, but the memory of her drunken father and her admission that he’d struck her in the past pressed Griffin to drop everything and get to her side.
“Hale, can you finish up here? I’d like to follow Dawson out to the scene and check on things.”
“Aren’t you grounded?” she asked, knowing the answer.
“I think it was only a recommendation, not a direct order.”
“Right. Have fun with the suspension. And make sure our girl is okay,” Jenna said.
“I will.”
All the times his father had beat up his mother played through Griffin’s mind during the drive to Trinity’s house. His brother had been too young to stop it, and Griffin had been too chicken. When he finally found the courage to help, he was too late. Now, he’d never stand by and watch someone harm another without stepping in. His career in law enforcement helped make up for failing to stand up to his father earlier. Maybe someday he’d earn his way back into his brother’s life as well.