Stolen Heart: The Hearts of Sawyers Bend, Book One

by Layne, Ivy

  Vanessa sucked in a breath for her comeback. I cut her off. “I’m sorry for what I did, but I’m not sorry about the way it worked out.” I thought for a second and then concluded, “Well, I’m sorry for Ford, and I’m sorry about the way Prentice treated Griffen. But I’m not sorry I stopped the two of you from getting married because you didn’t love him. You would have made him unhappy.”

  Beside me, Griffen quietly chuckled. Vanessa’s eyes flashed fire. It occurred to me that I’d just made an enemy. I’d deal with it. My soul felt clean. Maybe my apology should have been more abject. Maybe I should have said I was sorry for all of it. But I wouldn’t lie to him. Not again. The truth might not make me look good, but at least it was the truth.

  “I don’t accept your apology,” Vanessa said with a thrust of her hip and another toss of her hair. I wondered what kind of serum she used to make it so shiny. Not that I would ask. I’d forgotten how annoying her constant hair tossing was. “Are you going to let her talk to me like that?” she demanded of Griffen.

  Griffen raised his eyebrows as he stood, moving to my side and winding his arm around my waist, holding me close.

  “Hope can talk to you however the hell she wants.”

  Vanessa sucked in a breath, gearing up for another assault. She’d always reminded me of Snow White, with her black hair and red lips, but, despite her looks, she wasn’t the princess from the story. Vanessa was the apple. Shiny and lovely on the outside, her beauty masking the poison within. Who knew what venom she was getting ready to spew next? I decided to save her the time.

  “Vanessa, you and I both know why you’re here. With Ford in prison and not working, he’s not drawing a salary, which means you’re not getting any alimony. I’m sorry if you didn’t put anything away for a rainy day, but that’s not Griffen’s problem. If you’re running low on funds, I’d suggest finding yourself another sucker. Griffen isn’t available and he’s too smart to fall for your act a second time.”

  Griffen’s grin was a little wicked, his green eyes twinkling as they rested on my face. Eventually, he turned to look at Vanessa. “What she said. Whatever you were getting from Ford, it has nothing to do with the Sawyer estate. Maybe you should go down to the prison and have a chat with him. In the meantime, I’ll be alerting security that you aren’t welcome at Heartstone Manor.”

  Vanessa drew in a deep breath and let it out in a shuddering sigh, sinking into one of the chairs facing Griffen’s desk. I let out a short sigh of my own.

  Act Two, here we come.

  Playing with the hem of her skirt, Vanessa let her hair fall forward to shield her face, and when she looked up her eyes swam with tears. If I hadn’t known better, I would have thought she was miserable and defenseless. Poor, sad creature.

  Unfortunately for Vanessa, I did know better, and so did Griffen. She went for it anyway.

  “You don’t know what it’s like. Ford’s been so unkind, and now he’s gone and I don’t have any money. Everyone sided with him when we divorced. I’m going to lose my home, my car, and I don’t have anywhere to go. I’m a Sawyer—”

  Griffen cut her off. “Let me save you some time, Vanessa. Number one, you aren’t a Sawyer. You manipulated my brother into marrying you and it sounds like you soaked him for a fortune. Not my fault if you didn’t bother to save any. If you’re having money troubles, I’ll give you the same advice I got when you married my brother and I was thrown out of town. Get a job.”

  “You want me to work? Like—” she waved her hand in my direction again. “Like her? Like an office drone or waitress or something? I can’t work.”

  “Then I’d take Hope’s advice and go find yourself another sucker. There’s got to be someone left in the Southeast who doesn’t know what a grasping bitch you are.”

  Unable to stop myself I murmured, “Maybe she should try the West Coast. The Southeast isn’t as big as it seems.”

  Fuming, Vanessa shot to her feet. “I see how it is. You say I should find another sucker, but I loved you and I loved Ford. Meanwhile, the woman you married ruined your life, Griffen. She’s the reason Prentice ended our engagement. She lied to you and got you kicked out of your home and now she’s won you over with her ‘poor little me’ act. You call me a grasping bitch, but I’m an amateur next to your wife.”

  Vanessa strode out of the office, hips swaying, tossing her shining hair back over her shoulder. Her parting shot shouldn’t have struck home. I knew better. I did. I still felt sick to my stomach.

  Apologizing to Griffen’s face and to Vanessa’s had felt good. Cleansing. Now, I just felt dirty again. It was half a lifetime ago, but she wasn’t wrong. I’d—

  “Don’t let her get to you, Hope,” Griffen said.

  I shook his arm off my shoulders. “I’m not. I’m not. It’s just Vanessa. She’s always been mean. I shouldn’t have been so rude. I rubbed her nose in it. I just—” I needed to get my head together. “I’m just going to make sure she actually leaves and then take a break. Unpack some things. You can keep working on the mail and save anything you need me for. I’ll, uh, be back later.”

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Hope

  I needed a break. Needed to get out of that room, away from the miasma of Vanessa’s cloying perfume and poisonous words. Needed to remind myself that for better or worse, Griffen and I were married. At least for the next five years. And even if we weren’t, he’d never go back to Vanessa.

  I strode down the hall, ignoring Griffen as he called my name, reaching the front door in time to see Vanessa’s car pull away. Savannah came up beside me. “That was fast,” she commented dryly.

  “Griffen says she’s banned from the property. Once we get real security in, that is.”

  “Good news. I never liked her. But I don’t have a penis and a fat bank account, so she’s never bothered to be nice to me.”

  I burst out laughing. Savannah caught my eye and giggled along with me. Staring at the now-empty driveway, I tried to shake off a sense of foreboding. “I’m going to go upstairs for a little while, unpack and see if I can do any damage to that gigantic closet. Is there anything you need help with before everyone shows up tomorrow?”

  “Nope. Cross your fingers that the interview with the cook goes well. After that, I have a few more interviews with maids, and if those work out we’ll have a skeleton staff.”

  “That sounds great. Give a shout if you need me. I’ll be upstairs.”

  “Lunch is in an hour,” Savannah’s voice followed me as I jogged up the curving staircase to the second floor.

  Walking into the master suite was a balm to my aching soul. Savannah had done a brilliant job reproducing the feel of my apartment, and I longed to throw myself on my soft velvet couch with a book and a cup of tea and forget everything outside the door.

  There was too much to do for that. Sawyer Enterprises had been neglected for too long. I’d take a quick breather up here, but then it was back to work until Griffen had a handle on things.

  I couldn’t throw myself on the couch with a book, but I could have a cup of tea. Silently thanking Savannah for her brilliance in setting up the snacks and drinks, I opened the cabinet in the corner, popped a pod for tea in the machine, and peeled open the cellophane on one of the brownies.

  The sticker showed a candy-pink hand-drawn heart with the words Sweetheart Bakery in the center. My mouth watered in anticipation. Sweetheart Bakery was a town staple, the go-to place when anyone wanted a treat. Everything was great, but Daisy’s brownies were divine. We’d bonded over my love for her baked goods, but with everything going on I hadn’t seen her in over a week. I’d have to find time to stop in. Later. First, the closet.

  I took my tea, half a brownie, and as many shopping bags as I could carry to the closet. Putting everything else out of my mind, I folded and stacked and hung and sorted. I left most of my old clothes in the boxes I’d packed befo
re Griffen and I went to Atlanta. I didn’t hang up a single ugly suit.

  The master closet was huge. My side was at least as big as my bedroom in my old apartment, and though my shopping bags had practically filled the back seat of Griffen’s Maserati, the contents barely made a dent in the closet. That was okay. I could always go shopping again, and I was covered for a while.

  All I had left were the bags from the lingerie shop. Deep in the corner of a closet, I’d found a section of shallow drawers designed for storing lingerie. The top drawer was actually for jewelry, with velvet trays and a lock on the drawer. I’d have to see if I could find the keys. Not that I had much jewelry to put away aside from the ring on my finger. I wasn’t planning on taking that off. Not until I had to.

  I gently removed the tags from bras and panties, the midnight-blue silk nightgown and matching robe. It wasn’t until I got to the blush-pink camisole with cream lace and matching thong that I stopped, smoothing the delicate fabric between my fingers and wondering if I would find the courage to put it on. Under my clothes, sure. Maybe.

  But the camisole wasn’t meant to be worn under clothes. It was meant to be worn alone over bare skin and very quickly taken off. Could I do that? My cheeks felt hot. How could I be embarrassed thinking about sex when there was no one here to see me? I needed to get over it and stop being such a baby.

  I needed to do what Alice and Lily had suggested. Just put it on, let Griffen see and then—

  “What do you have there?”

  I shrieked, starting so hard I jumped and tossed the silk camisole in the air. It landed on my head, blinding me, but I didn’t need my eyes to know who’d walked into the closet.

  Griffen. Well, I’d wanted to show him the camisole. Though not while I was screaming like a dork. With a nervous laugh, I untangled the straps from my hair and twisted the fabric in my hands.

  Griffen strode forward and tugged the camisole free. Threading his fingers through the straps, he held it up against me, his eyes heating as they took me in. “Did you buy this in Atlanta?”

  I nodded.

  “Did you buy it for me?”

  I shook my head.

  “No?” His eyes scanned me, taking in the way the silk draped over the curve of my breasts, the thick cream lace at the hem stopping just above where my hipbones were hidden under my jeans.

  Finding my courage, I said, “I bought it for me to wear for you.”

  “Isn’t that the same thing?”

  Another shake of my head. “I bought it because I liked it. I liked the way I thought I would feel wearing it. And I thought you would agree.”

  I don’t know where I got the courage to say that. It was the truth, but with Griffen so close, holding that pink silk against me, my heart trying to pound its way out of my chest—I was half-terrified.

  Half-terrified and breathless with anticipation. I knew what that look in his eyes meant. Or I thought I did.

  Griffen leaned in and my heart skipped a beat. “Try it on.”

  I swallowed hard past the knot in my throat. Try it on? Like, for him? Of course, for him, you idiot. That’s why you bought it, isn’t it?

  Obviously. But I’d been feeling a lot more brave with Alice and Lily, Griffen nowhere in sight. Now we were alone and Griffen wanted me to—

  “Okay,” I squeaked out. “But you have to—” I made a shooing motion with my hands.

  Try the lingerie on for Griffen? That I could do. I hoped.

  Do it with him watching? No flipping way.

  With a quirk of his lips, Griffen handed me the pink silk camisole. “Yes, ma’am. I’ll be waiting.”

  He disappeared through the door of the closet. I attempted not to have a heart attack. Then I decided not to think about it at all. I stripped off my jeans and sweater, then my underwear and bra, wondering if I should find perfume, or take a shower, or—I didn’t know. I’d never done this before.

  I settled for going to the bathroom, washing my hands and splashing some cold water on my face. I could do this. Millions of women did this every day.

  This was Griffen. Everything would be okay.

  This was Griffen, so everything would be better than okay.

  Just put it on and he’ll do the rest. One thing at a time. Just put it on.

  I did, my rear end feeling very exposed and cold, considering there was no fabric covering it, just a narrow silk string giving me a wedgie. I stared at the closed door of the closet. I could not walk out there like this. I should. It should be no big deal, but it was.

  My chest tight, fingertips tingling until I thought I really was going to have a heart attack, I snatched the midnight-blue robe from its hanger and pulled it on, my knuckles white from my tight grip on the silk.

  Before I could talk myself out of it, I opened the closet door and walked through to the bedroom. Griffen’s mouth spread into a smile. He shook his head in amusement and crossed the room to me, blocking my view of my big brass bed. Good. Every time I looked at the bed, I got a flutter in my chest.

  “I thought you were going to model the pink thing for me.” He pressed a fingertip into the hollow at the base of my throat and slid it down, down, down until he parted the lapels of the rope and traced the inner curve of my breast.

  My breath caught in my throat. I forced out the words, “It’s under here. I just couldn’t walk around mostly naked.”

  Griffen’s eyes flared on the word naked. “That’s okay. I always loved unwrapping my presents slowly.”

  Closing his fingers over mine, he massaged my tight hand, gently easing the tension out of my fingers, loosening my grip on the robe.

  With a deep sigh, I dropped my arm. Griffen hooked his thumb in the silk collar and nudged it back, baring my shoulder, then my upper arm, until the silk slid free and exposed most of the left side of my body.

  He didn’t say anything. He just looked at me, taking in the way the pink silk clung to my breast, the length of my leg, naked all the way to my hipbone. Moving into me, his hand skimmed my waist and my hip, curving around to squeeze my ass.

  “I’ve been wanting to do that all day. And I’ve been meaning to tell you I really like your new jeans.” Another squeeze. “A lot. Later, I really want to peel them off of you. If you had any idea what I was thinking while we were going through the mail you would’ve run screaming.”

  I gave a nervous, breathless laugh. I probably would have.

  I didn’t want to run screaming now.

  Griffen’s lips brushed the side of my neck, his breath so warm. The light bite of his teeth sent heat shooting through me. His mouth moved to the other side, nibbling and tasting, nipping my earlobe and sliding down to that sensitive spot where my shoulder met my neck. Somewhere in there, he tossed the robe off my other shoulder, and it hung at my elbows, ready to slide to the floor.

  I didn’t know what I was doing. I didn’t have a strategy or a plan. I didn’t need one. Griffen knew, and everything he did felt so good. I straightened my arms and let the robe fall.

  Griffen made a choking sound in the back of his throat and pulled away, his eyes burning as they took me in, moving from the top of my head, over my breasts, my hips, my legs, all the way to my feet.

  “You’re so goddamn beautiful, Hope.”

  I didn’t know what to say to that. Under his burning gaze and gentle hands, I felt beautiful for the first time in my life. Beautiful to him and beautiful to myself.

  I didn’t know what to say, but I thought I might know what to do. Heart pounding, I raised my hands and reached for the top button of his shirt. My fingers fumbled at first, but as his golden skin was revealed inch by inch, I sped up. He’d seen me, now I wanted to see him.

  Griffen Sawyer did not disappoint. He had more muscle than I’d expected, his strong arms corded with it. I traced my fingers over a pink scar on one shoulder and down over his chest, ci
rcling his tight, small nipple, delighting in the sharp intake of breath at my touch. I rubbed the back of my fingers down the front of his stomach, smoothing over the ridges and furrows.

  When my hands reached the button of his jeans, Griffen was done. He let me undo the button, let me lower the zipper, but before I could push the denim over his hips, he drew back.

  I had a moment to wonder if I’d done something wrong, then his hands came up on either side of my face and his mouth took mine in a hungry kiss that blotted everything from my mind but Griffen.

  I held onto his jeans for balance, my lips hard against his, just as hungry and just as desperate. This wasn’t like the other kisses. This was dangerous. Too much. I was falling, losing myself, and I didn’t care because it felt so good.

  Griffen’s hands held my face, the calluses on his palms rough, his touch gentle as he fed from my mouth. I moaned into him, drinking in the feel of his skin under my hands, his touch making me crazy, driving off all my inhibitions. I didn’t care about anything but getting more of Griffen.

  His hands fell from my face and he was backing me up, lifting me, dropping me on the bed. The brass frame rattled from the impact of my body, then his as he came down on top of me.

  I didn’t remember taking off the camisole or the thong, they were just gone and I was naked, and I needed him so much I wasn’t even embarrassed that he could see everything.

  His jeans were gone, too, and I could see every inch of his beautiful body, including his more than impressive erection. He was hard and thick and I wanted to touch. I reached down and closed my fingers around him. Squeezed.

  Griffen’s face landed in my neck, his mouth sucking at my skin, his fingers between my legs finding me wet and open. Ready. I was so ready. I needed.

  I squeezed again, loving the way his chest hitched, his breath ragged in my ear, the way he throbbed and jerked in my hand.

  His finger slid inside me. One finger, then another. I spread my legs wider, lifting my knees, opening myself to him, needing him so badly. I was empty inside and I wanted this—I squeezed again, tugging, demanding—I wanted him inside.