Page 64 of Griffin

Griffin’s brow furrowed slightly at Todd’s name, but his hand didn’t falter.

“Didn’t have to go all the way to Cinderfield for that,” he muttered, voice dropping a little. “Could’ve just bought you some new clothes, you know.”

I huffed a quiet laugh, shaking my head. Griffin’s possessive streak wasn’t subtle, but somehow, it never felt stifling. It was... comforting, even.

My fingers traced along the vein in his forearm, an absent-minded touch that settled into a light hold.

Still, I knew what he meant. I didn’t have to go all the way to Cinderfield.

And I definitely didn’t have to get tangled up in that weird situation with Todd. I hadn’t expected him to act the way he did—clingy and controlling.

At first, I’d brushed it off as stress. Todd handled so much for me, after all, and I’d leaned on him more than I realized.

But no. That wasn’t it.Griffin’s word for Todd stuck with me: possessive.

It was a hard truth to swallow. Maybe I hadn’t seen it because I was too close, or maybe I’d just chosen not to.

But now… it was different. Griffin meeting Todd had made it impossible to ignore.

“You okay?” Griffin’s voice pulled me from the spiral of thoughts, his hand pausing on my hip.

I nodded, brushing my hand against his cheek, my thumb grazing the rough edge of his jaw. “Yeah,” I murmured.

Griffin leaned in, closing the space between us, and his lips met mine in a slow, deliberate kiss. The moment stretched, every other noise fading—Todd, the stalker, the world itself.

Griffin had this way of grounding me and untethering me all at once. With him, I could justbe.

His hand slid higher up, heat lingering in its wake. My breath caught, my mind blanking for a second, lost in the weight of his touch. Then his fingers crept closer to the hem of my shorts, jolting me back.

“I want to shower first,” I murmured, pulling back just enough. “I have gaming sweats.”

Griffin groaned, dropping his forehead to mine. “Fine,” he muttered, though his hands didn’t move.

Instead, he shifted, lifting me off his lap with infuriating ease. “We’ll shower together then. It’ll be faster.”

“Wait—what? That’s not what I meant!” I yelped, laughing as he stood, pulling me up with him like I weighed nothing. “Griffin!”

“Too late. You suggested it,” he shot back, already steering me toward the bathroom.

Chapter 16

The Stalker

The stalker sat hunched in his cluttered room, a mess of empty cans and wrappers surrounding him.

His fingers twitched against the edge of the desk as he replayed Michael’s latest stream for what had to be the tenth time that day.

The sound of Michael’s voice, light and melodic, filled the space, and for a brief moment, it was like Michael was there with him, just the two of them.

But that illusion shattered every time he appeared in the frame.

The boyfriend.

The interloper.

The threat.

The stalker’s jaw tightened, and his nails bit into the soft wood of the desk. He had planned everything perfectly for the day they were supposed to meet.

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