Page 54 of Lessons in Heartbreak

With slightly narrowed eyes, Griffin nodded. “That’s what you’re doing now?”

“I guess.” My voice shook a little as I spoke. Underneath the thin layer of his shirt, it was just muscle. We all had them, right? It shouldn’thave felt so shocking. But his muscles were different. Firm, hard, and hot, and my whole body went up in flames at the feel of them. My fingers spread out wide, covering a paltry amount of his pectorals. “Please show me, Griffin.”

He exhaled a quiet laugh, blinking slowly as he stared over my shoulder for a moment. “You’re a little too good at this already.”

I bit down on my bottom lip when a smile threatened. “Is that a yes?”

“I’m gonna regret this,” he groaned, shifting the canvas out from under his arm and handing it over to me.

There was a stunned beat of silence while I tried to figure out what the hell I was looking at.

I didn’t want to laugh, but honest to God, I couldn’t help it.

My face was huge, my eyes too small, and there were no whites to be seen around the bluish gray he’d created. Tiny lines for my eyelashes and monstrously huge lips in a bright red. My hair was made from yellow sticks protruding from my head, and he’d forgotten to paint my nose.

“Oh my gosh,” I wheezed.

Griffin crossed his arms, shifting his weight. “Okay, get it out.”

“Griffin ...” I wiped at tears, my stomach seizing from how hard I was laughing. “This is terrible. Do you think I look like this?”

His hands rose and fell helplessly. “Obviously not, but ... I can’t ... How am I supposed to just look at you and paint what I see?”

After another moment, I was able to suck in a deep breath and calm myself. A little. With a last glimpse at his attempt, I set it down on the floor and faced him. His cheeks were flushed pink, but his gaze stayed steady on mine.

“I love it,” I told him.

“You do not.”

“I do. I’m keeping it forever. Framing it in my house.”

Griffin growled under his breath, a playful sound of exasperation that sent my pulse skyrocketing. He stepped forward, his hand raised like he was going to reach for me, then stopped.

Without thinking, I gripped his wrist before he could pull his hand away. “What were you going to do?”

He inhaled through his nose, studying my face through heated eyes. “Not sure I should tell you that, birdy.”

“What if we renegotiate so you can?” I said in a rush.

Everything about this felt real and crisp and vivid, and I didn’t want it to end. I wanted to feel more of it, bask in this perfect little moment and let it play out so I could remember it someday.

“You really want that?”

God, his voice. There was desire in that rough-edged voice, and it was stamped all over his face. I wasn’t sure when it had happened, but it was heady. Dangerous. And oh, I wanted more.

Dazedly, I nodded, my hand still tight around his thick wrist. Griffin stepped forward, backing me up against the desk, his hands sliding easily around my hips as he boosted me up onto the surface. My legs split open, and he crowded into me, cradling my jaw with both big, calloused hands.

My head spun from the sudden, overwhelming proximity of his large body.

He dipped his head to run his nose against mine. “I was going to touch your face like this,” he said in a low, fierce voice. “Tell you how beautiful you look when you laugh. That you should do it every day. Every fucking day.”

A helpless whimper crawled up the back of my throat, and his hands slid back into my hair, where his fingers tightened.

“That’s a nice little sound, Ruby,” he whispered. “What else can I do to make more of those?”

My hands curled helplessly into the front of his shirt, and I tilted my chin up, drowning in this thick pulse of desire that felt like fireworks all over my skin. I didn’t want it to end.Let it be real,I begged quietly in my head. And I said the most terrifying thing I could imagine, words I could never take back once they were out, but I refused to let the fear hold me back.

Not tonight. Not with him.

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