Page 69 of Beyond The Break

My nipples pebble at the thought but I force the feeling away, letting my body sink against his, like a missing puzzle piece, and slowly doze off.

TWENTY

GRIFFIN

The morning airblows through my messy hair as I step off my boat onto the dock behind The Shredder House. I spot Maliah standing at the edge of the shore with massive bedhead and smeared mascara. Her grumpy expression making me chuckle as I approach her.

“You better be making the best breakfast of my life for waking me up this early,” she mutters, handing over a change of clothes for Eliana as well as our toothbrushes.

“It’ll be the best breakfast you’ve ever had.” I chuckle.

“How is Eliana?” She yawns and wraps her arms around her body as a cool breeze passes through.

“Last night shook her up a bit but she’s okay,” I say, glancing back at the boat where Eliana still sleeps, “is Colton still here?”

She nods. “Kairi took care of him all night.”

“How’d Zale take that?” I smirk.

She shoves my shoulder gently, trying to hold back a smile that pulls at the corners of her mouth. “Zale was so drunk; I don’t think he even realized he was home when we got here.”

“Sounds like Zale,” I nod, “anyway, I better get these to her. See you in an hour or two?”

Maliah nods before running back into the house. I retreat to the boat and make my way down to the lower deck where Eliana is curled up in the bedsheets, her hair sprawled out in loose waves. She lifts her head at the sound of the door creaking and brushes her hair out of her face to look at me.

“Good morning, sunshine,” I say, smiling at her, “Koa docked the boat closer to the house last night and Maliah brought you a change of clothes and your toothbrush.”

“They are heaven-sent,” she mumbles, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

“Are they?” I lower myself to the bed and hover over her.

“Mhm.” She looks up at me with sultry eyes.

“What about me?”

She grins. “You’re God-like.”

I lean down and kiss her softly before she pushes me away and covers her face with the blanket.

“I have morning breath,” she exclaims, her voice muffled.

I chuckle and lay her clothes and toothbrush on my pillow beside her before I take my toothbrush and head over to the bathroom leaving her to change. As I’m brushing my teeth, mentally preparing to face Colton, Eliana walks in behind me and wraps her arms around my waist, resting her head against my back.

It's been so long since I've had this type of intimacy. It had stopped with Meghan way before the accident, and I forgot just how comforting it can feel.

I spit out my toothpaste and rinse my mouth and toothbrush before I pull her around to my front. She turns around and presses her back into my front as she wets her toothbrush and spreads a layer of toothpaste on it before brushing her teeth.

“You always smell so good,” I mumble into her hair, inhaling her natural strawberry scent.

When she finishes brushing her teeth, we walk out to thedock and make our way inside. The house is silent, except for Zale’s loud snores that float down the stairs.

“Pancakes?” Eliana asks, heading for the kitchen.

“I’ve never had homemade pancakes before.” I reply, following her.

She frowns at me in confusion as she pulls out ingredients from the fridge. “Your mom or dad never made pancakes for you before?”

I shake my head and sit in a nearby stool. “They were both busy when I was a kid. My dad ran a couple businesses out of town and my mom ran a floral shop in the town square.”

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