Page 97 of You and Me, For Real
I tilt my head, leaning into the warmth of his touch. My hands move to his chest, feeling his heart thump. I rest my forehead against his, our noses touching. I push apprehension to the back of my mind, leading with my instincts instead. “I’m willing to take a chance.”
His cheek lifts in a lopsided smile. Torturously slow, he moves his face next to mine and places a light kiss on my cheeknext to my earlobe. “Well, then,” he whispers, then repeats the motion on the other side. “I’m all yours.”
I touch his scruff with my fingertips. I savor his scent, his presence, the very essence of his being. My eyes are heavy, my lips tingling with desire.
His eyes dip to my lips for a millisecond.
I close the gap between us.
His soft, warm lips infiltrate the chill in my body, eradicating it, insulating it with warmth and happiness. With each press and withdrawal, he sews together every ache, wound, and crack in my heart. With each gentle kiss, he heals a piece of me.
27
GRIFFIN
Despite my lack of sleep, I wake with a new sense of energy I’ve never had before outside of work. Each incredible kiss with Ashton at the beach last night played on a continuous loop in my mind, preventing sleep. But oh, what a reason to have insomnia.
Things changed between us under that dark sky. And I don’t just mean the intimacy between us. With Ashton fully opening up to me, I understand her true hesitations with me. My goal today is to show her we can have a normal, healthy relationship. I want to do something for her—make her feel special.
On the way home, before I dropped her off at Wren’s last night, she expressed a desire to use the money she’d accumulated to host a gala. I’ve attended many such events used to secure donations. Ashton said she’d never had the courage to host one, until now. My heart swelled with pride at seeing just how much the shy, timid woman I met two weeks ago had already changed.
Instead of sleeping, I stayed awake all night researching venues for her gala. Roxy kept me company at the base of the bed. She stopped sleeping under the bed a couple of days ago butstill hasn’t developed the courage to sleep on the mattress with me yet. We’re getting there.
Now I’m sitting at the counter, sipping a large mug of black coffee, continually refreshing my phone and hoping someone emails back allowing us a private viewing of a venue.
Luke opens the back patio door to the kitchen, freshly showered and shaven. Roxy takes the opportunity to dart outside, barking at some birds in the yard. “You’re up early.”
Little does he know, I’m on my third cup of coffee. I take a sip, keeping my eyes on my inbox. “Yup. Coffee’s still hot if you’d like a cup.”
He grabs a mug and pours. “How’d last night go?”
We left the party around ten o’clock, but hours flew by while we were on the beach. We didn’t get home until almost two a.m. I’m grateful Wren was willing to take care of Roxy and Teddy for us. “Good. I think.”
“Did you talk to Scarlet?”
“I did.”
Luke raises his eyebrows. “And?”
“And it went as well as one could expect when turning someone down.”
He squints his eyes at me. “You don’t appear to have any scratches or black eyes, so I guess you said something right.”
“I was actually impressed with her. She took it really well.”
“That’s good.” He pours himself a cup of coffee and asks over his shoulder, “How’d Ashton do at the party?”
A smile stretches wide across my face. I don’t even try to hide it. “Man, she did amazing. She had the whole party eating out of the palm of her hand. She raised over fifty thousand dollars.”
Luke chokes on his coffee. “That’s awesome.” After he properly swallows, he points a finger at me. “But I don’t think that’s the whole reason for that face. What else happened?”
I lick my lips and take a sip of coffee. “A man doesn’t kiss and tell.”
“Seriously? How’d you convince her to kiss your ugly mug?”
“Har, har.”
“I’m just messin’ with ya. I’m happy for you. I just hope you can balance two women—fake relationship or not, it could get messy.”
