Page 65 of Crash
He knew who it was before he turned his head to acknowledge her beaming face.
“Took you long enough,” he groused while wiping his hands on the rag. Quynh’s smile only widened into a grin at his grumpiness. Most people would run away scared of him, but not her. Not his Quynh. If anything, she grew bolder the grumpier he was with her.
Griffin had one leg in the car and the other on the road since he was not built for clown cars. Somehow, Quynh plopped herself on his lap without hurting herself or banging her head against the side of the car.
“Hi.” She smiled up at him as she wrapped her arms around his neck, fingers threading themselves into his thick hair.
He grunted in reply before tossing the rag and placing his hands on her small hips.
“You’re back.”Finally.
“I am.” She bit her lower lip as her eyes gleamed playfully at him. It was as if she knew what he was saying without having to say it. That he missed her when she was gone, and now she was back, he felt like he could breathe again.
She leaned in to kiss him, and he met her halfway, letting her know how much he missed her. When she was a gasping puddle beneath his hands, he pulled away and smirked at her flushed face.
“Well,” she said breathlessly, “it seems like you missed me a little.”
“Just a little.” He could admit that much.
“Uh-huh.” She leaned back against the glove compartment.
His eyes drank in the sight of her splayed in front of him, her dark hair curling around her face in soft waves as the setting sun streamed in through the window, casting a halo around her gleaming body. Her tan skin seemed to glow under his attention. Griffin watched as her dusky lips parted and her breath quickened. His hand on her knee tightened as he fought to restrain himself from pouncing on her.
He was too big to properly service her in this car. His truck would have more space, but then there was the annoying fact of having to deal with the two idiots who were now whistling and making catcalls from the garage bay doors. Guess the cat was out of the bag.
“Oops.” Quynh’s fingers massaged his scalp as she smiled up at him. “I think they figured it out.”
“Yeah,” he grunted, not as bothered with the guys knowing about them as he probably should be. It was unprofessional at best and a disaster waiting to happen at worst. But, right now, at this moment, as his eyes roamed over her body, he couldn’t bring himself to care at all.
A problem for another day.
“Did you fix my car?” Quynh’s soft voice brought him back to the present. Instead of answering, he lifted her and placed her gently on the ground. He was less graceful climbing out of the car. Placing his hands on her shoulder, he guided her around to the driver’s seat, opening the door for her, and he gestured for her to get inside.
Her delighted smile sent his heart rate into overdrive. The keys were still in the ignition, and he watched proudly as she turned the car on. Instead of the clunking noise it was making a few weeks ago, the car purred to life.
“Oh, my god! You fixed Shelly!” Her excited voice pierced his heart. He should be happy for her, but Griffin couldn’t help the dark cloud that threatened to take over his mood. Or the sense of dread as he stared down at her smiling face.
He realized with horror that he had just given her the means to leave him.
twenty-nine
QUYNH
Quynh jolted awake, her heart hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird. A chilling sense of foreboding washed over her as the vestiges of her nightmares faded away. The details of her night terrors escaped her, though the uneasiness the visions provoked still gripped her.
Try as she might, she couldn’t shake the dreadful feeling clinging to her like a menacing phantom. She tried to stay busy in the office, but the pit in her stomach persisted. It didn’t help she had trouble falling asleep despite Griffin tiring her out with his insatiable appetite. Her mind whirled for hours while she grappled with Ruth’s hostility until she fell into a fitful slumber.
After Griffin fixed her car yesterday, they celebrated with him down on his knees while he spread her out across the dinner table. Her toes curled in her flats at thoughts of how voracious Griffin’s appetite had been. Only when Griffin was satisfied that he brought her toclimax properly did he reward her with another home-cooked meal.
If she wasn’t careful, she’d get used to being spoiled. On top of probably gaining much-needed weight with how much he loved to cook for her. Her days of eating ramen seemed so far away now.
When taking Rover for a walk around the lake, they ran into their new neighbors, Ben and Emily, who were surveying the property to prepare for the move. They seemed like a lovely couple, and it was nice to see another Asian woman in town. They revealed they were moving for their growing family. Pretty soon, their quiet neighborhood will be filled with the sounds of a small child. The thought made her smile, and thinking about how Griffin’s mood darkened at the prospect of noisy mornings made her chuckle to herself in the otherwise quiet office.
The day passed by in a blur. She pushed thoughts of her encounter with Ruth into a box and sealed it up tightly. There was no time to examine how she felt about her stepsister right now.
Before she knew it, it was already lunchtime. The bell chimed, announcing the entrance of a customer. The guys only used the side door, which didn’t have a bell, but it was pretty obvious when it was opened because of the noise filtering into the office before it was shut.
Quynh emerged from the office with a practiced smileas she greeted the newcomer. She placed the files she was sorting through on the front desk as she sat down in her chair.
