Page 92 of Crash
“Hi! I need help. My car broke down, and I was wondering if you could help me out?” The woman on his step bit her lip and looked up at him with her big brown eyes.
Griffin didn’t know how to react, but then her words registered. He let loose a grin at the reminder of how they first met before yanking the door open and grabbing her around the waist.
Finally, Quynh was here, back in his arms. Shelaughed as he picked her up and brought her inside his house, her hands going around his neck while her legs wrapped around his waist.
“Sunshine,” he said in greeting.
“Grumpy bear.” She smiled at his mock frown.
“Don’t tell me you drove all night to get here.”
“Ok, then I won’t.”
He growled and snapped his teeth at her, which made her giggle. His heart stopped beating in his chest at the sound of her laughter. He buried his face in her hair, breathing in her scent. Griffin hugged her tightly to his chest and relished the way her breath caught in her throat.
“Are you really here?” he murmured against her.
“I’m really here.” Her hand moved into his hair, fingernails scratching against his scalp. He bit back on a groan of pleasure as a shiver raced through his body.
“Thank fuck.” Griffin lifted his head. Finding her eyes were wet with unshed tears, he frowned.
“What’s wrong?” His voice came out rougher than he intended. Quynh offered a small smile before tilting her face up in a silent command for a kiss. He leaned down and met her soft lips with his own. It was a sweet kiss. Gentle. A meeting of two souls as they reunited.
She pulled back and shook her head.
“Nothing’s wrong. Everything is right for the firsttime in a while.” Her smile lit a fire within him, making him aware of every beat of his heart. For the rest of his life, he would make sure she always had a reason to smile at him just like this. Like he was her entire world. He would move heaven and earth to give her everything she might want or need in this lifetime. And the next, if he had anything to say about it.
Griffin never believed in soulmates, but the past few weeks of being separated from Quynh showed him what it was like to exist without his other half. Without her, his soul left his body. She was his in every sense of the word. His soulmate. His better half. The missing piece to his jagged puzzle.
It made him powerful to know a strong woman like her called him her man.
With Quynh tightly wrapped up in his arms, he turned to run up the stairs, only to have her yell.
“Stop! Put me down!” She slapped his shoulder for him to let go of her. When he refused, she sighed. “I need to get Pickles out of the car.”
Griffin’s grumble was loud, but he let her unwrap her legs around his waist. She made a move to open the front door, but he grabbed her arm and pulled her back. His lips closed around her yelp of surprise, which quickly turned into a groan of pleasure. His cock hardened at the sound. Lips and tongues met in a primal dance for dominance.He gripped the back of her head, grabbed a fist full of her dark, silky hair, and tugged. Her body went boneless in his arms at his display of dominance. He continued to lead their kiss but pulled back before things became too heated, or he’d fuck her up against the wall.
Pulling back, he untangled his hand from her hair and let her rest against the wall while he ran out to her car, which was parked in his driveway. Pickles was sleeping soundly in his carrier. He gently carried the sleepy cargo inside the house. He put the carrier down on the bench and opened the latch. Pickles took his time to stretch and worked his way out of the crate as if it were a normal occurrence to be back at Griffin’s home.
Though Griffin always had a dog for a companion, he admitted it was nice to have Pickles around. Now, they were all united under the same roof. Quynh disappeared into the kitchen. He heard the sounds of her shaking Pickles’s dry food out. He watched her as she made sure Pickles was taken care of. She was always thinking of others before herself. A trait he admired, but he knew people would take advantage of her generosity. He’d make it his personal mission to make sure she was never taken advantage of again.
Finally, when Pickles had food and water set up. Quynh straightened up and brushed her hands together. She smiled at him as she slowly walked toward him, her hips swaying side to side with the movement.
There it goes again, his heart stopping in his chest when she aimed her smile at him. She was going to be the death of him. What a way to go. If he died with her eyes on him, he’d die a happy man, knowing the last thing he saw would be her smiling face.
When she finally reached him, she placed both hands on his chest and looked up at him. The moonlight streamed in through the windows, giving her an ethereal glow. She looked like a goddess asking her supplicant for a sacrifice to show his devotion to her. Griffin bent his head down, their lips merely centimeters apart. He grasped her hand above his heart and gave her a small squeeze.
Her pouty lips parted. Her pink tongue peeked out as she licked her lips.
“Take me to bed, Griffin.”
At her husky command, Griffin bent at the knees and picked her up. Throwing her over his shoulder as he ran up the stairs. He shut the door before Rover or Pickles could sneak in. He spent the rest of the night showing her how much he’d missed her, whispering promises against her heated skin, wringing out her pleasure with every kiss and touch he knew would make her whimper.
Only when he was satisfied she knew her rightful place was with him did he finally allow himself to come. They fell asleep tangledup together.
The last thing he heard before complete darkness was her whispered words.
“I love you.”
