Page 200 of Fighting the Forbidden

He hands me another towel and I quickly rub it over my body, then pull it around and tie it over my chest. “Thanks.”

He hooks his fingers around the edge of the mirror and pries it away from the wall with a screech of metal. “Made sure I had this here for you too.”

I drop my gaze to the small, clear bottle in his hand. My favorite hair serum. “Griff, that stuff’s expensive,” I protest.

“So?” He shrugs. “Told you I want you to feel comfortable when you’re here.” His lips quirk. “And take lots of showers with me.”

Laughing, I pour a nickel-sized amount in my palm and smooth it through my hair. Griff searches through a drawer and hands me a wide-toothed comb. Thank God. I was scared I’d have to use his fine-toothed one.

“What I don’t have is a decent blow-dryer.” His lips pull into an apologetic smile, and he holds up an ancient-looking black-and-red blow-dryer. “This was here when I moved in. It works, I think. But it’s gotta be older than I am.”

“That’s okay.” I run the comb through my wet hair. “I like letting it air-dry sometimes. Actually, maybe I’ll braid it. I have hair ties in my backpack.”

He ties the towel around his hips. “You want me to go plug in the waffle maker again?”

“Oh my God! The waffles.” I wrinkle my nose. “You think the batter is still okay?”

“I’m sure it’s fine.” He turns and reaches for the door.

“Griff?”

He stops and faces me. “Hmmm?”

I rush closer and loop my arms around his neck. “Thank you for being so patient with me.”

His eyebrows draw down, but one corner of his mouth slides up. “Patient, how?”

I tip my head toward the bedroom. “Waiting…you know, for me until I was ready.”

“Molly.” He slips his arms around my waist and stares at me with loving eyes. “I want us to spend the rest of our lives together. A couple months—years if you needed them—was nothing.” He flicks his gaze toward the ceiling, like he’s searching for the right words. “I didn’t want you to ever look back and regret anything about us. Or feel like I talked you into something.”

“I’d never regret you, no matter what.”

That doesn’t seem to reassure him. His frown remains as he studies my face. “I wanted our first time to actually be good, too.”

“Oh, it was good.” I lean up and kiss his cheek. “Very, very good. Like I’m-still-tingly-all-over good.”

Genuine amusement lights his face, chasing away the concern. “I’ll never get tired of hearing you compliment my skills.”

I glance at the mirror and warmth spreads over my skin. “You think maybe we can stay at that hotel again?”

He groans. “You’re killing me.”

“What?” I grin up at him.

He hugs me tighter. “Baby, we can do anything you want when I get back. We’ll go away for a weekend. Just you and me. Okay?”

The reminder that he’s leaving me soon sucks all the fun out of our moment. My heart crackles with pain. I don’t want to be without him for so long.

We’ve already talked about it. It’s a done deal. Support him.

I force a big smile. “I can’t wait.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

Griff

My ego wouldn’t let me tell Molly that my legs were still shaking after our naked workout in the bathroom. Showering with her. Letting her find all the things I’ve been storing here for her to use one day. All that made the explosive sex even sweeter.

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