Page 114 of The Protective Gryphen

The reasons were making him even more curious, and one might say he was finding himself obsessed.

Not ‘Gryphen obsessed’, but obsessed none-the-less with the whole thing.

As they drove down into town, Ian smiled the whole way, his hand on Gryphen’s thigh. It was his prosthetic leg, and he could tell the difference between rock-hard muscle, and unforgiving plastic, but still, he derived joy by feeling it under his fingers.

He knew that the man had lost it being a soldier, and that was the essence of Gryphen.

The man would forever be his hero.

“You’re smiling,” he said, glancing over, as he adjusted to driving on the left side of the road. Fortunately, he’d done it before.

“I’m happy, calm, well-sexed, and in love. Today is a good day. I’m going kilt shopping with a hot Marine who loves going commando. This day couldn’t possibly get any better for me.”

He laughed.

“Uh, I wasn’t commando this morning. You were. Someone keeps forgetting that. In fact, I do believe that’s how you got into trouble.”

Oh, and he was going to keep getting into trouble. If his man wanted to chase him around, pin him down, and have hot sex with him…

Who was he to stop him?

“The easier for you to get access to my dick, Gryphen. I’m not stupid.”

He snorted.

“Well, I like you relaxed, and I like not looking over my shoulder thinking that we’re being hunted. I can enjoy the scenery. Mainly, you.”

Ian grinned like that sixteen-year-old who found someone like him. It made his heart hopeful, light, and full of joy.

Finally, he understood what love really was, and he had found it.

“I can’t wait to spend the whole day with you,” Ian said. “This is our first day out as a couple. You know…out in public.”

He was aware.

“It is.”

Ian was curious.

“Are you going to hold my hand?” he asked. “Or are we playing it cool?”

That confused him.

“Why wouldn’t I hold your hand?” he asked, almost daring him to say something negative about himself. He’d pull this ridiculously tiny car over in a heartbeat.

He was NOT playing around.

“I was just asking,” he admitted.

Gryphen clued him in.

“Well, I’m telling you that I don’t care what people say. One negative word about our sexual orientation, and…well, I’ll get mean.”

He reached over and held Ian’s hand, clutched tightly in his bigger one.

“I’m proud of us. I’m not proud of this sardine can, but when in Rome,” he said, really disliking this vehicle.

Give him a big gas guzzler any day. He liked four doors, three rows, and tinted out windows so no one knew who was behind the wheel until it was too late.

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