Page 236 of The Protective Gryphen

Oh, the irony.

He had been, but not about this. Yeah, this was all Graham helping him but yesterday. Apparently, Ian had been scheming a whole lot.

“Are you upset I was scheming?” he asked.

Gryphen wiped a snowflake off of his cheek.

“Absolutely not. This is the kind of scheming I can get behind,” he said. “Keep it coming. I like memory making with you. Just no scheming with other men. I’ll let it go that it was Graham, but that’s it.”

Oh, boy.

“I promise. Let’s skate,” Ian said, hoping being alone with Neils didn’t come back to bite him in the ass.

Gryphen stopped him.

“Is it safe?”

The man looked over at the ice that Graham had cleared.

“My helper said it was solid.”

Oh, well, that didn’t matter to Gryphen. As a Marine, you didn’t trust anyone’s word. You made sure or your ass was grass.

“I’m going to check the ice,” Gryphen said. “I don’t trust anyone but me with your life.”

He figured.

If anything, Gryphen was consistently protective.

“Use the broom to clear it,” he said, pointing.

As he did, Ian watched the most amazing man check for their safety. He couldn’t help but smile. With the other men he dated, none wanted to watch cheesy romantic Christmas movies, or make snow angels.

They didn’t want to hover and make sure he was safe. They fucked and ran.

Now, he had a real man. He had a strong man who loved with all he had.

Yeah, he was grateful to Will. When he testified against him, he was going to make an impact statement and thank him for giving him love.

Gryphen’s love.

Without that assault, there wouldn’t be this. Gryphen wanted every moment with him.

He cherished them.

“Want to make snowmen later?” he asked, just wanting to prove a point.

“Oh, Mr. Patterson, I am an expert snowman maker. The Blackhawk kids make an army of them. Sign me up. I’m going to make a sexy one that reminds me of you.”

He grinned.

Yeah, he was marrying this man.

It didn’t take long for Gryphen to finish.

“The ice is clear!” he called. “It gets thinner in the middle,” he added. “We’ll stay over here.”

That worked for Ian.

---