Page 82 of Unforgivable

The week had flown by and I was surprised to find I was sad about leaving Oklahoma. I enjoyed all the time I got to spend with Rhys and his Gran, who had been enthusiastic about us being together to say the least. She'd whooped and hollered the next morning when she'd come home to find us creeping out of my bedroom in search of breakfast. It was mortifying to be caught in our combined walk of shame, but her joy had been contagious. She hugged us and kissed our cheeks before pulling me to the side and giving me a warning I should have expected.

You treat him right or else I'll skin your butt alive and feed ya to the pigs. They'll never find you.

I had laughed when she said it, but the terrifying glint in her eye had me shutting that shit down real fast. If I had any doubts she meant it, they withered under her glare. Gran might appear meek and sweet, but I bet she could do some damage if pushed. Lucky for her, I was pretty obsessed with her grandson and the only intentions I had were to worship him from dawn 'til dusk.

Annoyingly, I hadn't had time to worship at the altar of Rhys' bodysince that first night a few days ago. He'd been paranoid about doing anything while Gran was in the house. I fucking hated it, but I understood. The woman liked to joke about being old, but she had the hearing of a damn bat, always catching us when we'd kiss or even get too close. She'd laugh like it entertained her to break up our intimate moments, but it had me on edge like nothing else. I'd had blue balls for Rhys for way too long, and even now when he was mine to claim and kiss and ravage, I couldn't do a damn thing about it. I couldn't wait to get him back home.

“We promise to call when we reach Austin,” Rhys promised her, hugging her hard. “Thank you for having us this week. I love you.”

“Oh honeybun, it was my pleasure. Thank you for coming up here, and for bringing that cutie with you. He survived a week with me, so I guess he's got my seal of approval,” she teased, shooting me a wink.

I walked over to give her a hug, something that still made me a tad uncomfortable, but I sucked it up for her. After all, her talk that morning had been the last push I needed to pull my head out of my ass and go after what I wanted.

“You remember what I told you about my second theory,” Gran murmured in my ear before she pulled back.

I looked at her confusedly, but then it clicked. All I could do was smile at her and say “yes ma'am”, promising her and myself that I would do whatever it took to be the best person for Rhys.

The car ride back seemed to fly by with Rhys splayed out in the passenger seat and DJing the best of the 80's the whole way home in honor of my mom. I still couldn't wrap my head around the idea that we were together. Like a couple. And not just a couple of people, but in a you're-mine-now-please-fuck-me-into-oblivion-all-night kind of way. At least, I assumed that's how couples functioned. I hadn't ever been in a…togethership thing before.

Fuck, I was bad at this, but Rhys didn't seem to mind that we hadn't labeled anything. We just simply were and it was everything. Being together lifted the weight that had hung over us for the last few weeks and all the old tension burned away under this new flame we had kindled. Well, there was definitely still tension, but now we had much better ways to work that out.

Pressure built behind my zipper as I thought of all the ways that was possible now I didn't have to keep my hands to myself. By the timewe reached Austin, my cock was so hard it could have jackhammered through concrete.

He agreed to come over to hang out at my place when we got back, and by the greedy spark in his eyes I had an excellent feeling that we'd be stripped down and horizontal in record time. The elevator ride up to my floor was maddening, especially since Rhys was being a damn tease and not letting me kiss him.

“You need to learn some patience,” he quipped, pinning me with a faux stern look.

“Sweetness, it's been five days since my dick has been anywhere near your vicinity. Trust me, I have the patience of a goddamn saint right now.” I adjusted my hard-on conspicuously to prove my point. The only sign he'd been affected by it was the tempting color that bled into his cheeks.

“And the mouth of a drunken dockworker. What a winning combo,” he said sardonically.

“Just wait until we get inside, Evans. I'll show you exactly what this drunken dockworker can do with his mouth,” I winked at him, and his eyes widened in anticipation.

Why aren't we there yet? I swear to fuck, this elevator is slowing down or going in reverse. The universe loves conspiring against me and my suffering cock.

With a willpower I didn't know I possessed, I avoided racing to the door and towing Rhys behind me. Once the door was unlocked and we unceremoniously shoved inside, our bags fell to the floor and I was on him.

I grabbed his face, slamming my lips down on his, tasting his moan on my tongue. His fingers clawed at my jacket, raking down toward my ass as he yanked me into him. I loved how his reserved shell cracked and shattered when we were together, showing me the hedonistic animal underneath. I sensed it on him the first day in that classroom. Even as he had shaken with nerves and fear, I could tell he had suppressed urges that were as sinful as they were delectable. I couldn't wait to uncover each one and break them loose.

I buried my fingers in his thick waves, tugging just enough to have him whining into our kiss. I swallowed his sounds and got lost in the desperation of them before trailing my hands down to the button of his jeans.

“I was wondering if you were getting back to—whoa.”

The intrusive voice snapped us both out of our bubble, and Rhyshands shoved me back out of his space, his face flushed with embarrassment. Annoyance hit me that we were interrupted and I spun to face Griffin, hiding Rhys behind me until he got himself together. Unfortunately, there was no hiding the erection tenting my own pants, especially since I elected to wear sweats on the drive home.

Universe, you heartless bastard, what did I ever do to deserve this? Okay, rephrase. What did I ever do to you personally to warrant this shit?

Griffin's eyes were wide as he warily took me in, gaze sweeping down to the evidence of my arousal. He looked back up with a hardness in his features that wasn't there before.

“Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt. I didn't realize you were bringing company over,” he intoned, holding my gaze and ignoring Rhys behind me. I could feel him shifting at my back, clearly feeling the awkward vibe settling over us.

“No man, that was my fault. I should have texted to see if you were home,” I apologized, trying to curb my frustration so I didn't snap at my friend. It was my dumb ass that hadn't thought to check if he was back.

“S'all good,” Griffin said tightly. “You gonna introduce us or just stand there giving me the one gun salute?” He arched a brow at my slowly deflating dick and irritation pricked at me at his blatant perusal in front of Rhys. I snatched up my duffle, using it to shield myself from Griff as I grabbed Rhys' hand and pulled him next to me.

“Griffin, this is Rhys. Rhys, my roommate Griffin,” I said. I noticed Rhys' hand tighten around mine, and I squeezed it reassuringly.

Griffin's eyes flashed with an emotion I couldn't quite peg, but it was gone too fast to decipher. He stuck his hand out, his usual charming smirk firmly in place as Rhys shook his hand.

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