Page 38 of Holding Out

“What thefuck?Like, what theactualfuck?Thatbastard!”

The guy, whoever he was, was lucky that Griff wasn’t violent by nature, because otherwise his days would have been numbered.Griff would have hunted him down and strangled him with bare hands.

“Shit, Becca, thatsucks.”I know what that’s like,he didn’t say aloud.But he remembered, with a rush of pain.The sense of loss and betrayal.Someone you trusted—hell, loved—making you feel like none of it had ever mattered.Likeyouhadn’t mattered.

She waved a hand.“It was a long time ago.”

He’d seen that hand wave before, though.He knew—she didn’t like to admit to anyone how much something hurt her.

Took one to know one, on that front.

She rolled away from him, toward the edge of the bed.She grabbed her phone and tapped an app.

“What are you doing?”he asked.

She gave him a look.“Ordering myself a Lyft.”

He winced.She must have seen, because she said, “What?”

“Do you think that’s how I roll?ALyft?”

“Um—no.Sorry.I just didn’t want you to feel like you had to drive me home.”

He glared at her.

“Sorry!OK.”

“Pour yourself another glass of champagne,” he said.“Have some chocolate covered strawberries.Celebrate.ThenI’ll take you home.Also—”

He got up, crossed to his bag, and pulled out the gift he’d brought her from the lingerie shop.“Thought you might want something clean to put on.Since your underwear’s all wet.”

“Your fault,” she said, shooting him a look that made his dick wake up and show interest in more action.

He watched as she pulled his gift from the bag.“Wow,” she said.“That’sreallypretty.And youreallydidn’t have to do that.”

He shrugged.“Kinda wanted to see you in it.”

“Should I put it on?”

The best part was watching her wriggle the red teddy bodysuit up her body.She shimmied to accomplish it and her tits were like something he would have dreamt up when he was a teenager.

Goddammit, he was going to fuck her again.

She reached for her dress, but he put an arm out to stop her.“Not yet,” he said.

Her eyes got big at that.

18

The second time was even better than the first.He took a long time getting her ready, kneeling at her feet, her ass cupped in his big hands, his face buried against the lace of the bodysuit.She was pretty sure, from how seriously he took his job, that he’d planned this from the moment he’d first seen the scrap of red lingerie in the store.

He peeled her out of the bodysuit and laid her back on the bed and then he stroked into her until her world narrowed to the sharp sparkle of sensation where his body met hers.In, out, heat and light and that crazy spiraling tension that wound all the way to climax and took him with her.This time, she stayed aware enough to watch him, the way all his muscles went taut, the expression on his face one of pleasure bleeding right to the edge of pain.

Afterwards, he asked her if she wanted a shower.

“We could shower together.You know, save time,” she suggested.

He grinned.“We’d be here all night if I got in there with you.”

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