Page 95 of Not A Whisper

“Uh-oh, a lovers quarrel,” Jonathan whispers gleefully, looking between us. A little louder he adds, “I got the desk if you need to step away for a moment, Bri. Or you can talk here…”

I roll my eyes at him before sliding out from behind the desk. Without a word, Grant follows me upstairs to the third floor. I can feel his fury humming around him like angry bees. His piercing glare burrows into the back of my skull. My grin goes unseen.

We get to a familiar, quiet aisle of books before Grant finally snaps.

As I turn to face him, he grabs me by the front of my neck and pushes me back against the wall. I gasp in surprise, but it instantly turns into amusement as Grant glares down at me.

“What the fuck?!”

“You’ll have to be more specific, Grant.”

Grant’s grip tightens around my neck. Not enough to choke me but definitely tight enough to let me know he’s not fooling around. As if the accentuated sharp lines of his face or the way he’s shooting daggers at me isn’t enough of a clue.

“Fine. I’ll bemore specific,” he mocks. “You tattooed mydick!”

More like I tattooedabovehis dick. It had taken some time to shave a perfect heart into his neatly manicured pubes, but once I had the space, I took that tattoo gun and went to town. My bottom lip trembles. A snort works its way out of my nose and then the laughter rolls up and out.

“Briella! This isn’t funny!”

I can’t stop laughing now that I’ve let it out. Tears well up and spill down my cheeks. Soon, my stomach begins to hurt. I reach up and wrap my fingers around Grant’s wrist but not to pull him away. It’s more to keep myself stable as my legs tremble under the force of my mirth.

The tension in Grant’s arm lessens a little. He sighs, finally letting go of me, and straightens. “You have no idea how badly I want to punish you.”

It takes another moment, butfinally, my laughter subsides. Reaching up, I wipe away the tears on my cheeks. “Don’t tell me you don’t like my tattoo skills.”

“Where did you even get a tattoo gun?” He squeezes his eyes shut as he reaches up to pinch the bridge of his nose.

His exasperation only keeps my amusement alive. My bottom lip is trembling dangerously as I try to hold back the next wave of laughter.

“I bought it when we got back from Vegas.” I pick off invisible lint from my blouse as I try to settle down. “For someone who watched about five minutes of how-to videos, I think I did a decent job. Don’t tell me you don’t like it.”

Grant sighs. His eyes open and his hand drops away from his face. He opens his mouth but shuts it. Slowly his brows pull together only to curl upward in the middle, evidently pained by the entire situation.

“Honestly, I don’t know if I got it better or worse than the others.”

I giggle. Jason and Trip got the tattoo “Property of Bri” on opposite butt cheeks with a little heart as the dot for the ‘i’. A perfect tattoo in my humble opinion.

“I can’t believe…” Grant shakes his head, momentarily speechless. “It hurts like a bitch you know.”

I don’t doubt it. Apparently you have to be careful with how deep the needle goes in the skin when tattooing. Withoutany prior experience, I had to eyeball the situation and hope for the best. There’d been a little blood for sure.

“Good.” My amusement disappears. “You deserve it. Now, let me see it. I forgot to take pictures once I was done to admire my work.”

Grant glares at me, but it’s lacking the heat now. “You’re such a brat.”

“And you’re an ass,” I counter, my arms coming up to cross over my chest. Swallowing back my annoyance, I begrudgingly tack on, “Butas angry as I am about being tricked into this… I do appreciate you looking out for me, Grant.”

Not expecting my reply, Grant’s face goes slack with surprise. His sharp auburn eyes travel over my face, searching for something.

“Are you saying you’re not mad anymore?”

“I wouldn’t go that far. But now thatIclaimedyou, I feel a little better.” With a deep breath, I continue, “And just so you know, I’ll protect you too. What I did for Pianna—” Grant grimaces and it takes effort not to mirror the expression “—I wouldn’t do that for just anyone, Grant, but I’d go that far for you and the others. Garry’s not allowed to touch you now that you belong to me.”

A myriad of emotions has Grant’s face twitching like he might be having a stroke. It’s interesting to watch. Any lingering tension leaks out of his shoulders, and slowly, a small, warm, and genuine smile curls the corners of his mouth. It stretches with uncertainty before lighting up his whole face. The air in my lungs evaporates. A fire ignites in those reddish brown eyes. It burns so hot that I can feel the heat from where I stand.

“You know,” he drawls, stepping closer to me. That smile twists with amusement. “Aringmay have been easier to show off. Now I have to flash my dick to everyone who getsclose to show who I belong to. I’m not sure that’s going to be appropriate in most situations.”

I snort. “A ring? Psh. If anyone is getting a ring, it better be me.”

---