Page 77 of Counterfeit Connection

“She’s going to hate me when this is all over.”

Griffin gently takes hold of my wrist to halt my walking. He places two fingers underneath my chin, guiding it up to meet his eyes. He skillfully places his aviators on top of his head so I can see nearly through his pools of green. “Kait, she despises what my father has become. She will adore you before and after. You’re doing this for me. Remember that.”

I reach my hand up to rest on his chest. “I look at you sometimes and wonder how I could have been so wrong.”

Griffin smiles sweetly before he bends down to place a soft kiss on my lips. “I gave you every reason, baby.”

There are those damn butterflies again. Who am I kidding? He doesn’t give me butterflies. He gives me fucking pterodactyls.

I expect to find an SUV waiting for us, but instead, Griffin pulls out a set of keys and we step into the underground garage.

“Are you driving us?”

“Did you think I’d bring you here and not try to impress you with one of my cars?” He gives me that cocky smirk and I melt a little right there.

He leads me to the sexiest matte gray car I’ve ever laid eyes on.

“Holy shit.”

“I do like that reaction when I show a pretty girl one of my toys.”

He opens the door for me, but not before I caress the paint. “What is this?”

“Let me introduce you to the Ferrari 812 Competizione. Let’s just say I got this idea from a friend who drives in Formula One. You know if he likes it, it’s mega. It will hug every curve of your beautiful body. Not better than I can, but you get the idea.”

“Fuck me. This is sex on wheels. How do you not get off while driving it?”

“Who says that’s a thing, my love?”

My love?Oh, Jesus. I’m glad I’m sitting down, because if I wasn’t, I’d have collapsed to the concrete. Is there anything bigger than a pterodactyl? There has to be, because I feel it. “Drive. Drive fast.”

“Like a thrill do you? Consider that noted.” He slides his aviators back down as the engine literally roars to life. I can feel the vibrations of the car everywhere…especially there.

We pull from the underground garage and are met with flashing cameras from the sidewalk. Four or five men with huge lenses, pointed in our direction, rush toward the car.

“Oh my God. Do you deal with that all the time? They can just be outside of your apartment?” I ask.

“It’s a public sidewalk,” he sighs, carefully turning out onto the street then pressing the gas, sending us roaring toward our destination.

“That’s just… wow.” I shake my head and exhale, trying to put it out of my mind and enjoy the ride.

The city turns into the edge of the countryside. Everything is so beautiful and feels old in the best way.

“I feel as if I’m in the middle of a historical novel, like if I touch a standing stone I’ll disappear.”

Griffin’s eyes are glued to the road as a small smile spreads across his face. “Don’t do that. I’d miss you too much.”

He’d miss me?

I turn my head so I’m looking out my window. I don’t want him to see what those words have done. I feel like I could cry. I don’t understand how it affected me so quickly. The truth of the matter is, I’ll miss him too. He bulldozed his way into my life then the bull turned into this amazing man. I’ve never known anyone quite like him. Even with all these extraordinary circumstances around us, being with him is one of the most real things I’ve ever experienced.

“Hey.” His strong hand rests over the top of mine, folded in my lap. “Are you all right?”

“Mmmhmm. Yeah. Just a moment of wow, I’m here.”

He regards me for a second, like he doesn’t really believe me, but instead of pushing, he squeezes my hand and changes the subject. “You’ve never been here, have you?”

I shake my head. “Never, but I’ve always wanted to. I expect the full, tourist treatment from you, okay? I want to do all the silly things the locals hate about foreigners.”

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