Page 116 of Greed
“Lilo,” he muttered against her lips. “I’m taking you to my room.”
She went in for another kiss, but he moved his face to look away. It was then she noticed they stood before the elevator that went up to the apartments, but Griffin couldn’t get the button to work. He shifted to free his hand and stabbed again. No luck. It blinked and flickered.
“Damn power,” he burst out.
“What’s wrong?” She was already dragging his jacket zipper lower, trying to get inside. She wanted to touch him, to feel his heart beat steadily against her palm. To reassure herself he was okay, that he was there.
“When I’m around you like this,” he said, squeezing her rear pointedly. “I can’t concentrate. The magnetism inside me goes haywire and disrupts electrical signals.”
A smile tugged at her lips. She made him like this. Her. She slipped her hand inside his jacket, and under the collar of his undershirt. The skin on skin contact made him close his eyes with a throaty groan.
“Keep touching me and I might drop you.”
“You won’t do that.” She leaned into kiss his neck and a guttural sound ripped from him.
“Fuck it,” he bit out. “I’m taking the stairs.”
She laughed, loving his urgency. She didn’t think she’d ever heard him say the F-word. But… “Aren’t you exhausted? You should put me down.”
“I think I’m having a second wind.”
Lilo squealed as he shoved through the stairwell door and took steps two at a time. She didn’t try to argue and held on for the ride. Before she knew it, they’d traveled up four flights—maybe five—of stairs, burst through his apartment door, through the living room, bedroom, and onto his bed. He was breathing hard, but he never slowed once.
She landed on her back, bouncing on the mattress and bedding, blinking as she came to her senses. The big hero loomed over her with a look of such concentration and longing on his face that she couldn’t breathe from the intensity.
“I’m sorry.” He put his hands on his hips while he caught his breath. “I should have told you about Doppenger earlier. If I had, he’d never have had the chance to take you.”
“You knew?” For a moment, her desire plummeted. Her world came crashing down. She propped herself up on her elbows, frowning at him. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I knew what he meant to you once, and I didn’t want to hurt your feelings. I wanted to keep you separate from that, and safe.”
“When did you find out?”
He paused, still panting. “I suspected when he punched me in the office, drawing blood. He’s working for the Syndicate. The same people who experimented on us when we were children.”
Her heart broke a little. As children. Those bastards, the same ones who fed Donnie that sick serum. Anger boiled through her and she gripped the sheets. Those assholes had been getting away with their horrible experiments for decades. It shouldn’t be allowed. Resolve hardened in her gut as a new goal took shape. “They’re my new unicorn, Griffin. I’m going to find out who they are and reveal them to the world.”
Silence.
She looked up to his surprised face.
“You’re not angry at me?”
She thought about it. “No. I mean, I wish you had trusted me enough to tell me earlier, but… I understand. This was an extreme situation. I wouldn’t want you anywhere near them if the situation was reversed.”
Suddenly, she had a face full of angry Griffin. “Don’t ever keep something like that from me. I don’t want you in danger.”
“Deal, but…” She put two palms to his chest and pushed him back. “Don’t lie to me again. You can trust me.”
“Deal.” Desire flared in his eyes and he hastily peeled off his jacket. “Enough talking. I have to have you now. I’m so hard, it’s like steel. I’m sorry, but I can’t wait for a shower.”
Her brain short circuited when he tugged his undershirt off, and her eyes dipped appreciatively to the bulge straining the pants that had no give. But then… a shower? She glanced at her body. God, she was covered in dust, dirt and scrapes. So was he. They would dirty the sheets. But as she turned back to his shirtless frame, all ropey cords and tight muscles, she realized he wasn’t waiting for that kind of permission, but for something else. The last few times they’d been together, she’d insisted on being in control. She had been afraid of being hurt again.
No way would this man ever hurt her.
He’d fought a beast for her.
He’d die for her.
