Page 91 of Greed
She bit her lip.Going up against Donnie?Yes. Damn him. She was so done with that overpowering greedy jerk. Fred had loved her story. She could do this.
“I will fight for you, Griffin,” she said. “I promise you this. People like Donnie won’t get to write rubbish about your family again. Not while I’m at the Copy.”
He brought her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles. “He won’t stand a chance.”
A small smile tickled her face, and then her stomach rumbled. “Um. Do you have any flour and baking supplies here?”
A worried tick appeared next to his eye.
“Actually, don’t answer that, you look like you bench-lift bakers for fun.”
He blinked. “I just use normal weights.”
That made her laugh and she slapped him playfully. “Any other food?”
“Not suitable for breakfast.”
“No problem.” She hopped out of bed, all energized and ready for the day. “Let me take a shower, and then I’m taking you to breakfast.”
She’d just had to pick somewhere cheap.
As she crossed the room, she felt his heated gaze on her back as she opened his bathroom door, then just as she entered, he shouted, “Wait!”
But she’d seen the damage to the tiles in his shower. The wall under the faucet and spray nozzle had been shattered and dented as though someone had taken a mallet to it. “What happened?”
He came up behind her, hands in his pockets. “I was angry.”
For the first time since being with him, she was a little concerned he had a temper she needed to be aware of, and a sliver of doubt reminded her that Donnie was an angel when they first started dating too.
“It was after I left you in that stairwell,” he uttered. “I was angry at myself.”
Angry at himself.Not her. The opposite of what Donnie was like. She had nothing to worry about. He needed her.
Chapter Twenty-Six
A day later, Griffin was in a booth at Heaven, watching Lilo from across the room as she spoke with the waitress at her station about a special order she wanted made. He had mentioned that he wasn’t a fan of garlic, and she took it upon herself to ensure his order was made without. She liked doing things for him, and he liked doing them back.
He also liked doing things to her.
The memory of how they’d spent the previous two nights had him heating up, tugging at his collar, and shifting his legs. He attempted to think of something else, but it was as though the more he tried to move his mind away, the more he envisioned her naked body beneath him. Above him. In his arms. In the shower. On his newly uncovered living room couch…
They’d spent the prior day at his place, surreptitiously removing the stolen items from his living room. She’d kept her promise and made sure to hold his secret close to her heart. The mass exodus hadn’t been too hard in the end, as most of the family were recovering from the opening night of Hell.
Lilo had helped him sift through his apartment. She approached the mess like it was a house renovating project. She helped him sort every stolen object into categoric piles. Jewelry, knick-knacks, clothing… Not once did she frown, or chastise him. In fact, she enthusiastically spoke about how much it would help those less fortunate than them. Together they’d delivered the items to shelters and goodwill centers around the city. She came alive with the project and still held the same glow in her cheeks today. He was grateful that he could see his living room furniture again. Very grateful.
His gaze flicked back to where she chatted with the waitress. She tried to pay for the meal, but he told staff that anything either of them ate would go on his tab. She’d been so used to being so generous in her past relationship, it made him edgy. On the other hand, he was happy to show her what being with someone who cared for her truly felt like.
She wouldn’t want for anything while he was around, and he hoped that would be for a long time.
“This seat taken?” Tony slid into the booth on the opposite side to Griffin, pulling his Hollywood sunglasses and ball cap disguise off.
He looked disheveled, but energized. The man twitched and buzzed like he had ants in his pants. His fingers thrummed on the leather. His hair was smoothed back as though he’d run his fingers through it a million times, and his pupils were dilated as they darted around, no doubt checking for misguided paparazzi who might catch him looking so out of sorts.
Griffin stiffened. “As a matter of fact—”
Tony ignored him with a sniff and rested his arm lengthwise on the top of the booth, staring around the restaurant. “What’s up, my man?”
“When was the last time you slept, Tony?” Griffin frowned at him.
