Page 44 of No Going Back
He wanted to ask how many times Cooper had tried to take her out. How often he showed up to make another request. Jealousy wasn’t an emotion he had to fight with much in his life, and now that it decided to rear its ugly head he was understanding why it caused so many wars.
“I should probably take a shower.” Dianna pulled from his hold. She took a couple of steps backward, sliding a loose bit of hair behind one ear as she went.
It wasn’t how he wanted the night to end, but it was better than it ending with Cooper still sitting on her sofa. “I should go take one too.”
Dianna reached out, snagging the front of his shirt. “You could take one with me.”
He hadn’t reminded her she’d offered to let him use her shower, even when the nights were freezing cold, because he knew exactly how that would end every single time. Part of him believed he’d be able to keep this thing between them under control if he stayed away.
Obviously that part of him was real wrong.
Griffin let her drag him along, offering up no resistance as Dianna pulled him down the hall of her little house. She led him into the first room on the right, flipping on the light to reveal a seafoam green bathroom. The original tile work would be attention grabbing under normal circumstances, but he barely even noticed it. The second the door was closed, Dianna reached down, grabbed the hem of her T-shirt and peeled it up over her head, immediately bringing all his focus to the heavy swell of her tits. He’d fucked his own hand to the memory of them more times than he could count, imagining what it would be like to shove his way between them, fucking the soft, creamy flesh while he teased her nipples to tight peaks.
That was part of the problem with Dianna. It wasn’t just the way she looked that appealed to him, but also who she was, and the combination of it all made him weak as hell.
Dianna moved in close, grabbing his T-shirt the same way she had hers and lifting it up. “It was nice of you to help Troy today.”
“I’m his dad. I’m supposed to help him.”
“You say that, but there are plenty of dads who don’t help their kids.” She pushed his shirt higher, wrestling it until he had no choice but to lift both arms over his head. Once it was cleared and tossed to the floor she reached for the front of his jeans, continuing the conversation. “My parents don’t help me.” She flipped the button loose. “Actually, they barely talk to me at all.”
Part of him had hoped Dianna had some support system he hadn’t yet seen, and learning that she didn’t even have her own parents to rely on sat uncomfortably in his gut. “Then they’re fucking idiots.”
The words were out of his mouth before he realized he shouldn’t have said them. That was the way it always worked. He was always one to talk first and think later. That was why it was just easiest for him to not say anything.
But Dianna wasn’t bothered by his tough words. She laughed, the sound too light for the conversation they were having. “Probably. That’s why I’m not too upset over the fact we don’t really talk to each other anymore.” She raked down his zipper. “Being around my mother isn’t great for me anyway, so it’s for the best.”
He held still as she shoved at his pants, caught in a weird situation where he didn’t know what to say, but he wanted to know more. Wanted to know why Dianna wasn’t upset over not having a relationship with her parents. “Was she not around when you were young?”
Dianna shoved his pants down to his ankles. “Oh no, she was definitely around.”
He kicked away his boots and jeans, focused on what she was saying, not only because he wanted to know about her and her life, but also because of the insight it might provide him. “Then she just wasn’t involved?”
“She was definitely involved.” Dianna reached into the tub/shower combo to switch on the water. “She always had a lot to say.” She slid the curtain back into place and faced him. “Very little of it was ever good.”
He struggled to imagine anyone having a harsh word to say about Dianna, let alone her own fucking mother. “Then she’s definitely an idiot.”
He didn’t feel bad about saying it this time. He’d be hard-pressed to find anything about Dianna that wasn’t perfect, and he was just some guy who lived next door. Discovering that her mother could not only find things, but also pointed them out, was unimaginable.
“So,” Dianna moved in close again, her fingers toying with the waistband of his boxers, “now you see why I said helping Troy today was nice.”
It was getting harder to argue with her reasoning. “He’s my son. I don’t want him to ever have a reason to not want me in his life.”
Dianna’s soft touch moved up his chest, sliding over his pecs to curve around his face. “So you’re nice, funny, hard-working, and a good dad.” She smiled, the expression brightening up the clouds hovering around him. “And anyone who doesn’t see that is a fucking idiot too.”
He grabbed her, pulling her body against his. “I’ll be sure to tell them.” Reaching behind her, he unhooked the clasp of her bra before skimming the straps down her arms to release the lush fullness of her tits. “Fuck, these things are magnificent.”
Dianna laughed, the sound dying off in a squeak when he tipped his head to catch one tip in his mouth. Her nipples were dark and large, the skin of them smooth against his tongue for a split second before starting to pucker, tightening more with each pull of his mouth. It felt like he hadn’t touched her in forever, but it had barely been two weeks. Two weeks of pretending he was fine being her friend. Two weeks of pumping his cock in bed at night to the memory of what it felt like to push into the wet heat of her body.
Two weeks of wondering if he’d ever get a moment like this again.
He grabbed the waistband of her shorts, gripping her panties along with them as he shoved everything down, getting Dianna fully naked for the first time. Clothing had been another thing he thought might keep him from losing his path. A barrier he hoped would keep him from losing sight of what was important.
He was wrong about that too, and at this point, there was no fighting it.
Dianna was already under his skin and digging deeper with every breath she took.
Griffin hauled her toward the shower, tangling in the curtain as he tried to get them into the damn thing.
