Page 86 of Tangled Kisses
My gaze cuts across the bar and freezes when it latches onto Griffin’s lanky form.
As usual, he’s a fan favorite.
A trio of local girls are crowding him, fingers skimming over the short bristles of his head, nails trailing down his arm, giggles spilling like they’ve just discovered calorie-free ice cream. And he’s letting them.
Worse, he’s smiling. Not the fake, tight-lipped kind he gives when he’s uncomfortable—no, this one looks real. Like he’s enjoying every second.
My stomach dips. Maybe he needs the attention. Maybe he needs the reminder that every woman in town wants him. And why wouldn’t they? He’s hotter now than ever, even more untouchable.
Right on cue, the ugly voice in my head kicks in. Vander had scads of adoring women, too. And for a while I believed I was different. That I was enough all on my own.
Don’t make a fool of yourself again, Reese.
I ignored the signs with Vander—brushed off the excuses, never questioned why our sex life suddenly fell off a cliff. Believed his lies while he screwed half of Long Island behind my back.
What if this is more of the same? Griffin spends every spare second with me, but he hasn’t made a move, except for this afternoon. His mouth on my skin, his hands gripping me like he’d never let go—until he stopped.Again.
My brain is not a fun place to be right now.
“Quit it,” Piper snaps, circling a finger in front of my face to make her point. “That look. Don’t.” She slides the glass across the wet wood. “I’m going to force-feed you shots until you’re smiling.”
My sister is right. Time for me to have a little fun, too.
“Deal.”
It doesn’t take long. Two drinks in, I’m warm and loose when one of our favorite dance tunes spills from the speakers.
“Stupid boot,” Piper grumbles, glaring at her foot before motioning to me with a knowing wink. “I’m going to the table, andyouare going to show these locals how we dance back home.”
So I do.
My hands tangle in my hair as I roll my hips to the beat, eyes drifting closed. For once, I don’t care how I look—I just let the music take me. The bass thrums through my chest, down to my toes, and I surrender to it, hips undulating, shoulders shimmying, laughter spilling free and unguarded.
Then I feel him.
Large hands clamp around my hips from behind, dragging me back against a wall of hard muscle. A hiss escapes me as his grip tightens, one palm sliding lower, lower, until his fingers brush the inside of my thigh. My lungs seize, heat surging through me.
“Jesus, Reese,” Griffin rasps, his mouth at my ear, his voice filth and reverence all at once. “You dance like you want me to worship every inch of you first and then fuck you so deep you’ll never doubt you’re mine.”
My knees nearly buckle. Every nerve in my body screams yes.
He pulls me tighter against him, his arousal hard and insistent against my backside, his breath hot as he growls, “Tell me to stop, and I will. But if you don’t, I swear to God, I’m done holding back.”
“Griffin…” It’s barely a whisper, my lips trembling around his name.
His hands flex on my hips, steadying me, and before I can second-guess myself, I spin in his hold until I’m facing him. The move knocks the air out of me, because those eyes, molten and merciless, lock straight on mine.
“I had no idea you could move like that,” he says, voice rough, wrecked. “Baby, you’rekillingme.”
Heat radiates between us, the music fading, the room disappearing—untilsheappears.
A woman slides onto the empty stool beside us, someone I’ve seen around town before. Always dressed to showcase every curve, always certain men notice when she walks in. Her manicured fingers trail brazenly down Griffin’s bicep like I don’t exist. “Damn, handsome. Loving the new look. Who would’ve thought you could get even better looking?”
The words land like a slap. First the giggling girls across the bar, now her. I could be center stage under a spotlight, and they’d still pretend I wasn’t here.
And just like that, the reel of every time I’ve felt like a fool flashes in my head. The day I left New York, standing there while some woman flirted with my fiancé like I was invisible. Finding out the salesgirl had slept with him too. The sick twist in my stomach when I realized none of them cared. That the ring on my finger meant nothing. ThatImeant nothing.
The worst part? I never loved Vander.
