Page 29 of Secrets at Dawn
Toby rested his forehead on Griffin’s chest. “I’d never do anything to hurt you. Not on purpose. Believe me when I say that.” Toby fisted Griffin’s shirt.
Griffin rubbed Toby’s back, trying to soothe him. “I believe you, baby. And whatever’s going on, we’re in it together.”
Toby growled. It would have been cute if they'd been talking about anything else, but the letter carried weight, and so did Frank being on the roof. The situation was bigger than what had happened that night. “No, Griffin. Stay out of it.”
It felt like Toby was pushing him away. Griffin had no choice but to either back off or keep pushing back. And Griffin didn’t intend to walk away from the situation. He didn’t care how Toby felt about that, but he didn’t want to fight about it either.
“I didn’t put myself in it, did I? They won’t let me just walk away.” Griffin knew enough about how wolf shifter packs worked to know whoever wanted power would use everyone and everything to get it.
“They would if we stopped seeing each other.” Even as Toby said those words, his hold tightened even more.
“Do you want to break up, Toby?” They’d barely gotten started, and already they were having the breakup conversation.
“I don’t want you to get hurt. That’s all.”
“You’re not answering the question.”
“If it means you stay safe, then it might be best if we backed off a little. For now.”
Griffin’s heart sank. The pain in his chest built until he could feel tears in his throat. It would leak out of his eyes soon, and he didn’t want Toby there to see it.
Griffin tried to pull away, but Toby clung. “Let me go.”
“I don’t want to.” Toby buried his face in Griffin’s chest.
The muscles in Griffin’s jaw ticked. He didn’t get angry very often, but Toby’s wishy-washy rollercoaster pissed him off. Griffin wanted to get off the ride. “You don’t get to say you want to bond one minute and then tell me you want to break it off a second later. So let me go, right fucking now, Toby.”
“Whoa.” Toby released Griffin, raising his hands in the air as if he were under arrest.
Tension made the silence between them unbearable. Toby put his hands down, but he didn’t jump down from the counter right away.
It wasn’t until Griffin walked out of the kitchen that Toby moved. “You can spend the night. I have a spare room.” Hepointed toward the hall. “It’s the second door on the right. The guest bath is across the hall. Make yourself at home in my kitchen, not that I have a lot of food, but eat whatever you want. Coffee is in that cupboard there. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Griffin.” The pleading almost made Griffin lose his resolve.
Griffin stopped and swallowed his emotions. “Good night.”
Griffin had known all along he wasn’t destined to have a mate.
Chapter Fifteen
By the time he got to sleep, the alarm on his phone went off again. Toby sighed and grabbed it from the nightstand. He had a class in a couple of hours and needed to shower and change.
More importantly, he needed to have a serious conversation with Griffin before the ache in his chest grew and his heart shriveled up.
Or maybe he just needed out of Griffin’s house. Everything smelled like him, which just made the pain of their breakup hurt even more. He couldn’t get away from Griffin, even when he slept in another bed.
Knowing he was down the hall didn’t help. Toby pictured Griffin sleeping. Maybe he lay on his back with his permanent, playful smile. The only time Griffin had been anything but even-keeled was last night. Toby never wanted to see the hurt on Griffin’s face again. The way his body stiffened and how he closed himself off made Toby want to fall at his feet and ask for forgiveness. Instead, he’d lain awake all night wondering if Griffin would want him if Toby begged hard enough. As soon asthe thought entered his mind, the reason he should walk away struck him as the better idea.
Toby yawned and sat on the side of the bed, trying to find the energy to take a shower. Or maybe he should just get dressed and head out before Griffin woke for the morning.
As soon as he opened his door, Griffin was right there. “I was just getting ready to wake you. I have to be at my job site in twenty minutes. You’re welcome to stay here. It’s safe. No one can get past my wards unless I allow it. I can also drop you off.”
The whole time Griffin spoke, there was none of his usual good mood. Despite his offer to let Toby stay, Griffin’s stiff body language made it clear it wasn’t an attempt to rekindle the romance.
Toby’s chest hurt, and he averted his gaze. “Isn’t staying here defeating the purpose of keeping you safe?”
Griffin shrugged. “Your apartment building isn’t warded. The wards at the college aren’t designed to keep anyone out. You’re safer here than anywhere else. But if you don’t want to stay here, then you can stay at my mom’s inn. For free. My dad would let you stay, too. Or the Ransome farm if you’d rather.”
