Page 57 of Cold and Broken (The Titans of Founder's Ridge 1)

I gun the engine and tear out of the parking lot. My dad’s older Ford sticking out like a sore thumb in a lot full of luxury cars. I almost wish we were those people with nasty black exhaust shooting out the tail pipe but obviously our environmental morals a little higher than that.

I’m halfway home when Connor’s call interrupts Tate McRae singing about how stupid she is for someone. It seems like that might be a sign for me. I press the accept button on the steering wheel.

“Hello,” I answer.

“I have to figure out a new name to call you.” Connor says not bothering to greet me. “Unless you think you’ll come to think of Peasant as a term of endearment.”

“Doubtful.”

“You don’t seem to mind hood rat.”

“I like Levi,” I answer.

“Oh, you like me more,” he says with a husky voice. “How was school? Was everyone behaved?”

“Margaux only called me a gutter whore twice and no one stole any clothes.”

“Good.” He sounds too pleased so I decide to fuck with him.

“I mean, Mr. Jameson tore my panties off when he bent me over his desk but other than that…” I trail off innocently.

“Not funny,” Connor growls into the phone. “I’ll punish you for putting that mental image in my head.”

“Shaking in my boots.” I chirp. “You still working?”

“Yeah, two more meetings before I can go up to my penthouse.”

“I just pulled up to your house so I’m going to let you go. Griff is coming over to run with me.”

“Okay, I’ll talk to you later. And Lilith,” he pauses, “it’s your house, too.”

“Only three rooms of it.” I turn the car off. “Bye Connor.”

I hand my keys off to Edward at the front door and climb the stairs up to our apartment. I change into running shorts and a tank top. As I cut through the kitchen I let Delores know about Levi, Ivy, and Griffin coming over for dinner.

* * *

Griff is stretching his quads by the pool when I get outside. He’s shirtless and I’m shocked by the massive tattoo covering his back. There are five constellations spread from the base of his neck to his waist. I’m also surprised by the amount of muscle I see in front of me. He’s not bulky like Levi or Connor but lean and lithe. He turns around when he hears me walking down the patio and the front of him is just as surprising as the back, an eight pack plainly visible.

“I don’t whether to be flattered by you checking me out or insulted by the shock on your face,” he says straight faced.

“I just wasn’t expecting all of this,” I wave my hand in front of him. “Especially the tattoo. It’s beautiful.”

“My sisters and I all have the same thing. Theirs are smaller though. It’s all our zodiac constellations.”

“You’re into astrology?” I cannot picture him reading his horoscope over coffee every morning.

“No. My sisters are.” He shrugs a shoulder. “As usual I was out voted. Life as the only brother.”

I chuckle. “Well, it looks badass if that helps?”

“It does.” He gestures toward the woods with his head. “Are you ready?”

“Yep.” I take off at an easy pace.

Griff is better at running than I am. Where I do it out of the need to stay fit he turns into a different person, loving the exertion. I let him take the lead, our feet pounding the dirt trail and our breath puffing out into the cooling air. Every so often he looks back to make sure I’m still keeping up.

Almost an hour later I flop down into the grass, breathless and aching. Griff sits down beside me, taking deep pulls of water and handing me a bottle of my own.

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