Griffin Chapter 16

I felt lightheaded as I came down from the high of my orgasm. I hadn’t intended to take Hadley. I was scared when Jinx told me she was packed and planning to leave. I raced over to the house as fast as I could to find out why and to stop her. The things she said made no sense to me until she said she heard. At first, I thought she’d heard what I said to Mark. When I realized she heard what I said to Beast and her assumptions about what I meant, I got angry.

Spanking her that way wasn’t what I’d ever done before to a woman or thought of doing. Sure, spanking could be fun but I’d never done it as a punishment. When I heard her moan and it dawned on me that she was getting aroused by it, I had been driven to touch her. The feel of her wetness and tightness on my fingers made me instantly hard. Finger fucking her to come had only made it worse. I’d been in a haze when I shoved my cock inside of her.

The feel of her, the smell of her, and the sounds had driven me to go insane. All I could think was she was mine, and I had to prove it. Shouting the word mine as I emptied myself deep inside of her had filled me with a deeper sense of ultimate possession, or maybe it was relief.

However, now that my mind was clearing, I became afraid again. What had I done? As I eased out of her, she remained limp underneath me. Her face was buried in the mattress. I felt cold as I lost the heat of her body. I hesitantly touched her shoulder. That’s when I realized she was shaking like she was crying. I let go and moved away from the bed. That’s when it fully hit me. God, I was no better than a rapist. My stomach heaved, and it was all I could do not to puke. I didn’t know what to say. There was nothing I could say to make this right, but I had to try.

“Hadley. Jesus, I’m so fucking sorry. I never meant to do that. You have to believe me. I’ve never done that to a woman before. Fuck, do you need medical attention? Tell me what to do. I swear, I won’t touch you again, baby. I just can’t leave you like this. I’m calling Sean and the others to have someone come here to protect you. I understand you’ll want to call the cops. I won’t run.”

Tears were burning my eyes. I’d ruined the best thing to ever happen to me. No way she’d forgive or forget this, and I couldn’t blame her. It was a terrible thing to find out about yourself. That you’d lose control so badly you’d hurt a woman. I felt filthy. I had to cover up. I still had on my clothes. I hadn’t even bothered to remove them. In disgust, I yanked my underwear and pants back up and secured them. She rolled over onto her back. I couldn’t meet her eyes. I kept my head down.

“Griffin, what the hell are you talking about? I know you’ve had sex before. And why would I need medical attention, or would you call the cops?” Her voice sounded weak.

I had to turn my back to her as I answered. “Because I was a fucking animal. I forced you to have sex with me. I struck you hard. I didn’t ask if you wanted me. I assumed, and then I took you roughly. I’m so goddamn sorry. I’ve never raped a woman before, but that’s not a reason. Please, tell me I didn’t injure you.”

I heard rustling sounds, but I didn’t turn around. If I were her, I’d take a gun and shoot me. I wondered where hers were. A bullet to my head would be too quick and merciful. I wouldn’t fight whatever she wanted to do. Knowing her, she’d probably want to beat my ass first. I felt a hand on my arm, and then I was abruptly yanked around. I had no choice but to look at her then.

I saw tears on her face, which gutted me. Along with them, I saw confusion. Her brow was wrinkled. “Say that again,” she ordered.

So I repeated what I said. When I was done, she grabbed my other arm and shook me. “Are you kidding me right now!?” she shouted.

I shook my head no. “No, I’m not.”

“Sit down. We need to talk. Give me a minute.” I watched as she straightened her clothes. My remorse got worse. I stumbled to sit on the edge of the bed, making sure to sit as far away from her as possible. When she was done, she began to pace. I stayed quiet. After a few times of going back and forth, she stopped and faced me.

“You really believe that you forced yourself on me? That you abused me before that?”

I nodded.

“My God, Griffin, I can’t let you think that! Yes, I was pissed at you, and we fought. I hit you, so that means I’m guilty of abusing you.”

“No, you’re not! If I hadn’t manhandled you, then you wouldn’t have needed to fight back. It was all me,” I protested.

“Then if what I did wasn’t abusing you, then yours isn’t either. As for having sex with me, I might not have verbally said I wanted it, but if I didn’t, I would’ve fought you, screamed for help, and done everything I could to get away. I didn’t do that because even as upset as I was, I wanted you. Was it wild and out of control? Yes, but I loved it. I was crying because it was the best orgasm of my life, not because you hurt me or forced me. All the ones I’ve had with you have been the best. It felt like my soul left me.”

I had a hard time believing what she was saying until she came over and straddled my lap. She hugged me. “I don’t want to hear you say such a thing again. Was the spanking a shock? Yes, but it was such a turn-on, too, once I got over the surprise of it. Couldn’t you tell by how wet I was and how easily you had made me come?”

Relief filled me. I hugged her back hard. “Thank God. I felt sick, baby. I never want to hurt you.”

“You didn’t. And I’m sorry I jumped to conclusions like I did. That was unfair of me, but I do need to know what it was you were referring to.” She leaned back so she could see my face.

As relieved as I was about the other thing, her reminder made me tense. What if this was what she couldn’t forgive? Fuck, I wish I had never agreed to hide it from her. I had to tell her.

“You’re right. I do need to tell you. I want you to listen to me completely first before you react, okay? Please.”

She studied me for a couple of moments, then slowly nodded.

“You were right. I have been acting differently these past few days, and it was because of my talk with your dad, but it wasn’t about what you think it was. I didn’t lie. He never said anything negative about us. He just warned me not to hurt you, which any father would do. It was something else he told me and begged me not to tell you. He wanted a couple more weeks, and then he planned to talk to you about it.

“He wanted things to be official with some legal things he’s got in motion. When he told me everything, I told him to talk to you now. He pleaded with me not to tell. I went against my better judgment and agreed. Honestly, I did it so I wouldn’t make him turn against me as your man. That’s not a good enough excuse, but it’s the only one I have. In the end, I gave him two weeks, then ready or not, I was telling you if he didn’t.” I could tell she was fighting not to interrupt me to ask what it was, so I stopped beating around the bush and told her.

“Baby, I hate to tell you this, but your dad is sick, like majorly sick. He has been for a while and he’s been hiding it and making arrangements. I’m sorry.”

Tears filled her eyes, and I saw denial on her face at the same time. She was shaking her head. “No, no, it can’t be. He wouldn’t do that to me. You must have misunderstood him.”

I held her closer. “No, I didn’t. He told me his diagnosis and everything.”

“You said arrangements. What kind of arrangements? And what have the doctors been doing to cure him?”

“Sweetheart, I think we should call your dad and let him explain. It’s really between you two. Will you forgive me for not telling you?” I was afraid to ask, but I had to.

“I’m not happy you did it, but I’m more unhappy with Dad for putting you in that position. He should’ve never done it. I’m hurt, but I’ll get over it. And as for this being between him and I, no, it’s not. He made you a part of this by telling you. And I need you.”

“Babe, I’ll be here no matter what comes or what you need. That includes what he needs. I already made a few demands of my own with him when he asked me not to tell. One of those was regardless of where we end up living, he’ll move there so we can take care of him. I hope you’ll like my area of Virginia, but I know you have Gerard’s and will need to be nearby to work there. We’ll figure it out.”

“Wait. Where we end up living? You want us to live together, now?”

“Hell yeah. You don’t think I can live without you, do you? You’re stuck with me.”

“Hmm, and what else then do I have to prepare myself for, Mr. Voss?” she asked with a smile on her face.

“Well, let’s see. Living together means marriage and kids, too. We already talked about those in passing. The second one means a wedding.”

“Whoa, you sure want it all. How soon for those?”

“Is next week too soon for all of them?” I half teased.

Her eyes widened. “You’re joking, right?”

“Nope, but I know it’s not likely to happen. We have to figure out who’s threatening you and your dad. Then, we have to figure out where to live, get a house, or build one. A wedding will take some planning. There are the legal documents to have drawn up. I guess I should back up and ask you if you want all those, too.”

“I do. I’m just shocked, I guess. This is moving so fast. We should be cautious and take our time, but I don’t want to. And what legal documents?”

“The ones protecting your money and assets. You’re a very rich woman. I don’t want you or anyone else ever thinking for a second I’m with you due to that. Your money will be yours. I want no claim to it.”

“Wait up, that’s not how a true relationship works. Or not in my mind. If we’re together, we share. Or are you thinking we might get a divorce one day?”

“No, I don’t. When you and I marry, it’s forever. If we have issues, we’ll work them out. I have plenty of money of my own from Dark Patriots. I don’t need yours. Besides, I don’t see the board or your family lawyers not insisting on one.”

“Screw the board and our lawyers. They can demand all day, but this is my choice. We’ll talk about this more later. I know we need to iron out details, and I hate to cut it short, but I need to talk to Dad.”

“Of course. Do you want to call him from here or Jinx’s office? I’ll give you privacy.”

“Here is fine, and I want you with me.”

It made me feel good that she wanted me with her, so I smiled and nodded. She got off my lap and sat beside me. She got into her purse on the bed and got out her phone. I saw her hand shake a tiny bit as she found Travis’s name and hit the call button. I heard it ringing, so I knew she put it on speaker. He answered promptly.

“Hello, honey. I’m so glad you called. How’s things going?” His tone was cheerful, but I could sense tiredness, too.

“Hi, Daddy, it’s going fine. What about you? Is it all quiet there with Undertaker?”

He chuckled. “It is, although thinking of him by that name makes me wonder what I’m thinking, being alone in the woods with a guy named Undertaker.”

She laughed as I grinned. “True, but then they don’t know him. He can be scary, no doubt, but he’s also protective, so I’m not worried. Hey, I want to let you know. You’re on speaker. Griffin is with me.”

“Oh, hello, Griffin. Are you taking good care of my girl?”

“Yes, sir, I am. Always.”

“Since Griffin is on the call, is there something I should know? Have you found out anything about who’s doing this?” I heard hope in his voice.

“No, not yet, but we haven’t given up. We have some of the best computer and investigative people on it,” I assured him.

“Damn, well, you can’t blame me for hoping. So, what’s up? Are you calling to give me some other good news?” he hinted.

He knew my plans to marry her. If I’d had time, I would’ve gone out and gotten her a ring, but I didn’t want to be away from her in case something happened.

“No, Dad, nothing like that. Give the guy a break. He just told me he wants to get married and move in together. Give a girl a minute to process. There is a reason we did call, though. We had a big misunderstanding earlier, and I was packing to leave.”

“What!? Why?” he asked in alarm.

“Because I overheard him talking to one of the guys here. He said he wasn’t able to tell me something and was worried I wouldn’t forgive him. I jumped to conclusions and thought he meant he regretted us, and I was hurt. I packed my bags and was about to leave when he found me. We fought, and then once things settled down,” she paused to wink at me, “he told me what he really meant. I think you know what it was.”

His deep sigh was easily heard over the phone. He didn’t answer her right away, so we waited. Finally, after several tense moments, he did. “Yes, I do. I’d hoped to tell you myself.”

“You should’ve told me a while ago, I think. You were wrong to ask him to keep it from me, Dad! He’s been struggling with it, and it put a barrier between us before today’s fight. He didn’t go into details. I need you to tell me. Don’t leave anything out. I need to know everything.”

He didn’t disagree. It took him a few times starting and stopping before he explained what he’d shared with me. The more he told her, the paler she got and the sadder she looked. By the time he was done, I had her cuddled in my arms, and she was crying. I rocked her and tried to soothe her with my touch.

“Hadley, honey, I’m sorry. I was trying to spare you as long as I could but I see now that was unfair of me.”

“And there’s nothing they can do?”

“Nothing. I’m dying. I have months to maybe a year at the most. I was trying to get all the legalities settled before telling you. You know, once this goes public, the board, our employees, and the public will probably panic. They don’t know about you or how you’ve been doing a lot of the stuff for the past several years. This project will demonstrate that.”

“Screw them! I don’t give a damn. All I care about is you. They’ll either accept me or they won’t. I doubt with the amount of money we make them, they’ll object for long. Besides, you set up the board to be advisory but they have no voting rights when it comes to the CEO of the company position. Let them try to oust me, and I’ll make them regret it. They can’t and won’t take Gerard’s away from me,” she snarled fiercely.

“If they try it, you can have them ousted. I never believed in taking your company public and having a board that can then take your company away from you. That’s utter bullshit,” he said. I had to agree with him on that one.

“Do any of them know about your illness?” she asked next.

“Only Ansel, he’s known for several months. He’s helped me to hide it. I hated to ask that of him, but he did it because he cared. You know how much of a friend and rock he’s been, especially since I lost your mom.”

“I do, and I’m not surprised. Does he think there’ll be pushback?”

“He’s worried about it, but he promised he’d do everything in his power to prevent it from happening.”

“Good. When are you due to see your doctor again? I want to be there for your next visit.”

“Well, I was supposed to go next Monday, but with everything going on, I was planning to reschedule it.”

“Dad, you can’t!” she exclaimed, giving me a panicked look. I understood why. His health was too precarious to fool with even postponing one doctor’s visit.

“Travis, I don’t think you should do that. Give us the information on your doctor, and we’ll work on getting you there and back safely. You can’t afford not to go. As for Hadley going with you, as much as I’d love to keep her tucked away here, I know that’s not gonna happen. She’d sneak off if I tried.” She nodded in agreement. “Your daughter can be a tiny bit strong-willed.”

He chuckled. “Tiny? I think you meant a lot. Okay, if you think we should go.”

“We should. And there’s a chance we’ll have whoever is behind this taken down by then. My gut says this is close to being over. Why don’t you give me the information, and then when we get off this call, tell Mark what we discussed. I’ll get the team together so we can plan.”

“Sounds good,” he replied.

After he gave me the information for his doctor’s appointment, the three of us chatted for a while longer. He asked when he was to expect an engagement and wedding. That made me smile as she tried to slow his roll as she told him. Today told me I’d have to get busy with a ring. I had an idea of what I wanted to get her. Maybe I could enlist Gemma, Cass, and Sloan to help me do it. Hmm, that was worth a thought. The call ended on a much more relaxed note than it began. We had work to do, but at least my woman wasn’t threatening to leave me.

???

Only a day after the call with Travis and me, Mark, Gabe, and Sean had the rough outline of a plan for ensuring his and Hadley’s safety next week at his doctor’s office and getting there and back. Between now and then, we’d study maps and layouts with the team members going with us so we had all the angles covered. There shouldn’t be a way for anyone to know they planned to be there, but just in case, we’d be ready.

When I told Jinx and the Marauders we’d be gone for a couple of days, they insisted some of them accompany us. I didn’t want to turn down help, although we should have it covered, so I agreed. Hadley, on the other hand, tried to tell them it wasn’t necessary. In fact, she was doing it right now and not getting anywhere.

We were all gathered after work in the clubhouse. She’d just got done telling them they could stay behind. The scowls were fierce around the tables where we were all gathered.

“Babe, you seem to be under the illusion that you have a choice. You don’t. Griffin brought you here, and now you’ve been adopted. That means you’re family, our sister, and we protect our friends and family. We’re coming, so get over it. Arguing will only give you a headache,” Jinx told her smugly. He had his arms crossed, leaning back in his chair, and his legs crossed at the ankles.

She narrowed her gaze at him and leaned toward him. She was on the opposite side of the table from him, so she couldn’t lean too close. She pointed her finger at him. “Jinx, don’t you dare think you can boss me around. Dad and Griffin can’t, so why would I let you?”

He laughed, and the guys chuckled. I fought to hide my grin. He shook his head. “Sweetheart, they can and will if they think you’re in danger. I’d like to see you try to do something that could get you hurt. This one would have you tied up and stashed away so fast your head would spin. You could cry, beg, and threaten all you want, but he’d keep you protected. The same goes for us. Now, do you wanna be locked up or have us ride along?”

She gave a strangled scream in the back of her throat and then glanced at me. “Tell him, Griffin. You wouldn’t do that. And we don’t need them to take time away from their work to go with us.”

“Baby, I could lie and say he’s wrong, but I won’t. He’s right. If I thought we couldn’t protect you, you wouldn’t be going. With that said, if they want to provide extra protection, I won’t say no. They’re good in a fight if it were to get to that.”

Her mouth fell open as she stared at me. Finally, she shook her head and rolled her eyes. “Have all of you forgotten I can take care of myself? You’ve seen me shoot, and Griffin has seen my strength. Maybe you need me to demonstrate that I can kick ass too.”

“Honey, we have no doubt you’re a badass, but it doesn’t change anything. We’re going. However, I would love to see what you’ve got,” Styx said with a wink.

The others enthusiastically approved of his idea. I had to admit, I wanted to see it, too. I knew the little she’d used on me yesterday, but there was a whole lot more she could know.

She popped out of her chair. “Alright, you wanna see, let’s do this. Where?”

“How about we do it in the gym? Say in fifteen minutes? That gives anyone who wants to give it a whirl a chance to change into something more comfortable,” Animal suggested.

All I saw was heads nodding, including hers. As we got up to go get changed, I thought of the gym. Rather than it being a part of the clubhouse proper like most of the clubs I knew, theirs was in a smaller building that was attached to the backside of their clubhouse. Since they were men who were dedicated to their workouts, they had just about anything you could think of for equipment, along with floor mats and a fighting ring.

At the house, we didn’t waste time changing. I changed into loose workout pants, the gray sweats she’d remarked about before. Instead of boots, I slipped on my tennis shoes. I ran most mornings. My T-shirt would suffice. I watched as she got dressed. It was impossible not to get aroused seeing her in her bra and panties, along with so much of her bare skin, beckoning me to touch and taste her.

She must’ve seen the heat she was causing because she held up her hands and backed away from me. “Oh no, you don’t. We have someplace to be. As much as I’d love for you and me to tear up those sheets, we have to wait. If we’re late, I’ll never hear the end of it from those guys.”

“Come on, they can wait a half hour,” I pleaded.

“Nope. If you’re good and wait, I promise to let you have fun and we can try something new tonight,” she enticed me.

The sex so far had been out of this world, so I had no complaints, but the lure of doing even more was too much to resist. With a groan, I gave in. “Alright. Let’s get this over with. Remember, you owe me.”

She slipped on a tank top and a pair of tight yoga pants, which outlined her sexy body. “Baby, don’t you have something else you can wear?” I complained.

“Like what?”

“Like something loose, and it hides your delectable body. I can’t have you turning them on,” I grumbled.

“Grif, this is fine. You act like they’re slobbering dogs. No one will pay any mind to my clothes. This is better than what most women wear to the gym. They have on teeny tiny shorts and sports bras, for God’s sake. This is what I fight in. Now, stop it, and let’s go.”

Knowing she wasn’t about to yield, I let it go, but if any of them forgot for a second she was taken, I’d have to remind them painfully. I took her hand and led her out to the car. Jinx hadn’t come back to the house with us. He either wasn’t fighting, or he had spare clothes at the clubhouse.

When we got there, I parked behind it next to the gym. There was a second entrance you could access from the outside. We entered this way. Inside, we saw most of the guys there and ready to work out, it seemed. They cheered when they saw her. They also did a good job of not staring too hard or long at her. We went over to stand by Jinx. He was talking to Animal and Sarge. They stopped when we got to them.

“You ready to show us what you’ve got, Had? I wanna see what you’ve learned, and then we can teach you all the shit you don’t know,” Sarge told her with a grin.

“Hey, I’m always willing to learn, Sarge, but just be warned. I’ve had a lot of instructors in several different styles. I just might surprise you and teach you guys some things,” she taunted.

This got all the guys jeering at her. They’d been close enough to hear her. They razzed her, and she gave back as good as they gave. I loved seeing her this way. She was relaxed, confident, and unafraid of showing her strength. Deep down, I wanted her to put a few of them on their asses. Of course, that didn’t include me. As her man, I had to be able to be a bigger badass than her. It was just one of the rules. However, I wasn’t dumb enough to tell her this. I liked my balls where they were, and no way would I risk her cutting me off.