Chapter 16: Lauren

Chapter Sixteen

LAUREN

G riff says he's more of an action person than a word person, which is how I find myself packing all of my things into twelve large cardboard boxes. Griff is outside talking to the neighborhood kids and explaining to them that they will no longer have the burden of watching over his Ducati. I assume he's giving them some consolation money since he seems to like them.

"You ever been to his place?" Mick asks as he stacks his last box near the door.

"No. To be honest, I don't even know how we got to this point. I vaguely recall talking about how we were breaking up at the beginning of lunch and then at the end, I agreed to move in with him. It was all very confusing." I tape another box shut. Why does Mick have four boxes and I have eight?

"Do you not want to go? Cuz I can unpack right now."

I want to pinch his cheeks because I know very well he wants to move out of this hellhole. Who wouldn't?

"I do want to," I admit. "I'm just scared because what if it doesn't work out? What if we move in with him and then three months later he's like, ‘Nah, I'm tired of you guys'?"

Mick looks around our shabby apartment with its tiny kitchen and tiny living room with the windows where the views are the brick walls of a building behind us.

"Isn't this all kind of a risk? No one really knows what's gonna happen tomorrow, so we make choices for today." He gives a little shrug.

I turn away to hide the tears that prick my eyes. My baby bro is all grown up. I don't get more time to be sad because two guys show up to take the boxes.

"This all?" Griff eyes our stack with suspicion.

"We don't have much," Mick says, climbing into the back of the big black SUV that Griff brought.

"Guess we'll have to change that." He holds open my door. "Ordered some gaming supplies for a gaming computer. You'll have to put it together, though. Not sure how that's all done."

Mick practically launches himself into the front seat, barely kept back by his seatbelt. "A gaming computer?"

"Yeah, your sister says you like to play League. I asked one of the guys at the gym, and he said real gamers put their rig together. He put in an order for you, and all the parts should be at my—our place— when we get there."

"Those are damned expensive." Mick rubs his chin. "I don't have any money."

"I know. Figured you could work it off at the gym. We need someone to wash towels, fold them, pick up, wipe down equipment, keep track of supplies. That sort of thing."

His gym is downtown. It's not fancy, but it is large. The main space is two stories and dominated by a boxing ring. Against the back wall is a huge media wall covered with television panels. Treadmills and workout machines are positioned to give the user a view of the screens. There are four smaller studio rooms for people to work out in if they want more privacy. There is also a sauna, a steam room, and a small pool area with a three-lane lap pool. "Hydrotherapy's good on the joints," Griff explains. The third floor is for administrative purposes. "I thought about installing some ancillary services for the members of the gym but haven't gotten around to it."

"What's that mean?" Mick asks.

"Juice bar, office meeting spaces for the work-at-home people who want to get out of their house but not go to an office, IV therapy services, massage, stuff like that. Just don't have the time."

Mick soaks it all in. The fourth and fifth floors are occupied by Griff's security firm with the top floor reserved for his personal space. The apartment is accessible by an elevator, but the entry way is only opened by voice and eye recognition. "For safety. I'll have you guys entered into the system tomorrow."

The elevator is swift. I'm grateful we don't have to walk the stairs. The apartment is somewhat surprising. I thought it would be all black and chrome, but it's surprisingly warm. The floors are oak, and the support columns are clad in white wood colonial trim. There are large rugs that provide color and help define spaces. A living space near the left corner, a dining space to the right of a long open kitchen.

"Don't worry. I've got a bedroom and a loft. Next week I'll get a builder in and we'll erect some steel walls on the loft to give you some privacy, Mick. I think we can even get the elevator to stop on that floor so you can have your own entrance."

"You don't have to do that, man."

"I know, but that's what I would want as a soon-to-be twenty-something man. Your sister isn't going to want you to move on any time soon, and there's no need for you to do that either. Work at the gym, save some money, figure out what you want to do without the stress of room and board hanging over your head."

Mick's jaw tightens, and he gives a terse nod before heading up the loft stairs. It's not because he's mad, but he's trying not to cry.

Griff gives me a lopsided smile, and I almost break down. Maybe he senses my emotional instability because he plants a hard kiss on my mouth. I let myself drown in it but shuffling noises above me remind me we're not alone.

I break our connection. "We should probably not do this in front of Mick."

Griff frowns. "Mick will have to get used to it."

"Mick doesn't care," yells a voice from upstairs.

Griff chuckles but adds, "The steel walls need to go up immediately."

Mick's head appears over the balcony railing. "Why do you even want my sister? She's a pain in the ass."

"You're lucky you've got a whole floor between us," I yell.

Griff slides his arm down around my waist. "Because she's got a strong protective streak, is very loyal, strong sense of moral code. These are the things I like and the things that make me want to be with someone forever. I didn't have an exact list of what I wanted, but when I saw her, I knew she fit me."

It's a good thing his arm is around my waist because I'm a complete puddle after those words.

"I just like you for your body," I joke because otherwise I might start crying.

"I think you're hot, too."

Upstairs, Mick groans. "I lied. I do care. Please get a room."

"Great idea." Griff swings me into his arms. "The refrigerator is stocked. Help yourself."

Mick says something in response, but Griff has his mouth on mine again, which somehow makes it impossible to hear anything beyond the roar of my own desire. He carries me across the entire loft space until he reaches a door. He kicks it open and then shut. I barely have time to breathe before he throws me on the mattress.

"Are we in a hurry?" I tease, but I'm pulling my shirt over my head as I say it.

"Yes. Always. Sadly." He tosses his shirt to the side. "After the first hundred times, I'll stop attacking you the moment I see you."

"Actually that's one thing I like about you. That you can't keep your hands off me." I slide my hands over his eight-pack, enjoying each bumpy ridge as he pushes me back against the mattress.

"And you are always in control?"

"I am right now." He tugs on my hair until my neck is arched and then presses kisses along the exposed column. I find an unknown connection between a spot at the base of my neck and my pussy. As he tongues me there, my inner walls clench in response. Or maybe it's just that I'm super sensitive to his touch because as he moves lower, I get wetter and needier. His sucks on my nipples about send me over the edge. I catch his hair and tug.

"Are you punishing me?" I look down, which is a mistake because the way his massive paws engulf my breasts make me gasp. I'm in a real state right now because everything is turning me on from the smell of his sweat to the coarse hair of his legs rubbing against my smooth ones, and now just looking at the difference in our sizes is making me dizzy.

"No," he huffs out a chuckle. "I'm kissing you."

"Enough with the kissing. I need more."

His eyebrows rise.

"I know. I'm surprising myself at my demands." I wriggle down so that the center of my notch can rub against his hard cock. "But if I don't get your monster inside of me, I think I'm going to explode."

"We can't have that." He lifts me with one smooth motion and sets me in the middle of the mattress. His strength takes my breath away. "Give me another kiss while I enter you. You're tight again, and you need the distraction."

"I don't," I claim, but since I like kissing, I open my mouth. He kisses me deep, but even that doesn't distract from the slight discomfort when he pushes the broad tip of his cock into my sex. I can't stop the groan from escaping.

He pauses, his big body hovering over mine. I look down and see part of his large shaft waiting to thrust inside of me. I gulp. "You're huge."

He chokes back his laughter. "Can't help what God gave me." He kisses me again. "It'll be okay. I fit in you before."

"I don't know how."

"It's magic. Close your eyes and let it happen."

I shut them and then open them a second later. "Your eyes are open."

"Because watching my dick go inside of you is one of the top two sexiest things in the world, and it ain't number two."

Both our gazes fall to where we're connected. He pushes into me, spreading me wide, filling me all the way up. We lock eyes as he starts to move, thrusting in and out in a slow, maddening way.

"You're so fucking sexy."

His deep, raspy voice makes me shiver. That and his massive cock working me over until I'm nothing but a boneless mass of want and desire. I give in to him, letting him take charge. I don't know how to think here. I don't have to worry about if I'm saying the right thing or doing the right thing. With Griff, everything I do is right. I lie in his arms, holding on to him while he creates an earthquake of sensations with his furious strokes. The orgasm swirls inside of me, growing large until it overtakes me. A cry erupts as he leads me to heaven.

Sometime, I don't know how long later, I come to my senses. His heavy body rests beside mine. There's a light sheen of sweat covering him, highlighting his beautiful frame. I press my lips against his hard pec.

"Have I told you I love you?"

"Not in the last ten minutes." He draws a blanket over our legs. "Think Mick can feed himself?"

"Yes, and if he can't, he can suffer." I snuggle close and inhale the warm scent of Griff's body. He's so big and strong and safe. His hand strokes my back in long, even motions. "You're putting me to sleep."

"Good. You need a rest. You've been carrying a burden for a long time. Let me carry some of it for you."

"Is that what love is?"

"That and good sex."

"It's kind of great sex."

"It is."

My eyelids grow heavy. My breath evens out.

"I love you, too, babe. More than I know how to say."

Who needs anything more? Not me.