12. Griffin

TWELVE

Griffin was enjoying the Cheese Festival a lot more than he anticipated. He knew he would like being around Adeline and the girls … his girls, as far as his wolf was concerned … but he thought he just might be distracted by the disturbing thought of harm coming to any of them.

However, his brother-in-law and his sister being there truly put him at ease. Instead of there being one wolf shifter that was protecting them, there were three.

He might even dare to say he had fun. Adeline had a way about her, the way she teased him, the way her eyes glistened when he teased back. His agitated wolf calmed down rather quickly, like being sung a lullaby. But it instilled in the shifter even more intensely the fact that Adeline Faulkner was, in fact, his mate.

Mari pulled Griffin aside as they all lined up at the food trucks scattered around the property. She used the excuse that they would get the adults some beers but pinched Griffin with urgency as she went.

"Ow!"

"I doubt that hurt," she said, linking her arm to her brother's. "I want to talk to you for a second, okay? Adeline is fine with the kids. They're not very far."

Griffin was unsure at first, but Mari seemed rather adamant. They stood in line at the beer tent as the sun began to set, spilling a burnt orange palette over the pastoral scene.

"Is everything all right?" Griffin asked.

"Yes, more than fine," Mari said as they stood beside each other. She gazed over to her children every now and then. "I am feeling a bit run down, though. Orion and I had reservations for dinner tonight and I don't think we're going to make it."

Mari stopped speaking abruptly, languidly lifting an eyebrow at her brother. He knew what she was implying before she said another word.

"You tricked me into coming here," he said, feeling irked.

"What makes you say that?" she said, keeping her eyebrow raised, one side of her mouth quivering with an impish grin. "You don't know what I'm going to say."

Griffin folded his arms,then narrowed his eyes at his sister. She could barely contain her broad grin.

"I will take your reservation, but only with the girls."

"But it's an adults-only gathering," Mari said, turning to Griffin and grabbing him by the forearms. "Trust me on this one."

"If your plan was to stay here with Orion, why did you bring the kids here? What was the plan for them?"

Mari waved her hand in front of Griffin's face. She was the only person in the world who could do that to him and not have their arm ripped off.

Literally …

"Forget about all that. Focus on the here and now. Right now, I'm offering you alone time with Adeline. You don't know when you are going to get that again, not with two kids around all the time. Take it, for the love of God."

Griffin grunted, then turned his gaze up to the sky for a moment to muse.

Mari wasn't wrong. He'd already shared with her that Adeline was his fated mate, and because she'd experienced the same sensation with Orion, she would know how hard it was to resist the craving of the person that was cosmically designed to be yours. The desire for her touch, her scent, her entire essence, was nauseatingly hindering Griffin from any type of normal behavior.

Yet, he couldn't forget the mission at hand. Adeline, along with her two adopted children, were being threatened by a dangerous billionaire. It wouldn't be professional to become involved with the client, especially a client that he knew for sure was his fated mate.

He could feel Mari watching him deliberately. The line in the beer tent was moving, so they followed it, but Mari wasn't the patient kind.

"Come on, Griffin," she said, trying to make sure Adeline didn't see them whispering. "You have to let yourself have fun every once in a while."

"Fun?" he said curtly. "I can"t exactly abandon my post, Mari. If she's in danger, so are the kids."

"I haven't seen any sign of it all day, have you?" Mari asked, cocking a single eyebrow once more. "The kids can stay with Orion and me. That's two wolf shifters. No one is going to get to my babies or Adeline's."

Griffin looked over Mari"s shoulder at Adeline, who had bought some pulled pork sandwiches for the kids. Her entire body language was lively around them. Her face was transcendently gorgeous. He did want to be alone with her. He wanted to worship her from head to toe and get to know everything that went on in that beautiful skull.

It was all very overwhelming.

Griffin rubbed his face, feeling the wolf inside him whimper. He trusted Mari more than anyone else in his life, and she was right. There had been no evidence that they were stalked or tracked that day. It was just a fun family day without any trouble.

When he dropped his arms, Mari was exhilarated.

"Fine. But we have to ask Adeline first. I will only do what she is comfortable with. Deal?"

Mari pulled him in for a hug, and she squeezed tightly. It didn't matter that she was a woman. She was a shifter and fucking strong.

"Ouch."

"You love it," she muttered. "You deserve this, Griffin. I promise you, the girls are going to be fine. More than fine."

It was moving to see her so enlivened to help him along with his mate, especially during fairly difficult circumstances.

"All right, all right, you're going to break a bone."

When she let him go, they finally got to the front of the line and bought their drinks. They then met with the kids and Adeline at the picnic table.

Jodi was falling asleep into her hot dog, which was ridiculously adorable. They asked Adeline if they could speak to her for a moment, and she looked at them cautiously.

"What about? The kids?"

"No. And nothing is wrong," Mari said quickly.

Mari held her hand out to Adeline, who took it and rose from the bench. They stepped away, with Griffin keeping the kids within eyesight.

"Today has been great, hasn't it?" Mari said.

"It really has," Adeline said, taking a look at the kids. "I'm glad nothing has happened. I really needed it."

She swayed in her sundress. She'd left her long hair down, and the wind brushed it gently. Her scent engulfed him. It was exotic, like cherry blossoms. There was no way he could deny being alone with her after this.

"I was saying to Griffin that I'm feeling a little rundown. Orion and I had dinner plans at an inn tonight, and I don't want to waste the reservation. Why don't the two of you take it, and Orion and I can take care of the kids?"

Adeline looked at Griffin, then Mari, then Griffin again. He knew she was trying to read him. The interesting part was that he was also trying to read her, which was astronomically easier due to his keen wolf senses.

He noticed that her chest rose and fell rapidly at the thought of dinner with him. He could smell the zest of her starting to perspire. Her eyes dilated, the tiniest pinpricks of black washed in a sea of glass. She wanted to be with him as much as he wanted to be with her.

Griffin gave her a smile to reassure her. His heart slammed between his ribs, anticipating her answer.

"Let me ask the kids first," she said. "If they are okay with it, so am I."

Griffin nodded, doing everything he could to suppress his grin.

She spun around to shield a rosy blush, but she wasn't quick enough. Griffin caught it, and it made his heart soar.

"I think she's into it," Mari whispered.

Griffin watched and waited while Adeline went back to the picnic table and spoke with the kids. It took them only a second for them to leap with joy.

"Yeah! Sleepover!" Jodi yelled.

Mari and Griffin returned to the picnic table as the kids all ate dinner together. The kids were too amped up about the sleepover to finish their meals, so Mari said they should get ready to go.

They cleared up their garbage, and Jodi and Deanne said their goodbyes. Adeline had avoided looking directly at him ever since agreeing to go to dinner with him. He hoped she didn't just agree to go to make him happy, then he retracted the thought nearly instantly. Adeline's breathing rate and heartbeat could not lie.

"Make sure you behave. Listen to everything Mari says. Don't stay up too late," Adeline said, pulling her kids in and kissing them hard. Neither of them was paying close attention to her embrace. They were too excited to spend time with their new friends.

"We'll be good, Mom. Don't worry," Deanne said, peeling herself from Adeline's arms. "Now let us go. You're embarrassing, Mom."

"Oh, I'll just miss you so much," Adeline said.

Griffin stood by, surprised by how closely Jodi and Deanne hugged him. It warmed his heart.

"All right, let's get going, y'all! Don't worry, Griffin. We'll take care of the kids," Orion said.

Both Jodi and Deanne sprinted away with their two new friends. Mari gave Adeline a hug and then winked at her.

"Try not to worry. They are going to sleep in a few hours. You two have fun."

She went after the kids, and Griffin gave her a thankful wave. Adeline watched them run, and Griffin thought he saw her eyes glass over.

He sauntered over to her, giving her a light elbow. She shook it off, and he caught a glimpse of some of her cleavage down the top of her dress. Her skin looked plump and soft.

"I know it"s hard to watch them go. But Mari and Orion are trustworthy. I wouldn't let them go otherwise."

Adeline nodded. "You're right. It will be nice not to worry about making sure little mouths are getting fed."

They looked at each other, magnetized. Griffin's body felt electric. His attraction to Adeline was a force that he no longer wanted to ignore.

"I hope you know there's no pressure if you don't want to go to dinner."

Her response was not hesitant in the slightest. "I know. I would tell you if I didn't want to. Trust me, I do."

She bit her bottom lip. Griffin was going crazy.

He had to keep it together, at least for the time being. He knew she wanted him, at least in some capacity. But a wolf's desire for carnal pleasure could be insatiable, especially when it came to their mate. He didn't want to scare her off.

Though, he couldn't stop imagining how her skin would taste or the sounds she would make…

Griffin held his arm out to her.

"Ready to go? This place has great food."

Adeline hooked her arm in his, their skin grazing. She was tiny next to him, her head just above his elbow.

"Let's go," she said quietly.

They walked toward the car, both eager to spend the evening together.