Building Our Love (Griffin Brothers #2) (12 page)

“I totally will,
sweetheart. If you want something, you either just do it or tell me
to. Anything.”

“I know, and I
appreciate it. I don’t think that I’ll ever be the type of girl
to be too daring, but you can ask me to do things. Just be prepared
for a no if it’s too extreme.”

“You forget that I’ve
known you for a long time, Chloe. Extreme to you is pretty tame for
other people.” I start to protest but he stops me. “I’m totally
fine with that. I sowed my wild oats the last few years and tried a
bunch of stuff. Nothing I did with any other woman ever came close to
how good it is with you.”

“So you aren’t
going to pull out some game controllers to tie me up with?” I
tease.

“Umm, that would be a
negative. How do you know about that anyway?”

“Girls’ night at
Erika’s house.”

“Ahh. So Yas told you
how she blurted that out? I don’t think Owen will ever let Scott
live that down. What else did you talk about?”

“Stuff.”

“You’re not going
to tell me, are you?”

“Nope.”

“I could tickle it
out of you. I know all your ticklish spots.”

I run around the half
wall into his bedroom, yelling behind me. “Don’t you dare!”

He easily catches up to
me and spins me around as I enter the room. I’m about to protest
when I see something that makes my heart almost stop. I go still in
his arms and he senses the change. Ryan looks at my face. “This is
what I wanted you to see.”

“Oh, Ry. Oh my God.
You kept them?”

“All of them, Chloe.
They’re the last thing I look at before falling asleep, and the
first thing I see in the morning.”

In front of me, on the
wall facing his bed, Ryan has framed and put up my drawings. All of
the first drafts I gave him during our time together. I step out of
his arms and reach forward, tracing the frames on a few of them.

“I don’t even know
what to say.” But then I do. “I’m sure the women who’ve been
in here were curious about them.”

He looks conflicted
before answering. “Yeah. They were. I wish I could tell you that no
one’s been in this room before, but that would be a lie. I did buy
a new bed when you came to work for me. We agreed to have a sexual
relationship, and I wanted to have a bed that only you had been in.
If I had to sleep in the same bed that you shared with Adam, I would
go crazy. I wanted you to feel comfortable here.”

I swallow hard. He
would never have to sleep in a bed that I shared with Adam. There
isn’t one. I have to ask him about the rest of the apartment,
though. “You haven’t changed the rest of the apartment, though,
have you?”

“The rest of the
apartment?” he asks and then I can see that he gets my question.
“There’s no need, Chloe. When I brought a woman back here it was
for one thing only and that took place in my bed.”

“Really? Because
you’ve taken me many places besides my bed.” I don’t want to
push this issue, but for my own sanity, I need to know.

He pulls me to the bed
and sits down facing me. “I’ve been with many women in many
different places, but here in my home, it’s always been in my bed.
I used them for what I needed and then sent them on their way. I know
it sounds bad, but they were down with it.”

Many different women? I
have to remind myself, again, that I drove him to it. But it still
doesn’t hurt any less. I try to look for the bright side of what he
told me. “So, no one ever spent the night here?”

“No. I’m hoping
that you will, though.”

“We have work
tomorrow, and I didn’t bring any clothes with me.”

“We can go shopping
next door at Crystals.”

“Umm, I think that
may be too fancy on my assistant’s salary. I saw a Ross down the
street. I can walk over there.”

“I should have asked
you when we were still at your place, so I should pay. If you don’t
want to go to Crystals, we can go across the street to the Miracle
Mile shops at Planet Hollywood. They have a mix of shops, I think.”

“I can pay for
myself, but thanks for offering. Since I’m not saving for a house
yet, I’ll probably do some Crystals shopping with my Seattle money.
I really want some nice things. For now, Planet Hollywood sounds
good.”

“I’ll get you an
advance on the Seattle money if you want to start shopping early.
There will be four parties for the opening, and I don’t want you to
rush around shopping at the last minute.”

“Four? Just the
thought of that makes me tired.” I yawn then, because I’m
actually pretty tired. I didn’t sleep much in the past 24 hours.

“Are you tired right
now, sweetheart? Did I wear you out?”

“Yes, I am. And yes,
you did. I loved every minute of it.”

“Tell you what. Why
don’t you take a nap, and I’ll go work out in the gym? I was
going to skip my normal workout today to be with you, but I can do it
while you sleep. Then we can go across the street so you can shop.”

I look over at his
black platform bed with the dark blue comforter. It looks comfy and
inviting. “Okay, as long as you promise to not use up all of your
energy. I remember when you were a super athletic kid with some lean
muscles, before you started working construction. You became more
defined with bigger muscles. Now, you’re scrumptious.”

“Scrumptious? You
like the current me best then, Chlo?”

“I didn’t say that.
I’ve loved all of the different incarnations. I wouldn't care if
you lost all of these muscles,” I say as I squeeze his biceps and
then run my hands over his chest. "I’d miss them, but I would
still love you and want to throw myself on top of you.”

“Save that thought
for when you’ve napped. I can promise you that I’ll have enough
energy for you to have your way with me when I get back.”

He kisses my forehead
and then starts taking off his shirt and pants from yesterday as he
walks into his closet. He comes back with basketball shorts on,
pulling a t-shirt over his sculpted chest.

“Yum,” I think in
my head.

“Did you just say
‘yum’?”

“I said that out
loud, didn’t I?” I cover my face with my hands. “I just haven’t
seen you dressed casually for so long, and I love you in a t-shirt.”

“More than a suit?”

“Yeah. You’re
beyond hot in a suit, but when you’re in a t-shirt it reminds me of
the teenage boy I fell in love with.”

“I’ll wear t-shirts
around you every chance I get. Now, let me tuck you in so you can
rest up for me.”

* * *

Ryan

I do my normal two hour
weekend workout and then head back to my place. I walk in quietly in
case Chloe’s not up yet. I peek around the wall into my bedroom,
and she’s not there. WTF? Did she go shopping without me? I thought
she was tired. I strip down, throwing my clothes in the hamper, and
head into the bathroom to take a shower before I go looking for her.

The sight that I come
upon when I enter that room is enough to make me hard for life.
Chloe’s in my giant bathtub, with bubbles all around her. The tips
of her pink nipples are showing through the foam and her eyes are
closed.

“Damn.”

She opens her eyes and
looks over at me, smiling as she takes in my naked, sweaty body. “Hi.
Did you have a good workout?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah I
did.”

“Do you want to join
me in here? I used your shower gel since I didn’t have bubble
bath.”

“I was going to
shower. Bubble baths aren’t really my thing.”

“Oh. Sure. Of course
not.” She looks disappointed.

“Why the sad face,
Chlo?”

“I-I just…never
mind. Enjoy your shower.”

I walk over and stand
next to the tub, leaning over so my face is only inches from hers.
“You just what, Chloe?”

I don’t think she’s
going to answer because the silence is stretching out between us.
Then she seems to make a decision and tells me, “I’ve always
wanted to take a bath with you.”

“Tell me more,” I
say, as I start to climb in. She moves forward so I can sit behind
her. “Tell me what you want. What you fantasize about.”

“I want you to caress
and touch me.”

“Where?” I ask,
massaging her neck.

“Everywhere.”

I move my hands down to
her shoulders, squeezing them lightly.“Here?”

“Mm-hmm.”

I go lower and take a
breast in each hand.“How about here, Chlo? Is this where you want
me to touch you?”

She arches her back and
moans in response as I rub my thumbs over her nipples. I move down to
trace her ribs and circle her belly button. I stop at her hips and
rub them gently.

“Is there anywhere
else I should touch you, sweetheart?”

“Yes.”

“Show me.”

She takes my hands in
hers and moves them lower. She places one of my hands over her mound
and moves the other one lower, taking my fingers to her entrance
before letting go and moving her arms back up to wrap around my neck.
I slide two of my fingers into her as I rub her clit.

Chloe is thrusting into
my hands, and I can tell she’s getting close. She lets go of my
neck and moves suddenly, turning herself around to face me. She looks
into my eyes as she takes my cock in her hand and places it at her
center. The sight of her wet body, partially covered by bubbles,
taking me in is without a doubt the most erotic thing I’ve ever
seen.

She starts moving fast
as she leans down and kisses me hard. I grab her ass and hold her to
me as I thrust, rubbing her clit with every movement. She comes hard,
scratching my shoulders with her nails and biting into my bicep to
muffle her screams. I’m only seconds behind her as the pain from
her bite mixes with the pleasure of her walls contracting around me.
A string of curses leaves my mouth as I empty myself in her.

“Wow.” Chloe says.

“Baths are
underrated,” I tell her as I try to catch my breath.

She laughs and buries
her head in my neck. Then, she remembers my arm and starts planting
kisses over the bite mark.

“I’m sorry. I just
couldn’t help myself.”

“No apology
necessary, Chlo. That was seriously hot.”

“It was.”

I hold her to me for a
few more minutes before suggesting that we should get out of the tub
before our skin gets too wrinkly.She pushes the drain open with her
toes as I stand up and step out of the tub. I reach down and lift her
up before she can stand. I set her on the rug and reach over for
towels. I start to hand her one, but she doesn’t take it. She’s
biting her lip and looking nervous, and I raise my eyebrows at her.

“Tell me, Chlo.”

“Can you dry me off?
I saw someone do it in a movie once, and it looked like it’d be
sexy.”

“I can do that.”

I quickly rub myself
down and wrap my towel around my waist. Then I kneel down and start
slowly drying her off, beginning with her feet and legs. I spend
extra time between her legs, making sure she is completely dry as she
grips my hair. Her breasts take me a little bit longer, too, as I
can’t help but lick them. I finally finish by rubbing her neck and
nibbling on her ear.

“Was it as sexy for
you as you imagined, Chloe?”

“It was better than I
imagined it would be.”

“I aim to please,”
I say as I pick her up and carry her to my bed. I spend the next
couple of hours showing her just how much her pleasure means to me.

* * *

Chloe

We finally leave Ryan’s
bed when I remember that I need clothes for tomorrow, and we both
realize that we need food. We walk across the street to Planet
Hollywood. I spot a place selling lobster mac and cheese when we
enter, and I ask Ryan if we can have that for dinner. He says I can
have whatever I want, and we decide to grab it on the way out since
they are only counter service.

We walk around the mini
mall, and I’m happy to spot an H&M. Despite what Ryan said
about paying for my outfit, I’d feel better if I buy my own
clothes. I pull him inside and quickly find an outfit and some shoes
to wear. He pulls out his wallet to pay, but I already have my debit
card ready and hand it to the cashier. Ryan gives me a look, but lets
it go until we’re out of the store.

“I thought we agreed
that I was paying for your outfit.”

“No, you said you
were. I never agreed to it.”

“Chloe.”

“Ryan.”

“I have more money
than I can spend in ten lifetimes. Why won’t you let me spend some
on you?”

He looks so earnest and
sincere that I make a concession. One I think he’ll like. I nod
towards Victoria’s Secret.

“I need underwear for
tomorrow. You can buy that.”

He grabs my hand and
pulls me inside. We look around, and I decide on the lacy thongs that
I see him keep going back to. I reach for a pair in my size and he
grabs a few more.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m buying you a
few pairs.”

“No, I just need one
pair for tomorrow.”

“Let me clarify. I’m
going to buy you a few pairs of underwear for tomorrow. You don’t
honestly think that I’ll be able to control myself knowing you’re
wearing underwear that I bought you,and what it looks like, do you? I
can’t guarantee that the first pair, or the fifth, will remain
intact. You can go commando after if you run out.”

“Commando? You know
that my desk is open in the front. What if someone sees?”

“If you want to save
the lives of any men that may walk by your desk at that point, you
should probably keep your legs closed tight.”

“There’s my alpha.”

“Damn right,
sweetheart.”

He kisses me hard in
the middle of the store. I hear some sighs, and when we break apart,
I look around to see a group of women looking at Ryan like he could
be their next meal. He sees me glare and looks over his shoulder. He
turns back, chuckling and leans down to my ear.“I don’t know what
the female version of an alpha male is, but you look incredibly hot
staring down those women.”