Grip Trilogy Box Set - Kennedy Ryan Page 0,212

like a bird’s song.

And not giving a damn what anyone thinks about it.

“Oh really?” My smile widens an inch. “I seem to remember you liked my mouth open this morning in the shower.”

His chuckle rumbles in the small space separating our bodies. “Damn, Bris. What am I gonna do with you?”

“You’ll figure something out.” I prop my forearms on his shoulders, caressing his neck. “You always do.”

He studies me for a few long seconds, something changing in his eyes. They sober, the cocky grin falling into a straight line.

“What’s wrong?” I cup one side of his face, the slight scruff tickling my palm. One minute we’re flirting and teasing, verging on horny, and the next we’re . . . not.

“Nothing.” He sets his hand over mine against his jaw. “I just missed you today. I miss you when we’re apart.”

His words settle over my heart, refreshing like rain falling on dry, thirsty ground. I feel it, too. I’m not sure how I kept him at bay for eight years when eight hours away from him makes my chest ache. The look in his eyes . . . there’s more to it than what’s on the surface, but I’m not sure what. He traces the corner of my mouth.

“You’re just trying to distract me,” I turn my mouth to kiss the hand touching my face, “from getting back to Kevin.”

Grip rolls his eyes, some of the humor returning.

“You seriously think I’m dealing with that dude?” He scoffs a quick rush of air.

“Don’t judge the deal by Kevin. I wish you could meet my friend Charisma. She’d be your editor, but she’s tied up in New York, and Kevin just happened to be here in LA.”

“Maybe we could meet her in New York.” Grip’s tone is careful and his glance is searching, but I’m not sure what he’s looking for. Am I missing something?

“Not any time soon.” I sigh, running my thumb over the dark arch of his brows. “Charm’s stuck there, and things are way too hectic for me to get away right now.”

“Yeah?” Grip twists his lips into a grimace.

“Yeah. Kai’s finally about to drop her debut album, and Rhyson’s in the studio working on his next project.” A sudden smile takes over my face. “I forgot to tell you I got Luke that reality show about the making of his next album.”

“Wow.” Grip’s eyes drop to the ground before he looks back to me. “Yeah, you’ve got a lot going on here.”

“The show’s filming in LA for the most part. I need to be on set at least for the initial footage, and don’t get me started on everything happening for Jimmi. I may have to hand her off to Sarah, though she’d kill me.”

“I get it,” Grip says with a small smile. “You’re too busy to go to New York.”

There it is again. What’s that look? Am I talking about work too much? I do that. I get caught up in my career, but I’m lucky enough to make dreams come true for the people I love the most. I never knew how fulfilling it would be, how damn good at it I would be. With every accomplishment, the opportunities double and my ambitions multiply. It’s never bothered Grip before, but maybe now that things are busier than they’ve ever been, he’s tired of hearing about my work and how much I love it.

“I’m sorry, baby,” I say. “Here I am going on and on about Prodigy and all my stuff, and I didn’t even ask about school. You registered for classes today, right?”

He goes still for a second, his expression becoming unreadable. “I’m still looking at classes. There’s a little time before I finalize things for next semester.”

“Well I want to hear all about it tonight.” I tip up to leave a kiss on his lips. “But now I need to get back to Kevin.”

Grip’s face loosens into a grin.

“Tell his goofy ass you already have dinner plans, and to back off my girl.”

“Oh, I have dinner plans?” I take a few steps backward toward the restaurant entrance, my eyes never leaving the handsome face with its stark planes and bold bones. “And what are these plans?”

“Dinner at my place.”

“Am I bringing dinner?”

That’s usually what happens—neither of us is exactly gourmet chef material.

“No, I’ll grill up on the roof.”

Ah, the roof, one of my favorite places in the world. Overlooking everything but isolated from it all, just my love and me. Add medium rare red meat, and