Grip Trilogy Box Set - Kennedy Ryan Page 0,355

to be your forte—making dumb decisions to save me.”

“Don’t you dare bring up Parker,” she says with heat.

“The same recklessness you demonstrated with Parker,” I reply through gritted teeth, “is the recklessness you showed tonight when you slapped fucking Clem Ford.”

“Don’t ask me not to protect you,” she says, her body taut with frustration and anger.

“You don’t protect me, dammit!” My voice shatters the quiet of our home, splintering any chance for peace. “I protect you.”

“That is the biggest load of chauvinist crap I’ve ever heard,” she yells back, the veins in her neck straining with the force of her anger.

“This isn’t about chauvinism or you being my equal, or whatever feminist shit you want to trot out. Call me a caveman, I don’t give a fuck. You will never put yourself in that position again.”

“Yes. I. Will.” The delicate line of her jaw juts out. “If the situation calls for it.”

“The situation won’t call for it.”

“You have a target on your back, Grip.” The concern in her eyes overpowers the anger. “Don’t you see that?”

“You think I don’t know?” I blow out an exasperated breath. “The more I do this, the deeper I get into these issues, the bigger the target gets. I can live with it, but what I cannot live with is you jumping in front of me every time you think I’m in trouble.”

“I won’t even think twice.”

“Bristol, no.” I clutch my head in both hands and look up at the ceiling. “You don’t get it.”

“No, you don’t get it.” Some of the anger melts from her face. “You’re right, this isn’t about me being a feminist. It’s about me being your wife, your partner. I’m not some damsel in distress, Grip. I don’t need rescuing, but if I ever do, I know you’d do whatever was necessary to protect me. All I’m asking is that you expect the same from me, and not lose your shit when I do it.”

I was right. This won’t be resolved tonight. I’m always going to want to protect her, and she’s always going to risk everything to protect me.

“You protect me all the time,” she adds softly. “You saved me.”

“When?” I scoff. “When have you ever sat your ass down long enough for me to save you?”

“When I was in the dark, unable to shower or eat or get out of bed. . . unable to imagine living again. That’s when you saved me.”

I wasn’t prepared for that answer. Her honesty and the naked need in her eyes chip away at my frustration.

“We saved each other,” I finally reply.

“That’s my point.” She pauses long enough for the words to reach my head and then my heart. “Yeah, I’m reckless. When you’re threatened, I don’t always think it through. I promise I’ll work on that, but I will save you if I can. That’s what this is: you and me spending the rest of our lives saving each other, supporting each other, loving each other. You say I’m precious to you, right?”

“The most precious thing in my life, yes.” I cup her neck with one hand and wrap the other around the curve of her waist. My hands are ready to make up, finding her hips, fingers spreading over the top of her ass.

“We’ve been through a loss no parents should ever have to experience,” she says, her voice wobbling, her eyes watering. “I know I wouldn’t have survived losing Zoe if it hadn’t been for you.”

“I feel the same way.” I drop my forehead to hers.

“I love you,” she whispers, angling her head until our lips brush together. Just that contact is kindling, and after six weeks, I’m a dry bush ready to burn. The fire in my belly could quickly roar out of control.

“I need to make love to you.” I dot kisses over the slant of her collarbone, lick into the well at the base of her throat, suck the gold chain and the skin beneath into my mouth.

“Yes.” She licks her lips, dropping her eyes but sliding her hands up my chest and linking her wrists behind my neck. “I want that, too.”

“Bris.” I groan into her neck, nudging the strapless dress down to expose one breast. I circle my nose around her nipple, blowing on it but not yet taking it in my mouth. It blossoms, stiffens, straining toward my lips. “I want to be gentle, but—”

“Don’t be.” Need ignites in her eyes. “I’ve been numb for too long. My senses have been muted, I