Lullabies and Lies - By Mallory Kane Page 0,47
gently pulled her into his arms. She didn’t resist.
After a while, her sobs quietened, then turned to an occasional little snuffle.
He blinked away the dampness from his own eyes, and stood, urging her up with him.
“Come on, let’s go to sleep. You need your strength for tomorrow. Remember, you’re going to see Emily.”
She felt breakable. It hurt him.
Guiding her over to the bed, he pulled back the tangled covers. “There you go. I’ll tuck you in.”
“Don’t.” Her voice was small but firm.
“Okay.” He brushed her hair away from her face with a hand that wasn’t totally steady. He’d comforted dozens of families through these times when their faith ran out and their hope faded, but Sunny’s breakdown had crushed his already sore heart.
His fingers lingered on her cheek for an instant, then he straightened.
“I’m going to—”
“Hold me. Please?”
He glanced at her in surprise. The little pink top she wore for sleeping outlined her small, perfect breasts. Her skin gleamed like porcelain in the dim light from the windows; her hair had dried wavy and soft, and floated around her head and shoulders like angel hair.
She was the most beautiful being he’d ever laid eyes on. He couldn’t touch her. He couldn’t trust himself to.
“That’s not a good idea.”
“Please. Please just stay here. You don’t know what I see when I close my eyes. I can’t do it alone.”
He did know. Too well. He squeezed his eyes shut, telling himself he was strong enough to bury his feelings. He could be a comfort to her. He could hold her and make her feel safe, the way no one had for him when his sister disappeared.
He sat down on the bed.
“I’m so cold. So scared. I can’t stop shaking. I can’t stop thinking about her.”
He realized he was shaking, too. He was finding it harder and harder to pretend she was just another terrified family member he was bound to help. She was becoming so much more. His body was already hard just from the thought of holding her close.
He would do anything for her, but he didn’t want to hold her. Once he touched her, he knew with an awful certainty he’d never be the same again.
Sunny saw the reluctance in his face. And the fear. She was afraid, too. She felt the life draining out of her, felt grief sucking away her strength. She needed something to draw on.
And Griff was the strongest, most honorable man she’d ever met.
“Make me feel safe.” She stared up at him, holding his gaze, until he blinked. She knew he’d lost the battle with himself.
He turned off the lamp.
Dim light filtering through the motel curtains outlined the shape of his body. Lean and long, with sleek, sharply planed muscles.
He slid into bed beside her and as naturally as if they’d been lovers for years, she slipped into the curve of his arm.
Pressing her cheek against the hollow between his shoulder and neck, she rested her hand on his chest and released a shuddering sigh.
“Sunny—” He stiffened.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, and pulled her hand away.
“It’s okay.” He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and let the fingers of his other hand brush her forearm. Then he slid his fingers down her arm to her wrist, then to her hand. He picked it up and pulled it to his lips, then lay it on his chest.
Oh, it felt so good, to be held, to be cherished.
The promise of his strong, sleek body against hers gave her what words never would. They gave her the strength to believe.
She didn’t care if she was stealing it from him. Didn’t care if the confidence and safety weren’t rightly hers. She’d take what she could get.
Tears gathered in her eyes as she relaxed against him. “You’re a good man, Griffin Stone.”
She felt his head shake. “No. No, I’m not. I’m trying to be.”
She turned her head and buried her nose in the hollow of his shoulder, letting her lips brush his skin. It was a small theft, just a tiny sense of the tantalizing mixture of strength and gentleness that characterized him.
He drew a sharp breath, and before she realized what she was doing, Sunny slid her hand around his neck.
His head bent and hers raised and their lips barely brushed each other, like the wake of a butterfly’s wing.
Inside her, something incredible happened. The feel of his mouth on hers was indescribable. His lips tasted like a healing potion.
At first he was hesitant, barely touching her, as if he