smelled different, of somebody else’s body wash, but underlying it was the deep scent of him.
She could have lost him. Lost this. The thought of it made her legs tremble. She lifted her head up and saw the darkness in his eyes, and knew last night had been so much worse than he made it out to be.
Griff slid his hands beneath her hoodie, his palms splaying on the soft skin of her back. “God, you’re warm,” he murmured. “You feel so damn good.”
“It must have been cold in the water.”
“It was, but I didn’t notice until we reached the shore.” He swallowed hard. “The adrenaline took over.”
“Were you scared?” She reached up to cup his jaw. He leaned into her palm, his lashes sweeping down as he closed his eyes.
“There was a point where I wasn’t sure we were gonna make it.” He let out a mouthful of air, the warmth sweeping over her fingers. “There was a voice in my head telling me to stop trying to save Sam. To let him go and save myself.” His own voice cracked as the words came out. “I thought about it.”
“But it didn’t happen,” she soothed. “You’re both okay.”
He opened his eyes and the darkness was still there. “Yeah, but what kind of man does that make me?”
“The best kind. It’s easy to be brave when you’re not scared. But when you are and you do something anyway? That makes you a hero.”
He gave a little half laugh, though there was no humor in it. “You’re biased.”
“Yeah. Well somebody should be.”
“I called my dad,” Griff told her. She blinked at the abrupt change in subject.
“When?”
“Tonight at the hospital. Called him to tell him about Sam and me being in the hospital. Sam’s been his best friend since they were kids. I figured he’d want to know he was in a bad way. Especially seeing as I was helping Sam at his request.”
Autumn ran the tip of her tongue over her bottom lip. “You did the right thing.”
Another mirthless laugh. “Yeah, well not according to him. He asked why I couldn’t have waited until he was awake to call him, then told me to send him a message later.” He shook his head. “He hung up on me without even asking how I was.”
Autumn winced, her heart aching for him. “I’m so sorry.”
“I don’t know why I bothered. Neither of them came to see me in the hospital when I was a kid and got hurt. Why the hell would they care about me as an adult?”
“You bothered because you care,” she told him, cupping his rough cheeks and tilting his head down until his brow was touching hers. “Because every kid deserves parents who love them. And they should love you, Griff. Not just because it’s natural, but because you’re a good man. A strong man.” She slid her nose against his, then softly kissed him. “You’re loveable.”
She felt lost. As though there was no way of making his sadness go away. But then he kissed her again, his mouth hot and needy, and she felt herself melt against him as his tongue ran along the seam of her lip.
She snaked her hands around his neck, steadying herself as his own hands roamed over her back, her side, her stomach. Then he pushed her hoodie up more, letting out a strangled groan as his fingers traced the fabric of her bra. “What’s this?” he asked, touching the satin ribbon.
“It’s new,” she whispered against his lips. “I bought it last night and was wearing it for you.”
His eyes brightened. “You bought it for me?”
“Yeah. I had it all planned out.” She shook her head. It felt like years ago that she went shopping with the girls, not last night. “I was going to be laying on the bed, wearing the lingerie and some new shoes. But then Lucas arrived and I grabbed the first clothes I could find and went with him to the beach.”
“Did he see this?” he asked, dipping his finger into one of the cups, tracing the swell of her breast.
“No.” She let out a sigh as he grazed her nipple. “I was covered up.”
“Good. Now go into your room and lay on the bed the way you planned.”
“You need rest,” she protested, but when she saw the expression on his face she closed her lips. God, he looked hot. His gaze was intent, eyes narrowed as he looked at her. A pulse of desire shot through her