Griffin had been staring at her all night. Not just looking at her—they’d been sitting directly across from each other at the table, so obviously he’d been looking at her. This was different. This was staring. Like—she couldn’t quite describe it. It wasn’t quite as if he was seeing her for the first time—although that wasn’t too far off. It was more like he was letting himself look at her for the first time.

Alice had never really felt the full weight of Griffin’s attention before—not in such a concentrated beam of dazzling intensity. It was a lot. In the past, she’d always had the sense he was trying not to look at her too much. Like he was giving her plenty of space. A safe buffer zone. But now it felt like the buffer had melted away, and the air between them was growing thinner by the minute.

They’d chatted casually enough over dinner—which was quite possibly the best homemade meal she’d ever had—but the whole time she’d been conscious of his searing gaze, which made her feel things she’d been afraid to hope for. When he got up to clear the table, it was almost a relief not to feel his eyes on her for a few minutes.

He refused to let her help with the dishes, so she poured them both more wine as he told her stories about the stunt team he’d worked with in Atlanta, and how he’d taken them all out for karaoke his last weekend there.

“I didn’t know you were a karaoke guy,” Alice said, leaning back against the counter.

“I’m not.” Griffin slotted the last plate in the dishwasher. “That’s how much I liked these guys—I actually let them drag me to a karaoke bar!”

Tossing her old no ogling rule out the window, she shamelessly enjoyed the view as he bent over to retrieve the detergent. “Did you sing?”

“You have to sing. It’s karaoke.”

“Can you sing?”

Griffin threw an affronted look over his shoulder. “I’m no Josh Groban, but I’ve had voice lessons. I can hold my own.”

“What song did you do?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” He slammed the dishwasher closed and turned to face her with a smirk on his face.

“Yes, I would. That’s why I asked.”

“You’ll laugh.”

“Only if it’s funny.”

His smirk got wider. “‘We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.’”

Alice barked out a laugh before she could slap a hand over her mouth.

Griffin tried to look hurt but couldn’t seem to stop smiling. “You laughed.”

“It was funny!” She crossed the kitchen and gave his arm a conciliatory squeeze. “Come on, Taylor Swift? Please tell me someone videoed it.”

“Not a chance.” His gaze dropped to where she’d touched his arm, and Alice drew her hand back.

“Too bad,” she said, wondering what would happen if she kissed him right now. “I’d pay good money to see that.”

“Maybe I’ll do a command performance for you one day.”

“Is that a promise?”

Griffin’s eyes found hers and held. The air between them felt charged, like it was liable to start throwing off visible sparks any second now. That was when the clouds of doubt finally parted. Alice wasn’t the only one feeling something. That was an I want to kiss you look on his face if she’d ever seen one.

And then it was gone. Griffin stiffened, shaking his head slightly as if shaking away bad thoughts, and started to step away.

Alice’s hand closed around his wrist. “Don’t.”

Emotions warred on his face. “You’ve had a traumatic day.”

It took her a moment to realize what he meant. She’d actually forgotten. Her happiness at being with Griffin had superseded the trauma of the encounter in the library. Even now, thinking about it, it felt distant and blurred. Inconsequential.

She gave his wrist a squeeze. “It hasn’t been that bad. This last part’s been pretty great, actually.”

Still, he hesitated, and she had an appalling thought. “Unless…unless you don’t want…” God, if she’d read him wrong, she was going to drive straight to the beach and throw herself into the Pacific Ocean. She’d never be able to face him again. She’d—

Griffin’s mouth closed over hers. The shock of it hit her like an electric jolt, and she let out an involuntary squeak of surprise.

He jerked back, forehead creasing in confusion. “Did you not mean—”

“No.” Her hand curled around the back of his neck. “I did. I do.”

He tilted his head, eyes narrowing. “Just to be clear, we’re talking about kissing right now?”

“Yes.”

“And you want me to kiss you?”

“Yes!”

His eyes sparked with mischief. “You’re sure?”

Alice laughed, giving him a little shake. “Oh my god, yes! Kiss me!”

He did.

It was tender and warm. Almost careful, as if he was testing her, waiting for her to stop him.

She didn’t want him to stop. Ever. Her tongue stroked the seam of his lips and they parted for her. The pads of his fingers touched her jaw, exerting light pressure to tilt her head back more. Need bubbled up inside her as the pressure of his mouth increased.

Alice grabbed his shoulders to steady herself and pressed her body into his, wanting to feel more of him. Griffin answered with a moan, followed by a rough tongue thrust that sent a thrill shooting through her core. His lips crushed hers, bruising and searing as their breaths intermingled in desperate pants. As the intensity increased, so did Alice’s body temperature, and she shrugged out of her cardigan, letting it fall to the floor. Rough, callused fingers slid over her bare arms, raising shivers of pleasure over the surface of her skin.

“Alice.” Griffin spoke her name in a low rasp as his hands dropped to cup her ass, his fingers kneading the soft flesh. “I can’t believe—”

He broke off, groaning, when she ground her pelvis against his, craving more delicious friction. More contact. More heat.

His fingers dug into the backs of her upper thighs, and she gasped in surprise as he picked her up and settled her high on his hips. Laughing, she wrapped her legs around his waist, and he carried her into the living room.

Supporting her body with his strong arms, Griffin laid her gently on the couch. The thick muscle of his thigh pressed between her legs as he leaned over to kiss her, one hand cupping her face and the other holding himself above her.

His lips grazed hers, lightly teasing before moving to her throat. As he kissed a trail down her neck, his index finger traced her collarbone, then traveled down her breastbone, drawing a tortuous, singeing line between her breasts.

Alice wriggled beneath him, longing for more of his touch, and he smiled as he pressed a kiss to the hollow beneath her collarbone. His hand curved around her hip, then slid up over her tank top to cup her breast. Her hips arched beneath him when his thumb grazed her oversensitive nipple. As he smirked in satisfaction, his fingers snaked under the hem of her top. He lifted it up, stopping just under her bra, and bent to kiss her stomach.

She was a writhing, aching mess beneath him, desperate for more, and Griffin was loving every bit of it. Laughing, he pulled her tank top up, exposing her pink bra. His expression grew serious as he hooked his fingers inside the lacy fabric and tugged it aside.

“You’re so beautiful,” he murmured, lowering his mouth to her nipple.

Alice’s heart shot into her throat, and she curled her fingers into his hair as all rational thought abandoned her. She drifted on a cloud of blissful unreality, trying to come to grips with the fact that this was really happening.

Surely this must be a dream—an incredibly hot dream, but a dream nonetheless.

But it wasn’t a dream. She hissed her pleasure as Griffin’s teeth grazed her nipple, and he responded with a gentle lave of his tongue. A tug on his hair brought his mouth back to hers, and their tongues slid together, playful and searching.

Her hands explored everywhere, stroking his face and his body, following the lines of hard muscle and bone. When they found the waistband of his jeans and flicked open the button, his whole body seemed to tense, then he scooped her up and flipped her over so he was lying on his back with her straddling him.

Alice enjoyed the shifting kaleidoscope of expressions on Griffin’s face as she shifted her hips against his. He curled a hand around the back of her neck and roughly pulled her mouth down to his. As their lips slid together, frantic and devouring, her hands wandered under his shirt. She needed to touch those abs she’d glimpsed on her first morning in the house—the ones he had been so careful not to flash in her presence ever since.

“Off,” she grumbled, fumbling with the buttons, and Griffin smiled against her mouth as he reached up to unfasten them for her. While he shrugged out of his shirt, Alice sat back to properly admire the taut muscles beneath the tanned, waxed perfection of his skin. “Wow.”

He watched her watching him, a small smile at the corner of his lips. “I hope so. I worked fucking hard for this body.”

“It definitely paid off.” Alice reached out to trail her fingers over his stomach muscles and he twitched. She smiled as a hypothesis presented itself, and touched him again—just a light brush of her fingers. Griffin’s whole torso contracted like he was trying not to flinch away. Her smile got wider at the confirmation of her theory. “You’re not ticklish, are you?”

“A little, yeah.” He grimaced. “You’re going to use this against me, aren’t you?”

Alice affected an air of somber consideration. “Mmmmm. Depends.”

“On what?”

“Whether you behave.” She pressed the flat of her palm against his stomach, and this time he didn’t try to twitch away. “Better?”

He nodded, his breath hitching a little. She slid her hand firmly over the hard ridges of his abs, appreciating the way the muscles contracted at her touch. When her fingers got near his waist, he flinched. She changed direction, and when she got to the other side of his waist he flinched again.

“Having fun?” he asked, lifting an eyebrow.

“Yes. Loads.” She continued to explore his torso, mentally cataloging all the sensitive spots like a cartographer mapping a newly discovered continent. His nipples, she discovered to her delight, were particularly sensitive. Especially when she used her tongue.

“God, Alice, you’re killing me.”

His hand fisted in her hair, pulling her away from his chest, and his mouth clamped over hers. He kissed her with even more urgency than before, his teeth dragging across her lips and his tongue plunging hungrily into her mouth. His hands slid down her waist and over her hips to the outside of her thighs, then back up again to her breasts.

They were both breathing raggedly, gasping into each other’s mouths. Alice could feel the wetness pooling between her thighs and the pressure building inside her, in desperate need of release. She pressed her palms against Griffin’s torso again, careful not to graze any of the ticklish spots and ruin the mood.

When she unfastened the button of his pants, his hand closed over hers. “We don’t have to.”

“Of course we don’t,” she replied impatiently. “But we want to.” A stab of doubt caused her to draw back. “Don’t we?”

“I do.” He squeezed her hand, and she breathed out in relief. “It’s just…”

Her fingers twined with his. “What?”

“I just want to make sure—” He stopped and sucked in a breath. “Our friendship is important to me, and I don’t want to screw that up.”

“You’re afraid having sex will screw it up?”

“No.” He frowned. “Well, maybe.”

Alice reached up to touch his face, her fingertips pressing against his cheek as her thumb dragged over his lips. “I hate to tell you this, but after all that making out we just did, there’s no way we can go back to how things were. We passed the point of no return about fifteen minutes ago when you stuck your tongue in my mouth.”

Griffin winced. “It’s just…I don’t have the greatest track record with relationships. I’m not sure I’m cut out for them.”

“Oh,” she said, dropping her hand from his face. “Right.”

“No.” His hand captured hers again, squeezing. “I don’t mean that. This isn’t just a hookup for me. I just mean there’s a decent chance I’m going to fuck this up.”

Alice bent to press a tender kiss to the corner of his mouth. “You’re important to me too,” she whispered against his skin. “It’ll be okay.”

She felt the tension drain out of him and he curled a possessive hand in her hair, capturing her lips with his own. Their mouths clashed together, and she shivered as his fingers traced down her spine. His hands clasped the bottom of her tank top and pulled it off over her head. He kissed the top of both her breasts, then reached around to unclasp her bra.

Griffin’s heated gaze seared into her skin, then his arms wrapped around her, tightened, and he flipped her onto her back again. As he lowered his mouth to hers, Alice’s chest heaved with restrained lust, her nipples firm and erect. Every breath dragged them against his bare skin, and it was both not enough friction and too much at the same time.

Arousal thrummed in her veins, pushing everything but her own need and Griffin’s out of her awareness as his lips slid down her throat to her breasts. His soft lips caressed her inflamed skin, his stubble deliciously rough as it grazed a prickly path. Heat radiated off him, igniting her everywhere their bodies touched.

Her hands glided over the planes of his back, then down to squeeze his ass through his jeans, pulling him closer. His erection pressed against her leg, and she pressed back, desperate and craving.

“Fuck.” Griffin groaned, the vibration humming through both their bodies.

Alice dug her fingernails into his skin. “That’s the idea.”

Something cold and wet touched the bare skin of her waist, and she jolted in shock.

“What?” Griffin asked, pausing the attentions he was lavishing on her left breast.

Taco stood beside the couch, exhaling a rancid cloud of dog breath as he wagged his tail at them.

“Dog,” Alice said, shifting away from the edge of the couch.

“Right.” Griffin scooped her up, cradling her against his chest as he carried her down the hall to his bedroom. “You stay out there,” he admonished the dog, and kicked the door closed before laying Alice on the bed.

She’d only been in Griffin’s bedroom once before, when she was searching for a dog toy. During the three months he was gone, she’d avoided coming in here out of respect for his privacy, though the door had remained open to give Taco access to his second-favorite nap spot.

The furniture in Griffin’s room was very plain and very Scandinavian. All golden beechwood against plain white walls, with accents of charcoal gray and primary red. Masculine, but in an understated way.

Alice watched Griffin dig around in a bedside table drawer until he came away with a strip of condom packets. Her whole body was wound so tight, it was all she could do to lie still until he came back over to her, tossing the condoms on the king-size mattress beside her as he lowered his body over hers. His fingers caressed her jaw, and he placed a tender kiss on her forehead.

“What do you want?” he asked in a raw, husky voice.

“You,” she said. “Between my thighs. Now.”

She felt him smile against her brow. “As you wish.”

His tongue trailed a path down her body until it reached the waistband of her jeans. Her hips bucked in anticipation as he unfastened them. Only then did it occur to her that the landscaping situation down there probably wasn’t up to his usual standards. In fact, she realized in growing horror as she stared at Griffin’s perfectly smooth and hairless torso, he’d definitely waxed more recently than she had.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, sensing her hesitation.

“Nothing.”

He kissed her stomach, then rubbed his bristly chin on the delicate skin at her hip to make her squirm. “Alice.”

“I didn’t exactly plan for this, so…”

He smirked at her. “A little bushy in the pleasure garden?”

“Oh my god!” She clapped a hand over her face to hide her embarrassment.

His fingers slid inside the waistband of her underwear, pulling it away from her skin so he could peek inside. “I like it.”

The desire in Griffin’s expression banished all self-consciousness as he peeled her pants and underwear off. He ran his hands up her legs, then heaved them over his shoulders, lifting her hips as he closed his mouth over her sensitive folds.

Sensation jolted through her, and Alice moaned as his tongue traced delicate and then intensifying circles. When his fingers slipped inside her, she couldn’t help thrusting against his face. Pleasure carried her away as he increased the pressure, building to a steady rhythm.

She was so primed already, it didn’t take long before she was shuddering and breaking apart in his hands. His kisses gentled as she rode the wave of an orgasm so intense it rocked her to her core, leaving her a boneless, quivering puddle.

When Alice finally came back to her senses, Griffin was grinning up at her. “I love watching you do that.”

She made grabby hands at him. “Come here.”

He crawled up her body and she pulled his face to hers, licking the traces of her juices off his lips. “Goddammit, Alice,” he growled.

“Pants off,” she ordered. “Now.”

Griffin pushed off the bed, and she propped herself up on her elbows to watch as he shoved his pants and underwear down in one hurried motion. When his dick popped free, she bit her lip and sat up on the edge of the mattress, reaching for him. His eyes closed, his legs trembling as her hand wrapped around his shaft. But when she started to slide off the bed and kneel before him, he stopped her, grasping her arms with both hands.

“No way. Not unless you want me to embarrass myself by coming in two seconds like a teenager. I’ve waited too long for this.” He guided her back onto the bed, leaning down to grab a condom as she splayed out beneath him with her legs spread in eager anticipation. It surprised Alice how unselfconscious she felt. How comfortable. All her thoughts were on Griffin, and how badly she needed him inside her. There was no room to think about anything else.

The wrapper crinkled as he tore the condom open, and she watched hungrily as he rolled it on and settled himself between her legs.

“You okay?” he murmured, nuzzling a kiss against her temple.

“Mmmm.” As he pressed against her opening, she shifted her hips for easier entry. Slowly, cautiously, he filled her up, until the pressure was just on the edge of being too much.

“God, Alice,” he breathed.

“Griffin.” Her hands smoothed over his shoulders. “You’re shaking.” She pulled his mouth to hers and kissed him, slow and deep.

As he started to move inside her, she quivered beneath the solid weight of him, her fingernails scraping over his skin. His eyes met hers, and the raw emotion she saw in them made her heart thump against the wall of her chest.

He lifted one of her legs for a deeper angle, and as his thrusts increased in urgency her world narrowed to the feel of him inside her and the slick friction of their bodies sliding together. He held her tightly, his breath hitching as the pressure built. She tried to match his movements, forgetting about her own pleasure as she focused on his, and felt his rhythm falter, his muscles trembling as he strained to hold himself back.

“Let go,” she ordered, grinding against him ruthlessly. “I want you to come.”

He groaned and let more of his weight fall on her, crushing her into the mattress. “Jesus, Alice. Fuck, you feel so good.”

His thrusts sped up, becoming more frenzied and precise. The sudden increase in intensity went straight to her core, sending her tumbling unexpectedly over the edge as Griffin shuddered above her, gasping out her name. They clung to one another in their shared ecstasy, chests heaving and sweaty limbs entangled.

“Can’t breathe,” Alice squeaked after a moment, prodding Griffin’s shoulder. Her lungs felt like they were going to explode.

He lifted himself up and brushed a kiss against her forehead before flopping onto his back.

She sucked in a ragged breath, feeling like she’d just run a hundred-yard dash. “Shit, I’m out of shape. I think I’m dying.”

“I hope not,” Griffin said, twisting to give her another kiss before levering himself off the bed and disappearing into the bathroom. While he was gone, Alice took the opportunity to run down the hall and use her own bathroom.

When she returned, he’d peeled back the comforter and was lying on his back beneath a single white sheet with his hands behind his head. She slipped into the bed next to him, and he rolled over to curl his body around hers. “You okay?”

She turned her face toward his, nodding. “Perfect.”

“God, I missed you.” He reached up to brush her hair out of her face. “I never told you, but I missed you like crazy when I was in Atlanta.”

She smiled, remembering his drunken voicemail. “You did tell me, actually.”

“I did?”

“When you drunk-dialed me that night. That’s why you said you’d called. To tell me how much you missed me. You said you missed me more than dairy.”

His cheeks dimpled as he laughed. “That’s an awful lot. But it’s true.”

“I thought…” Alice stopped as a rush of unexpected emotion overcame her.

Griffin’s brows pulled together. “What?”

“When you left that voicemail, I thought it meant you liked me, liked me. But then the next day there was that photo of you and Kimberleigh leaving the bar together.”

“That was a lie. I swear, I went home by myself that night.”

“Yeah, but then two weeks later, there was a photo of the two of you holding hands along with that story about your new relationship.”

“I’m sorry. I should have—” He grimaced and kissed her forehead. “I didn’t realize—I should have, but I didn’t think. I didn’t know what I’d said in the voicemail, or what you were thinking. I didn’t know you’d care.”

“I did.” She stroked her finger over his brow, overwhelmed by just how much she did care.

“Why didn’t you just ask me about it? I would have told you the truth.”

“I was afraid to, I guess. I didn’t want official confirmation that you were sleeping with someone else when you left me that voicemail.”

“I wasn’t sleeping with her.”

Alice nodded. She knew that now, but— “It made me feel like the friendship I thought we had wasn’t real. That I was someone you could throw away as soon as you didn’t need me anymore.”

Griffin’s palm cupped her cheek. “I wouldn’t do that.”

She blinked against the tears stinging her eyes and nodded again.

He pulled her closer, and his lips brushed against hers. “Alice, there’s no one in my life more important than you.”

Her eyes flew open, searching his.

“Maybe that sounds crazy,” he said. “I’m not very good at being close to people, I guess.”

“I’m not either,” she admitted.

He took her hand and placed it over his heart. “Then we can be not good at it together.”

She pulled his mouth to hers, unable to believe how lucky she was. Any moment, she feared, this implausibly perfect bubble would burst, and reality would come crashing in to ruin everything.

But it didn’t. Instead, he pulled her onto his chest, wrapped his arms around her, and held her until they both drifted off to sleep.