What the hell have I gotten myself into? I didn’t want to tell him no, but I had to. I wanted to shout “yes” from the rooftops, but I couldn’t go through with it, especially not with him. Griffin was the picture of perfection. Confident and sexy, flawless. I was broken with scars and a bruised soul to prove it, but I let him carry me to my room. Griffin tossed me roughly on the bed before prowling his way up my body on all fours to kiss me again. The last thing I wanted was to freak out and have a PTSD-induced panic attack, but I knew it would happen. It was why the last guy dumped me, and he hadn’t even gotten as far as Griffin. Hell, I had freaked out when Justin tried to kiss me. Griff’s mouth devoured mine while he gripped the back of my hair gently to keep me from pulling back. The man obviously thought he could fix me, but I was beyond fixing. He ground the bulge in his pants against me, making me whimper, and I pushed him off me.

“Griff, I can’t do this.” My hands massaged the muscles in his chest as I said it, and he smirked, reaching back to tug his shirt over his head. Then my hands were all over him. I couldn’t stop myself from wanting to trace every single line of ink on his chest and back. Then there were the barbells through his nipples. It was like the cherry on the sundae. Griffin watched my eyes roam his torso with a cocky smirk. Asshole.

Panic settled in my chest, my gut, when he jerked me up into him to pull my shirt over my head. He didn’t bother studying my scars, he just buried his face in my neck, kissing, licking all the way to the lace of my bra. We were on our knees facing each other, at least until he needed me closer. Griffin tossed my bra across the room, dragging me up against him. I straddled his lap, pressed against him. His skin was warm, perfect against mine. When he laid me back on the bed, all bets were off, and I didn’t bother protesting. He practically tore the rest of my clothes off, running his hands over all of me. Every time I tried to speak, he kissed me, and each time it was fiercer. His tongue stroked mine and he took his jeans off, leaving only very fitting gray boxers that accentuated every massive inch of him.

I pushed him back again, breaking our connection. “I haven’t …” Griffin went for my mouth again, but I turned my head. “Please listen.”

“No.” Griffin took my chin, turning my face to his. “I know, so chill the fuck out, Cori. I’m not going to listen, not right now. So, quit overthinking this shit. I’ve got you, babe. Just trust me.” With his word being law, he stripped off his boxers, grabbed his wallet, and pulled out a condom. “Do you trust me?”

Everything around us froze for a fraction of a second when I looked into his eyes. I nodded, and Griffin grinned. Then I let my gaze fix on where the condom was going. Holy. Shit. It was pierced too. Twice. I had no idea where he thought all of it was going to fit, but the guy obviously had a plan. Griffin snatched me around the waist, positioned me on his lap, and slammed his mouth into mine. I gripped the back of his neck, he mirrored the gesture, keeping my mouth on his, and sliding his hand between my legs. I moaned, loud, into his mouth when he slid a finger inside me. So much for not screwing him. It took all of two seconds before he had me seeing stars, trying not to wake the kids all with only his hand. With a wicked smile, he moved his hand to his mouth and sucked the juices from his fingers. I stared, more excited by the second watching him lick his fingers clean.

I could feel the cold metal through the condom when he rubbed it against me before thrusting himself inside. A pleasurable pain raced through every inch of me. His mouth hit mine as I cried out and he groaned, “Fuck, Cori …” His words turned into another groan when he moved me on top of him, slowly at first. “So, fucking perfect.”

I clawed at his chest and shoulders, not able to get close enough. The piercing at the base of his massive manhood hit me just right. He filled me deliciously. There was no panic, no regret, only the overwhelming need to have him as deep inside of me as humanly possible. I picked up the pace, bringing on another orgasm, giggling breathlessly when Griffin covered my mouth with a huge hand. He was right behind me, squeezing me into him, growling low in his chest when he reached his own climax. Griff threw his head back, breathing hard and taking me down with him so I was draped over his chest. Then the panic hit me. I couldn’t catch my breath, couldn’t calm my pounding pulse, couldn’t stop shaking. Griffin moved and wrapped himself around me, completely covering my body with his. He shushed me, smoothing my hair. I squeezed my eyes closed, but all I saw was the glint of a knife, all I heard were his words.

“Scream, and I’ll gut your kid like a fucking fish.”

“Cori.” Griffin shaking me brought me out of my black hole and my eyes snapped open. “Stay with me. I got you, babe. I got you.” He kept his eyes locked on mine, while the visions in my head slowly faded. I nodded, moving off him to rake my hair from my face. Griff pulled me back to him and held me a while longer, calming me, kissing my head. Once I caught my breath, he stood, stretching. I couldn’t help but drag my eyes over him. Damn. I gathered clothes from the floor and he vanished into the bathroom. His absence made my panic resurface. My chest collapsed on itself, making it impossible to suck in a breath. I tucked my chin to my chest and pulled my knees up, memorizing the look in his eyes, the expression on his face when he asked if I trusted him. Eventually, I was able to breathe almost normally, and I waited for him to tell me he was leaving.

I was in my pajamas, or shorts and a tank top, in the fetal position when he came back. I was numb. I wanted to still be reeling from the amazing sex, but I wasn’t. I wasn’t flipping out, either, so that was good. He stretched out next to me, folding his arms behind his head. I couldn’t look at him. I warned him that I was a mess, and he was getting to see it first-hand.

“I’m sorry.”

“What the fuck for?” Griffin wiped the lone tear from my face. I was beyond a mess. Who the fuck cries after sex? Me. I cried. Grown ass woman, crying like a bitch after amazing sex with a hunky piece of eye candy. I didn’t answer him and he didn’t ask again. We laid against each other for a while, and I let my breathing match his. He was going to run the hell away for sure after my mini breakdown, so I was going to enjoy him while it lasted. “Are you going to kick me out?” His voice rumbled through me.

I tried not to react, tried not to look as shocked as I was, but I failed. “Uh, no.” He settled his face in my hair to get more comfortable. “You don’t want to leave?”

Griff laughed. “Hell no, I plan on getting you up early to do that shit again. It was fucking incredible, then I can wake up just like this.” The light from the bathroom was enough for me to see the devilish half-smile on his face, and I rolled my eyes. His hand found my ass giving it a squeeze. I kissed the scar on his lip and snuggled into him. Enjoy it while it lasts.

Griffin made good on his promise, waking me up a few hours later for more fun. Something about waking up to a man rubbing his hand against your lady bits is both exciting and scary. I scrambled backward, trying to clear the sleep from my mind and figure out what was happening. I didn’t get far because he grabbed by the hips to drag me underneath him. I lashed out, but he grabbed my hand to kiss my palm. Once I realized what was in store, I was on board. It was still dark out, so before six, so that meant we had plenty of time and less desperation. The time quickly left my mind when he ripped my underwear off, tossing them across the room. In one, very sexy movement, he had my legs thrown over his shoulders, burying his face between my thighs. My fingers threaded through his hair, my head fell back, and I was gone when he nuzzled against my legs. Griffin licked and nibbled my inner thighs, making my breaths come out in whimpers. I may have said his name paired with an “Oh, my god”, but my mind was hardly functioning. I bit my lip hard enough to draw blood to keep from being too loud when his tongue pushed me over the edge. He lifted my hips off the bed, making me ride it out to the fullest, and it was a serious battle to not scream his name.

I hadn’t even recovered before his mouth was on mine, nibbling my bottom lip as he eased slowly into me. I could taste myself on his tongue and whimpered into his mouth as he tortured me slowly, easing into inch by hard inch.

“Look at me, babe. I wanna see those eyes when I make you come.” My eyes flew open at his demand, locked on his. Fire burned behind his light-blue irises. I tried to keep my gaze on his, but it didn’t last long. He edged me toward another climax, picking up momentum, making me moan. Griffin pulled my hair lightly, keeping his eyes on mine until I came undone and my eyes squeezed shut. His strokes sped up, his grunts turning into something primal, animalistic. His body fell on top of mine and he bit into the tender flesh on my neck. Stars exploded behind my eyes as I was sent over the edge of another wave of ecstasy. I got lost in an abyss of complete pleasure that I had forgotten existed, or maybe I had never experienced. Griffin came too, gripping the sheets and grunting, sinking his teeth in harder. Pain shot through me in a way I never wanted to end. He collapsed on me and I ran my nails over his shoulders, relishing the goosebumps left in their wake.

“Go back to sleep.” The demanding asshole pecked my lips and rolled off me to disappear into my bathroom.

“What time is it?” I whispered when he came back, sitting on the bed to put his boxers back on.

“Three-ish.” He laid back and pulled me on to his chest. “You look fucking amazing right after getting laid. Now go to sleep before you start overthinking shit again.” It hadn’t even crossed my mind, but it wasn’t overthinking. It was the constant reminder that I was powerless to stop a man from degrading me, using me. It was the knowledge of being weak to the point of breaking.

I pushed off Griffin. “You know it’s more than overthinking, right?” I sat up, curling my legs to my chest, fixing my hair.

He jerked me back down. “Yes, I fucking know,” he growled, “but it’s three in the morning. I can’t talk about it right now. I told you I’ve got you. Now trust me and go to sleep, Cori.” Anger flared in me and I rolled away from him, pulling the blanket up to my chin.

“Screw you, Griffin.”

“I said I know. I get it, babe. I’ve got you.” The jerk dragged my body back over to him, positioning me on his chest again, smothering me in his huge arms. “But it’s late, you work tomorrow, and now I’m worn out. We can discuss it later.” Griff kissed my forehead, loosened his hold slightly, and closed his eyes. Apparently, the conversation was done. He gently rubbed his thumb in circles on my back, slowing over time, then coming to a complete stop as he fell asleep. Griffin was determined to fix my tattered pieces and was doing a damn good job no matter how hard I fought it, but he wasn’t going to downplay how terrified I was of everything going on.