Stumbling into the living room, he jerked his thumb toward the bathroom, where Matt was showering. “Kiera, when Matt’s done, what’s say you and me go suds up?” He kissed the air, like he was kissing her, and my blood started boiling. Then he took it one step further, and absolutely crossed the line. “I want to hear you moan my name like you did Kell’s.” This wasn’t the first time Griffin had suggested sex with him to Kiera. It was going to be the last.

Just about everyone smacked him with something, but that wasn’t enough for me. Maybe it was because I was still a little unsettled by my dream, maybe it was because I really couldn’t stomach the thought of Griffin having sex with her, or maybe it was because I could feel goodbye in the air and I was dreading it, but his comment pissed me off way more than usual. Striding up to him, I grabbed a fistful of his chin-length hair and pulled his face into mine. “Knock it off, Griffin, or I’ll knock it off for you.”

Evan tried to get me to calm down, Anna tried to push me away, but I wasn’t moving. Not until this sunk in. Kiera was mine, and he needed to back off. She didn’t need to be sexually harassed by him, she didn’t need him twisting a great moment for us into something embarrassing and dirty; I didn’t want her to feel that way about it. I wanted her to feel confident and beautiful, like she should always feel. And dipshit wasn’t helping with that.

Griffin looked stunned as he stared at me. I’d hit him before, during my darker days, but that had been quick and to the point. I’d never gotten in his face like this before, scaring the shit out of him, but a warning seemed more appropriate than just decking him. Hopefully it sank in.

But then…the dumbass started laughing. “Did you want another kiss, bro? All you had to do was ask.”

The coiled spring inside me started releasing, so I let him go. He immediately doubled over in laughter. “Dude, you should have seen your face! That was awesome! I really thought you were gonna hit me.”

So much for trying to be intimidating. Sometimes there was just no getting through to Griffin. Next time, maybe I’d punch him first, then intimidate him later. Annoyed, I started retreating to the kitchen for some space. Griffin’s voice followed me. “Say it again, Kell! Knock it off, or I’ll knock it off for you. Ah, that was classic.”

Once I was in the kitchen, I inhaled a deep, cleansing breath. I shouldn’t let him get to me. Especially since we were going to be damn-near inseparable for the next six months. Great.