He grinned and began moving in earnest. Driving me higher with each thrust of his hips. The spot he reached inside twisted some invisible cord inside me so tight, I thought I’d surely snap, never to recover again.

Griffin’s thumb found my clit, circling. Each tease and stroke stopped just shy of the place I knew would send me over the edge. With each pass, he came a little closer. Sparks of light danced across my vision as I reached for it, that invisible string holding us together, pulling us closer.

My fingers dug into his shoulders, my eyes locking with his, a million silent things passing between us. I could see it then. The love that shone there. And as Griffin swiped the pad of his thumb where I needed him most, I came apart. And I did it knowing he’d catch every piece of me.

43

Griffin

There was nothing like holding Caelyn in my arms. The knowledge that she was wholly mine, and I was hers. The scent of her filling my senses, and the feel of her body cocooned by mine. It was like coming home. To a home that I’d been missing for so long, I’d lost any hope of finding it again.

I’d had her twice but still couldn’t stop my fingers from wandering, from exploring every inch of her silken skin. She squirmed when I trailed a fingertip over the inside of her elbow. I grinned. “Ticklish?”

“Maybe…”

“Good to know.” I wanted to make a note of every reaction she had. As if I could make a map of her body, discovering hidden paths and secret treasures.

Caelyn let out a little moan. “I’m so sleepy.”

It was understandable. She’d been through the wringer today. I kept stroking her skin. “I should warn you, I have nightmares pretty often.” The last thing I wanted was to terrify Caelyn because I was thrashing around. Worse, I could hurt her.

She turned in my arms so that we were face-to-face. “About your family?”

I nodded, my fingers tracing an invisible pattern on her bare shoulder. “About the boat sinking. My sister. It all plays back like a movie.”

“I’m so sorry. That sounds trite. But I am. I can’t imagine having to relive that over and over.”

Normally, sympathy like Caelyn was showing felt too much like pity. But I knew that she didn’t pity me. Caelyn simply had the largest heart I’d ever encountered. The empathy she felt for others made their pain hers. I pressed my lips to her temple. “Thank you.”

She placed a palm on my chest, right over my heart. “Do you want me to leave?”