Total pages in book: 32
Estimated words: 30011 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 150(@200wpm)___ 120(@250wpm)___ 100(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 30011 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 150(@200wpm)___ 120(@250wpm)___ 100(@300wpm)
I raise my head and realize I have no idea where I am or where I’m going. I’ve been stomping around so mad that when I stop, I realize I’m in the locker room. My heart threatens to stop beating, and my stomach drops into my shoes when I see Griffin Harris sitting in a chair with nothing but a towel around his waist. His shoulder-length dark hair is wet and plastered to his head, and his body is dotted with beads of water from the shower.
I’m trying to force my gaze away from him, but my body betrays me. My eyes roam the hard angles and planes of his taut, muscular body. I’m mesmerized watching the beads of water rolling down his chest and abs, noticing how they glisten in the dim light. He is a remarkably beautiful man. And I thought I was uncomfortably wet before. My goodness. I clear my throat and offer him a shaky smile.
“Hi,” I say.
“Hey,” he replies, his voice deep and gruff.
His eyes drink me in, sliding up and down my body in a way that sets my skin and soul on fire. There’s a hunger in his eyes, and I have the crazy urge to let him sate himself on me.
“T-that was an incredible fight,” I say lamely.
“Thanks,” he says slowly. “Um, what are you doing back here? The locker room is for the fighters—”
“I’m lost,” I admit. “I got into an argument with my friend and took off. The next thing I know, I’m here. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to barge in on you like this.”
“It’s fine. I don’t want you to get in trouble.”
“Yeah. I’ll go.”
As I turn away, his voice stops me, and I turn back. My heart is thundering in my chest, my belly is roiling, and my most intimate parts are quivering wildly.
“What’s your name?” he asks.
“Grace,” I say. “Grace Hill.”
“Nice to meet you, Grace. I’m—”
“Griffin Harris. I know who you are.”
He nods slowly. “So, what did you and your friend fight about?”
An awkward smile touches my lips. “She hooked up with some guy and bailed on me.”
“That’s shitty. Sorry.”
I shrug. “I should be used to it by now. It’s not the first time it’s happened.”
“She doesn’t sound like much of a friend.”
“Lila is great. I love her to death,” I tell him. “It’s one of her many quirks. It’s annoying, but I guess we all have those idiosyncrasies, right?”
His lips curl wryly. “Yeah, I guess we do.”
“It wouldn’t be such a big deal, but she left me without a ride back to the dorms—something she promised me she wouldn’t do.”
“That’s even shittier,” he says.
“No biggie. I’ll call an Uber. I’m a strong, independent woman,” I tell him confidently.
“I don’t doubt it.”
We stare at each other for a moment, the air between us crackling with an awkward tension. His eyes bore into mine, burning with an intensity that takes my breath away. I shift on my feet uncomfortably as my juices spill down the insides of my thighs. Dear God, I need to get out of here. I need to get home and clean myself up. I’m probably going to have to burn this pair of panties. Except I don’t think something this wet will actually burn.
As I stand there awkwardly, caught between wanting to stay and knowing I should get the heck out of here, I notice a thin rivulet of blood trickling down his face.
“Oh, you’re bleeding?” I say and point to the crimson streak.
He dabs his finger in the blood, smearing it slightly and frowning as he looks at his fingertip. Griffin wipes his finger on the towel he’s wearing, accidentally pulling it slightly open and giving me a view of his upper thigh, and I find myself hoping to see more. He pulls it closed again as he grabs a crumpled-up paper towel sitting on the bench next to him and wipes the blood away.
“That’s not going to fix that,” I say.
“It’s fine.”
“It’s not.”
I walk around the room and find a small first aid kit in one of the lockers. Opening it up, I frown at the scant contents inside. It will have to do. Taking the kit with me, I walk over and sit on the bench next to Griffin and get to work. My heart is racing, my hands are trembling, and the heat between my thighs is almost unbearable, but if I hadn’t been busy with the distraction of tending to his wounds, sitting this close to him would have been so much worse. Still, sitting here in my soggy panties is so awkward and uncomfortable.
As barren as this first aid kit is, I thankfully find what I need. Griffin winces and draws in a sharp breath as I use the alcohol pad to clean the cut at the corner of his eye, making me giggle. “You get punched in the face for a living, and you’re going to cry about a little alcohol pad?”