A Mate for Griffin (7 page)

What the hell had she got herself into?

Next, he pulled out her heavily padded push-up bra. “What the hell is this? Do your breasts sometimes need protection or is it for extra warmth?” He shook his head, looking more confused than he had moments earlier, which was saying something.

Sarah felt so horrified that she couldn’t talk. Her cheeks felt hot.

His eyes widened. “Does it have to do with…” he grinned. “…smuggling peanuts? Do you have overly large nipples? I don’t understand.” He looked at the bra from different angles and squeezed the padding.

Sarah made a squeaking noise. “Oh my god.” She pulled the bra from his grasp and held it behind her back.

“It’s nothing to be ashamed of. There’s nothing wrong with nice plump nipples. I quite like—”

“Stop!” She practically shouted. “My nipples are not…Please, can we not talk about my nipples…or any other body part? I don’t have the biggest breasts okay? This is a push-up bra.” She held it up. “It is well padded and is therefore designed to make a woman’s boobs look bigger and to help in the cleavage department. Please, can we not talk about this anymore?” Her face felt like it was on fire. She struggled to maintain eye contact.

Griffin grinned. The asshole grinned. Then he looked down at her chest. No way. Sarah gasped and covered herself even though she was wearing a baggy shirt. He couldn’t see much but it was the principle.

“Don’t hide yourself. You have nothing to be ashamed of.” He took the bra from her and put it in the trash basket. “You have great breasts, Sarah. You don’t need that thing anymore.”

“You didn’t just do that. Give it back.” Sarah felt like stomping her foot but somehow managed to refrain from making such a childish gesture.

He shook his head. “I said silk and lace. You do not need padding.” He pulled a face like it was offensive.

Sarah snorted. “Yeah right. All the human women I’ve seen so far have at least double D’s.”

“Your C-cup is plenty big enough. Trust me.”

She choked. “How the hell do you know that I’m a C-cup?” Then she remembered that he had just been through her drawer, he must have seen a label. “Don’t answer that. Look, let me have my bra back please. I have a dress that makes me look flat unless I’m wearing it.”

“Flat,” Griffin growled. “Don’t let any of the vampire females hear you or they will be pissed off. You are not flat-chested. Nowhere near it. You have delectable breasts. A male could suck and squeeze on them all day. I’m sure they bounce when you workout or when you are being pounded into. I’m sure…never mind…” He must have seen the look of mortification on her face because he stopped that line of thought. “You get what I’m trying to say. Leave that thing in the trash where it belongs. If you insist on wearing underwear then we are going to showcase your breasts…we are not going to hide them. That’s fucking final.”

Her mouth pretty much hung open and she had to force herself to shut it. Sarah finally managed a nod.

Griffin smiled. The smile turned into a frown when he pulled out her one-piece bathing suit. “Did your grandmother lend you this? Let me guess, it’s a family heirloom?”

Although he was making fun of her, she found herself smiling. “No…I don’t like bikinis.”

“Why not? You have the body for one.”

She shrugged. “Too risky. One wrong move and out pops a…never mind. This is what I have so we’ll have to make it work.”

“Do you have a pair of scissors?” Griffin threw her a boyish grin.

“Don’t you dare.” She wagged a finger at him.

“What? Your granny would be pissed if I ruined a family heirloom?” He put the suit back in the drawer.

She shook her head, rolled her eyes and laughed. “A family heirloom,” she muttered. “That cost a lot of money.”

“You were ripped off.” He smirked at her. “Let’s see what you have in the clothes department.” He walked over to the closet. “May I?” He gestured to the door handle.

“By all means. You’ve already seen my undergarments.” Her voice was a little high pitched.

Griffin rifled through her closet. She was sure she heard him mutter “fucking ugly’ on more than one occasion. He finally sighed and shut the door. “All I can say is”—he turned dark eyes on her—“thank fuck I did some online shopping.”

“You did what?” She put her hands on her hips.

Griffin picked up the huge duffel bag from the side of the bed. “I shopped…on your behalf. I have a whole arsenal inside.” He turned to face her. “Don’t worry, Brant’s PA, Allison, pulled your measurements from your file so I didn’t have to guess. She also helped me out when it came to picking some things for you. These should all fit perfectly.” He tapped the bag.

Ground, swallow me now.

It seemed that Griffin knew she was a C-cup before rifling through her things.

“First things first.” He unzipped the bag and pulled out several sheer underwear sets and in various colors.

Sarah made a small sound of horror as she saw a small scrap of lace. “This would be very useful…for flossing my teeth.” She said with as much venom as she could muster. Next, she picked up the matching bra. “It leaves nothing to the imagination. I might as well wear nothing.”

He chuckled. “This would look so good on you. I picked it out especially.” He held the set up, if she didn’t know better she would think that he was picturing her in it.

It was white, with a little pink bow between the cups and the same little bow on the G-string. It was cute and really sexy. She’d never worn anything like it before.

“Try it on.” He thrust the set into her hands.

“I’m not modeling it for you. You can get that right out of your pretty little head.” Sarah was sure to narrow her eyes at him so that he knew she meant business.

He rolled his eyes. “I don’t need to see you in it…not that I would mind but it wouldn’t be right. You’re Lance’s female.” Then he grinned. “Though, if you really insisted…”

She choked out a laugh and slapped him on the arm.

“Go and put it on. Look at yourself long and hard. I want you to see yourself for the sexy female you are.” he smiled. “Then put your clothes on over this.”

She nodded and headed for the bathroom.

It took half a minute to undress. She looked at her cotton set on the floor and then at the sheer set. Sarah shook her head and put the floss underwear on followed by the barely there bra. Only once she was done did she look at herself in the mirror.

Wow!

Who the hell was the woman staring back at her? She was a little wide-eyed and looked like she might faint at any second, but she was sexy. Oh god! She was really sexy. She squared her shoulders. Her nipples were pink against the white. Further emphasized by the pink bows. Her belly was smooth, her legs, long and lean. She didn’t have huge boobs but what she had was perky. Not really a handful but hey, they were hers and she should be proud.

She turned so that she could see herself from behind and the thin string of dental floss was pretty much up her ass. She may as well be naked. At least her ass was in good shape. Her best feature, firm and toned. “Oh wow!” she whispered.

“I take it that you look good.” Griffin’s voice boomed through the closed door.

Sarah gasped as she grabbed her shirt and held it in front of her.

“Relax. I won’t come in. I can tell by your reaction that you like what you see.” Griffin chuckled. “Throw away your heirlooms and get back out here. I have a couple of other things to show you.”

Sarah shook her head but she had to smile. “I’ll be right out.” She quickly dressed and after a moment’s hesitation she threw her old cotton set into the trash and went back out.

“How does it feel?” Griffin asked.

“How does what feel?” She pretended not to know what he was talking about.

“The underwear that you are wearing right now is sexy as fuck. I can only imagine how good you look in it. How do you feel wearing it?”

She chewed on her bottom lip. The sheer lace felt good against her skin. She had to admit that she really had looked good in it. Better than she ever thought she would. Not having the padding meant that she could feel her shirt slide across her nipples. It felt good. She felt sexy. “I guess I feel…it’s really pretty…” She wasn’t sure what came over her but the answer tumbled from her lips before she could stop it. “And a little bit dirty.” The words themselves made her feel naughty just saying them.

Griffin groaned. “You shouldn’t say things like that. You’ll start making me wish I’d kept you for myself. Lance is one lucky prick. He’d better come to his senses or fucking else.” He grinned at her. “I’m joking,” he quickly added. “We’re friends right, buddy?” He clapped her on the shoulder.

“Yeah, I know,
buddy
.” She shook her head, trying not to roll her eyes.

“Good. Don’t be afraid of me and we can talk about things.” His eyes turned serious.

What now? She narrowed her eyes at him and put her hands on her hips. “What?” She finally blurted.

“Don’t take this the wrong way.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I need to ask you something.”

“What?” She could hear the caution in her voice. There was a good chance she was going to hate this.

He was so serious that he looked angry. “Do you have any fur?” he finally blurted.

Sarah frowned. “Fur? No, I’m a human not an animal. I’m not sure what you mean.”

“Human females have a strip of fur on their pussies…”

Sarah choked, not hearing what else he had to say. She coughed and spluttered before finally getting herself under control. “There is no way in hell I’m answering that. Forget it…just forget it.”

Griffin held up his hands. “Fine…I understand. You don’t need to answer, just know that vampire males like it. I don’t know if they mentioned that in the training.”

“They said that vampires don’t have body hair.” Once again her cheeks were hot. Sarah knew she was probably bright red.

Griffin shook his head. “We don’t. Our females are bare, down below. We like the fur though. It is a major turn on.” His eyes hazed over for a moment. “They mentioned in training that human females sometimes remove their fur.” Griffin cleared his throat. “If you are such a female then you should let it to grow out. I know that Lance would prefer it…that’s all.”

Sarah nodded her head. “Thank you for the information.”

Her cheeks were a lighter shade of blood red. Her eyes refused to meet his. Her heart beat so wildly in her chest that he was worried she might hyperventilate.

It was really cute how embarrassed she was from talking about something so minor. There were many things he needed to talk about that were much more…personal. Her word, not his.

Griffin didn’t really know why he had asked her about her fur. It didn’t really matter either way. It wouldn’t sway Lance. He just found himself wondering if she did have fur. He also wondered whether it would be a neatly trimmed strip or a wild tangle.

Although it wouldn’t be the end of the world, he found that he didn’t like the idea of her bare. Lance would prefer fur. Yeah, that’s why he had brought it up. It was perfectly legit to have mentioned it.

He pulled out the bikini, followed by a few summer dresses.

“Um…what the hell is that?” Her blue eyes were wide and focused on the bikini.

“It’s swimwear and it’s a design that’s actually from this century.” He continued to unpack the bag.

She scrunched up her face. “Ha ha. Very funny. I’m not wearing that.” She picked up the two piece. “Oh my gosh…this is tiny and it’s…red.”

“You’re a blonde.” Griffin shrugged.

“Yeah and that’s important why?” She huffed, dropping the set on the bed.

“I did some research. Red looks good on blondes. Lance won’t know what hit him if he sees you in this.” Griffin picked up the garment. Fuck! Sarah would rock this swimsuit. His friend wouldn’t stand a chance if he saw her in it. He would definitely need to set something up.

“Yeah…not happening. If I got wet, you would see…everything and it’s flimsy and—”

“It’s perfect and would look amazing on you. That’s all you need to know. Quit whining. I’m going to plan a swim session and you will wear this. You will swim as well. I want you wet.” The thought of her wet, had a growl forming in his throat. He swallowed it back. “That’s the end of it.” He walked over to her underwear drawer.

“What are you doing?” Her voice was high pitched.

“Just making sure you do as I say.” Griffin opened the drawer and removed the ugly bathing suit.

“Hey. That’s mine.” She tried to take it from him.

“Your grandmother will understand.” Griffin had to laugh as her expression changed from annoyed to enraged. “Admit that if I leave this here.” He dangled the revolting one piece just above her reach. “That you won’t wear the red one.”

“I’m not wearing the red one,” she squealed.

“You just made my day. Skinny dipping. Lance will be game for sure. I will try not to look.” He bobbed his eyebrows. “Okay, I lie. I will most definitely look.”

Her eyes widened and he had to laugh.

“That’s not funny,” she growled. “I’m shy. I can’t wear a bikini. You can get skinny dipping right out of that revolting mind of yours as well.”

“You said that you would listen and compromise.” He held up the bathing suit a little higher, trying not to laugh as she leapt up into the air, not coming anywhere close to the garment in his hand.

“That is not a compromise.” She pointed to the red suit on the bed.

“It’s that or naked, so yes.” he smiled. “It’s most definitely a compromise.”

“Fine.” She clutched her side, looking distinctly out of breath.

“You okay?”

She nodded, breathing hard. “Not that you care.”

“You’re my buddy and my best friend’s future mate so of course I care.” He winked at her and she rolled her eyes.

He flicked through the dresses, settling on a turquoise number that reminded him of her eyes. It had small sleeves and was a v-neck. “Here, put this on. We’re due to meet Lance in twenty minutes.”

Her eyes widened with panic. “I’m really not sure about...”

Griffin stepped up to her and grabbed her hand. “We’re doing this together. You have nothing to be worried about. Put on the dress and do whatever else you need to do…human female things.”

“Why? Do I need make-up?” She put her hand in front of her mouth and breathed into it before smelling her hand. Griffin had no idea why.

He shook his head. “You’re fine. Just put on the dress.”

Her shoulders slumped. “I feel like I’m having to change for him. Shouldn’t he want me for me? Granny undies, warts and all?”

He swallowed hard. “You have warts? I never noticed any
warts
.”

Sarah rolled her eyes, making a groaning noise and disappeared into the bathroom. When she returned ten minutes later, she smelled of mint, her lips were extra shiny and her hair was neatly brushed.

The dress was a home fucking run. There were gathers beneath her breasts and the v-neck enhanced them. If he looked closely enough, he could make out her nipples because of the sheer bra.

Sarah cleared her throat. “Are you checking out my boobs,
buddy
?” She put extra emphasis on the word
buddy
.

Griffin shrugged. “Just making sure that you look just right.” He gave a slow whistle as he continued his downward path. Her hips were lush. Maybe not as lush as some of the others had been, but fuck. The dress came to about mid-thigh. Toned legs that were lightly bronzed by the sun and lower still.

Her toenails were a bright orange. A complete contrast to everything else about her. She tried to hide them by closing her feet one over another.

“Don’t look at me like that,” she moaned.

Griffin smiled. “I love the toes. Love um. Makes me think that there’s more to your school mistress exterior than meets the eye.” He winked at her and her face turned red.

So damned cute.

“Lance will have heart failure when he sees you. We might need to bring a healer with us.”

She smiled and shook her head, looking at him like he was full of shit. This female had no idea how stunning she was. None. It added to her appeal.

She was looking a little pale though and her heart rate was off the charts. In short, she was nervous as hell. “Calm down. We’re together remember? I won’t leave you with him.”

“You promise?” Her eyes were so big.

“Yes. Not this time anyway.”

She huffed out a breath. “Okay then.”

“Good.” Griffin dug in his bag and pulled out a pair of sandals.

“Oh my word.” Sarah covered her mouth. “Those are beautiful. So, so beautiful.”

He handed them to her and she actually bounced from excitement. Then she looked apologetic. “I have a thing for shoes. You didn’t need to buy me any, see…” She walked back to her closet and opened it pointing to the hoards of shoes at the bottom. Everything from flip flops to boots.

She slipped them on. “They fit perfectly. So beautiful.”

They were real leather, made with real crystals. “See.” Griffin smiled at her. “Even your feet are sexy. Come”—he held out his hand—“let’s go.”

She looked at his outstretched fingers.

“Hold my hand, Sarah. This needs to look real. We’re together remember?” He closed the distance and took her much smaller hand in his.

It shook a little. He wasn’t sure whether it was his touch or if she was still nervous. He suspected the latter.

“Hey. I’ve got you, buddy. We need to hug and maybe kiss once or twice as well.” Her eyes widened. “Nothing over the top. We need to look like we’re together without being too hot and heavy. Can you handle that?”

She finally nodded.

“Are you sure?”

She nodded again. This time her hand was shaking much less and she gave him a small smile. “Just a small peck or two. No tongues?”

He smiled down at her. “No tongues. That wouldn’t be right.”

“No it would not,” she mumbled as they walked down the hall.

****

Lance leaned back on the wooden bench. His eyes tracked them as they approached. Both he and Sarah said their hellos and Lance nodded while grumbling something that sounded like a greeting.

“What is she doing here? I thought we were going to work out.” Lance finally growled after a prolonged silence.

Griffin immediately felt his hackles go up as Sarah tensed beside him. He slid a hand around her slender shoulders and pulled her against him. “Sarah is with me.” His voice was a low growl but it wasn’t to be helped. “Deal with it or I’m out of here.”

“Okay,” Lance said. “How are you?” His eyes flicked to Sarah for a second as he spoke. Whatever irritation the male had felt seemed to instantly evaporate.

“I’m fine, thanks and you?” So damned formal. She shook ever so slightly but thankfully her voice came out sounding clear and confident. Sarah barely made eye contact with the other male. Something he would need to talk to her about. She had the most amazing eyes.

“Peachy,” Lance growled. “If I had known this was a date I would’ve brought someone as well.” He looked Griffin head on.

Griffin shrugged. “It’s not a date.” They were in one of the many alcoves within the castle gardens. Although a public area, it was quiet and would afford relative privacy. A fountain trickled lazily nearby and a climbing plant grew around the oval opening. Beautiful bunches of purple flowers adorned the twining branches.

The scent of nectar filled the air. It was beautiful. Tranquil. Others strode within the gardens. Ever since his horrific death, Griffin knew that his friend liked to spend time out here. Lance had once confided in him that being outside in this environment, afforded him a modicum of much sought after peace. Lance had said that he would take what he could get. Any reprieve was welcome.

“I hear that you were a big pussy today in training.” Lance shook his head. “You should drink
before
practice. I would never have killed you so easily in our last session if you hadn’t been so damned weak from a lack of blood.” Although Lance tried to look indifferent, he could see concern shining in his friend’s eyes.

Before Griffin could answer, Lance turned to Sarah. “You need to feed him, female.” he growled, his nostrils flared.

Griffin knew that Lance would be able to scent that he hadn’t fed from Sarah, that they hadn’t rutted.

“It is important that you take care of him or he will be fucked up and could even be accidentally killed during the sparring sessions.” His eyes blazed.

Griffin felt Sarah stiffen, heard her sharp intake of air.

“Firstly…” Griffin tried to keep his voice even and failed. “Her name is Sarah. Secondly, who I drink from and when I drink is no concern of yours. Sarah and I are dating…we’re taking it slow.”

“How fucking sweet.” Lance leaned forward so that his arms rested on his thighs. “You need to take care of him,
Sarah
.” He pronounced her name with extra care, his gaze moving to her. “I know you didn’t enjoy watching him die. Do you want it to happen again?”

Sarah sucked in a ragged breath. “No,” her voice shook. “That would be terrible.” Much clearer this time. “Your healer said he might not come back if it happens so soon after the last time. Is what he says true?” He felt her body turn in his embrace and knew that she was looking at him.

Lance grinned, flashing his fangs. “Glad we’re on the same page. Feed him and fuck him or leave him alone.”

The small human made a strangled noise, belying shock and what sounded like hurt.

It wasn’t fair for Lance to put such a responsibility on her. Not when it didn’t apply. At least not in this situation. He would need to have a talk with her. For now it would be about damage control. “Don’t,” Griffin growled. “What I do and don’t do is my business. It’s
our
business.” He half choked on the word
our
since there was no
our
. Lance didn’t know that though.

“You are my friend.” Lance turned his gaze to Griffin. “I am therefore making it my business. It’s been what…close on two weeks since I scented a female on you? It’s not healthy. You might be the youngest elite and one of these days you’re going to be damn near unbeatable but you still have a way to go. Until then, you need to do everything by the book which means—"

Griffin held up a hand. “I know what that means.”

“You clearly don’t.” Lance shook his head. “You’re walking a fine line here. Maybe ask to take some time off or something. That might work. Stay out of harm’s fucking way.”

Griffin nodded his head. “Okay, mom. I’ll do that. I’m glad you care so much.”

“Fuck that! I would be in so much shit if we ended up burying you. I would get blamed for killing you and making you susceptible in the first place.”

“Vampires bury their dead?” Sarah whispered under her breath. “Sorry, I never really thought about it. I guess that makes sense.”

Griffin nodded, looking down at the female next to him. “Yeah. We wait a full week before the burial and then always with motion sensors inside the casket which stay activated for two weeks after.”

Her mouth dropped open and her eyes widened. “And? Has anyone ever still been alive…I mean, come back?”

Griffin shook his head. “It’s never happened but you can’t be too sure. Thankfully we don’t get many deaths.”