Best Friends Forever (5 page)

Unable to stop myself, I crushed
my mouth down over hers.
 
Tugging gently
on her silky curls, I pulled her closer and wrapped my arms around her.
 
My tongue outlined her succulent lips as I
nibbled gently at the corner of her mouth.
 
She gave a sexy little gasp, parting her lips
and allowing my tongue to slip inside.
 
She tasted of chocolate and Meri, decadent and sweet.
 
Her tongue dueled with mine, sliding slickly,
sensuously in that age-old dance of love and want.
 
I groaned deep in my throat and pulled her
even closer.
 
Her hands roamed over my
neck, my shoulders, my chest, lighting a fire deep inside me.
 
“Grant,” she moaned into my mouth.
 
“Please…I need…”
 
I dragged my mouth from hers and spread tiny
kisses along her jaw to her ear.
 
“Tell
me, baby.
 
What do you need?”
 
“You.
 
I
need
you.”
 

My
hands roamed down her back, caressing her spine, before they slipped under the
hem of her tank top.
 
Caressing her bare
skin, I slowly moved my hands up her ribcage until I could cup her beautiful
breasts through her lacy bra.
 
I flicked
my thumbs across her nipples and she jerked in my arms, gasping my name.
 
She grabbed almost frantically at the hem of
my t-shirt, raising it.
 
I helped her
pull it over my head and off as her tiny hands danced over my bare chest, fueling
the fire inside me.
 
She brushed her
fingers across my nipples and I gasped, pulling her impossibly closer.
 
Shifting positions, Meri threw one leg across
my legs, straddling my lap, her hot core pressed tight against my raging
erection.
 
If not for her yoga pants and
my sweats, I could have slipped deep inside her, something I’ve dreamed of for
so long.
 

My
hands left her beautiful breasts, curling around her back.
 
Sliding my hands down the back of her pants,
I cupped her sweet, full bottom and squeezed, making her moan and rock her hips
against mine.
 
In the distance, I could
hear the ringing of a telephone.
 
Pulling
back, she looked at me and groaned.
 
“That’s my cell phone.”
 
“Let it
ring,” I practically begged.
 
She rested
her forehead on mine, her eyes still glazed with lust and need.
 
“I can’t.
 
No one would call this late unless it was an emergency.
 
I need to answer.”
 
Sliding off my lap, she grabbed her phone off
the small table by the door.
 
“Hello?”
 
Listening, I saw her
body go stiff with shock.
 
Something’s wrong.
 
“Are…are you sure?
 
Who would do such a thing?”
 
Standing, I wrapped my arms around her from
behind.
 
“What’s wrong, babe?”
 
I whispered quietly.
 
She grasped my hand tightly while listening
to the person on the other end.
 
“I’ll be
right there.”
 
Hanging up the phone, she
turned to me, tears glistening in her eyes.

Meredith

My
heart was beating so hard, I felt as if it would burst out of my chest.
 
Finally.
 
I was in Grant’s arms the way I’d always
wanted to be.
 
I straddled his lap, my
hot, wet sex pressed tight against his
very
hard and…sizeable…erection.
   
If not
for our clothing, he could have slid deep inside me, just like I’d always
dreamed.
 
He slid his large hands down
the back of my yoga pants and cupped my bottom, squeezing, and I couldn’t hold
back a throaty moan.
 
I rocked my hips
against his and he groaned in response.
 
Damn.
 
My cell phone rang.
 
“Let it
ring,” he practically begged.
 
Oh, how I want to.
 
I rested my forehead on his and knew he could
see the need in my eyes.
 
“I can’t.
 
No one would call this late unless it was an
emergency.
 
I need to answer.”
 

Sliding
off his lap, I grabbed my phone off the small table by the door.
 
“Hello?”
 
I couldn’t believe what I heard from the person on the other end, my
body going stiff with shock.
 
“Are…are
you sure?
 
Who would do such a
thing?”
 
Grant wrapped his arms around me
from behind and I leaned into him, seeking comfort from his strength and
warmth.
 
“What’s wrong, babe?” he whispered
in my ear and I grasped his hand, holding on tight.
 
I barely heard the person on the other end of
phone.
 
“I’ll be right there.”
 
Hanging up the phone, I turned to him, my
eyes tearing up.
 
“That was campus
security.
 
Someone broke into the library
and vandalized it.”

Meredith

“What? 
 
Oh,
babe, I’m so sorry.
 
 Did
they say how bad the damage is?” 
 
I
wiped a tear away. 
 
“It
sounds pretty bad. 
 
I have
to go. 
 
I have to get down
there and assess the damage. 
 
Oh
my god, all my books,” I sobbed as he gathered me into his arms. 
 
“I’m going with you. 
 
You’re in no shape to drive.” 
 
I nodded. 
 
“Thank you. 
 
I don’t think I can do this
alone.” He cupped my chin and forced me to meet his eyes. 
 
“You will
 
never
 
have to do anything alone again unless
you want to. I’m not going anywhere. 
 
Now go get some shoes on.” 
 
I stepped back and couldn’t help but
grin. 
 
“Only if you put a
shirt on. 
 
We wouldn’t want
some co-ed drooling on you.” 
 
“Funny
girl.” 
 
Grant swatted me on
my ample behind as I headed to my bedroom to grab shoes and my purse. 
 
He chuckled when I squealed and rub my
bottom.

Ten minutes later, Grant pulled into a parking
space in front of the college library, my second home for the past several
years.
 
It looked as if the place was
open, with nearly every light on in the building, but we knew it was after hours.
 
Jumping out of the car, we both raced up the
steps to the front door where a security guard was waiting.
 
I recognized him as the guard who checked on
my safety when I worked alone late at night.
 
“Bobby!
 
What happened?
 
How bad is it?”
 
He reached out and tightly gripped my
shoulders.
 
“Meri, I think you need to
prepare yourself before going inside.”
 
I
felt Grant tense as his long arm wrapped around my waist and he pulled me to
his side and away from Bobby.
 
Is he jealous of Bobby?
 
Ooh, I
love this new macho possessiveness he’s showing.

Shaking my head to clear it, I asked, “It’s
really bad, isn’t it?”
 
Glancing
curiously at Grant, Bobby nodded solemnly.
 
“Yeah, it’s pretty bad.”
 
“What
the hell happened?” Grant asked gruffly.
 
Bobby suddenly chose that moment to act like the security guard he was.
 
Meeting Grant’s gaze head on, he demanded,
“And you are, sir?”
 
I started.
 
Where
are my manners?
 
“Oh, I’m sorry.
 
Grant, this is Bobby Shaw, one of the campus
security officers.
 
Bobby, this is
Professor Grant Thomas, my…”
 
When I
hesitated, Grant stuck out his hand.
 
“Meri’s boyfriend,” he finished for me and the butterflies in my stomach
were suddenly all aflutter.
 
Bobby looked
Grant up and down before shaking his hand.
 
“Grant?
 
That explains some of the
vandalism we found.”

 
“What…what
do you mean, Bobby?”
 
My voice was shaky
and Grant hugged me tighter.
 
“Perhaps
you’d better start at the beginning, Shaw.”
 
Bobby nodded.
 
“The library’s
silent alarm was triggered at approximately twenty-three hundred.
 
That’s eleven p.m.” he explained when we
looked confused.
 
The shift supervisor
and I responded and we found this.”
 
He
pointed to the large broken window.
 
From
the large trash can just inside and all the broken glass, it was obvious that
someone had thrown the trash can through the window.
 
I gasped at the mess.
 
“It’s worse inside, I’m afraid.
 
When we entered the library, we found…I think
you need to see for yourself what we found.
 
We managed to catch one of the vandals but at least one got away.”
 

“There was more than one?” I gasped.
 
“We think there were at least two.
 
If you’re ready, we should go inside so you
can see the damage.
 
But…brace yourselves.
 
It’s a mess in there.”
 
Bobby held the door for me and Grant.
 
As we stepped inside, he cautioned me.
 
“You can’t touch anything just yet.
 
The shift supervisor felt this was important
enough to call in the local cops.
 
They
cleared it for you to come in but don’t want you touching anything until the
crime scene techs finish.”
 
In shock, I
nodded like a marionette.
 
Grant rubbed
my shoulders and kissed me softly on the temple.
 
“Do they have any idea why someone would do
something like this?” he asked Bobby.
 
Bobby nodded.
 
“From what was
spray painted in several areas, I’d say it has something to do with you.”

“Me?” Grant asked, shock in his voice, at the
same time I exclaimed, “Grant?
 
What
could this have to do with Grant?”
 
Bobby
sighed.
 
“Maybe I better show you.
 
Come with me.”
 
The security guard led us through the library,
where I gasped in shock.
 
Everywhere I
looked, books were scattered all over the floors, chairs and tables were
overturned, lamps were broken.
 
“Oh.
 
My.
 
God.” Grant cursed under his breath while I was nearly speechless.
 
Anyone
who really knows me knows that I’ve
always
got something to say.
 
But
now…I’ve got nothing.
 
My library…my
beautiful library was in complete shambles.
 
Bobby pointed out one of the walls next to the reception desk.
 
There, in large red letters, someone had
spray painted the vilest words.
 
My breath
caught as I read…
BITCH…WHORE…STAY AWAY
FROM GRANT!
 

Unable to stop
myself, I burst into tears and buried my face in Grant’s chest. 
 
He wrapped his strong arms around me
and murmured gentle, nonsensical words of comfort in my ear. 
 
And I fall even deeper in love with
this strong yet gentle, sexy man. 
 
In
his arms, I realize everything will be fine. 
 
We’ll get through this mess.
 
 
Grant spoke to Bobby. 
 
“I may know who’s responsible for
this.” 
 
“Who?” Bobby exclaimed
suspiciously.
 
 “A young
woman named Brittany Snow. 
 
She’s
one of my students and has developed some kind of…obsession…with me. Meri
and I ran into her at the store earlier and she didn’t seem terribly pleased
with the fact that we were
together
.”

B
obby thought for a moment and then
nodded. 
 
“The suspect we
caught had no identification and won’t tell us her name. 
 
Maybe you recognize her. 
 
Come with me.”
 
Grant tucked me close to his side.
 
“You okay, babe?” he murmured in my ear,
watching my face intently.
 
The big sweetie.
 
I nodded and tried to smile but it wobbled
a bit.
 
“As long as you’re here.”
 
Ignoring the fact that we’re not alone, he
kissed me softly on my mouth.
 
“Always.”
 
Turning to Bobby, he
nodded.
 
“Lead the way.”

Grant and I followed
Bobby down the hallway to my office and I cringed, thinking about what this
psycho may have done in my private inner sanctum.
 
Oh,
no.
 
Please let her have left my office
intact.
 
Holding tightly to Grant’s hand,
I stopped in the doorway and breathed a sigh of relief.
 
My office looked untouched.
 
Bobby nodded to two men inside the room.
 
“Gentlemen, this is Meredith MacDonagh and
Professor Grant Thomas.
 
Meri is the head
librarian here.
 
Meri, Professor, this is
Bob Connor, shift supervisor for campus security, and Detective Morgan from the
police department.”
 
He spoke again to
the two men.
 
“Professor Thomas thinks he
may know the suspect.”

Detective Morgan looked
suspicious as he asked, “Is that right?
 
And just
how
do you know our
suspect or suspects?”
 
My protective
instinct kicked in at his attitude.
 
Stepping forward, I crossed my arms and met the detective’s eyes with as
determined a gaze as I could muster.
 
“Professor Thomas has a student who has been acting a bit...
obsessive
...about him.
 
We ran into her while shopping today and she
appeared to take an instant...
dislike
is too mild a word...to me for some reason.”
 
The detective mirrored my body language and crossed his arms.
 
He glared first at me and then at Grant.
 
Looking over the top of my head at Grant, he
snidely asked, “Obsessive?
 
Or perhaps
possessive of an older
boyfriend
?
 
Is that it, Professor?
 
Is this a discarded girlfriend who’s pissed
at being passed over in favor of a new one who’s hotter?”

Hotter?
 
This...this...
Neanderthal...
thinks
I’m hot?
 
Oh, gross.
 
I was now seriously pissed that this jerk would
imply that this mess was all Grant’s fault.
 
Without thinking, I marched right up to Detective Jerk and poked him in
the chest.
 
The two security guards gasped
and I heard Grant groan, “No, Meri.”
 
But...I was on a roll and my redheaded Irish temper was doing a happy
dance at being allowed out to play.
 
Poking Detective Idiot in the chest again, I glared up into his scowling
face.
 
“How
dare
you imply that Grant had something to do with trashing my
library or that he would even
think
of having an improper relationship with one of his
students
?”

“Not that it’s any of
your business but...”
 
Poke.
 
“Grant and I have been together...”
 
Poke.
 
“For a very...
very
...long
time.”
 
Poke.
 
“And he has more honesty and integrity in
his...”
 
I raised my hand for another
poke when Grant grabbed me around the waist from behind.
 
Pulling me back against his hard body, he
grabbed my poking finger with his other hand.
 
“Babe...babe...I love that you’re willing to defend me but we mustn’t
poke the nice policeman.”
 
I heard the
undercurrent of laughter in his voice.

My anger immediately
dissolved as embarrassment took over.
 
Oh.
 
My.
 
God.
 
I just assaulted a cop.
 
I’m going to jail for sure.
 
“Don’t worry, babe.
 
I don’t think Detective Morgan will arrest
you but if he does, you’ll be the sexiest little jailbird ever.”
 
He grinned down at me before looking at the
detective, his face serious.
 
“I have a
student...her name is Brittany Snow. 
 
She’s
a freshman and has become…fixated…on me.
 
In all honesty, I would
never
do anything to encourage something like that and I can only surmise that she
has some underlying problems.
 
I’ve
scheduled a meeting with the Dean and Brittany’s parents on Monday.  Meri
and I ran into Brittany at the grocery store earlier today, now yesterday, and
she seemed extremely...
hostile
...when
I introduced Meri as my...”
 
He smiled
down at me.
 
“My girlfriend.
 
I hate to think Brittany is responsible for
such destruction but I can think of no other explanation for what was spray
painted on the wall out there.”

The detective scowled
at me but I could see a faint glimmer of humor in his eyes.
 
“Is Ms. MacDonagh always in a habit of
assaulting anyone who crosses you?”
 
Grant chuckled.
 
“Meri has always
been passionate in her defense of those she loves but this is the first time
she’s ever gotten...
violent
.”
 
He grinned at the cop.
 
“She didn’t hurt you did she?”
 
Detective Morgan smirked at me and rolled his
eyes.
 
“An itty bitty thing like
her?
 
Nah.
 
But you might want to try handcuffs to
control that temper of hers.”
 
Grant and
the two security guards snickered when I growled under my breath.
 
Men are
such pigs!