Building Our Love (Griffin Brothers #2) (3 page)

“Good. You can go
now, Chloe.” She moves toward the door without looking back at me.
Once she is gone I drop my head to my desk, shaking with emotion. Why
can’t I stop being in love with her? I want to stop being in love
with her. I know in my heart that it will never happen. She’s the
only one for me. I can’t let my heart rule me, though. I have to be
logical this time around. I won’t let her break what’s left of my
heart.

* * *

Chloe

I walk out of the
office and almost run into Gary. “Chloe, are you alright?” he
asks, and I force myself to look up at him. I can see concern in his
eyes, but he also looks resigned.

“I will be, Gary.
Thanks for asking.”

“Is Ryan mistreating
you?” he asks me quietly. “I know he’s still angry with you,
and I’ll always be on his side, but you shouldn’t be mistreated
while working for us.”

Mistreating me? Well,
if telling me to go down on him every day, calling me his whore and
making me set up romantic dates for him is mistreating me, then yes,
he is. But I agreed to this. Hell, I even wrote up the paperwork. So
I have no one to blame but myself. I make myself smile. “No, Gary.
Ryan’s not mistreating me. It’s just hard for me to be around him
because I love him so much. I’ve never stopped loving him.”

“Why did you do it
Chloe? We could all see how happy you and Ryan were together. When he
told us you broke up with him, saying that you needed something
different and were bored after being his girlfriend since you were
14, we were all shocked. You always looked at him with such love in
your eyes, but you moved on the next day. To a boy who, if I am being
honest, was and is one of the biggest assholes that I‘ve ever met.”

“I-I can’t tell you
why I did it. I just had to. I did love him. I do love him. I want
him back, Gary. I need him back. And you’re right, Adam is an
asshole. You have no idea how bad he is.”

“Did he hurt you,
Chloe?” Gary looks alarmed and angry now.

“Not physically, no,”
I tell Gary honestly. Part of the agreement was that he could never
touch me. I had it in writing, and he was more worried about losing
his company than forcing himself on me, so he left me alone. At least
in that way. He tore me down daily with his words, reminding me that
he had taken the love of my life from me, showing me pictures of Ryan
out with other girls. I will do whatever it takes to get Ryan back.
To prove that I love him. If I have to be on my knees every day while
taking no pleasure for myself to do that, then that’s what I will
do.

“Are you sure that
you’re fine with working as Ryan’s assistant? I know you’re not
using your degree. I’ve seen some of your internship work, and it
was outstanding. You’re a talented interior designer, and we could
use you on our buildings. I can talk to him about letting you do
more.”

“Are you unhappy with
what you’re doing for me, Chloe?” I didn’t hear Ryan come out
of his office.

“No, Ryan. I love
working for you,” I tell him, hoping he gets my full meaning.

“But you want to use
your degree, don’t you?”

I turn to him then and
look him in the eye. “Yes. I do. I love interior design.”

He seems conflicted for
a minute and doesn’t speak right away. When he does, I nearly die
of shock at what he says. “You can maybe help me with the new
building that I’m designing in Seattle. I haven’t assigned a
designer to it yet. I’ll give you a chance to show me your ideas,
and if I like them, the job is yours.” He sighs and then speaks
again. “I still need you to continue with your other duties. Is
that too much for you?”

“No, not at all. I
can do it. Thank you so much, Ryan.” I want to grab him and hug
him, but I control myself. I see a look pass between Gary and Ryan
that I don’t understand, but Ryan obviously does.

“Don’t forget to
set up my date for tonight, Chloe,” he says as he walks into his
office with his father.

I take a deep breath
and then set everything up. Of course the woman is free tonight and
eager to go out with Ryan. What woman wouldn’t want him? I want him
more than my next breath. The difference between me and her is that
she can have him. I can’t. I need to keep reminding myself of that.
I’m not giving up on getting him back, but I know that it’s
probably not going to happen. I have to try, though. Even if I can’t
tell him the reason that I left him, I can show him that I never
stopped loving him.

* * *

Ryan

This date sucks. The
dinner was excellent, and the show is always good, but I can’t get
into it. The woman, Arceli, is really hot and seems like a great
girl, but I’m not feeling it. When I took her out a year ago, we
went back to her place and had a nice night. But I’m not interested
at all this time. I can’t settle for “nice” when I know I can
have amazing with Chloe.

She’s all I can think
about. What would she have ordered for dinner? Would she have loved
the show? I want to be sitting with her, holding her hand while we
watch this Imperial story. I’m done fighting my need for her. I
have to see her, now. I pull my hand away and take some money out of
my wallet. “I’m sorry, Cel, but I have to go. Here’s some money
for a cab.” I leave her there with her mouth hanging open and
practically run to valet to get my truck.

I drive to my parents’
house and run around the back to Scott’s old place, the remodeled
guest house. He’s letting Chloe stay there since he’s living with
Yasmin now. He asked me if it was okay before offering it to her. I
know he’s feeling conflicted, balancing his loyalty to me with his
loyalty to John. I don’t love the fact that she’s here, but I
didn’t want to stress Scott out, so I told him it was fine. John
insisted on taking Chloe out to buy new furniture before he went back
to Chicago, so I know she at least has a bed. I ring the doorbell and
wait.

“Ryan? What are you
doing here? I thought you had a date.” Chloe looks confused when
she opens the door. She’s only wearing a tank top and boxer shorts
with her hair in a messy bun, held together by a couple of pencils.
Damn, she’s hot.

“I did have a date.
But all I could think about was you.” Her eyes widen and her mouth
parts when I move closer. I need that mouth, so I reach out and take
it.

I kiss her softly at
first because I think I have to get to know her mouth again. But I’m
wrong. I know her mouth almost as well as I know my own. She stands
there and lets me explore her lips. I take my time, kissing and
sucking on them before reaching my tongue out to lick them. She opens
her mouth on a moan, and I slide in, taking the kiss deeper. She
grabs my biceps. I reach out with one hand to cup the back of her
head and grip her hip with the other.

I guide her backwards,
kicking the front door shut. Her knees hit the back of the couch, and
she starts to tumble. I catch her and ease her down, breaking the
kiss to look at her. Her eyes are a dark blue, and she looks as
hungry as I feel. “Do you want this Chloe? Do you want me? If you
don’t, you need to tell me now. Your job is safe. I won’t take
you against your will.”

“Yes, Ryan. I’ve
always wanted you. Always.”

Something snaps in me
as I hear her words. “Always? Even when you were fucking all of
those other guys? Were you thinking of me then, Chloe? Thinking that
maybe I was better now than I was at 22?”

She sits up and looks
me in the eye. “You should know that just because something is in
the papers, it’s not necessarily true. Was everything they said
about Scott last year true?” I shake my head. “I’ve thought of
you every second of every day for the last three years, Ryan. And you
were wonderful at 22. That night was magical. You made it that way
for me. Yes, it was uncomfortable at first, but I felt your love, and
you know that I came with you inside of me.”

“Do you want to come
with me inside of you tonight, Chloe?” I ask, because I want that.
I want to give her pleasure. I still won’t date her, but I’m not
going to deny my feelings for her completely anymore.

“Yes, Ryan. I want
that more than you could know.”

“Oh, I know. Chloe. I
know that wanting.” I pause and tell her the truth. “I can’t
date you, Chloe. I won’t take you out to dinner and a show.
However, I don’t want you just on your knees for me anymore. I want
to kiss you, and touch you, and make you come. I want to have you in
your bed and everywhere else we can make it happen. I want you to
have as much pleasure from me as I have been taking from you. But
it’s still just sex. I can’t give you more. I need to be clear
about that.”

“I understand, Ryan.
Now please bring your mouth back here to me.” She’s pulling on my
shirt, and I can’t resist teasing her like I used to.

“You want my mouth,
Chlo?” She stills her hands, and I realize my mistake. I just
called her by her nickname. No, it wasn’t a mistake. When we’re
alone like this, nicknames are okay. “You can call me Ry when we’re
like this. Not any other times, though.”

She nods. “Yes, Ry, I
want your mouth.” She leans up and takes it.

* * *

Chloe

I can’t believe Ryan
is here with me. He left his date for me. He says that he still
doesn’t want to date me, but he wants to make love to me. He won’t
use those words, though. I know it will be sex or a fuck to him, but
it’s a step closer to getting backing together, even if he won’t
say it.

I raise my arms up as
he slides my tank top over my head. “I missed these,” he tells
me, taking my right breast into his mouth. He squeezes and pinches my
other nipple while he licks and sucks on that one. I arch into him
and nearly come from the sensation of having his mouth on me again.

I shove his coat down
his arms and undo his tie. I’m unbuttoning his shirt when he stops
playing with my breasts. He sits back and looks at me. “You want my
shirt off, Chlo?” I nod, and he rips off the last buttons as he
pulls it apart and then pulls his jacket off along with it. Holy
hell. He’s even more built than he was three years ago. I
involuntarily lick my lips as I trace my hands over his hard muscles.

“You like what you
see, sweetheart?” He smirks down at me.

I meet his eyes and
answer honestly. “Yes, I like what I’m seeing and touching.” I
rub my hands over his sculpted abs.

“When we’re like
this, you can look and touch as much as you want. My body is yours.
But, only when we’re like this.” Ryan leans down and licks across
both my nipples, then looks into my eyes again. “Does your body
belong to me when we’re like this, Chloe?”

“My body always
belongs to you. Not just when we’re like this.” It has always
belonged to him and only him, but I can’t tell him that.

He growls and then
starts pulling down my shorts. “I want what’s mine. Now.”

“Yes.” I wiggle out
of my shorts and underwear and then reach for his belt. Once we’re
both naked, we look at each other for a moment before Ryan reaches
down and pulls a condom out of his pocket. He puts it on his erection
and positions himself over me.

“You’re ready
aren’t you, Chloe?” He asks as he reaches down and touches me.
“Fuck, you’re soaking wet for me. I can’t wait for you to come
all over my cock.”

I arch up, wanting him
inside of me. I know it’s going to hurt. It’s been three years
with only my fingers and my vibrator. But I want him so bad that I
don’t care. I grab his cock and put it at my entrance. “I’m
ready.” He slides in, and I involuntarily flinch as the pain comes.

Ryan

Chloe freezes as I
enter her, and I can see the pain on her face as tears gather in her
eyes. I stop immediately. “What the fuck, Chloe? Am I hurting you?”

“Just a little. It’s
been awhile, and I have to get used to you. Just give me a second.”

“Awhile?” I ask. “I
know you said that you didn’t cheat on Adam. But you weren’t
sleeping with him before you broke up either?” The thought of that
makes me happier than it should. I love knowing that she hasn’t
been with that bastard recently.

“No. I wasn’t
sleeping with him.”

The alpha male in me
comes awake as she relaxes under me. I’m going to make this woman,
my woman, come so hard. No, not my woman. Yes. I won’t deny it to
myself even though I can’t say it out loud. She is my woman and I
plan to show her that. “You alright now, or do you need some more
time?” I ask her as I grab a throw pillow and put it under her ass
to change the angle so I’ll hit her clit with every thrust.

“Yes, please move
before I go crazy.” She tilts her hips into mine to let me know
that she means it.

I brace my hands on the
arm of the couch behind her head and start thrusting into her. She is
matching me thrust for thrust and moaning as I twist my hips to rub
her where I know she needs me. I lick and bite her neck and ear as
she starts to beg.

“Ry, please. Harder.”
She is starting to move faster under me, and it’s taking everything
I have not to blow. I move my mouth lower. Licking and sucking her
beautiful breasts. I really have missed them. I take the left one
into my mouth and bite as I lean my body down, pushing on her clit.
That’s all it takes for her.

“Ryan.” She screams
my name so loud that I’m sure it can be heard in the main house.
She’s thrashing so hard that I can barely keep myself inside of her
as I thrust. I let myself go, and I’m jerking just as hard as she
is. I can’t feel my legs, so it’s a good thing that I’m not
standing up. My arms start to give out, but I don’t want to crush
her. I manage to twist myself sideways onto her wide couch and end up
next to her on my back.

She’s lying there
breathing as hard as I am. Something’s wrong, though. “Chlo? You
don’t like to cuddle anymore?” I ask. She used to always climb
onto my chest when we were lying down together, even before we had
sex.