Once we step outside, Griff bends over and grabs his knees, sucking in a lungful of air.
I rub his back gently but don’t say anything, sensing that he needs a moment to compose himself.
Once he has himself together, he stands up and looks at me.
“You okay?”
“Yeah, I just…it was a lot, you know, facing him like that. I’ve been trying to act like he doesn’t exist, like my life before you and Hunter was all just a bad dream, but I think in doing so, I’ve done myself a disservice. He was—is—a monster, but in denying what he did to me, I’m erasing the stand I took. I’m forgetting all the strength I found by cutting myself free from him. I did that because I’m stronger than him,” he whispers hoarsely as if it’s just now dawning on him.
“You are so strong, Griff. I don’t think you’ve even scraped the surface on how much courage it took to do what you did. You might have been his son, but that doesn’t change the fact that that man was not your father. He was a pedophile who groomed a small boy just because he could.”
I step closer, my body pressing against his as I lift my hands and cup his jaw.
“I am in awe of the man you’ve become.”
His head dips and presses against mine as he breathes me in for a moment.
“He was so much bigger in my mind,” he mumbles to himself. I don’t tell him that to a child, he would have been huge. I let him process everything he needs to.
“It’s over now, huh? I never have to see him again?”
“Never. That man was poison, and you are done letting him infect you.”
He nods, his arms sliding around to my hips.
“Now, I believe I made you a deal,” I wink.
A grin spreads across his face. “That you did Dulce, that you did.”
* * *
He’s quiet on the journey back, letting me direct him as I take him to one of my favorite spots.
He parks the car and looks at me with confusion. “Where the heck are we?”
“You’ll see. Do you have a blanket in here?”
“There should be one on the backseat. Hold on.” He climbs out and opens the rear door, moving his gym bag and a box of God knows what and sure enough underneath it is a soft gray blanket.
“Perfect.” I grin climbing out and waiting for him to lock up and follow me.
He takes my hand and lets me lead him up the dirt path, around the base of the looming hill and through a small copse of trees before coming to a halt.
“Woah.”
I laugh, snagging the blanket from him and walking forward a little way before spreading the blanket out.
“This place looks like something out of a fairytale. How did you find it?”
I glance around the huge field of waist high flowers and chuckle.
“If I tell you that I was looking for somewhere to pee, will you think less of me?”
He throws his head back and laughs before stalking toward me, the tall wildflowers stroking against his denim clad legs.
“I’m pretty sure there is nothing you could do that would make me think less of you.”
“Good to know. Now why don’t you sit down, lay back and let me show you just how fucking proud of you I am.” I tug him down onto the blanket with me.
I press a kiss to his lips as I slide my hands under his t-shirt.
“Do you have any idea how much I love you?”
He freezes, pulling back a little to gaze at my face. “You love me?”
I roll my eyes. “Of course I do.”
He grins, twin dimples appearing in his cheeks as he cups my jaw. “Fuck I love you too.”
“Oh I know. Now less talking more stripping.”
“As you wish.”
I stand up and ever so slowly start taking my own clothes off, thrusting out my chest when I remove my top and bra.
Bending at the waist, I keep my knees straight as I slide my pants and underwear down my legs.
Turning, I cock my brow and stare at Griff as his eyes rove over my naked body.
“Anytime today, Griff,” I tease.
He jumps as if coming out of a daze and strips far faster than me making me laugh.
“Something funny?” He growls, stalking toward me.
I expect him to swing me up into his arms, so I let out a surprised yelp when he tackles me to the ground.
He leans over me, pressing his forehead against mine.
“I can’t believe you and Hunter are actually mine. Sometimes it feels like a dream. Like tasting sweetness after years of eating shit.”
Swallowing around the lump in my throat, I tip my head back and kiss him.
We lose ourselves in each other; our soft touches becoming more urgent as Griff deepens the kiss. With a growl, his hand twists in my hair, pinning me in place as he rocks against me.
Wrapping my legs around his hips I pull him closer, holding him to me like he’s my lifeline.
I’m so wet his cock glides between the lips of my pussy with ease, stroking my clit and sending a bolt of lust through me.
He pulls his hips back a little, changes the angle and then he’s inside me, wrenching a moan of pure pleasure from me.
We fucked before in a dozen different ways, but we’ve never truly made love and that’s what this is. Two souls fusing a part of themselves together. He was the first boy to hold a piece of my heart and I’m the only girl that will ever hold a part of his.