Love is deliberate; it’s raw, it’s powerful.
And I am fully consumed in it.
* * *
Iwake to the sound of knocking. My eyes blink open and I take in the sight of the beautiful creature in my arms. Somehow last night I managed to distract her from having sex by putting her in a food coma. It was highly effective, considering she passed out shortly after we got to her place and she stripped out of her tight black crop-top and sexy skirt.
Trust me, denying the temptation brought on from her undressing in front of me was almost too much to handle, but I persevered.
Managing to control the nonstop boner she kept giving me was an added challenge, too.
“Claire.” I gently nudge her.
She mumbles and grabs my arm, pulling it between her breasts to cuddle.
My skin grazes hers and I fight the desire that builds up inside of me to flip her over and do what I’ve wanted to do all night.
Instead, I regain my composure. “Were you expecting company?”
“What?” She lets go of me and sits up, rubbing her eyes in the process.
I bite the inside of my cheek to distract myself from her soft curves.
Baseball. Old men. Dirty socks.
Only, all of my thoughts come to a halt when I notice the discoloration of Claire’s arms. Any thought of sex is quickly erased by murderous thoughts about Griffin. How could he ever think what he did was acceptable? Who in their right mind would do that to someone? Someone they supposedly care about. How can hurting a person make you feel better about them breaking up with you?
“If I can’t have her, no one can.”His words cut through me.
I’d rather die than hurt a hair on Claire’s head. Even if she didn’t want to be with me. That’s a reality I’d rather face than doing what Griffin did. Losing her would kill me, but I’d do it ten times over if it meant her happiness.
The knock rattles again, this time a little louder.
She hops off the bed and reaches for the closest piece of clothing, which happens to be one of my fitted T-shirts. It’s dark and hangs loosely on her body. She slides into a pair of cotton shorts and throws a knitted cardigan over her arms. “I’ll be right back.”
I raise on my elbows. “I’ll—”
“No, stay here.” She rushes out of the room and down the hall.
The front door creaks open and I wait impatiently for any sign of who it might be. There’s a peephole, so I’m sure Claire was mindful in her decision to greet the random person showing up at her doorstep bright and early on a Sunday.
“Morning,” a man says. “Miss Cooper?”
“Yeah.” Claire clears her throat. “Yes.”
“Officer Donovan. Do you mind if I come in to ask you a few questions?”
As inpoliceofficer? Fuck.
“Um, sure.”
“It’ll only take a few moments.” He steps inside.
I stay quiet in her bed, not wanting to draw any attention to myself. It drives me fucking crazy not to be out there with her, but she’s already done so much to protect me; I’d be stupid to ruin it now.
I listen intently to every single move they make.
Their bodies shuffle toward the living room, giving me a little better vantage point to hear what’s going on.