Page 45 of Between Passion and Revenge, Part One (The Griot Chronicles #1)

Dumb, I know. We’re too young and she has way too much she wants to accomplish to make that even a reasonable thought right now.

Theoretically, there’s a lot I want to accomplish too, but now, thinking about it, all the things I wanted—Stratos, legacy, acknowledgment—none of that really matters now.

But a baby with Shae? There’s a voice in my soul that’s yelling loud as fuck, “I want that.”

And wanting that is something I’ve never expected.

Shae takes a deep, measured inhale before blowing it all out in one move.

At the same time, she flips the omelet onto the folds and sprinkles on some cheddar cheese.

With nothing left to do for several seconds, she spins out of my embrace and faces me while leaning against the sliver of countertop to the left of the stove.

She folds her arms across her chest.

“It’s just that…once you walk out that door, this all becomes a thing. You know?”

My eyebrows draw down. “A thing? We’ve always been a thing, Shae.”

She throws her hands up before tucking them beneath her breasts again.

“You know what I mean, Storm. This becomes a whole thing that happened. Right now, it’s like we’re in a bubble. I’m….”

Scared.

I’m able to fill in her words easily in my mind because I understand how she feels, and I’d be lying if I didn’t feel fear, too—but likely for a completely different reason than Shae.

She slides the now-finished meal onto a plate and shuts off the burner, turning toward me and recrossing her arms against her chest.

“Come here, Shae,” I say, my voice a low command.

She doesn’t unfold her arms, instead she takes two large steps until she’s nearly pressed to my chest.

“Good girl,” I murmur, rubbing my thumb on her cheek as I cup it with my palm. “Do you remember what I told you, baby?”

“What?” she replies after clearing her throat.

“I said,” I pull her closer, so our bodies are flush, our faces inches apart. She drops her arms to eat up the space between us. “Once I slide into your pussy, you’re mine and I’m yours. We’re together. It doesn’t have to get more complicated than that.”

She smiles up at me, her expression a little nervous.

“You were serious?”

Her words cause me to frown. Of course I was fucking serious—so fucking serious about her being mine and mine alone. The idea of her allowing herself to be with anyone else, giving her love away to anyone else has me on the edge of uncontrollable anger.

“As serious as a fucking heart attack, Sweetness.” My hand goes to the back of her neck, squeezing as her pulse thrums beneath my thumb.

She swallows.

“I understand,” she says.

“You understand, but do you agree?” Because if she’s not game to be with me like that, I’ll…I don’t know what the hell I’ll do. Ultimately, I’ll let her do whatever she needs and wants to do.

But I won’t lie and say there isn’t an all-consuming part of me that wants to snatch any of these imaginary men she might go to and make what I did to Jaxon Samuels look like child’s play.

“I agree,” she murmurs. She doesn’t look scared at my intensity, instead she looks…relieved.

“Good,” I say, kissing her nose.

“There is something we need to talk about though,” I say, hating to bring down the vibe again.

“Oh?” she squeaks, the sound cautious. She still remains close to me, though, so that has to mean something.

“Harvard. Do you know what you want to do?”

Shae blows out a breath and looks to the side, as if the answers to the universe are in the scrambled eggs.

“It’s okay if you don’t know yet. Or if you’ve decided you want to go… Or if you’ve decided you want to stay or do something altogether different. You get to decide.”

Because truthfully, it doesn’t matter what she does. I’ll be right there with her.

“I have until March to claim my spot. I…” She looks up at me finally, and whatever she sees there makes her smile.

It’s a cautious smile, but a smile, nonetheless.

“Take your time, baby. I’m here to support you either way the cut goes.”

Shae’s small palm goes to the side of my face.

“Let me feed you now,” she says, and damn there goes that tingly sensation in my chest.

Shae ushers me onto a stool and slides the plate across to me before filling a glass with some Tropicana orange juice.

“Bon appétit!” Shae spreads her arms wide in front of the dish before stepping back with her hands behind her back as if she were on Master Chef.

The food smells so damn good I barely register picking up the fork until the flavor explodes on my tongue.

“God damn , Sweetness,” I groan and she beams wide.

“You like?” she asks, looking like she just won first place in a competition.

“Like? I love .” I take another bite. “Wait, where’s your plate?”

Shae shrugs. “I’m not really hungry yet. I never really am in the mornings.”

She reaches over and grabs a slice of perfectly-cooked bacon. “But I’ll take some meat candy,” she adds, biting into the strip.

When she pulls back her hand and her glossy lips gleam in the natural light coming from the huge bay window, I lean forward and put my elbows on the island.

Would it be appropriate for me to have her kneel down and wrap those lips around my dick? Probably not, seeing as two other people use this kitchen.

I pick up my fork and break off a piece of the omelet. Spearing it, I bring it to her lips.

“Eat,” I rasp. Shae stares at me for a few seconds before opening her lips and closing them around the tines.

Fuuuuuck.

Shae chews, breaking into a grin. “I did my big one with that, huh?”

I nod, rendered speechless.

We continue swapping turns with the fork until she holds up her palm and gives the utensil back to me. I take the last few bites and recline on the low-backed stool.

“Come here, Shae,” I murmur. She takes lazy steps around the island, and I spin to the side to face her.

“Yes, sir?” she asks, her voice full of sarcasm.

With the tip of my index finger, I move a lock of hair behind her ear, running the digit down the side of her face until I get to her lips.

“Will you miss me today?” I ask, my gaze locked on her mouth. God, the things I want to do to that fucking mouth.

Shae’s lips part and she sucks in a breath, and looking a bit lower, I grin as her nipples poke out against the oversized shirt.

“What do you think?” she replies, her voice a whisper.

My finger travels down the column of her neck, skating between her breasts, before tapping right above her belly button.

“I think,” I say, wrapping my free arm around her back and pulling her close so my lips are near her ear, “you’ll miss the fuck out of me.

I think you’ll be replaying the night in your head all day.

I think you won’t be able to wait until we come together again, and you’ll be fighting your arousal while we’re apart.

I think you’re going to want me to come back through that door just as soon as I leave. ”

“That’s a lot of thoughts, Storm,” she says, shivering when I place a gentle kiss on her collarbone. “What makes you so confident?”

I trace more kisses along her jaw, breathing her in until we’re face to face.

“I know this, because I’m going to feel the exact damn way.”

When our lips meet, it’s like we both explode—our mouths desperate to connect and communicate the things we can’t say out loud, the things we don’t have words for.

She groans and slings her arms around my shoulders, and a sound rumbles out of my chest in return. Her scent—the fresh citrus of her body wash and conditioner—swirl around our bodies, and I lift her, placing her ass on the island in front of me.

“Storm!” she rasps, her voice going breathy when I bend to suck one of her nipples into my mouth through her thin shirt.

Her hands slide beneath the fabric of my tee, skating around my abs before she moves to my spine and pulls me flush to her body. Heat seems to radiate from the heaven between her thighs, acting as a beacon for my now-weeping dick.

“Fuck, baby,” I grind out, pulling back to run my hands up the inside of her thighs.

“Fuck is right,” she says, moaning. She spreads her legs wider. “Fuck me, Storm.”

You don’t have to fucking tell me twice.

I rip her shirt off, tossing it somewhere behind me, and my hand slides beneath the waistband of the barely-there underwear. All of her business is visible through the soaked seat of her panties.

When my fingers spread her lips, my middle finger gliding over her hard clit, she lets out a sharp cry. When two fingers push into her clenching channel, the heel of my palm pressing hard against her button, she comes.

She comes hard, screaming my name. My fucking name.

“Storm! My god, Storm!” More wetness gushes from her, soaking my hand and the fabric trapping me against her body. I keep moving my fingers, massaging her G-spot and giving her clit consistent strokes.

When her legs begin to tremble, signaling that she’s right there, just on the cusp of coming again, a door slams, and we both jerk away from each other.

Fuck.

Shae pats around the countertop for her shirt, and I spin to find it on the floor while sucking my fingers clean.

I mean…priorities.

So with Shae still shaking and sitting on the island and me crouching to retrieve her shirt from under the rolling coffee cart is how Yenn and Ezra find us.

We all freeze like we’re cast in a bad B-list movie.

“Y-you’re supposed to be with your family for the holidays!” Shae shouts, pointing a trembling finger at Yennifer.

Yenn bursts into howling laughter, bent over at the waist and grasping her knees for support.

Ezra, on the other hand, looks perturbed. Frowning, his eyes move from me to Shae.

“For real? Shae, we all live here,” Ezra says. “Well, except for this guy. And didn’t we make a rule not to fuck in the common places?”

“We weren’t fucking!” Shae exclaims, and Ezra gives me a pointed look before dropping his eyes to where my dick is trying to burst through my pants.

“ Yo ,” I grind out, covering myself.

“Yeah, you’re not my type. But back to you, Shae,” he says, giving me an eye roll. “Don’t play in my face like that.”

“You’re supposed to be gone ,” Shae squeaks.

“Okay, but why does that even matter? We still don’t fuck on kitchen islands, Shae Olivya Rivers!” Ezra shouts.

“Say, bruh,” I growl, taking a big step toward Ezra and pushing Shae behind me. “You need to chill.”

Ezra doesn’t flinch, nor does he back down, but he does blow out a big breath, rolling his eyes until they land on Shae. I want to gouge them out for simply looking at her with anger.

No one upsets Shae.

Yenn stops cackling, and when the tense moment breaks, she moves a step in front of Ezra. I can tell she’s trying to appear stern, but she fails, a broad smile pointed in Shae’s direction.

I unfreeze myself, going to Shae and dropping her shirt over her head.

“My bad,” I say, looking at Yenn and Ezra directly over my shoulder. “This is my fault, and I got carried away. I live alone, so I’m used to having free rein of the space.”

Silence falls around us—Yenn’s smile dips, Ezra’s face retains its irritated position. When I turn to look at Shae, she looks…troubled.

“I’ll clean up,” Shae says, stepping away from me to move shit around beneath the kitchen sink. When she pops up with a Lysol bottle, she liberally sprays down the granite, depositing so much cleaning solution that my eyes start to burn.

“Sorry, guys,” she grumbles, head down as she grabs a wad of paper towels.

Yenn sighs, hooking her arm around Ezra’s.

“No biggie, bestie!” she says brightly.

“No biggie? Yenn!”

Yenn shushes Ezra, pulling him away from the kitchen. I hear them bickering under their breath as they leave.

“Well, that was fucking awkward,” Shae says with a strained laugh. She continues wiping the counter. “Anyway, I’m sure you gotta go, yeah?”

I move behind her, wrapping my arms around her middle, and she freezes.

“What’s going through that beautiful brain, Sweetness?” I murmur in her ear. Her shoulders drop.

“Nothing,” she rushes to say.

“Don’t lie to me, Shae.”

She slams her hands flat on the granite before spinning around to face me. When she crosses her arms again, it’s like a shield coming up between us.

“You’re going to have to slow your roll, Storm,” she says, her face serious. “I know you get a hard-on being all caveman and ‘mine, mine, mine,’ but I need time to get there, and I need you to respect that.”

My head spins at her sharp about face.

“Most people are happy after they come,” I grind out. I’m trying for a joke, but her shoulders just go up higher.

“Anyway,” Shae says, taking a big step to the side. “This was nice. I’ll catch you later?”

We blink at each other for a long moment before I blow out a breath, running my palm across the back of my head.

I have two options here: I can either keep pressing her to figure out what the hell is going through her head, or I can give her space so she doesn’t run.

And the idea of her running again has me on edge.

“Okay, Shae,” I say, keeping my voice calm. “I’ll go. But we’re going to work on that.”

Her brows crease. “That? That what ?”

I grin. “Your attitude, Sweetness. And your tendency to push me away whenever something makes you uncomfortable.”

She frowns but looks down at the floor. Taking silent steps closer to her, I tilt her chin up.

“We’ll work on trust and honesty, Shae. I know you’re skeptical, but we’ll get there,” I vow.

Her lips twist before she drops her arms and sighs.

“Okay, Storm.” She doesn’t look happy still, but she looks less like she’s about to start throwing pans at my head.

I lean down and place a sweet kiss on her lips, keeping pressed to her until her lips open under mine.

That’s it.

Shae’s arms swing around my neck as we sway into each other, dancing to a silent song.

This. This feels right.

“I meant everything, Shae Olivya Rivers,” I whisper, pulling away to press my lips to her forehead. “If you choose to doubt anything, never doubt my feelings for you.”

She breathes in slowly, sinking into my body when she exhales.

“Okay, Storm,” she murmurs, speaking to my chest before moving back to meet my gaze. “I’m trusting you.”

The smile that moves across my face is slow but comes from my soul.

My fucking heart.

“That’s more than I could ever ask for, Sweetness.”