Page 65 of Silver Spoon Falls, Vol. I

FORTY-SEVEN

GRIZZ

As soon as I hear the elevator alarm, my stomach sinks. My wife isn't in our room, and the fucking alarm is going off. Every instinct I have screams for me to get to her… right the fuck now.

I barely make it to the elevator before the doors slide open.

One look inside tells me everything I need to know. Rage bubbles up from deep within and I see red.

"Out of the elevator, little bookworm," I growl, holding out a hand to her.

She doesn't waste any time taking it. She allows me to pull her into my arms. She's as brave as she is sweet. Despite the fear in her eyes, she doesn't tremble or cry. She stands tall as I look her over, meticulously looking for any signs that these motherfuckers put their hands on her.

"Are you all right?"

"Yes," she whispers. "They called me a sweet little morsel and pushed the emergency stop button."

"We were only playing."

Good. If they like to play, they won't mind if I play with them for a little while then.

"I broke the big one's nose."

"I see that." I brush my lips against her forehead. "Go back to our room and call down to the front desk. Tell them to send security up here."

The little fucker hears me and starts stabbing the button as if he can make the elevator move with my boot blocking the doors. They aren't going anywhere until I decide to let them. And I haven't decided to let them.

"I can't leave you alone with them," Morgan cries, her eyes wide and worried. "What if they're dangerous? What if they have weapons?"

I want to fucking howl at the thought.

They were locked alone in an elevator with her— they scared her —and she's worried about me. They don't share her concerns for my safety. The color drains from the little bastard's face. He knows he's fucked. The big one is too busy trying to stop the bleeding.

"Go, Temptation. Before they manage to get away and hurt someone," I say, gently turning her toward our room. "Lock the door behind you and don't open it for anyone but me."

"Fine!" she cries. "But I'm going to be so mad if anything happens to you, Grizz Delacorte."

It's not, I can guarantee that.

I wait until she runs back to our room before I step onto the elevator with the little motherfuckers, allowing the door to close behind me.

"You like to play, huh?" I say, stabbing the emergency stop button to keep the elevator on the top floor. No sense in having security chasing us all over the building. "Let's see how much you like to play with someone your own fucking size."

"We were just kidding with her, ma?—"

I drive my fist into his face, silencing him.

Turns out, they don't like playing nearly as much as they thought they did.

"You're alive!" Morgan cries, flinging herself at me as soon as she opens the door for me an hour later.

I scoop her up into my arms, carrying her into our room while she wraps herself around me like a koala bear.

"Of course, I'm alive, little bookworm," I murmur in her hair, breathing her in. She smells a helluva lot better than the two sewer rats from the elevator. "You think I'm going to leave you alone twelve hours after I married you? Fuck no."

"I was so worried."

I plant my hands on her ass, marching her toward the bed. As soon as my knees touch the soft mattress, I drop her before crawling over her.

"Look at me, Temptation."

Her beautiful eyes meet mine, her arms looped around my neck.

"You don't ever have to worry about me making it back to you safely," I murmur, my voice firm. "No matter what, I will always come home to you. But no one threatens you. No one scares you. Not without answering to me."

"Okay," she whispers and then bites her bottom lip. "Um, did you at least leave them alive?"

"They're alive. Security was calling the police to have them arrested.

They keep trespassing into the hotel. I don't think they'll be doing it again once they get out of jail.

" We had a discussion. Actually, I talked.

They listened. And bled. But that's beside the point.

They won't be showing up at the hotel or harassing another woman again.

And if they forget what we discussed, well, I slipped security my number.

If they show up again, security will call me.

I have no problem making a special trip out here to have another discussion with the motherfuckers.

I don't think that'll be necessary, though.

They bit off more than they could chew today.

I have a feeling they'll be reconsidering their extracurriculars while they heal.

"Good," Morgan whispers, her nose scrunching up. "Hopefully the jail will give them showers. They did not smell pleasant."

"I'd like to get you naked and soapy." I nuzzle her throat, nipping at her skin. "I'm thinking about making you wear that dress every day just so I can get you out of it again, wife."

"I like this plan. Oh!" She shoves at my shoulders, flying into a sitting position. "Giant called. He said you have to call him back immediately."

I rest my forehead on her collarbone, groaning, "I don't want to call Giant."

"He said it's an emergency. I think he was serious."

"Fuck my life." I press my lips to hers and roll off her to grab my phone from the bedside table where I left it. Sure enough, he's been blowing up my phone for the last hour.

"This better be an actual emergency and not some bullshit Giant emergency," I growl as soon as he answers. "Because your definition of emergency and the rest of the world's definition are drastically different, motherfucker."

"Miles knows you ran off to Vegas to get married. He's pissed."

"What the fuck? How do you know where we are?"

"This is Silver Spoon Falls. Everyone knows where you are," Giant snorts. "Did you really think hiring your own plane would keep her brother from finding you?"

"He told me to make an honest woman out of her," I mutter, scrubbing a hand down my face.

Having a brother-in-law is complicated as fuck.

Thank God my sisters aren't ever getting married.

I'm squashing that idea now. I've had one brother-in-law for twelve hours, and he's already stressing me out. I don't need three more.

"She's his only sister, you dumbass. He wanted to walk her down the aisle," Giant says. "Now, he can't. You're screwed. He's probably going to hire a hitman. RIP, my guy. R.I.P."

"Son of a bitch."

"What's wrong?" Morgan asks.

"Thanks for the heads-up," I tell Giant. "I'll handle it."

"Yeah, good luck with that." The bastard laughs at me. "If you die, I'm keeping all your cool shit."

I hang up on him before tossing my phone and turning to my little bookworm. She's still on the bed, propped up on a stack of pillows, looking like a goddess. Fuck me. Her brother is going to kick my ass for depriving him of the opportunity to see her in her wedding dress, looking this beautiful.

"Marry me," I blurt.

"Um, I already did that, Grizz." She beams at me, holding up her hand to show me the rock on her finger. "Elvis was there and everything."

"I know. I mean, marry me again, Temptation.

The right way this time." I stride toward her, kneeling beside the bed.

Now that she's mine and I can think straight, I have to make it right.

It's the right thing to do for her and her brother.

She deserves those memories as much as he does.

"I want to marry you again surrounded by our friends and family. "

"Is this about Miles?" she asks, suspicion rife in her expression.

"It's about you. When we're ninety, I don't want you to feel like you missed a single goddamn thing with me, bookworm. You deserve every memory, every milestone. I want to give them to you, starting with the most perfect fucking wedding of your dreams."

Her expression softens. "You're so much better than one of my book boyfriends," she whispers.

“You aren’t allowed to have book boyfriends, Temptation. You aren’t allowed to have any boyfriends except for me.”

“Shh.” She places her fingers over my lips. “You’re basically perfect, Grizz. Don’t ruin it now.”

"Is that a yes?"

"Yes."

I exhale a breath and scoop her into my arms, pressing my lips to hers. Fuck. She's marrying me again in front of everyone who matters. I don't know what I did to deserve her, but I make a note to keep doing it.

"Where are we going?" she asks, her lips against mine as I stand upright with her in my arms.

"We have shit to do, Temptation. I have a wife to unwrap. Orgasms to give. A wedding to plan. Shit. To. Do." Like making sure I’m the only man she ever thinks about. Fuck those book boyfriends.

"Oh," she whispers against my lips. "Carry on, then."

I chuckle, more than willing to oblige.