"Okay, I just sent the text. Sebastian asked to get together tomorrow afternoon and I said yes. So that's done. I'm turning off my phone for the rest of the night." Juliette sets her cell on the coffee table gingerly, as if it's radioactive.

I heave a sigh. It's not one of relief, but of exhaustion. "Where's your bathroom?"

"Oh! Here. Follow me." I walk behind Juliette down a hall and despite our bleak situation, I can't help but admire her legs in those sandals. Something about the way the straps wind around her feet is sexy as hell.

And then I remember: Sebastian. And my jealousy crests again.

We walk into a bedroom decorated in girly, cream-colored hues — walls, furniture, comforter — with dusty rose-colored accents.

"This is my room." She walks to a sliding glass door that I'm guessing leads to a balcony and opens it about a foot. I can hear the sound of crashing waves from the nearby beach, that's how close we are to the ocean.

"I kinda figured it was yours. I can tell by all the pillows." Before I went to Amsterdam, I used to tease her about how many pillows she'd buy and leave around the house. She shoots me a little grin.

"Victoria took pity on me and gave me the master suite. The bathroom's there. I'll be right back, going to make sure the door's locked." She points to a door on the far side of the room, then turns to walk out.

I use the facilities, splashing water on my face in hopes that I'll feel more awake. Less defeated. But I can feel the exhaustion in my bones. The doctors in Amsterdam had told me not to be too active.

Today pretty much qualifies as being too active.

I stagger out of the bathroom and see Juliette's big, fluffy bed that looks like a cloud. It calls to me and I sit. Then I lie down. Jesus, this feels incredible. It's the most comfortable bed I've been on in months. Christ, I want to forget the last few hours.

I've left the bathroom light on so there's a little illumination. But mostly the room is dark. It's also blissfully cool, the perfect temperature. I begin to doze instantly.

"Griffin?" Juliette's voice wafts into the room.

I wake from my half-slumber with a start. "In here."

She comes in and sees me lying on her bed. "Hey," I croak. "I just got real tired all of a sudden. My injuries are catching up to me, I think."

With a worried look, she unties my shoes. Then strips off my socks.

"Feels weird to be wearing business clothes again. I've been in hospital pajamas for all those months," I mumble.

She straddles me and begins unbuttoning my shirt. "You need to rest."

But the sensation of her sitting right on my cock is making me want to do more than rest. Even exhausted, my desire for her is insatiable. My hands skim her bare thighs, and I groan when she tells me to sit up so she can take off my shirt. The way she caresses my skin tells me that she's either no longer mad at me, or she is and she still wants to fuck.

Unsurprisingly, I feel the same way. I'm angry and jealous and crazy in love with her.

I flop back down and watch as she unbuckles my belt. Slowly unbuttons my pants. Tugs my pants and my boxer briefs down.

"You don't seem that exhausted," she murmurs, eyeing my hard cock.

"I got a second wind."

She strips off her dress and dispenses with her bra and panties. I suck in a breath when I see her tits bounce; even though she's lost weight, somehow her tits are still round and perfect.

Again she's straddling me and again she's right over my cock. Only this time, she's hovering, not sitting, and I can feel the heat of her pussy. She leans forward and her tits brush my chest.

"You're sure you're not too exhausted for this," she whispers as she clasps my wrists and pins them over my head.

"What do you have in mind?"

There's a fierce little glint in her eye. "This."

She sinks down onto my cock while still holding my wrists and I groan. She's wet as the ocean. Being inside of her gets better and better each time, I swear to Christ.

"I like this. Fuck, I love this, angel."

"I do, too."

She grinds on me slow, squeezing my wrists hard the entire time. The only sound in the room is our panting, and the ocean waves. She gets me so turned on that I'm wide awake, enough to break from her grasp and toss her onto her back so I can fuck her hard.

"Yes, yes, yes," she mewls.

As I thrust harder and harder, I think of how Sebastian wants her. How he'll try to touch her. How I'll kill him before that happens.

I lean down to give Juliette a deep, dirty-hot kiss, and I slow the pace down.

"You know what?" I growl, tilting my hips so I'm balls deep inside her.

"What?" she gasps, digging her nails into my ass cheeks.

I ease myself all the way out and my hand goes between her legs. I find her clit inside of all that wetness, and my fingers make little circles. Her eyelids flutter and she lets out that little strangled moan that drives me wild.

"What, Griffin? I'm going to come."

And she does, exploding on my fingers, trembling underneath me. I slide my cock back in her and my spine begins to tingle. And then my balls.

"You're mine, Juliette. All fucking mine."

And with that, I finish inside of her, groaning and pressing my lips into her neck. Holding on tight to her body as if my life depended on it.

* * *

It's the next day, and I've just had the most blissful twelve hours I've had in the past several months. Griffin and I have mostly stayed in bed, kissing and making love and sleeping a little, too.

Now it's noon and I have to go to Sebastian's. I'm in the shower, washing my hair, and sobbing. The thought of leaving Griffin is like ripping out my own heart with my bare hands.

He's still here, out in the living room. Apparently he's trying to arrange a visitation with his father, who's in a federal prison somewhere in North Florida. So that means he'll be gone for a couple of days, leaving me here in Miami, alone.

With Sebastian.

Now that Griffin and I have talked more, I understand why he's asking me to go along with Sebastian's wishes for now. It makes sense. Once Zoe's home, I can break it off with Sebastian and Griffin can take care of Ash's medical bills.

It's not like the hospital will stop giving Ash his treatment halfway through if we're paying for it.

Hang on a little while longer, I tell myself as I blow dry my hair. I swiftly put it into a ponytail and pull on the least sexy outfit I own — a navy blue Ralph Lauren polo dress. I slide on a pair of white sneakers. I look like a waitress aboard a yacht. Under the circumstances, this is a good thing.

Swallowing my sadness, I walk into the living room.

Griffin looks up from the sofa, his stare a little too hard. I know this is killing him, as well. I sink onto his lap and wrap my arms around him.

"I'm renting a car and driving north of Tampa. That's where my dad is. Coleman's the name of the prison." He kisses me on the cheek. "Everything's going to be okay. I'll be back in three days, maybe less."

"Three days?" I groan.

"I was also thinking of driving to see Ash. To explain everything to him."

I sit up. The idea of Griffin visiting Ash makes me nervous. Even though my brother's responded well to treatment, I'm not sure he wants a visit from Griffin. "That's probably a good idea. I guess. He still believes you're dead. Should I tell him that you're not?"

"Let me think about that." He kisses my shoulder. "We'll get through this. Just be casual with Sebastian. Act like you did before. Okay?"

I nod and slip off his lap. "Please be careful driving. And will you text me? Or call?"

"I will. But keep your phone on silent, don't add me as a contact and don't ever answer when he's around, okay?"

"Right. Yes." I take a deep breath. I'm supposed to be at Sebastian's in a half hour, and I know traffic will be a bear.

"I'll give you a kiss now, instead of downstairs." He tilts my chin up with his thumb and forefinger and presses his lips to mine. Tingles wash over me as he gently bites my bottom lip. I want to keep kissing and kissing all day. All weekend.

"I love you," I whisper.

We walk out together and ride the elevator downstairs. He's going with me to my car in the garage, and then he'll go out on the street and call for Uber. At my car in the empty garage, he kisses me again.

"I wasn't going to do this, but I can't help it. I love you so much. Hey, please don't cry. This will be over soon. So soon. Promise."

He watches me get in my car, pull out and drive away. Thank God I have tissues in my console because I have to blot my eyes. On my way to Sebastian's, I make a quick stop at a pharmacy for eye drops – my eyes are flaming red from crying.

I squirt the drops in my eyes in my car, then feel a weight on my chest grow heavier as I get closer to Sebastian's. As I park in his driveway and knock on the door, I remind myself to smile.

The door opens and I expect it to be his maid. But it isn't, which tells me that he's been eagerly awaiting my arrival.

"There's my girl." Sebastian opens his arms. I give him a hug, trying to ignore the feeling. All I can think of is a thousand cockroaches skittering across my skin. "Tell me all about what happened to Victoria."

I begin to chatter nervously, telling him in great detail of Victoria's case. He listens sympathetically and steers me into the library. It's a dark, cool room with a sinister vibe. Normally I love books and have always wanted a library. This looks like something out of Dracula's castle, if Dracula's castle was a Mediterranean Revival home in Florida.

I sink onto a chestnut-colored leather sofa, and he sits next to me, holding my hand.

I keep talking, telling him about Victoria's affair with her lawyer. My eyes go to a painting above the fireplace. It's a work I hadn't noticed before, a hyperreal painting of a half-naked woman sleeping on rumpled, white sheets. The woman's head is turned and her face isn't visible, and something about the picture is deeply unsettling. I look away and muster a shaky smile.

"I apologize for running off like that last night. I'm so sorry."

"I can see why you weren't yourself last night, Juliette."

A fat tear rolls down my cheek, thinking of how shocked Griffin looked when I walked up. "Exactly."

Sebastian wipes my tears with his fingers. "Maybe we can see about getting your friend out of jail early. I know many excellent lawyers."

"Thanks." This time, my smile is genuine. I'm really taking one for the team now. Griffin, Zoe, Victoria...

"And I have something that will cheer you up."

He stands and goes to the large, wooden desk. My heart begins to beat faster when he opens a drawer and extracts a little box.

Oh God, this can't be what I think it is.

Wearing a big grin, he kneels at my feet, his bald head catching the sunlight from the one window that's not covered in a heavy, red velvet curtain.

"Juliette, I know we haven't been together long. I'd wanted to do this last night over a romantic dinner."

Jesus, it is what I think it is. He was serious My stomach turns in on itself as he looks up at me with puppy-dog eyes. 

"But I feel so deeply for you that I want to make you officially my wife. I think we can have a wonderful life together, and you'll learn to tolerate my quirks. Will you marry me?"

He opens the box and the biggest diamond I've ever seen is nestled in the velvet. Is that thing even real? It doesn't twinkle, it leers. My God, it's gaudy.

I knew this was coming, but it's still heart-stoppingly shocking for a hundred different reasons.

Smile. Act happy. Two weeks. Three, tops. Just fucking smile.

I beam down at him and make little cooing, squealy noises, surprising even myself. When I extend my hand and he slips the ring on my finger, I feel floaty, as if I'm watching this scene from afar.

"Yes, Sebastian, I will."

____