A Mate for Griffin (9 page)

Lance gave him a pointed look. “You can take the female if you’re so much of a pussy that you can’t leave her side for a couple of hours.”

Lance must have caught his death stare at the use of the term ‘the female’ because he quickly turned to Sarah. “What do you think, Sarah? How are your poker skills?”

Sarah shifted in his lap. Unfortunately, his cock was still rock hard. The movement didn’t help things. Griffin had to suppress a groan. What male wouldn’t react to a beautiful female in their lap? None, that’s how many. None. He had to fight the urge to adjust himself in his pants. Thankfully his t-shirt covered his crotch area. He was sure to hold her so that she didn’t slide back further.

“I’ve played a couple of times. We had a few poker nights when I was still in college,” Sarah said.

“Any good?” Lance leaned forward.

Sarah shrugged. “Not too bad. I can hold my own.”

Lance clapped his hands together and rubbed them. “Excellent! I love a female with card skills.” The male winked at her and she smiled.

Fucking excellent. This was going according to plan. He ground his teeth when Lance’s gaze dropped to her chest. Sarah’s nipples were still hard. They poked against her dress. Smuggling peanuts. Griffin had to hold back a laugh.

“So what is it that you do, Sarah?” Lance folded his arms.

“I’m a pre-school teacher.”

He raised his brows. “I can see you doing that. You have this whole wholesome vibe going on. It was teacher or nun and since you’re in
The Program
, nun was out.”

“Sarah is not like a nun.” Griffin couldn’t keep the growl out of his voice.
Nun…a nun!
It was a slap in the face. He felt Sarah tense up. Heard how her heart rate accelerated.

“And you know plenty of nuns to compare with?” Lance smirked.

Griffin sucked in a breath, ready to argue with the fucker.

Lance laughed. “It’s not a bad thing, I think it’s sexy as fuck.” He winked at Sarah who blushed like crazy. The male was right, it was sexy as fuck.

The blushing, the small giggle that escaped every now and then and not the sexy, flirty kind either. The sounds she made were real. Her timid looks through her lashes were real also. So sweet and innocent. There was nothing sexual about them but they could bring a male to his knees nonetheless. They could also make a male as hard as granite. He shifted, wanting so badly to rearrange his cock. His jeans were overly fucking tight.

“So, are you guys coming?” Lance directed his question to Sarah who looked up at him through her lashes. Her bottom lip was firmly clasped between her teeth.

For just a moment he wanted to decline, to keep her for himself, but that was crazy talk. This was great. This was exactly what they had wanted. Griffin forced a smile and nodded, turning back to Lance. “Yeah, we’ll be there. Are you good with that, Sarah?”

She gave a nervous looking smile and nodded.

“Good, now if you’ll both excuse me, I have an errand to run.” Errand…yeah right.

Griffin narrowed his eyes at the male but he nodded his head. “Tomorrow then.”

“Yeah, tomorrow.” Lance grinned.

The next day…

“Pass me the popcorn will you?” The dark haired beauty asked her mate.

“Only if you sit on my lap.” The big guy patted his beefy thighs. He had been introduced as York. She couldn’t remember the woman’s name.

She laughed. “No way, you’ll see my cards if I do.”

“I’d like to see more than just your cards.” York growled as he passed her the snack.

His mate laughed, she shook her head. “Never satisfied are you?”

“Not when it comes to you.” York leaned in, intent on kissing her.

“Straight flush, read um and weep.” Alex put her cards down, face side up. The movement drew everyone’s attention.

“You’re good at this.” Lazarus pulled her onto his lap and kissed her so hard that Sarah had to look away.

“Fuck! You females are killing us. Whose bright idea was it to invite the humans to the game?” Lance was smiling, a total contradiction to his words. A stunning vampire woman sat next to him. She kept showing him her cards and asking advice. Lance was treating her more like a friend than a lover.

The sexy vampire clapped his large hands together. Lance grinned. “Before any of you drift off to sleep, or leave to go and”—he paused—“fuck. Let’s make this a little more interesting.”

“Interesting how?” Griffin didn’t look impressed.

Lance shrugged. His blue eyes seemed all the brighter under the UV light. “I don’t know.” By the mischievous glint in his eye, she could see that he definitely had something in mind. He went through the pretense of thinking it through. “Maybe strip poker?”

“Fuck that.” Griffin was the first to respond. He sat forward in his chair. The muscles beneath his t-shirt bulged and a muscle ticked in his jaw.

“Why not?” Alex giggled. “Sounds fun.”

“Easy for you to say…” Jenna raised her brows at the other woman. “You’ve won most of the rounds so far.”

“Yeah,” Gideon growled. “I don’t like the idea of you fuckers seeing my female naked. “It’s not fucking happening.”

Lance nodded. “Let’s say that the females can keep their underwear but—”

“I’m not wearing any.” The vampire woman piped up.

“Is that a problem for you?” Lance turned to face the woman.

The beauty looked confused. “Nope. Being naked is nothing to be ashamed of. I’m not sure what the problem is.”

“Me neither.” Lance looked straight at her. “What about you Miss Prim and Proper? Are you game? Or are you chicken?”

Sarah felt her cheeks heat. She tried to fight it. All eyes turned to her. She squared her shoulders, not liking it that he had called her that. It was a nun yesterday and now he was calling her prim and proper. She didn’t like it one little bit.

“Leave her alone and don’t fucking call her that,” Griffin bristled. His fists were clenched. “Her name is Sarah and if I have to remind you one more time, it will be with my fist.”

Lance rolled his eyes. “Calm the fuck down. I didn’t forget her name. I didn’t mean anything by it. Besides”—he turned his stunning eyes on her and her breath caught in her lungs— “Sarah knows how sexy I think prim and proper is.” He winked at her and Griffin growled. He all out growled. A terrifying noise. If she didn’t know better she would think that he was jealous.

“It’s okay. We can play.” She touched his arm.

Griffin looked down at her, his dark eyes instantly softened as they landed on her. “Are you sure?”

She nodded. “Yeah.”

“You don’t sound very sure.”

That’s because she wasn’t entirely sure. What if she lost? And then lost again? She was wearing one of the sheer, lace sets that Griffin had bought for her. Bright red. Ultra sexy. Not something she could wear in public. She might as well wear nothing.

Since Griffin had told her to wear it, he knew exactly why she was hesitant. It was probably why he was acting this way. Just trying to protect her.

“It’s fine,” she finally huffed.
You only live once right?

Griffin looked at her for a few seconds before nodding.

The couples all spoke amongst themselves before agreeing to stay. “Good.” Lance picked up the cards and began shuffling. “Let the games begin. The humans keep their underwear. For the rest of us…all bets are off. The person with the worst hand gets to take something off at the end of each round.”

Griffin lost the first two rounds. He took off his boots and then his socks. He looked really tense, angry even.

Then Jenna lost a round and Gideon growled as she removed her sandals. It was York’s turn next followed by the vampire woman.

“Sorry, Sapphire.” Lance grinned.

The stunning woman giggled as she slipped off her shoes.

It had to happen, on the next round Sarah lost by a mile. It was like all the good cards went to the others. She dropped them face up on the table with a sigh.

“Sheesh, with cards like that you should take off two things as a penalty.” Lance’s gaze dipped down to her breasts.

“Bull-
fucking
-shit!” Griffin growled, his eyes blazed.

Lance chuckled. “I’m joking. Fuck! Time to get that stick out of your ass. I’m not making a move on your female.”

Griffin held Lance’s stare for a few seconds before nodding, his stance relaxed just a smidgen. What was Griffin doing? Maybe acting like the over-possessive boyfriend was a plan? Yeah, that was it. Lance tracked her movements as she removed her shoes, pushing them under her chair. Whatever he was doing, it seemed to be working.

It was her turn to deal so she shuffled the cards and handed them out. Alex got that smug look Sarah was beginning to recognize. She more than likely had a winning hand. None of the others gave anything away.

Her own hand was better. She hopefully wouldn’t lose this round. In the end Griffin lost. He tossed his cards down and yanked his shirt over his head. It didn’t look like he was having much fun. Twisting, he hung it over the back of his chair.

Damn but he was ripped. His muscles had muscles. His abs were obscene. The best she’d ever laid eyes on. Not that she’d seen that many abs in her life, but she could well imagine. Sarah had to drag her eyes away. It was difficult. Really difficult.

She looked down at Griffin’s outstretched hand and then up into his amused gaze. “Your cards.” His eyes moved to her hand and then back to her face. The crinkles around his eyes deepened.

Darn it! “Um…sure.” She handed them to him, feeling like an idiot. Sarah felt mortified. They were doing this so that Lance would notice her and she’d been caught checking out his best friend. Her only consolation was that Griffin didn’t seem upset in the least. Hopefully, he would think that she was playing the part as his date.

Griffin was a good looking guy. He had a fantastic body. It was normal that she would notice. Perfectly normal. It didn’t mean anything. Not at all.

Before she knew it, she had more cards in her hands. Thankfully, she managed to make it through without finishing last.

The beautiful vampire woman squealed before covering her mouth with her hands. “Oh no!” She didn’t look upset in the least. “It looks like I lost.” She stood up, gripped the bottom of her tight fitting dress and pulled it up and over her head.

Sarah felt her mouth drop open. Sapphire was perfectly naked beneath the dress. Hairless indeed. The woman gave a little twirl. She was tall, athletically built with small, high breasts. She was stunning. A Victoria Secret model. A Playboy centerfold.

“You okay?” Griffin whispered into her ear.

Sarah nodded.

“You sure?” He paused. “We could go.” He sounded like he wanted to leave.

Lance’s voice rang through her mind. Miss Prim and Proper. Sarah shook her head. She turned to look at him. “I’m fine.” She smiled. She could handle it. So what if there was a beautiful, naked woman in the room. So what if more might follow suit and end up in their birthday suits. So what. She felt herself relax and Griffin finally nodded.

Sapphire had sat back down and was shuffling the deck, not in the least bit concerned about being naked in a room full of people. She handed everyone their cards.

It was funny to watch. The room had grown quiet. The guys didn’t seem concerned or interested in ogling Sapphire. The women all looked really embarrassed. Like they didn’t know where to look. The ceiling and the floor were where they tended to focus.

Alex got that look again, despite the tension. Sarah had never met anyone with so much luck before. Her own cards were a disaster. There was a good chance she was going to lose this one.

Shit!

The last thing she wanted was to have to take off her dress. The sexy underwear left nothing to the imagination.

Lance all out laughed. “Sorry, Prim.” His brows were raised. “Looks like you lost this one. Time to take it off.” His eyes flicked to her dress before locking with hers. They were so bright. Full of mischief.

Griffin bristled beside her. He shuffled in his chair. His eyes were dark and brooding. She’d heard of eyes being described that way before, in the naughty romance novels she read, but had never actually seen the look on a man until right now.

Dark and brooding.

“Prim.” Lance smiled. “You need to take something off.”

“Leave her the fuck alone,” Griffin growled.

Her earrings. She’d put them in as a last minute whim. Sarah lifted her eyes in silent prayer. They were little silver butterflies that her best friend had given her for her last birthday. She carefully removed them, placing them in front of her on the table. They glinted under the light.

“No way.” Lance shook his head. “That’s cheating.”

“Like hell it is.” Griffin narrowed his eyes at his friend.

Lance smirked. “I think it’s cheating. Prim should take her dress off.”

“Fuck that!” Griffin growled.

“It’s acceptable,” York said.

“Perfectly acceptable.” Alex nodded her head. Her ponytail bobbed.

“The general consensus is that it’s fine.” Griffin cocked his head. “You said to take
something
off. You never specified clothing.”

Lance sighed heavily. “Fine, but next time, Prim…that dress comes off.” His predatory gaze landed on her and she found herself nodding.

“Stop calling her that…fuck!” Griffin snarled. “Have some respect.”

Lance chuckled. “It’s a nickname. I mean it in the best possible way, I assure you.”

“Like hell you do.”

“It’s fine.” Sarah blurted. “I don’t mind.” She put her hand on Griffin’s arm. Muscles shifted beneath her touch. Hard ones. Bulging ones. She took her hand back.

“No one gets to talk to my female that way,” Griffin growled.

“Well excuse me. You’ve been on a few dates with her, she’s hardly
yours
.” Lance said, almost under his breath.

Oh shit! This was getting serious. It sounded like Lance was interested. It also sounded like Griffin was interested. She had to remind herself that it was just an act. He was doing a fabulous job.

Griffin growled. “Sarah is mine. Forget that just once and there’s going to be trouble. Big, fucking trouble.”

“Right! Like I can’t handle myself against a half-starved youngster.”

“I’ll take you…half fucking starved or not.” Griffin’s voice had become deep and menacing. Sarah believed him.

Lance tensed. He chewed the inside of his mouth. It looked like he was taking the threat seriously as well.

She put an arm around Griffin. “I’m good. It’s fine.”

He relaxed just a smidgen under her touch, finally sitting back in his chair.

The next few rounds went by in a blur. More clothing was removed. The women removed jewelry. Sapphire draped herself over Lance who, aside from his shoes, was still fully dressed.

Then it happened. It had to. It was inevitable. Sarah dropped her cards, feeling her cheeks heat as she did
. Shit. Shit. Shit.

“No more stalling, Prim.” Lance winked at her and all hell broke loose.

Griffin stood up so quickly that his chair crashed to the floor. His hands were fists at his sides. His jaw was tight, his mouth pursed. His growl so menacing it caused goosebumps to form across her entire body.

“Rules are rules.” Lance shrugged. He looked up at Griffin and actually folded his arms.

“Fuck the rules,” Griffin snarled. He gripped her hand and marched from the room, dragging her behind him.

“My things.” She pulled back.

“I’ll fetch them later.” He kept on walking.

“That’s cheating!” Lance shouted from somewhere behind them. She could hear the humor laced in his voice.

“What’s gotten into you?” They kept on going until they made it outside.

Griffin seemed to calm right down. “I’m glad to see that it’s working.” He gave her a tight smile, looking anything but. “Lance is as interested as fuck.” He paced away from her and she had to jog to keep up.

“Why did we leave then?”

“Oh, so you wanted to undress in front of everyone? If that’s the case then we can go back?” He stopped walking for a second and raised his brows.