Written in Ink (Montgomery Ink #4)(61)

She reached out and cupped his face, his beard brushing her palm. She immediately wanted to take her hand back. Touching him was a mistake. Walking away would be that much harder.

“I am so sorry, Autumn. Forgive me. I love you,” he whispered. “I love you so f*cking much. You saved me, Fall. You saved me from myself, from my doubts and pains. And I know that isn’t the basis for love. Fuck, it isn’t with me anyway. I love you for more than that. I love the way you smile, the way you dance around the house when no one’s looking. I just f*cking love you. Be with me, Autumn. Come back home.”

She sat still, her brain going in a thousand directions. She lowered her hand, shaken. He couldn’t love her. He couldn’t. She didn’t even know who she was, where she was. How could he love someone he didn’t know?

“I…I barely know who I am, Griffin. How can you love someone who doesn’t even have a real name yet?”

He shook his head then cupped her face. “You’re my Fall. You’re my heart. I love you, Autumn. You might have a new name, might have had to run for far too long, but I know you. I know that you love helping people, that your passion is with others, not only yourself. You are so confident in other ways. I wish you would be confident here. I wish you saw what I saw.”

“My bags are packed, Griffin. I’m so used to going from place to place, I figured I could find someplace else to settle if that’s what I choose to do.” Not quite a lie, but close enough. She was running again, only not from a man that could hurt her body, just her soul.

She was breaking, falling for a man she’d already fallen for. God, she was a coward. But what if he woke up and figured out he’d only loved her because she was there. He still had Lauren in his heart, not her. Her self-doubt screamed at her, saying she wasn’t good enough, that she would always be the one who lied, who ran.

“I was never meant to stay,” she whispered.

Griffin’s eyes darkened and his face paled. “I will never force you to stay,” he said slowly, his voice hoarse. “I will never clip your wings.”

She shook, her hands tightened on his thighs. When had she touched him? Why was she still doing so? She had to run before it hurt more.

She had to run.

“I need to go.”

“Before you do, you have to know that my HEA, my Happy Ever After, is you. It needs you. You are my future. I know that. Even if I have to run with you.” He pulled back and lifted his Henley to reveal fresh ink on his skin.

“What? What is that?”

“It’s the end of my book. Our book. I found my future, my words. Because of you.” The elegant script was still new, so freshly inked he still wore the ointment on top of it.

“You are my destiny. My path less taken. You are my future. My home. You are my life.”

“My words are written on my skin, my heart. They’re in ink and memories. Love me and let me love you. Be with me until we turn our final page.”

Leave it to a writer to break her into a million pieces with words of hope and love.

Tears fell from her cheeks and she leaned into him. “Griffin.”

“My Fall. I’ve fallen for you, Autumn. I fell, and I will fall each day until the day I die. Be with me. Take a chance. Stop running and be with me.”

“I love you,” she whispered. The words came out of her mouth without her acceptance, but once they were said, she knew it was the truth, the one thing she should have said in that kitchen. “I’ll stay.”

And it was the truth. She’d stay. Not because he wanted her to, but because she wanted to. She’d been too scared to admit that. So scared she’d almost lost everything she’d thought to never have.

“Oh, thank f*ck,” Griffin said roughly then brought her close to him. “I am so f*cking happy you love me too. I would have gone anywhere with you, and I still can. You want to go on a road trip? We can. I can write in the car, in a hotel, on a rock in the middle of nowhere. As long as I’m with you, I can write. I promise you that. But I don’t know if I can do that if you’re not here.” He winced. “I don’t mean that I need you only for writing…”

She put her fingers over his mouth. “You were doing wonderfully with the words. Let’s just stop while we’re ahead.”

He nibbled on her fingertips. “Love you, Fall.”

“Love you, writer boy. And I’ll stay, Griffin. For you. For me. For us. No more running.”

Griffin smiled then, and she fell in love with him once more. He brought her into his arms and she sat on his lap, straddling him. He kissed her, his mouth exploring hers as if he hadn’t kissed her before yet knew every inch of her like he was part of her soul. His tongue tangled with hers and she sighed into him.

“I’ve missed your taste,” he growled.

“I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve never clip your wings,” he repeated. “I’ll never force you to stay.”

“I’m staying because of me. Of you. Of what we could be. What we are. I’m staying because I love your family and I love this city. I’ve found a home, Griffin. A real home.”

“Live with me. Be mine. Let us write the next page together.”

This man. Her man. He had a way with words, a way to make her want to stay and never leave.