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CHAPTER 26
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2024-10-29 19:42:56He’d never woken up having held a woman all night before. In fact, he usually tried to find a plausible excuse not to wake up with one at all, and Griffin didn’t mind admitting that having Glow snuggled against him like a warm, sleepy kitten had scared the hell out of him.
If he’d thought the first experience with her had been mind-blowing, then last night had been indescribable. She’d been completely abandoned in his arms and he… Suffice it to say it had been the most complete, the most intimate experience he’d ever had with a woman, even more unsettling than making love to her five nights ago.
Griffin had tried to sneak out of bed, but she’d woken when he was halfway into his jeans. He’d turned when he heard the bedcovers rustling to find her leaning up on one elbow, the linen
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‘Where the hell is she?’ Griffin scowled as he leaned against one of the sideboards in the main drawing room, sipping from a glace of Scotch and talking with one of Kostas’s cousins while awaiting the remaining guests for the rehearsal dinner. A waiter discreetly circulated amongst those already present, and Griffin glanced through the open double doors to where a lavish dining setting, resplendent with antique crystalware, awaited twenty-four of Emeline and Kostas’s close friends and family for the rehearsal dinner. Griffin knew he should’ve been in a better mood, given that his kid sister was marrying one of his oldest friends the following day, but he wasn’t. After his run-in with Emeline this morni
ALWAYS BE MY BABY CHAPTER 28
‘What the hell was she talking about?’ Griffin asked himself frowning. ‘As if I give a damn about Isabelle’s lineage… or her, for that matter.’“Forget Isabelle Pearson. She’s irrelevant right now.”“She’d no doubt be upset to hear you say that.” Griffin frowned again. This conversation wasn’t going at all as he’d planned. He declined a glass of champagne as a passing waiter stopped, and determinedly turned his back on an Italian count he’d befriended at Harvard.“You know… Since we have this moment alone, I’d like to thank you for your help in solving my case. The detective told me everything you did,” Gloriana said politely.“It was nothing… Don’t mention it,” Griffin replied and wa
ALWAYS BE MY BABY CHAPTER 29
Trouble with a capital T, Griffin reminded himself the following morning as he stood beside Kostas in morning suit and top hat at the entrance to the Gothic cathedral, making small talk with yet another expensively dressed wedding guest. It was a splendid day, except the sun had come out to grace Emeline’s big day and brought half the paparazzi in the Western world along with it. No doubt the combined news of Gloriana’s near arrest and subsequent release and the many royal attendants at Emeline’s wedding was causing them to swarm like cockroaches. The local law enforcement was also out in force, to keep intruders at bay, as well as a top London security firm that looked as if it employed some of the men from Gloriana’s premiere. And if Griffin
ALWAYS BE MY BABY CHAPTER 30
Her feelings for Griffin were too real and too raw for her to even attempt friendship with another man at this point. Clearly, Griffin’s ego was still affected, if the way he was studying her was any indication.“Phillip? Fine, I expect,” Gloriana answered. Griffin scowled and brought her hand in tightly against his chest. His other hand was spread wide against that sensitive spot in the small of her back. He was holding her so closely now Gloriana could hear the brush of her tulle skirt against his trousers. Gloriana swallowed and concentrated on holding in the quiver that zipped up her spine, completely forgetting what number she was up to. ‘Damn it! One, two, three…’“Are you counting?”
ALWAYS BE MY BABY CHAPTER 31
“Parents often don’t see the impact they have on their children when they aren’t happy within themselves,” Gloriana offered softly.“No,” Griffin said shaking his head. “And it certainly put me off wanting to risk my heart with another person, but…” He looked down at Gloriana’s small hand enfolded in his, not even having realized that he had reached out to her.“The other night I accused you of using your past as a shield, Gloriana, and I’ve only just come to realize that I do the same thing. I’ve put up barriers to my emotions my whole life because my mother’s love was so unpredictable and my parents’ relationship was so unstable and I don’t want to do that anymore. Actually, that’s not completely true.” Griffin looked up sheepishly.
ALWAYS BE MY BABY CHAPTER 1
“What are you saying, Emeline? Are you kidding me right now? Is this your idea of a joke?” Griffin Blackwood-Carter turned away from the view of the Thames outside his tenth-story office window to stare incredulously at his baby sister. She sat in one of the navy tub chairs on the visitors’ side of his desk. “Griff, you know perfectly well I wouldn’t joke about something so serious!” Emeline exclaimed, gazing at him, her eyes etched with worry. ‘I know it sounds unbelievable but it’s true, and we have to help her.” Actually, her story didn’t sound unbelievable at all, but Griffin knew his trusting sister had a tendency to see goodness in people when there was none to see at all. He turned back to stare at the pedestrians lining the Thames. He couldn’t stand seeing his sister so upset, and he cursed the so-called friend who was responsible for causing Emeline’s state. When she came to stand beside him, Griffin slung his arm around her shoulders, drawing her clo
ALWAYS BE MY BABY CHAPTER 2
Gloriana Templeton was trouble, and if seeing her bent over his father’s prized nineteenth-century desk snorting cocaine at Em’s eighteenth party wasn’t proof enough of that, then surely her attempt to smuggle drugs through Heathrow today was. Not that Gloriana had ever admitted to taking drugs the night of his sister’s party. She’d just given him a phoney, imperious smile that had incited his temper to boiling and after that, he hadn’t wanted to hear any excuses. Why bother? And what had made him even more irate was that earlier that night, Gloriana had looked at him with those violet-colored doe eyes of hers as if he was the only man in the world for her. And, fool that he was, he’d very nearly bought it! Up until that poi
ALWAYS BE MY BABY CHAPTER 3
Lord Griffin Blackwood-Carter, Viscount Torrington, the future 10th Duke of Richmond, stood before her, with enough tension emanating from his body to fire a rocket to the moon.“Oh… Griffin,” she breathed unnecessarily, her mind at once accepting that he was the most sublimely handsome male she had ever seen and rejecting that fact at the same time. He seemed taller and more powerful than she remembered, his lean, muscular physique highlighted by the precise cut of his tailor-made charcoal suit. His chestnut hair was long and lent him an untamed appeal he really didn’t need, framing his olive complexion, flawlessly chiseled jaw, and aristocratic nose to perfection. Her gaze skimmed up over the masculine curve of his lips and settled on cold, pale green eyes ringed with grey that were boldly ass
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ALWAYS BE MY BABY CHAPTER 31
“Parents often don’t see the impact they have on their children when they aren’t happy within themselves,” Gloriana offered softly.“No,” Griffin said shaking his head. “And it certainly put me off wanting to risk my heart with another person, but…” He looked down at Gloriana’s small hand enfolded in his, not even having realized that he had reached out to her.“The other night I accused you of using your past as a shield, Gloriana, and I’ve only just come to realize that I do the same thing. I’ve put up barriers to my emotions my whole life because my mother’s love was so unpredictable and my parents’ relationship was so unstable and I don’t want to do that anymore. Actually, that’s not completely true.” Griffin looked up sheepishly.
ALWAYS BE MY BABY CHAPTER 30
Her feelings for Griffin were too real and too raw for her to even attempt friendship with another man at this point. Clearly, Griffin’s ego was still affected, if the way he was studying her was any indication.“Phillip? Fine, I expect,” Gloriana answered. Griffin scowled and brought her hand in tightly against his chest. His other hand was spread wide against that sensitive spot in the small of her back. He was holding her so closely now Gloriana could hear the brush of her tulle skirt against his trousers. Gloriana swallowed and concentrated on holding in the quiver that zipped up her spine, completely forgetting what number she was up to. ‘Damn it! One, two, three…’“Are you counting?”
ALWAYS BE MY BABY CHAPTER 29
Trouble with a capital T, Griffin reminded himself the following morning as he stood beside Kostas in morning suit and top hat at the entrance to the Gothic cathedral, making small talk with yet another expensively dressed wedding guest. It was a splendid day, except the sun had come out to grace Emeline’s big day and brought half the paparazzi in the Western world along with it. No doubt the combined news of Gloriana’s near arrest and subsequent release and the many royal attendants at Emeline’s wedding was causing them to swarm like cockroaches. The local law enforcement was also out in force, to keep intruders at bay, as well as a top London security firm that looked as if it employed some of the men from Gloriana’s premiere. And if Griffin
ALWAYS BE MY BABY CHAPTER 28
‘What the hell was she talking about?’ Griffin asked himself frowning. ‘As if I give a damn about Isabelle’s lineage… or her, for that matter.’“Forget Isabelle Pearson. She’s irrelevant right now.”“She’d no doubt be upset to hear you say that.” Griffin frowned again. This conversation wasn’t going at all as he’d planned. He declined a glass of champagne as a passing waiter stopped, and determinedly turned his back on an Italian count he’d befriended at Harvard.“You know… Since we have this moment alone, I’d like to thank you for your help in solving my case. The detective told me everything you did,” Gloriana said politely.“It was nothing… Don’t mention it,” Griffin replied and wa
ALWAYS BE MY BABY CHAPTER 27
‘Where the hell is she?’ Griffin scowled as he leaned against one of the sideboards in the main drawing room, sipping from a glace of Scotch and talking with one of Kostas’s cousins while awaiting the remaining guests for the rehearsal dinner. A waiter discreetly circulated amongst those already present, and Griffin glanced through the open double doors to where a lavish dining setting, resplendent with antique crystalware, awaited twenty-four of Emeline and Kostas’s close friends and family for the rehearsal dinner. Griffin knew he should’ve been in a better mood, given that his kid sister was marrying one of his oldest friends the following day, but he wasn’t. After his run-in with Emeline this morni
ALWAYS BE MY BABY CHAPTER 26
He’d never woken up having held a woman all night before. In fact, he usually tried to find a plausible excuse not to wake up with one at all, and Griffin didn’t mind admitting that having Glow snuggled against him like a warm, sleepy kitten had scared the hell out of him. If he’d thought the first experience with her had been mind-blowing, then last night had been indescribable. She’d been completely abandoned in his arms and he… Suffice it to say it had been the most complete, the most intimate experience he’d ever had with a woman, even more unsettling than making love to her five nights ago. Griffin had tried to sneak out of bed, but she’d woken when he was halfway into his jeans. He’d turned when he heard the bedcovers rustling to find her leaning up on one elbow, the linen
ALWAYS BE MY BABY CHAPTER 25
“I’ll be right back, baby,” he murmured against her mouth, and Gloriana flopped back against her pillows as Griffin quietly closed the bedroom door behind him. She’d almost felt sick earlier when she’d woken in the early morning light to find Griffin trying to slip out of her bed without waking her. He’d pulled on his jeans, a frown marring his perfect features, and then he’d noticed her watching him. He’d looked remote, but then, his eyes had devoured her and he’d walked over and let his lips show Gloriana just how much he wanted her.“‘I’m going to make you a cup of tea’,” Griffin had whispered, and she’d smiled and trailed her hand down his naked chest. She didn’t really want tea, just h
ALWAYS BE MY BABY CHAPTER 24
Gloriana stared at Griffin and willed the ground to open up and devour one of them. She’d been having such a nice time and now he’d gone and ruined it.“You… don’t know what you’re talking about,” she whispered, trying to ignore the lump in her throat to subside. She stared at the fire and realized she was about to cry. She never cried, and she wasn’t about to start in Griffin’s presence.“Gloriana…’ Gloriana quickly scrambled to her feet, holding her hands out in front of her as Griffin made to do the same.“I’m…” The words wouldn’t come and she turned to flee, but Griffin caught her.“I can’t let you l
ALWAYS BE MY BABY CHAPTER 23
She smiled and the almost shy look she cast from under her lashes caught him in the solar plexus.“That’s nice to know.”“That’s only because I’m not here all that often,” Griffin teased.“I don’t believe you. And you’re spoiling it again,” Gloriana scolded, picking up on the falseness behind his words.“Come over here… Come by the fire,” he murmured, mentally rolling his eyes at the stupidity of that suggestion. But she did, and he poked at the fire while she found a comfortable position on the rug.“What was it like growing up in your world, Griff?” she asked, watching him carefully as he sat down opposite her, his drink dangled over one knee. Griffin didn’t like talkin
