Creating A Love (The Griffin Brothers Book 3) Read online

  Creating A Love

  Book #3 of The Griffin Brothers

  by Crystal Perkins

  dpgroup.org

  Copyright © 2014 by Crystal Perkins

  Cover Design by Helen Williams

  http://www.allbookedout.com/

  Ebook formatting by Jesse Gordon

  All trademarks are owned by their respective companies and are denoted by the use of proper capitalization of the company and/or brand.

  All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book. This contemporary erotic romance is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners. This ebook is licensed for your personal use only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with, especially if you enjoy sexy, emotional, romance novels with alpha males. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author’s work.

  kk@dpg

  Table of Contents

  About Creating A Love

  Other books by Crystal Perkins

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Epilogue

  Author’s Note

  Acknowledgements

  Sneak Peek of Learning To Love

  About the Author

  dpgroup.org

  About Creating A Love

  Taking a chance on love…

  Photographer Candy Marcus never wanted more than a casual hookup or one night stand. Until she met artist Owen Griffin. For the past two years, she’s only been with him. But it’s still just sex, or at least that’s what she’s told her friends. When he says he wants more, she can finally admit that she loves him.

  Facing the past…

  Protecting Owen from the illegal street art he did as a teen has already hurt two people he cares about. Now another woman from his past has come to collect her own debt. She needs a fake fiancé in order to get her inheritance and she’s not taking no for an answer. Candi knows the other woman’s in love with her real fiancé, so she convinces Owen to go along with everything, not realizing what it may cost her.

  The right choice may cost them everything…

  While the fake engagement isn’t easy on either of them, Candi and Owen know that their love is strong enough to handle whatever’s thrown in their path. Or is it? When Owen makes the only choice he can, he risks losing Candi for real. And as friends and family take sides, theirs may not be the only relationship to fall apart. Can an Art Boy prove to the woman he loves that she’s truly the one who owns his heart or will it be too late for her to listen to the reason behind his betrayal?

  Creating their love was easy, but fighting

  for it is the hardest thing they’ve ever done.

  Other books by Crystal Perkins

  Gaming For Love (The Griffin Brothers #1)

  Building Our Love (The Griffin Brothers #2)

  kazz/span>

  For Candice, Michelle, Sara, and everyone else

  whose family won’t accept them for who they are.

  You deserve love and I hope you find it.

  Chapter 1

  Owen

  “Oh God, Owen. Yes, just like that.” Candi is digging her nails into my shoulders as I pound into her. The back wall of my parents’ guest house has to be scraping her back through her thin yellow dress, but she doesn’t seem to care.

  “You gonna come hard for me, babe?”

  “I’m not your babe! I’m not your any—Oh! Oh! Fuck, fuck, fuck…” Her back arches as she comes as hard as I had hoped she would. I follow right after her.

  “Shit, Cand. That was so damn good.”

  “Yes, it was. Now get out of me so we can go back to the party and pretend this never happened.” She pushes against me and I step back, mourning the loss of her immediately as I zip up my pants.

  “What if I don’t want that anymore?” I know it’s risky, but I had to say it.

  “What do you want, Owe?”

  “You. I want you. And I want everyone to know it.”

  “Are-are you sure?” She looks so vulnerable right now. This woman who the world sees as flippant and hard. This beautiful goddess, who captured my attention the moment I saw her, is scared.

  Candi’s around 5’6” with light mocha skin. Her long legs are slim but muscular. They lead to a perfect ass and hips that are just the right size for holding on to. In the middle of that is the sweetest pussy that I’ve ever tasted. No lie. Her stomach is flat and her breasts are the things of wet dreams. Full and lush, with dark brown nipples that have brought me to my knees on more than one occasion. The curve of her shoulder, leading up to her graceful neck, gets plenty of my attention, too. Her face is almost royal looking, with high cheekbones and intense blue eyes, and her hair is a mass of spiral curls in several shades of brown. She is nothing short of perfect.

  “Yes. There’s nothing that I’m surer of than the fact that I want us to be more. More than just each other’s plus one at events, or secret fucks against walls when no one’s around. I want to hold your hand and kiss you in front of my family and our friends. I want other men to know that you’re mine. I want us, Candi.”

  She pauses for a few long seconds before smiling. “I want us too, Owen.”

  “So, Candi Marcus, you’ll be my girlfriend?”

  She laughs hard and my chest feels too tight in a good way. “Yes, Owen Griffin, I will be your girlfriend.”

  “Thank God. Now bring your mouth back over here so I can kiss my hot girlfriend again.”

  We’re leaning towards each other when we’re interrupted. “I hate to break up this love fest, but we’re needed on the stage Owen.”

  “Mara? How are you?” She’d been a good friend of mine when I was younger, but I haven’t seen her in a few years.

  “I’ve been better, but we can get to that later. How about you introduce me to this hot woman for now.”

  “She’s my hot woman, so don’t even think about it. Candi, this is my old friend, Mara. Mara, this is my girlfriend, Candi.”

  “Thanks for the compliment, Mara. At one time, I would have acted on it, but once you find a guy with a magnificent cock, there’s no going back. At least not in this case.”

  “Magnificent, huh? I knew there was a reason I liked you.” I’m smirking hard. B
ut what guy wouldn’t after that?

  “Umm, yeah, okay. Anyway, we really do need to get out there Owe. We can all talk after.”

  “After? And why do we need to talk?” I’m more than a little confused.

  “Because you still owe me for saving you from the cops when we were seventeen and you painted that building. We both know that it would’ve been your final strike. It’s time for me to collect and while I feel guilty at the moment, I need the favor.”

  “What is it that you need?”

  “You’ll find out soon.” Mara looks at Candi. “I really am sorry.”

  “Why are you apologizing to me?”

  “Because the favor I’m calling in will affect you, too. Let’s go, Owen. Duty calls.”

  I follow her back out to the party after giving Candi a quick kiss. We get to the stage where my family, and Mara’s parents, are waiting for us. Her parents have always been ultra conservative, and I’m pretty sure that she hasn’t come out to them yet. My family’s company is doing a building for them so we threw this party to get the word out.

  My brother, Ryan, and his fiancé Chloe, will be doing most of the work. I’ll be handling the artwork and sculptures. They’ll unfortunately be boring and not the fun, edgy stuff that Chloe’s been encouraging me to do for the other buildings that we’ve worked together on. Mara’s family is prestigious, so this building will be a good thing for our company. We don’t need money, but my dad and Ryan like to keep us visible and show how great our company is.

  “Mara! Why are you late? Stop trying to embarrass us for once!” Mrs. Evans is a royal bitch. I squeeze Mara’s hand to let her know I’m here for her. A moment later, I get the surprise of my life.

  “Owen was proposing to me,” Mara states loud enough for her voice to be picked up by the microphone. She lifts her left hand and flashes a giant diamond.

  The crowd starts applauding as my family looks at me in shock. Frankly, I’m pretty damn shocked, too. Mara pulls me into a hug. “I’m sorry, Owen. I’ll explain this all when we’re alone. I need you to go along with this.”

  “Are you fucking kidding me?” I whisper back. “I just asked Candi to officially be with me, and now you want me to pretend to be engaged to you?”

  “Yes. You owe me, and you can wait a couple of months to be with her in the open.”

  “I’ve already waited almost two years to have this with her.” I sigh before continuing. “But you’re right. I do owe you. I need to find her, though, and explain.”

  I hope to God that she’ll believe me, and understand that I didn’t know this was going to happen. At least she knows Mara’s gay, so she shouldn’t think I would be in a real relationship with her. Even if she wasn’t gay, there’s only one woman who owns my heart. Yeah, I said it. It’s the truth. I love Candi. I’d planned to wait to tell her, but I’ve felt it for a while now. I just need to figure out what’s going on with Mara and claim the woman that I want and not the one who needs some outrageous favor from me.

  * * *

  Candi

  I don’t know what the hell just happened. A few minutes ago, Owen and I decided to finally be a couple. Now some girl—a girl who kinda hit on me—that he’s known for years, just announced that they’re engaged. She has a big ass ring, and Owen didn’t deny it. My heart is aching over the loss of him. I wasn’t ready to admit to him yet that my heart was involved, but I’ve known that I’m in love with him for a long time.

  I escaped into the house as soon as the announcement was made and I’ve been hiding out in the library ever since. The door opens and I turn to see who’s coming inside. It’s my girls. I knew they’d come for me, but honestly, I was hoping Owen look for me as well.

  “Candi? Did you know Owen was engaged? I mean, I thought you two were…well, something.” Erika is looking at me with concern in her eyes.

  “No, I didn’t know about this. I-I thought we were something, too. I want to give him the benefit of the doubt, but if he’s really engaged, well, then…I mean, I won’t be the other woman.”

  “I see the way he looks at you. You’re the only woman for him,” Yasmin tells me. I see in her eyes that she believes it.

  “She’s tall and blonde and beautiful. They make a striking couple and well, maybe we don’t.”

  “Umm, have you looked in the mirror lately, Candi? You are by far the most gorgeous of all of us. There’s not a guy out there who wasn’t checking you out in that dress,” Sam says.

  I know that I look good in this mod style dress with the Peter Pan collar and the top that would be loose on a true “mod” girl but is stretched by my full and firm girls. I’ve never felt insecure about my looks, or my ability to get a man. But I’ve never wanted just one man before. So my mind is messing with me. Making me ask if maybe Mara and Owen were putting on an act with me. What if she isn’t gay, and they were just pretending so they could fuck me over. After Owen literally fucked me. I’m getting angry now, wondering how I could let myself get played so easily.

  “Candi! Babe, you know I’m not really engaged.” Owen bursts into the room and reaches for me. I flinch, and step away from him. His face looks anguished as he drops his hand. Maybe he wasn’t playing me.

  “Keep it down, Owen. Do you want to ruin all my plans?” Mara quickly closes the door.

  “I honestly don’t give a fuck about your plans, Mara. I need to make sure my woman is okay. You could’ve warned us about what you were going to do.”

  “You really didn’t know she was going to do that?”

  “Hell no. Is that what you thought, Cand?” He steps towards me again and this time, I don’t retreat. I let him place his hands on my shoulders as he looks me in the eye.

  “No…yes…I don’t know. I mean you didn’t deny it.”

  “I was in shock, and then Mara reminded me that I owe her. She said she’d explain.” He turns to her. “Go ahead and explain what the hell just happened.”

  “There are too many people in here with us.”

  “My friends can stay. I’d tell them whatever you’re about to tell me, anyway,” I tell her.

  “Seriously?”

  “Yes, seriously. If Candi wants her friends here, then they’ll be here. Now explain, Mara.”

  She takes a deep breath, and then moves to sit on one of the couches in the room. “My parents are very conservative and traditional. They wouldn’t accept me being with my girlfriend, Leila. I wouldn’t care except for the fact that I have an age limit on my trust fund. I can only access the full amount when I turn 23. That’s in two months. I need the money so I can start my own business. Without it, I have nothing. I’ve never worked, and although I have a degree, I’m not sure I can get a job that would pay enough to support myself. I have literally no experience. My parents started getting suspicious when Leila was over so often and I wasn’t dating any guys. I’m afraid they know. But they don’t have proof. I just need to hold them off for two months.”

  “What about your grandma? She’s a cool lady and she wouldn’t care. The trust is from her, right? Or I could just give you some money to start your business. That should clear my debt to you.”

  “I don’t think she would, but I can’t be sure. Yes, the trust is from her. I don’t want your money, Owen. I want what’s mine. I just need us to pretend to be engaged for two months. Please. I’ll help you two see each other. It just has to be in private.”

  Owen lifts a hand from my shoulder and runs it through his brown hair, making it stick up in short, sexy, spikes. “It’s up to you, Candi.” He’s still looking me in the eye, making sure I know he means what he’s saying.

  “It’s not up to her! You owe me. I kept you out of jail.”

  “Yeah, you did. But you’re not the only one, and the other person who did that gave up the man she loved for 3 years. She would never ask me for something like this. What did you have to give up to cover for me? Oh, that’s right, nothing. Plus, you didn’t even ask me. You just went ahead and did it. So, it is up to
Candi, because she’s the one who matters to me in this situation. I’d go to jail in a heartbeat if it meant she wouldn’t be hurt.”

  I know that he’s serious about it being my choice and I nearly swoon on the spot. Damn, he’s so hot and sometimes so unexpectedly sweet. I break eye contact with him, and look over to Mara. She’s pleading with me with her eyes. I sigh and look away, knowing what the right thing to do is, but hating it all the same. I look back to Owen. “Go ahead and help her, Owe. We can wait two more months to go public with our relationship. As long as she can help us see each other privately, I’m okay with this. I just don’t want us moving backwards when we’ve finally decided that this thing between us is, well…a thing.”

  “It’s the best thing, babe. And we will see each other. Whether Mara helps or not, I’m going to be with you.” Owen leans over and kisses me tenderly. We haven’t been tender with each other very often. I know he’s trying to show me that to him, our relationship is different now. It’s better. I kiss him back the same way to let him know I agree.

  “Your place or mine tonight?” I ask him when we break apart. We both live downtown, but in different buildings.

  It’s Mara who answers. “Candi’s would probably be best for tonight. There may be some press waiting outside your place.”

  “Are you good with that?”

  “Yeah, I’m good with my place.”

  “Then let’s get out of here so I can spend the rest of the night showing you how sorry I am that this is happening.” He grabs my hand and starts to walk towards the door.

  “Let go of her hand, Owen. You can’t go back out to the party like that. You have to hold my hand, and we have to leave together. We can split up somewhere on the way.”

  “And how are you going to get back?” I can tell that Owen’s trying to hold in his temper and he hasn’t let go of my hand yet.

  “I’ll take her.” We all turn to see a stunning woman with long brown hair and eyes.

  “Lei, are you okay?” Mara rushes over to her, and kisses her lightly on the mouth.