Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 58808 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 294(@200wpm)___ 235(@250wpm)___ 196(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 58808 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 294(@200wpm)___ 235(@250wpm)___ 196(@300wpm)
I very well may.
I stand there as he tests the water.
Grayson starts removing his own clothes, but I don’t say anything. Without waiting for him, I step into the shower.
“I’m going to wash you.” His voice is behind me, and usually, I wouldn’t allow him this close to my scars, but I don’t move as he gently wipes the washcloth over them. I let the water rain over my face, my hair getting soaked, as I stand there, unable to move.
I feel the loss of him when he steps out. He turns the faucet off, and then a towel is wrapped around me. Lifting me into his hold, he carries me to bed.
My eyes are closed, and I feel him tuck me in.
That’s the last thing I know before I fall asleep.
“You were asleep for more than twelve hours,” Grayson says from the couch in my living room when I walk out. I wrap the towel I fell asleep in tighter around me. Sitting opposite him, he nods to the coffee, and I shake my head.
“Did you plan that whole thing?” I ask.
“Of course I did.”
“Those men, why were they there?”
“I’ve known them since I was a child. I needed backup. You know that man couldn’t be trusted, so they were there to assist.”
I sit back and notice he doesn’t have a shirt on. My eyes trace his skin, beautifully olive with ink placed randomly all over.
“So, you dated her—”
“To get close to her father. I had to understand who he was. I couldn’t just creep into his house and slit his throat… It wouldn’t work like that for him.” He smiles almost fondly. “He may have been a fuckhead, but he had well-trained guards.” I stay quiet, and he continues. “He had fewer when his daughter was around, not wanting any of them to be tempted by her. So to get close, I knew I had to date her. It was easy.”
“Did you fuck her?” I manage to say.
“No, I did not,” he says without pause, and I believe him. “You are the only woman I want to fuck.”
“I can’t even think of sex with you right now. All I keep seeing is you slitting their throats.”
“You did stab him, just not a kill blow. The neck is a kill blow.” He smiles. “Trust me, I know.”
“I want you to leave,” I tell him.
He stands and gazes down at me. “Are you sure?” His eyes lock onto mine.
“Yes. I want to stay in bed. I need to call work, and I need to rest.”
“Okay.” He leans down and kisses the top of my head before walks out the door, shirtless.
I sit there for a good hour before I manage to finally move. I go to the front window and open the drapes to reveal Grayson asleep in his car in the parking lot.
Sighing, I go to my room and get dressed. After slipping on some shoes, I go out to his car and open the passenger door. He wakes and sits his seat upright, then he looks at me.
“Can we get food?” I ask.
He doesn’t say anything, simply starts the car and drives.
“So let me get my head around all of this…” I start, needing to understand his motives. “You didn’t just show up randomly to my place of work. You showed up knowing I work there.”
“Of course. I booked the dress appointment for Charlotte.”
“Do you feel bad at all for what you did to her?” I ask.
Grayson’s expression doesn’t change at the mention of her. “No,” he says coldly.
“What if that were me? Would you feel bad if I was killed instead?”
His hands grip the steering wheel harder. “What type of question is that? You weren’t in that situation because I would not allow you to be in that situation, to begin with.”
“But I easily could have been,” I tell him. “With the police… Because of you,” I remind him.
“And I made that situation go away. No one will ever fucking hurt you again while I am here.”
“What happens if I don’t want you here, Grayson?” We come to a stop, and he looks at me.
“You don’t want me around?” he questions, and I know he sees right through me.
I look away as I answer him, “I don’t know right now. I left for a reason. And I assumed it would be better after I did. But it’s the only place I have ever regretted leaving. I enjoyed my job at your club. I even liked my house.”
“It’s all still yours. Everything. The house, the job. I want you to come home with me and take it all back. I’m sure Monica will be happy to see you again.”
I smile at the thought of Monica—it’s been so long since I’ve seen her—and I enjoyed our friendship. It was one of the first real ones I’ve had.