“Mmm,” I say, roughing him up. “Is he the only one?” I ask, looking over his head, though it’s a little tricky with the way he’s jumping around.
Grace smiles softly, and I want nothing more than to feel her lips on mine right now. I resist the urge for now, feeling guilty about leaving Shadow last night. After giving him a proper hello, I stand and make my way to the couch, stopping in front of Grace. She looks up at me as I lean down, planting a hand on the back of the couch on either side of her until my face is only inches from hers.
“How was your day?” she asks, but I’d rather talk about anything else than today’s shit show.
“It’s starting to feel a lot better now.” I sigh, leaning in a little closer. I’m still not sure exactly where we stand, but I do know that I can’tnottouch her. And as long as she lets me, it’s what I’m going to do.
Closing the distance between us, I graze my lips against hers. Grace takes my face in her hands as she opens for me, and a soft sound escapes her when I slip into her mouth. Our tongues move together in a slow dance of exploration and passion, and by the time we manage to pull ourselves apart, I’ve almost forgotten everything weighing on me.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Grace asks, her hands moving lightly across my cheeks.
“I’d rather kiss you again,” I say, my eyes flicking between hers, then down to her lips. They part on a breath, and I take that as my invitation to have her mouth again. Fuck, I can’t seem to get enough of her.
Her taste runs through my veins.
Her touch ignites my skin.
I pull back on a groan before I lose myself completely. “I really have to get some extra work done tonight.”
Shit, fucking Vincent.As much as I want to stay right here, I can’t afford to fall behind on work now, not with all eyes on me.
“I wish you didn’t have to,” Grace says.
“Me too.” I’ve always worked hard, even before I took over the company. My father never made me feel like I had to prove myself—it was a burden I placed on myself, and it’s only gotten heavier since he died. Up until now, I’ve never had something,or someone,clash with that. But now I’m starting to feel torn in two different directions.
“Did you sleep?” I ask as I straighten, letting her hands fall from my face. Grace doesn’t respond, but I’m guessing the answer is no from how she looks away. “Did you at least rest?”
“Mason made me stay on the couch and elevate my ankle all day,” she says, returning her eyes to mine. Her legs are tucked up under her at the moment, but there’s a stack of two pillows close by her on the couch, along with a now melted ice pack.
“How is it?” I ask, noting the fresh tape wrapped around it.
“Mason doesn’t think I did much more damage, just inflamed the existing injury. He said to keep it strapped for the next few days and continue icing it, and we’ll see how it goes,” she says, and the guilt over being the reason she hurt herself again in the first place fires back up.
“This is yours,” I say, reaching into my pocket before holding the item out to her.
Grace’s brows crease in confusion as she stares at the new phone in my hand. “I don’t understand,” she says.
“Not being able to call you last night killed me. I had no idea where you were or if you were hurt…” I suppose she might not have answered my call regardless, but not having the option was worse than the possibility that she could have ignored me. At the very least, I’m sure we could have tracked the fucking thing. “Please just take it. Mine and Mason’s numbers are already programmed in, as well as the office.
“Okay,” Grace says softly after a few more seconds before taking the phone from my hand, and I let out a relieved breath.
“Thank you,” I say.
“I heard what happened today.”
My head snaps up to find Easton leaning against the doorframe of my father’s office with his arms crossed over his chest.
“Does the whole office know?”
“No, but there’s not much Vincent does without me finding out about it,” he says, walking into the office, but a thought occurs to me, and my gaze swings back towards the now empty doorway. “Relax. I doubt she even knows I’m here.” He scowls.
I left Grace in the lounge with Shadow whilst I came to get some work done, and it’s probably only been twenty minutes before Easton showed up. The last thing I wanted was another interaction between the two of them.
“Why the fuck did you do it? There’s no way you would have thoughtIwanted Grace there last night.”
“To get some fucking answers,” he spits out.
“Bullshit, Easton. You wouldn’t have let me kill him if that was the case,” I say. “What, you thought you could scare her enough into talking, is that it? Or was your plan for her to run all along?”