Total pages in book: 34
Estimated words: 31834 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 159(@200wpm)___ 127(@250wpm)___ 106(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 31834 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 159(@200wpm)___ 127(@250wpm)___ 106(@300wpm)
“No, I haven’t,” Eve said.
“I bet the animals are missing you. If you get dressed, I’ll take you to the shelters to help.”
“Don’t you have more important things to do?” Eve asked and nibbled her lip.
“No, taking you wherever you need to go is all I have to do.” And it was a start. So far, they had gotten through breakfast without arguing.
Grim was determined for her to see that nothing had changed between them. Yes, he didn’t go by the name Graham, and he wasn’t a businessman. Other than his name, he’d allowed her to assume everything else, and he wasn’t responsible for not being what she made up in her mind.
****
One Month Later
Everything felt like it had returned to normal. Well, their new normal. She attended the animal shelters every day. Grim was there to take her, and when he wasn’t, one of his men was given the job. His men didn’t seem to like the task, so she tried to make it as painless as possible.
She had gotten used to this during her time with Grim before she knew the real him. He’d admitted to her that while his men kept their distance, they had always been there when he couldn’t, to protect her. Eve could only imagine how many enemies he must have to feel the need to constantly keep an eye on her. It must be exhausting to Grim, and yet he did it without a single complaint.
At the care home, she got the men to help, carrying teas, or listening to the residents talk. When they got to the shelters, that was a different experience entirely. Most of the men who opted to be her guard tried to remain stoic and distant, but they all got the responsibility of walking the dogs or grooming them. She didn’t like them standing around just watching her, so she tried to get them involved in every area.
Slowly, day by day, week by week, it had started to feel good again. Even when she was around Grim. If he couldn’t be with her during the day, he was always there at night. They shared breakfast and dinner together. Each night, it was getting harder to leave Grim. They would sit, enjoying each other’s company, talking about everything and nothing. Sometimes they’d move to his office, where he’d enjoy a glass of whiskey. She wasn’t much of a drinker, and always stuck with either water or hot chocolate, depending on what she fancied.
If they were not in his office, then in the sitting room, enjoying some mundane show on television. They never stuck to one thing.
Each night was getting harder. Eve would try to leave before Grim, but every time she did, he was more than willing to escort her upstairs to her room. He never invited her back to his bedroom. Nor did he kiss her.
She had lost count of the number of times she stood there at her door, waiting, wishing the seconds would slow down, so in some way she could convince him to kiss her. It never happened, other than perhaps a brush of the lips on her forehead or her cheek, and that had only been in the last few days. To Eve, that wasn’t a real kiss.
It was a nightmare.
Dreams were filled with memories. Grim had been her first. She had never known the touch of another man, and the truth was she didn’t want to know any other touch. The only one she wanted, the only one she craved, was Grim, and it was driving her to distraction. It had gotten so bad that she found herself thinking about him while cleaning out stalls, imagining him showing up and just taking her.
Their first time together, while being painful, had also been one of the most amazing experiences of her life, one she knew she would never forget. Grim had made the pain go away, and her thoughts were not mired by any of it.
Arriving home, she quickly pulled out of her memories of Grim touching her, holding her, stroking her, bringing her to the best experience in her life.
She thanked the guard who had taken her for the day. It was Friday, so she wished him a good night and then rushed into the house, hoping to get ready and compose herself before seeing Grim, only he was already there. He held a clothing bag in his hands, the hook on one finger, and he smiled at her. It was the kind of smile that made her stomach somersault all over the place.
“Get dressed. We’re going out,” he said.
“What?”
He stepped closer to her, put the bagged clothing in her hands, and then pressed a kiss to her cheek. His breath fanned across her neck, and his nose brushed that spot next to her ear that suddenly felt incredibly sensitive. She didn’t want him to stop.