Page 91 of Forbidden Obsession

“Emma! Emma!” Grant bellowed, bursting through the front door.

A surge of panic, fear-charged adrenaline jolted me. Heart lodged in my throat, I launched from the chair and sprinted toward the family room. When I rounded the corner and saw Grant standing by the door, smiling from ear-to-ear, I wanted to slap him for scaring me half to death.

The second he saw the look on my face, guilt and pain replaced his smile.

“Fuck,” he barked, eating up the distance between us before wrapping me tightly in his big arms. “I’m sorry, baby girl. I wasn’t thinking. You’re safe. I’ve got you, Emma,” he murmured while I trembled against him, struggling to sweep the panic from my system.

“Let me help,” he murmured, cupping my cheeks and claiming me with a raw, hungry kiss.

As he swept his tongue deep inside my mouth, pouring a deluge of passion and need into my system, my fears evaporated.

I clutched his shoulders and melted against him as he swallowed my kitten-soft whimper. All too soon, he slowly lifted from my mouth, then flashed a wolfish grin. “I’m damn glad your lip has finally healed so I can kiss you proper again.”

“I’m damn glad it’s finally healed so I can wrap them around your cock and finally suck you proper again,” I said with a cheeky smirk.

“I like the way you think,” he growled, then grinned excitedly. “Close your eyes. I have a surprise for you.”

I lowered my lids and heard him step onto the porch. Anticipation spiked. A few seconds later, I felt and smelled him stride past me, heading toward the family room before he gently cupped my elbow and guided me in the direction of the couch.

“Keep your eyes closed.”

“I am.”

“You’re never gonna believe this,” he chuckled, slowing to a stop. “Okay. Open them.”

I lifted my lashes and blinked in shock at the suitcases—that had been in the trunk of my rental car—lying, open, side-by-side on the couch.

Gaping at Grant, I babbled, “How? Where? What the hell?”

His whiskey-smooth laugh flowed over me as I stared at the clothes, shoes, handbags, and toiletries I thought were lost forever.

“Where did you find these?” I asked, finally able to string a full sentence together.

“While I was in town to get groceries, I saw a guy who hangs out with the snitch I went to meet the day…”

“Go on,” I urged before Grant could drown in a river of guilt.

“I offered him a couple of twenties if he’d tell me where my snitch was at. He told me the paranoid little prick was lying low in an abandoned farmhouse northeast of Denton. He didn’t have an address, but he gave me the name of the street. So, I took a drive. I didn’t find the farmhouse, but I found your rental car…beat to shit. I knew it was yours when I saw the license plate.”

“That’s crazy,” I murmured, gazing at all my things.

“Anyway, the trunk was still sealed, so I grabbed a crowbar from my truck and popped it open. And like they say…the rest is history.”

The pride on his face and excitement in his voice collided with the strange, prickly sensation crawling beneath my skin.

“What’s wrong? You don’t look one bit happy.”

“I-I am…I mean, I think I am. I’m not sure,” I whispered, dragging my fingertips over the silky, black and gold fabric. It felt as luxurious as I’d remembered, but… “I’m not sure what’s wrong. This was my favorite blouse from my Versace collection, but it feels strange…like it belongs to someone else.”

Grant grunted and nodded thoughtfully. “Touch the others.”

Rummaging through the suitcases, I realized the clothes I’d once coveted didn’t ignite even the tiniest spark of joy or happiness I’d felt buying and wearing them back in New York.

Thoughts tangling, I stepped back and scowled.

“Talk to me, little one,” Grant instructed in that deep, commanding voice I couldn’t refuse.

“I’m sorry, I know you’re excited you found them, but…” I cringed. “I-I don’t want them anymore.”

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