Page 7 of Destroying My Ex

There were no other thoughts but the way he made me feel. I’ve been kissed before, though not like this. Not a kiss that made my whole body tingle from head to toe and places between my thighs ache and grow wet. Of course, Tommy Tilson was all of thirteen when he stole that kiss, and the black eye he got persuaded him not to do it again, so there were no repeats.

An inborn fear of getting married too young and losing my dreams kept me out of the clutches of the high school and college boys who were always flocking around me either because of my wealth or the unusual color of my eyes.

I didn’t come here for this; I came so that I could acquire the tools needed to run my family’s company in the future. The company that had been promised to me by my grandparents a long time ago.

One of the reasons I stopped caring about my father’s actions is because I know something he doesn’t. He and his wife are expecting a big payout upon the death of his parents, but I know the truth. They told me the day I turned eighteen, and they had me meet with their lawyer to sign the papers, making me the heir to all they owned.

My father would be getting a whopping one hundred thousand, but that was nothing compared to the almost billion dollars I stood to inherit, and that was before we took into consideration the worth of the companies we owned globally and domestically.

I was sworn to secrecy, so not even my mother knows. She thinks all the meetings with lawyers were about my trust. I’ve already been getting quarterly reports as well as a stipend, which is separate from my trusts, of which I only use the interest for my expenses, which are practically nonexistent.

My maternal grandparents bought me the off-campus condo, which was in my name since I was the only other heir to their fortune besides my mother, who was their only child. Something else Janice finds issue with.

She was brought up solidly middle class, and it burns her ass that Mom was always everyone’s princess. I’m sure she felt as if she’d won big when she stole Dad away from her, but if I had to take a guess, I’d say Mom came out the winner since Dad was no prize.

So, I was here to prove to my grandparents that when they were gone, which I hope is a very long time from now, the company they’d put their blood, sweat, and tears into would be in good hands.

But this-this felt like it could be something. I’d heard his wild revenge plans and thought they were well deserved. But I wonder if he’d given any thought to how much more devastating it would be if the two of us were together.

I dared not bring it up because he’s already been abused by my family, but I felt the pull long before tonight. It had been building each time his arm brushed against mine, or he looked into my eyes too long.

I like his straight-talking, no-nonsense demeanor, the way he knows what he wants, and his moral sense of justice. But if I’m honest, what I like most of all is the way he makes my heart beat out of time.

I like the way he makes me forget everything else but him. And the way he pushes me when I get tired and want to give up because the class is too hard. Not that I would, but it’s nice to have someone there who cared enough to talk me down off the ledge whenever I climbed up there.

And now I have one more thing to like about the sexy Grayson with the grey-blue eyes and sandy blonde hair. Just looking at him makes me feel weak and just a little bit lightheaded. Now we have that kiss to add to the mix, and I’m sure I’m a goner.

If there’s one thing I know, it’s my feelings, and right now, I feel like I’ve found my forever. A little voice in my head whispered that my Mom once thought the same thing. But in the short time I’d known him, I already knew that he was nothing like my father.

When you’ve lived with a snake that could strike at any moment, you learn to read people very well. Janice’s years of torment had taught me that skill. I’d bet everything I had that he was the one.

“So, it looks like we’re doing this.” I rested my hand against his chest and felt his heartbeat, which was just as wild as mine.

“Yeah, we are.” Another one of his kisses, and I would’ve promised him anything.

Thank heaven he had the wherewithal to pull our lips apart and get up to leave my apartment. I wanted him to stay; it was on the tip of my tongue to ask. But as if reading my thoughts, he turned back and leaned down to see into my eyes.

“I’m not staying tonight, but soon. When you look back on our first time together, I don’t want there to be any doubt that this was something we both wanted and not that we got carried away and couldn’t control ourselves.”

I could only nod my head in approval before he turned and left. I missed him already and the room felt empty, like something vital had been taken. I sat there for the longest time, waiting for my heart to calm down.

And just as I got it under control, he called me. My voice hitched on the phone and I did everything not to cry. I don’t know why I suddenly felt like crying or why my heart hurt the way it did.

“You okay?”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine.”

“I’ll stay on the phone with you until I get home.”

“Okay, but pay attention to your surroundings.” Since my place isn’t that far from campus, he likes to walk back or jog unless we’re pulling an all-nighter, in which case he drives the short distance to put my mind at ease.

Our neighborhood is one of the safest, but still, I worry. I never even worried this much about myself being out and about at all hours. But it feels like every time he’s out of my sight, I’m afraid I’m going to lose him.

There’s still some of that little girl in me who was of everything from a father to a happy home with two parents. I had to watch someone else have that at my and my mother’s expense. The fact that Lacey was the other woman involved most definitely made things a lot more complicated.

I’d lost a lot to her already, I wasn’t about to lose Grayson as well. I’d made up my mind that I was going to go the distance; I was willing to face anything that came my way as long as he wasn’t taken from me.

Just the tone of his voice was able to bring me some semblance of peace, and I forgot my loneliness before long and got lost in the dreams his words and promises wove.

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