Page 86 of Catch Me When I Fall

His head shot up. “You don’t owe me a goddamn thing.”

I opened my mouth to say something, but he beat me to it. “Baby, me and my guys, we would gladly kill every fucking rapist on this fucking planet if we could. Killing that fucker was easy. I’m not going to lose any sleep over him.” He moved then, his hands going to my knees and gently spreading them before dropping to his between my thighs. My breaths began to quicken, and his hands slid up my thighs and around my back before stopping at my waist, his fingers pressing in. “If anyone, man or woman, tries to harm you, that’s what’s coming to them, do you understand?”

He yanked me forward until I was on the edge of the bed. My hands shot out, bracing myself on his shoulders as he stared at me. “Been searching all my life for you. There’s no way in fucking hell I’m letting anyone get away with hurting you, Sunshine. Tell me you understand that.”

“Grayson,” I rasped. He was willing to kill for me—again?

His beard was shorter than the last time I’d seen him, which made it easier to tell when his jaw was tight—like it was right then. One of his hands at my waist snaked up my back, his fingers diving into my curls as he brought me closer to him. When our foreheads met, he growled, “Last night will haunt me for the rest of my fucking life, but I swear to you, I’ll do everything in my power to make up for the pain I caused you, the danger I put you in.”

Our lips were a mere breath apart, and all I wanted was for him to kiss me as his words settled over my heart. I knew in my soul; he meant every word. Last night, he said he’d been in hell.

He wanted to come back to me. He’d planned on it. He just couldn’t.

“Kiss me,” I begged as the guilt I felt last night made itself known again.

Would he forgive me for Leo?

Would he understand?

He shook his head against me. “No. Not with my men downstairs waiting on you.”

“But—”

“If I kiss you, I’m going to lose my shit, Carrie. I’m holding on by a thread here,” he clipped, growling at the end of it.

“Lose your shit?”

He pulled back, his nostrils flaring as his hand in my hair moved to the front, his fingers wrapping around my neck. He wasn’t adding pressure, just holding me in place like he had six months ago. His thumb stroked my jaw as he said, “I would never hurt you, and I know after last night; you need time. I will never force you to do something you don’t want to do but trust me when I say that if I kiss you right now, I won’t be able to stop until you’re underneath me with your legs spread wide, begging me to shove my cock so far inside of you that we both forget our own fucking names.”

My breath hitched, and despite everything that happened last night, my body still wanted him.

My body would always want Grayson.

He shook his head. “Stop looking at me like that,” he ordered as he released me and rose to his feet.

I watched, stunned, as he walked to my dresser and plucked a pair of light pink lace panties from my top drawer and my white bra from the second. Then, he walked to my closet and disappeared inside. Seconds later, he reemerged with a pair of leggings and sweatshirt from Rossy’s and carried them into the bathroom.

Once I heard the shower running, I stood up and made my way around the bed. Grayson came out and frowned. “Told you to take it slow.”

“Why do I feel so…off? What the hell did he drug me with?” I asked, bringing my brows together.

He came to me and guided me into the small bathroom. There, he spun me to face him. “You need me to help you shower?” he asked, his voice serious.

“No. I need to know why I feel like this,” I snapped. “I need to go to the doctor, and I need—”

“There’s no need for that,” he assured me.

I froze. “Why not?”

Grayson stared at me for a long time, neither of us giving a shit about the water I was wasting. “Jake, one of my men, ran a blood test on you last night—”

“—a blood test?” I squeaked.

He nodded and gently grabbed my wrist, bringing my arm up. My eyes dropped to where his thumb was stroking over the bandage. “I had to draw some blood last night while you were passed out,” he explained softly. “I hope to God I didn’t leave a bruise.”

“Grayson, what the hell is going on? Why can’t I go to the hospital?” I breathed, everything hitting me all at once, panic clogging my throat.

He stepped closer to me, putting his hands on my upper arms. “Leo gave you something—a date rape drug you can only get one place in the world, Carrie. If you to the hospital and get a blood test done there, it would be a shit show, and that’s the last thing we need.”

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