Page 71 of Grave Obsession

I spill the beans as we walk. Then in the elevator. Then again as we sink into the hot tub. The hot water and jets feel amazing. Victoria pours something into the water and bubbles start to overflow. She laughs as the chambermaid cleaner inside of me cries for whoever will have to steam clean this carpet tomorrow.

“It sounds like things are going good with him, Mal. I’m happy for you.”

“Yea, thanks.” I smile, but it’s forced. I’m sobering up and my mind is struggling with whether to tell my best friend about my other man or not. Having someone to talk to about this whole fiasco would be life changing, but I can’t handle the judgement. What if she called the cops on my stalker? What if Nox found out my other man is an unknown face who beats people up for me? Ghost is a criminal, I have to keep my mouth shut and secrets locked up tight.

“Mallory Elizabeth, what are you not telling me?”

“Huh? What makes you think I’m hiding something?” I reply, shock clearly evident in my voice.

She levels me with a glare and I panic.

“Better tell me now before Jackie comes back, you know I won’t let this go. Whatever it is, it’s eating at you. Now, spill.” How can she know me so fucking well? It’s unnerving.

“Nox won’t have sex with me,” I blurt out. It’s the only thing I could think of that would save me.

“He fucking what? Why not?”

“I don’t know. I’ve barely been allowed to touch him south of the equator.”

Victoria picks up her beer and guzzles it down, lost in thought. My eyes fall closed as I lay my head back and soak up the fleeting moment of tranquility.

“Maybe he’s got a tiny dick,” she finally says, breaking the silence.

My eyes shoot open and I raise my head slowly to look at her. She starts cackling maniacally just as Jackie comes strolling through the door. Perfect timing. The mouth-watering aroma of pizza and burgers saturates the room, effectively silencing Victoria’s questions for the rest of the night.

Chapter Fifty

Mallory

A multitude of emotions war within me as I pull into the parking lot at the police station. Burgers, fries, and milkshakes sit on the passenger seat next to me. There’s a grocery bag on the floor behind my seat filled with electrolyte drinks, bottled water, instant coffee, assorted nuts, chocolates, dried fruits, and cereal. It's a bit presumptuous of me to think he will have time to stick around and make trail mix with me, but if he can’t, it’s something I can throw together myself and leave as a snack for him.

I spot Nox’s truck at the other end of the lot, he’s here. I rest my forehead against the steering wheel as I gather the confidence to interrupt his day. I watch from the corner of my eye as condensation gathers around our beverages and slides down the side, soaking into the already flimsy cardboard drink tray. I opt to leave the food in the car until I find out if I can pull him away from the job for a few minutes. Shaking out my worries, I rise from the car, not bothering to lock it behind me. I’m in the police lot after all.

The entrance door squeaks on its hinges as I pull it open, drawing the attention of the lady behind the welcome desk. “Good afternoon, dear, what can I do for ya?” Her southern twang pulls me back to the night I called the cops on Ghost. What did Nox say her name was? Claire? Clara?

“Hello, I’m looking for Officer Graves, is he in?” I ask. She quirks an eyebrow at me then her gaze turns assessing.

“Which one are you lookin' for?”

“Excuse me?”

“Which Officer Graves? The old one or the young one?” she clarifies.

“Oh, sorry. The young one, Lennox Graves.” She nods, picking up the receiver of a corded phone that appears to be from a hundred years ago and presses a button. Just one, which I find odd. Don’t you have to dial a full phone number on a phone?

“Can you come to the front, please?” she asks the person on the other end of the line. There’s a pause and then she says, “Because I said so.” She then abruptly hangs up the phone without waiting for a response from the other person, who I assume is Nox. Turning back to me she smiles from ear to ear, “He will be right out, dear.”

“If now isn’t a good time, I can always come back later. I don’t want to get him in trouble or bother him if he’s busy.” I worry my bottom lip between my teeth and tangle my fingers in front of me. This was such a stupid idea.

“Don’t you go anywhere, Miss, he will be along in a minute.” She turns to the computer and proceeds to carry on with whatever she was doing before I arrived. The click-clacking of her nails on the keyboard filling the awkward silence as I sit and wait.

“Mallory?”

I turn at the sound of my name caressed by the deep baritone of Nox's voice. Electricity zips through my body as butterflies swarm in my stomach. He’s in a black t-shirt that hugs him like a second skin, dark ink coating both his arms spreading all the way down to his fingers. He’s too far away to make out details, but I’m still fucking salivating over him. He's uncovered before me for the first time and I love what I see. His hand will make such a pretty necklace. Where the fuck did that come from? I’m sure my eyes have glazed over with lust due to the indecent thoughts stirring in my mind. He momentarily disappears from view and when he returns he has his jacket and gloves on. Why, though? Does he think I won’t like his tattoos because I have none? Maybe they are offensive?

I rise from my seat as he weaves around the desks, making his way over to me. He storms up to me and crashes his mouth onto mine, arousal shooting through me like lightning.

“I’ll give y’all a minute alone but then I need to come back and work,” the lady behind the computer says.

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