Page 86 of The Ripper

“All your stuff is here,” he said simply, then he got out of the car and walked over to open the door for me. “Well, everything except what you have in the safe. We’ll go back tomorrow, and you can get it then.”

“What?” I blinked countless times, and I stepped out of the car. “When? How… I didn’t agree to move in with you,” I raised my voice as I paced back and forth in the middle of the garage.

“It wasn’t a topic up for negotiation, Arella. Your place isn’t safe for you anymore, and I wasn’t going to let you spend another night there knowing that someone tried to break in.”

Fuck that logic right off.

“You could have just spent a few nights there to convince yourself it was a one-time thing, a coincidence,” I argued, trying to remain rational and not pour all my anxiety out on him.

“I don’t believe in coincidences, besides… I like my bed,” he tilted his head to the side, seemingly more amused by my tantrum than anything else.

“Are you fucking serious right now?” I ran my fingers through my hair and looked up at the ceiling like there was a deity there, praying they would make this man see how wrong his ways were.

He stalked towards me like a predator. His eyebrows drew together, casting a menacing shadow over his eyes, which somehow seemed even brighter. I took a step back, then another, and so on until my butt touched one of the cars.

Grimm wasted no time and caged me in, his palms pressing against the hood, leaning over me and pushing me back until I was sitting on it. I looked him in the eye and held his gaze to show him that I wasn’t intimidated by him, even though I was faking it.

“It’s not about the fucking bed, no,” he spoke over my face. “It’s about the fact that I’m one of the most hated men in the world; I’ve killed hundreds of people, Arella, maybe even thousands, and that’s earned me enemies who can make horror movies seem like fucking walks in the park. And yes, I could have spent the night at your place, but next time they wouldn’t have sent just one person to rattle your doorknob, they would have sent an entire army to break down the door. I can’t protect you there, and even though I have no problem taking on multiple men at once, I’d be focused on you, and I wouldn’t be able to fight properly knowing that you were caught in the middle of it.”

His tone sent a shiver down my spine, anger pouring out of him and seeping into my pores, and I turned my head to the side as the realization of my new reality washed over me.

I knew what he was, I knew what it entailed, and yet I’d jumped headfirst into tumultuous waters without so much as a life jacket, and now I was in a room without doors or windows, where air seemed to become more toxic by the second, slowly suffocating me.

“I wish you would have asked me before moving my things,” I whispered as I hugged myself, and his body seemed to relax in sync with my tone before he took my face in his palms and tilted my head up. “Communication is important if we want this to work,” I continued.

“I asked you, and you gave me the wrong answer.”

“It wasn’t a question, Grimm. It was a demand, something that sounded like an order, not like a man who wanted to live with me.”

“I’m not used to the conventional way of asking for things,” he admitted as his fingertips gently brushed my cheeks, wiping away the tears that fell without my permission. “I never wanted to live with anyone until now. My whole life I’ve seen women as a means to release tension, then you came along. You fucking bulldozed your way in, with your stupidly modest dresses and that innocent smile. You shook my whole belief system. You got under my skin like nobody else managed to. Ever.”

“I have no idea how relationships work because I never cared enough to keep a woman for more than a few hours. I have no idea how to behave or how to stop these fucking tears from falling out of your eyes,” he whispered the last sentence, and more tears fell out. But I’m willing to learn… if you’re willing to teach me.”

He leaned down and kissed the corners of my eyes, my forehead, my cheeks, and my lips, and with each kiss he pressed on my skin, any fear that crept into my brain slowly dissolved, leaving nothing but him behind.

His touch, his kiss, his scent.

Was I being manipulated? Probably. But did I care? Not really.

Was agreeing to move in with him stepping on every value I had set for myself in the last nine years? No doubt. Absolutely. I left my past to escape danger, to be safe, and now I was giving up on everything. On my independence and safety, putting both of them in his hands with the faith that he would protect me.

Was it worth it? Risking everything I had worked for?

Another look at him, and my heart skipped a beat, pushing me to take the plunge, once again making the choice for me.

“Okay,” I whispered over his lips.

“Okay?” he repeated.

“Yeah,” I nodded. “Okay,” I breathed out.

I barely had time to smile before he lifted me up and twirled me around a few times, and when my feet touched the ground again, I was dizzy and overwhelmed.

“Come on,” he took my hand in his and pulled me towards the elevator, a little too excited about what just happened.

I started laughing at his impatience, confused by the feelings inside me.

Despite everything he was doing, a part of me still believed that he would eventually get bored. But even though that thought frightened me, the prospect of living with him had a stronger hold than my insecurities.

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