Page 87 of The Ripper

He picked me up like a bride when the elevator doors opened into his living room.

“Welcome home,” he whispered, his nose buried in my hair as he crossed the hypothetical threshold.

He gave me a thorough tour of the penthouse, because the last time I was there, I didn’t exactly have any time to look around, since I was busy patching up the owner.

It had too many bedrooms for a single man, a fully equipped kitchen even though he couldn’t even fry an egg, three bathrooms — not counting the one in his bedroom — and a closet the size of my entire apartment, half of which had been cleared out to make room for my clothes.

Mounted on the wall opposite the double doors was a glass display case containing a mannequin that seemed to have my exact measurements, wearing the white dress I wore the day we met on the plane, only it was stained with his blood from the night he took a bullet for me.

I covered my mouth with both hands when I saw it and reluctantly passed through the many boxes in the closet to reach it. I couldn’t see him, but I knew he was right behind me. Not because I could hear him, but because I could feel him. My body was directly attuned to his, my entire being was, and I was sure I could have found my way to him even in the middle of a crowd.

Engraved in silver on the glass were the words “tainted innocence” and just below the beautiful cursive was the phrase I told to him the night we slept entwined on Klaus’ couch.

“A messenger of God, destined to fall for the demon of destruction.”

I didn’t ask when he had the time to do all that, because he managed to pack up and move all my things into his home during the four hours we spent at the warehouse.

Grimm moved fast, too fast, and I wasn’t sure I could keep up with him. Sure, I knew he had an army at his disposal to do everything he asked, but still, he was going at the speed of light.

His father’s words echoed in my head, and now I understood them much better than I had earlier.

In my head were a few weeks, but in Grimm’s head, six years. Six years of waiting and yearning and feeling helpless. Six years of fighting his own nature so as not to bring me into his world. Six years of agony, and now he wanted to do it all with rapid fire, even if he burned me in the process.

It was true that he had been a constant image in my brain for nine years, but I came to the conclusion that his obsession overpowered mine from all angles.

I cried.

Again.

Because it was beautiful, poetic and scary, all at the same time, and I ran into his arms, completely speechless, where he waited for me just like he always did, ready to offer me anything I asked.

*

After we ate — because he insisted on feeding me again — I went into his bathroom to shower. Our bathroom, as he kept reminding me.

As I stepped under the water in his unnecessarily large walk-in shower, I felt a sudden surge of safety rush through me.

Yes, I was scared, since fear came with the territory, but I knew it in my bones that Grimm was going to do everything in his power to stop whatever and whoever came after me, if anyone, because I still thought he was exaggerating and making a big deal out of nothing.

Again, I felt him even before he touched me, but I didn’t turn around as he wrapped his big arms around my waist and pressed me against his naked body. I leaned into his touch, and he lowered his head on my shoulder to press a soft kiss to the side of my neck, right on the spot he seemed to love so much, namely my pulse line.

“How are you feeling?” he asked as his thumbs traced small, soothing circles over my stomach.

“Overwhelmed, to be honest. Everything feels like a lot, coming way too fast, and I don’t know how to handle it,” I said, then snorted. “Isn’t it funny how you could put me in front of a broken body and I would know what to do, but I’m clueless when it comes to living with a man I had fantasized about for years?” I giggled.

“I think we will both learn as we go, Snezhinka. This is uncharted territory for me as well. One day at a time, beautiful.”

I nodded, the little lines his fingers brushed on my skin slowly soothing the anxiety away.

“How do you feel?”

“At peace,” he whispered over my skin as he continued to pepper kisses on my neck and shoulders. “What’s going on here?” He tapped my temple with two fingers twice, almost as if he knew my head was spinning out of control.

I looked down at my feet and thought about it for a second, then sighed, hugging myself over his arm.

“My life has been planned down to the last detail, and I always thought I’d get married to an average guy, have a couple kids, then stop having sex altogether.” I laughed and he snorted. “Anyway, I wasn’t expecting someone like you. You weren’t in the cards for me, and suddenly… you’ve become this entity that I can’t stay away from, even though reason dictates I should run for the hills, I don’t want to run.”

“I’m your wild card,” he hummed as his teeth dug playfully into my shoulder.

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