Page 12 of Griz's Edge

“I don’t know. Did anyone think Ted Bundy was a serial killer? Or even better, Countess Elizabeth Bathory?

“Who the fuck isCountess Elizabeth Bathory?”

The way his brows draw up and his lips twitch.

“She was a Hungarian noblewoman who was related to a King of Poland. Elizabeth Bathory was accused of killing over six hundred victims. Granted, there are also claims that it was closer to two hundred and fifty, but she’d written down the names. There’s no known exact number of kills. The woman was known as the Bloody Countess, and she holds the record in theGuinness World Bookfor being the most prolific female killer.”

Griz blinks, and then blinks again, following this up with a shake of his head. “Sweets, where the fuck do you come up with this shit?”

“I read a lot. Plus, I love crime documentaries.” I shrug, shift the door open again, and motion for him to come in as I continue. “For instance,Countess Elizabeth Bathory did most of her killings after she was widowed and dripped honey on the bodies of her victims to attract insects. Then, in the colder months, she’d put them in ice baths. That’s not even the worst of it. She’d torture her victims by driving needles in their fingers, cutting their noses and lips. She’d bite them, and the most messed-up part of all is she’d burn their flesh, sometimes burned their genitals.”

“And I’m gonna stop you right there, sweets,” he says, stepping into the house and closing the door. “I think I might have nightmares now, wondering if you’ll be the nextCountess Elizabeth Bathory with all the information you know about her.”

“Well, I did do a research paper on her while in high school,” I explain, like it wasn’t that big of a deal.

Griz stares at me like I’ve got two heads for all of a second before he notices what I’m wearing. “Baby, you realize you’re in Tennessee. NC State ain’t got nothing on us.”

“My brother went to NC State. He was on the football team before he blew out his knee.” I didn’t go to college there. I ended up a Hokies, which my brother thought was a disgrace, considering he was a Wolfpack.

“Good to know it’s not some other man’s jersey. I might have to rip it off of ya, sweets.”

My thighs clench involuntarily, and a shiver rushes along my spine. I like the idea of him ripping my shirt off way, way too much.

“Well, technically, it is another guy’s. I stole it from him.” Now, why did I say that?

Griz chuckles, shakes his head, and steps closer, one hand going to my hip, the other curling around my neck. “I’ll rephrase, if it were a guy you’ve fucked, I’d have to tear it off ya, sweets. I find that I’m not a fan of you wearing someone else’s clothes. The fact it’s your brother’s, that’s still somewhat borderline.”

Wow.

I didn’t know how else to take his comment.

“So, umm, what are you doing here?” I ask him. I’m sure he can hear the nerves in my voice. I’ve never felt what I’m feeling right now. Sensual and feminine. Like I was beautiful and that he wanted me. I don’t know how I know it. Maybe it’s in his touch. But the way he’s looking at me, the lustful glint in his eyes mixes with something else that I can’t put a name to.

It also doesn’t help that my own thoughts are screwing with me. This man has been screwing with my head since the first time I saw him in that garage where I had to serve him.

I don’t know what it is about him, but I find him more than a little interesting. The moment he sat across from me at the diner, I had to catch my breath from the momentary loss of it. Then he started a conversation with me, and it was easy to talk to him. I loved that he was able to make me smile.

Even better, he didn’t criticize what I decided to eat. I’m not one of those women who refuses to eat in front of a man. My momma and daddy, well, they made sure to bring me up not to be afraid to be myself or always to speak my mind. They definitely made sure I knew not to fall for a man who wasn’t going to treat me as the woman I was meant to be.

“Are you going to answer me? Or are you gonna just stare at me?”

“I was thinking more along the lines of kissing you,” he murmurs, lowering his head.

“I didn’t tell you that you could kiss me.”

Oh, please, please, please, kiss me. I want nothing more than for him to kiss me hard. Kiss me deep. Kiss me with those amazing lips. I’m betting he could kiss me so good that I’d be begging him not to stop.

“You didn’t not tell me to kiss you, sweets,” he says, his lips nearly touching mine now. “I gotta say, I’m wanting to kiss you. Been wanting to kiss you, and I’m gonna kiss you.”

Those are the only words he gives me before his lips are on mine. My own part marginally, and he takes that little bit as a way of deepening the kiss.

Oh my.

I don’t think I’ve ever been kissed so well. His tongue slides in and swirls, stroking along mine.

Griz’s arm around my waist tightens as he groans, and I moan. My arms go up and around his neck. His fingers at my neck go up and tangle in my hair.

Oh yes, yes, yes.

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