Page 3 of Sinful Little Lies

Her jaw drops in shock, and she fumbles over her words. “I- Uh- Grimm you-” She lets out a huff. “I fell. I’m okay. I just drank a little bit too much and got emotional over Ronnie. I’m okay, Grimm. I just miss my sister.”

Bringing my hands to my face, I drag them down and shake my head. “You’re a bad liar, you know? You really need to work on your facial expressions matching the words that leave your lips. I hear you saying he’s innocent, but your eyes are screaming for help and for someone to see through the bullshit. Iamthat someone, Verena. So I’m going to ask you again. If you lie to me, I’ll know. Was it Leo who hurt you? Did he leave these marks all over you?”

A tear falls down her face, and she nods her head softly. I’m up and rushing to her side, her arms instantly wrapping around my neck. The scent of cocoa butter and blackberries clouds my senses, and it is all-consuming. My arms envelop her waist, pulling our bodies flush against one another. The feel of herbody against mine is unbearable. If I wasn’t so concerned for her safety, I’d let my hard-on make a quick appearance.

But this has to end now. Both my hard-on and her relationship.

“You need to leave him, Verena. Let me help you. I can kick his ass. I can kill him. Say the word and I’ll do it for you.” I beg.

Her head shakes profusely, “No Grimm, please don’t. Don’t do anything. Leo has this sick and twisted side to him. He’s batshit crazy and I do not, underanycircumstances, want you getting involved with him. Over me, no less.”

“He’s batshit? Verena, I’m fucking psychotic,” I argue. “Absolutely unhinged and certifiably deranged. I do not need safekeeping. I’m here to protect you, not the other way around.”

She untangles herself from me and wipes the tears from her face. I bring my hands to her chin and cup her cheeks gently. “I know you’ve grown used to the darkness. I have too. But you are not safe with Leo and you know it. Go back to him and I will make sure he ends up six feet under.” I promise. Kissing her nose, I release her.

Standing, I walk over to my nightstand and grab a pre-roll. I sit back down next to Verena and spark it. We pass the joint until we’re high and sleepy, blissful silence filling the room.

Setting the roach in the ashtray, I lean back, letting my head rest on the couch. Her head finds my shoulder and they connect like two perfect puzzle pieces. Made to fit each other and only each other. Shortly after, her breathing evens out, telling me she’s fallen asleep. I look down at her, resting and at peace, and feel that twinge in my chest telling me to claim her.

My missing puzzle piece.

My V.

One day, she’ll be mine.

2

VERENA

I don’t understandhis need to protect me. We’re acquaintances, that’s it.

But if that were the case, I wouldn’t have come knocking at his door in the middle of the night—nice one, Rena.

I’ll admit, Grimm is fucking gorgeous. Seeing him round that corner without a shirt practically impregnated me. There’s just something about him being muscular and tattooed to the fucking balls–I’m just assuming–that does it for me. He towers over everyone, standing tall at 6’6”. Dark, long curls fall to his shoulders and frame that godly jawline of his perfectly. His eyes resemble the color of freshly brewed black coffee. My fucking favorite.

He’s the complete opposite of Leo, in more ways than one. Ashy blonde hair, green-eyed Leo. That’s who I should be with right now. Sighing, I sit on his couch and wait for Grimm to return with my water. On an inhale, his smell envelops me, sandalwood and sage, clouding my senses.

Examining Grimm’s space, I spot his bowl and a grinder. “Oh, thank fuck,” I whisper to myself while reaching over to the side table holding my favorite playthings. After dumping the ash into a garbage can, I twist open the grinder and begin to packa fresh bowl. I take my first hit as the door swings open and Grimm fills its frame.

“Make yourself at home. Please.” He says, chuckling. A hint of a smirk creeps across his full lips and grants me access to see those profound dimples and perfect pearly whites.

I gulp, my throat feeling drier than when I was screaming for my life earlier tonight. Reaching for the water, Grimm begins to shoot out questions. I assumed he wouldn’t pry, but I guess it's reasonable enough for him to ask what’s going on.

I don’t want to lie to him, but he can’t know the truth. In an attempt to change the subject, I mention Ronnie. Typically, everyone ends the conversation as soon as I bring her name up. No one wants to talk about the little girl who died at such a young age and never got to experience life, because what else is there to say?

Nothing. At least for them. They didn’t know her like I did. Having a six-year age difference did zilch to put us on opposing sides. We knew each other better than anyone else. Based on the look he gives me, I should’ve known better than to try and lie my way out of it with Grimm. He’s a people watcher. Studies their body language, their emotions, and facial expressions. He’s always been that way, knowing just how to seduce and intimidate everyone with his charm and mysterious nature.

Grimm looks scary on the outside, but underneath all of that muscle and ink, is a big, goofy golden retriever. In our younger years, he was rambunctious and careless. Always running away from the trouble he had caused with Emmett, pranking the neighborhood kids and their parents. It wasn’t until I came to Blackwood that I learned of his kind-hearted nature. Somehow he was at every party, that infectious smile plastered on his face, with friends in every crowd, and a line of girls following him, waiting for their turn to get his attention. He thrives on that shit, I swear.

He was always around. Not watching me, but watchingoutfor me. I noticed it once at a high school party many years ago. As soon as I walked in, Grimm was pulling me into a game of spin the bottle, making some sort of claim on me. Of course, his bottle spin landed on me and we shared a kiss. One small peck that most likely meant nothing to him, but changed the way I saw him forever. It changed the way outsiders looked at me too. Boys avoided me like the plague after seeing us together. Girls envied me over a boy who wasn’t mine to begin with.

The knight-in-shining-armor act doesn’t make sense to me. Besides that one night at the party, Grimm and I have barely spoken full sentences to each other. We acknowledge one another with head nods and small smiles so why did I feel the need to run to him and why does he feel obligated to save me?

Where does the need to protect me come from? I couldn’t tell ya. But holy shit, does it feel good to be held by him, listened to, and promised that he’d do anything I asked if it granted me protection.

Admittedly, I’ve thought about what Grimm and I would’ve been like in another life. Another life where Leo and I didn’t exist. Another life where I wasn’t so wrecked over losing Ronnie. Another life where I wasn’t weak, where I wasn’t Verena Losado.

I’ve stayed up late one too many times, fantasizing about what it’d feel like to be underneath him, his breath fanning my skin and his fingertips tracing along my collarbone. I’ve dreamt about following each line of every tattoo on his body with my tongue and satiating the hunger that’s made a home within me.

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