Page 15 of The Grump's Assistant

Juniper’s jaw drops. God, I must really be a bastard if she’s this surprised at my offer. She’s about to answer, but Beth beats her to it.

“If you couldn’t tell, I’m not quite myself these days. Damn cancer. Lymphoma, to be exact.” I nod my head and murmur that I’m sorry to hear that. “Anyway, things have been up and down lately. Today was a down day. No big deal.”

“No big deal? You had a seizure! It was terrifying!”

I turn to look at Juniper, resisting the urge to pull her into my arms. I don’t hug people. I don’t even like touching them if at all possible. But this woman? I want her as close as possible. I want her sweet scent in my lungs, her curves pressed against my hard body, her moans filling my ears as I devour every inch of her.

“Sweetie, I’m okay. No harm, no foul,” Beth says soothingly.

Tears spring into Juniper’s eyes, but she blinks them back quickly. I wouldn’t have noticed they were there if I wasn’t studying everything about her. I reach out on instinct, wanting to comfort her somehow. Dammit, I’m no good at this shit, but for the first time, I want to be.

Juniper ignores her mother and me, scurrying off to the kitchen. I don’t know if I should follow or give her space. My chest aches, knowing everything she endured today. All on her own, too. I look at Beth, who gives me a subtle nod, motioning toward the kitchen.

“I’m just going to close my eyes for a bit,” she says, already leaning her head back on the couch.

I give her a rusty smile and head toward the kitchen. I don’t like knowing Juniper is upset and I’m not there to make it better. How it all changed so fast is beyond me, but I feel our connection throughout my whole body, all the way down to my bones.

Stepping into the small galley kitchen, I stop a few feet away from the woman who is changing everything about me. She’s facing away from me, bracing herself on the counter and taking deep breaths. When a sob escapes her throat, I can’t hold back any longer.

I move closer, hesitating slightly before resting my hand on her shoulder. Jesus, I’m no good at this intimate stuff, but I’m trying. I can be better, I know I can. Juniper just needs to give me a chance.

“Mr. Sloan,” she murmurs before sniffling.

“Vincent,” I whisper, correcting her again.

“Vincent,” she repeats, looking at me over her shoulder. My girl has unshed tears in her heartbreakingly beautiful eyes, letting me know she’s at the very limit of what she can handle. That’s okay. I’ll be right here to handle everything else.

I turn her toward me with my hand on her shoulder, wanting to somehow breach the last few inches of space between us. I don’t know what I’m doing. It’s a first for me, and I must say, I don’t like it.

Juniper doesn’t make me suffer for long. She surprises me by leaning closer, closer, closer, until her arms wrap around my waist and she buries her head into my chest. I close my arms around her, crushing her against my body.

I hold her while she cries silently, her shoulders shaking as she clings to me. Juniper trembles in my embrace, letting go of every stress, every fear, everything she’s been holding on to for so long.

“Let it out,” I whisper, trailing a hand up and down her back.

She shivers and snuggles closer, breaking something inside of me.

“I’m right here, angel.” I’m not sure where the pet name came from, but it feels right.

“I w-was so scared,” she stutters out. “I thought… I thought I lost her.”

I nuzzle into the top of her head, breathing in her sweet coconut and sunshine scent. How she manages to smell like warmth and light, I have no idea, but it’s true.

“I’ve got you,” I murmur. I have no idea what to say, but my words must be at least somewhat comforting. She relaxes the tiniest fraction, letting me smooth my hands over her back and comb her wildly beautiful hair.

“It’s always been my mom and me. She’s all I have.” Her whispered words sink down into my chest, cracking my damn heart wide open. As if I weren’t already vulnerable enough around this woman.

“You have me,” I tell her gently as I weave my fingers in her hair. Tugging at the strands slightly, I tip her head up and fall right into her eyes. They glisten with tears and are rimmed in red, but my Juniper is still the most gorgeous creature I’ve ever seen.

“I don’t understand,” she says hesitantly.

“Me either, but I feel it. Don’t you?” I dip my head down, hovering just inches above her lips and feeling her soft breath against my skin.

“What do you feel?”

My heart is thundering in my chest, my muscles shaking with tension and need. I’m desperate for her touch, her kiss, her sweet surrender.

“You,” I whisper before nipping her plump bottom lip. I lick the same spot, soothing away the little bite. Juniper shivers and presses herself closer to me as she fists my suit jacket. Theneed to mark her as mine takes hold, overshadowing every other instinct and thought in my head.

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