Page 66 of Guarding Grace
My entire unit would have fit in the kitchen off to one side. With simple furniture of black leather and oak, a monster television, and a minimalist feel, it screameda man lives here.
He shrugged. “You only asked that it have hot water, and it does.”
I shook my head, feeling a bit in awe. “This place is a sweet deal.”
“Lucas wouldn’t let me say no to this.”
“Does he own the gym as well?”
“No.” He shook his head and walked toward the window. “The space is rented.”
I followed him to the window, admiring his fine ass the whole way. When he stopped, I took in the harbor. This kind of view encouraged you to contemplate things. While he’d gone overboard in the protectiveness department, Terry was a good man. He didn’t deserve the hassle I’d given him. One of us had to take the initiative and break the cycle of arguing.
As we silently admired the view together, I decided to take a chance. Wrapping my arms around him from behind, I leaned my face against his muscular back. “I’m sorry about arguing earlier and not following your advice.”
“Orders,” he corrected. He pulled my arms apart and walked out of my embrace. “Forget it. I told you I admire your passion.”
“Thank you… I think.” I bit my tongue and didn’t tell him off about assuming he could order me around.
We’d gone from the best kiss of my life to arguing, and now to him walking away because I couldn’t control my temper or my actions. I was even willing to admit it was my fault because I’d keptpushing his buttons,as Peyton put it, and wanting to shoot back. How could I blame the manwho’d saved my life, who’d taken on armed criminals to protect me without accepting some of the blame myself?
As he walked away, the room suddenly turned cold, and I felt empty.
Terry
I extricatedmyself from the woman I wanted, but couldn’t have. Dammit, I wished Pete was here so I could resolve this with him.
She followed me. “Terry, why won’t you talk to me?”
I needed to keep my distance from her. It had been a mistake earlier to forget that she was, before all else, Pete’s little sister. It had taken Lucas’s mention that Omega had a location on Pete to remind me.
With a huff, I pulled open the refrigerator. “See? I’ve got apples, chicken, green onions, all kinds of things that qualify as real food.” I was perfectly adept at being cold, as I’d proven for years.
“I didn’t mean that.”
“Yes, you did. You even doubted I had hot water.”
She stood with her hands on her hips, glaring at me. “I said I’m sorry. What more do you want from me?”
“Nothing.” I opened the door wider. “What would you like for dinner, Hellcat?”
“I didn’t mean it that way.”
“That’s not an answer. What would you like for dinner?”
She threw up her hands, turned, and walked away. “I don’t care about dinner. Why won’t you talk to me?”
“Octopus stew? Monkey brains? Chocolate-covered termites?”
“Very funny.” With a dramatic sigh, she returned to the kitchen. “I’ll settle for oatmeal. Do you have any?”
As expected, she was easy to anger. “Check the pantry.” Like a pervert, I ogled her ass as she leaned over to view a lower shelf. I couldn’t take my eyes off her. I couldn’t help but lust after the one woman in the world who was off-limits to me.
“Who doesn’t have oatmeal?” She looked like she was about to lose it.
With all that she’d been through, I couldn’t keep this up. “Okay, you want to talk? Let’s talk.” Mentally I crossed my fingers that she wouldn’t see through me. “I almost lost you out there.”
“I—”
