Page 74 of Grissom
“I’m tired of waiting,” Tuesday interrupted softly, her finger tracing up his jaw and over the tip of his ear. “I’ve waited all my life, Grissom. I want us to be together. Now.”
He shivered at the sparks her touch left in its wake. Tipping forward, he pressed his mouth over her lips and was lost in the sweetest heaven on earth. Holding this woman soothed his ragged soul, and kissing her reset his inner compass.
“I have something to tell you,” he mumbled around her questing lips.
“What?” she breathed into his face.
“Pam didn’t lie. There was a baby. She gave birth to a daughter in Florida.”
That got Tuesday’s full attention. “Oh?” she asked, pushing Grissom far enough back so she could sit up.
“Yes, but she gave the baby up. Not sure precisely when or if Pam’s the one who put her there, but that little girl ended up in one of those Safe Haven boxes at a fire station in Gainesville. You know the ones, where mothers can voluntarily surrender their child if they can’t keep it, for whatever reason? Her name’s Rosario Medina, and look.” Palming his cell phone, Grissom brought up the photos Mother had sent.
“Oh,” Tuesday whispered, her fingers gripping Grissom’s phone and her eyes brimming. She blinked and blinked. “What a pretty little girl. Is that the man who fathered her?”
Grissom nodded, his heart in his throat, thankful this little one had a happy ending.
“They look so much alike. How’d you find her?”
“With Mother's help.”
“Aww…” With a sigh, Tuesday let go of Grissom’s hand. “Thank you. I was worried about that baby, if it was even real or just another lie.”
“Me, too. Also…” He tipped his forehead to Tuesday’s. “I’ve decided to man up and accept your offer to help me fight Pam. I want you at my side, and I’d be honored if you’d help me keep my boys safe from their mother.”
“Does that mean…?” She was holding her breath.
“That I’m okay spending some of your inheritance? Yes, if it’s okay with you.”
“Yes, oh, yes! Grissom, yes! Thanks for letting me help! Honestly, I hate being wealthy, but if I can use my inheritance to help you, then yes! Thank you so much!” She threw her arms around his neck, pressing her full breasts against his chest. Flattening her body to his.
Her mouth was so close. So incredibly sweet.
“We should wait,” he whispered, even as he licked her strawberry lips.
“No. We shouldn’t ever wait again. We never know what tomorrow will bring.”
“But you’ve never—”
“But I’m ready, and my side hardly hurts anymore.”
“Well…” He hedged, pulling back far enough to peer into those emerald wells of innocence.
Too late. Grissom fell. Headlong. Powerless to stop himself. Smart enough not to try anymore. Awestruck at the beauty in his arms. Tracing the tip of his thumb from her bottom lip down her neck to the gentle swell of her cleavage, he asked, “Promise you’ll tell me if anything we do hurts?”
Her fingers delved into his hair and down the back of his neck. “You’d never hurt me. I know that about you. You’re a good guy.”
“Damned straight, but I’m not stopping this time and things could get rough. You might feel a pinch when we go all the way, maybe more. Let’s take it slow and easy.”
Her fingers fluttered down his neck, over his shoulders, to his chest. “If you say so.”
Grissom looked toward the ceiling, humbled at the trust radiating off his woman. He loved what the warmth of her touch was doing to him, but those words?‘If you say so.’?He couldn’t explain how much they meant to a man like him. Just knew that her body touching his always gentled the monsters in his head like nothing else.
Her tiny fingers and hands, hands that hadn’t hesitated to grab onto his sons to keep them safe, were now smoothing over his head and circling his neck. Her hands weren’t large enough for her fingers to meet at his nape, but the idea that a tiny thing like Tuesday Smart was putting her life in his hands was a rush. She was so small, and he was nothing but a hairy, coarse oaf, dying to devour and deflower her. Ready to mark her from the inside out as his, only his.
This was another Leap of Faith moment, and the enormity overwhelmed Grissom. As thrilled as he was that Tuesday wanted her first time to be with him, he hesitated. Should he even take this chance? Would he hurt her when he did? He was larger and thicker than most guys, but would that act destroy what they had now? Their friendship? Her feelings for him? Would making love change everything, just because he couldn’t resist her? Worse, oh, God, no, would she turn into another… mistake? A witch? Was it him? Was he the problem?
Her wet, breathy kiss against the underside of his scruffy chin brought Grissom back to his senses. Tuesday lay there serene and angelic beneath him. Waiting. For him, for hell’s sake. Him, of all the men she could have chosen. Just knowing she was content to wait for him, while he’d allowed doubt tocreep in, made Grissom want to crow. She wasn’t Pam. Never would be. No matter what he did or how many mistakes he made, Tuesday loved him. She didn’t need to say it for him to be sure.
