Page 38 of Save Me the Trouble
Grace
I’ve got you.
My fingers skated over the mattress next to me, settling into the depression where Killian had slept. The whole night he’d held me, and I’d woken to warm lips pressed to my neck. My shoulders. My back. My hip.Between my thighs.I shivered, still sore from even the gentlest way he’d claimed me this morning—still frightened by how powerfully I felt the wordsI love youricochet between the wild beats of my heart.
I pulled the towel off my wet hair, listening to the stream of the shower still running in the bathroom, Killian inside.
Last night, we’d crossed a line. A very bigno trespassingline. And I couldn’t go back.
But neither could I let Killian rescue me forward.
I’m not the type of person who would put herself and her future at the mercy of a man.
Those were my exact words to Darcy. My exact words about this exact man…who my heart was now at the mercy of.
But I refused to be at the mercy of his generosity.
What happened last night was unprofessional. Even if he was no longer a client, it wasn’t official, and the way things had been building was one hundred percent against company policy. I knew that when I asked him to stay, and I knew the consequences I’d have to face.
Consequences that filled my phone screen with missed calls, voicemails, and text messages from Diane demanding I meet her in the office this morning. I didn’t know how she knew, but I couldn’t say I was surprised. With how big Killian’s profile was and what securing the contract meant for Embers, I’d expected my every move to be watched.I hadn’t expected my heart to veer off course.
I thought about waiting. I thought about everything Killian had said—everything he’d confessed last night—and I considered waiting until he was done showering to talk to him about what happened next. But the last time this happened—though admittedly a much different scenario—I let my future be determined by someone else. I let it be altered by my professor’s choices. His wants. His selfish needs. Even though Killian would do the exact opposite—try to save me rather than punish me—I didn’t want to be saved from the choice I’d made and the consequence that came with it.
It was one thing to accept Killian as my downfall. It was another to let him become my salvation.
So, I bundled my hair into a knot and pulled together an outfit from my closet. A deep green-and-yellow plaid skirt and a white blouse. And then left the apartment before Killian was done showering.
Embers had always been a temporary fix, a Band-Aid over deeper wounds. And now it was time for the Band-Aid to come off.
The sleek façade of Embers reflected the morning sun like the blade of a knife. Or maybe a guillotine. But as the elevator climbed, I wasn’t afraid.
I barely stepped through the opening doors before Molly was in front of me, a giant smirk on her face.
“Diane’s waiting for you.” Her voice rang out with thatyou’re in troublesingsong tone.
It didn’t bother me at all, and I found myself smiling back at her just as our boss appeared.
“Grace.” My name fell like that proverbial guillotine from Diane’s lips. “My office.”
She strode through the door, expecting me to follow but not holding the door.
I bottled air in my lungs, just in case she decided to cut my throat.
“Ms. Close?—”
“You assured me, Miss Johnson.Assuredme that you would be the last woman on the planet to be attracted to Killian Crown, is that correct?”
I winced. “Yes.” There was no point in trying to say more. She wanted her pound of flesh for what my heart had just cost her company.
“And yet, after creating a profile for him and acquiring a statistically ideal match, he decides to terminate his contract with us because of you. Because he wants you.”
Her phone buzzed. “She’s here,”the receptionist said.
“Yes, bring her in.”
Who was here? Alicia? Maybe she was the one who’d told Diane.
I turned just as the door opened, but it wasn’t the beautiful businesswoman from the event last night. It was an elderly woman dressed in a deep purple pinstripe pantsuit, her white hair molded into perfect curls and studded with jeweled pins. Her designer loafers tapped on the hardwood.
