Page 12 of Checked Out by the Grinch
“Jesus, dude.” Corey turns his head to the side. “Put that thing away. You’re gonna impale someone.”
“I appreciate the wellness check, bud, but I’ve got it from here.” Grayson licks my sticky wet come off his fingertips.
Oh God!This isn’t happening. How the hell is this happening?
I tuck Grayson’s oversized flannel around my frame, breathing in the scent of cedar he’s left behind as I watch the look on Corey’s face decay moment by moment.
I’m sure I shouldn’t be happy to see that look, but a part of me is.
Corey narrows his brows in disgust and looks around Grayson for me. “You’re letting this weird old fuck around our kid?”
“You see any kids here?” Grayson’s jaw clenches and his fists ball at his sides. “We’re two adults in a house, you’re trespassing, and you’re done talking. Get out.”
Corey hesitates, eyes darting between us like he’s calculating his odds. Then he turns, muttering under his breath about the courts hearing about my terrible parenting.
“Tell them,” I shout. “Tell them whatever you want. I’m here. I’m here and I’m paying the bills and I’m giving Kade hugs and I’m loving him.What are you doing?”
Corey mumbles something else, but I don’t hear what he says. He must be intimidated by Grayson. I’ve never known him to walk away from a fight this early on. He usually has to stay and demean me for a while first.
Grayson reaches back for my hand but stays squared in the hallway until long after the doors have shut. When he’s sure Corey is gone, he turns toward me, eyes soft, cock still partially hard.
It’s the first real look I’ve got at it, and damn… it’s impressive.
“You okay?” he asks calmly.
I nod but it’s shaky. “Yeah. I just, ugh, he’s never done that before. I don’t even know why he was on this side of town.”
Grayson steps closer, his fingertips brushing the back of my hand as his heat radiates around me. “I’m staying tonight. If he comes back, he’ll have to get through me.”
And just like that, I don’t know what’s happening. I thought tonight was a one night thing. I thought we were messing around, that I’d make a reckless decision, and he’d be gone by sunrise. Now, he’s staying. He’s staying and I want him to stay. He’s staying and I want to go back to what we were doing. He’s staying and I don’t know how to feel.
“You’re safe now, sugar plum.” He kisses the top of my head and calm radiates through me.
Why do I like it?
Why is this happening?
I have a child to raise. I can’t fall for some big, rough stranger… no matter his impressive features. Men are all the same. They’re really good at this stuff. The stuff at the beginning. The stuff that gets you hooked. Then five years go by and you’re begging for breadcrumbs.
I can’t do that to myself again.
Tonight was just a night.
The sooner I get that through my head, the better.
Chapter Six
Grayson
The sound of metal on metal sets my mind straight after the strange encounter with Holly’s ex. Thankfully, I had a part on my truck I could use to fix the valve on the water heater without needing to make a run to the hardware store in the morning.
I hear the water running in the bathroom and the soft creak of the pipes. She’s in the shower, probably scrubbing away the stress of everything that just went down. If it were up to me, I’d have laid him the fuck out right there in the bedroom, but I don’t want Holly to see me as some violent monster. I want her to know I can care for her without hurting anyone.
That said, I’ve got no fucking clue what she saw in that boy. One look at him and I can see he’s not in her league at all.
I wipe my hand on my rag and toss it back into my toolbox by the front door before making my way to the sink for a glass of water. I didn’t come here looking for anything serious. I thought we’d spend a few hours together, and that’d be it, but I can’t in good conscience leave her now, not with that weird piece of shit doing stupid things like breaking and entering.
Now, I need to install a security system. Until then, I’ll sit by the front door and watch, wait, hope that fuck comes back so I can end him.
