Page 136 of Brutal Obsession

Whose responsibility is it to keep a family together?

“Vi,” Greyson says.

I tap my fingers on his wrist. “Your father’s secretary called when we were still in Vermont. She knew…”

“Because I mentioned Dr. Michaels.” He rubs his eyes. “Goddammit, I just wanted to know if he had heard anything about the man. I didn’t expect him to piece it together—especially since he knew where we were.”

“She said, and I’m assuming this was coming straight from your father, that I was a distraction for you. They had high hopes of you going to the NHL or something.” I hate that they were able to twist me like that. They played me like a fiddle. “They took care of my medical bills. The MRI, the water therapy. The place just bills them every time I go.”

Shame fills me.

“I don’t know what to do. Because ballet is finally within reach again. My leg feels better than it has in months. But…”You.

He leans forward and kisses me. Hard. It reopens the nick on my lip from where I bit it earlier, but neither of us care. We’re suddenly dying to get closer to each other.

I crawl into his lap, straddling him, and wrap my arms around his neck. We’re chest to chest. It’s not even a surprise when his cock slides into me again. I rise on my knees and lower myself slightly. My groan gets lost in his mouth.

He pulls away a bit, still flexing his hips up to meet me. “That’s it? That’s how they’re bribing you?”

“That’s it,” I confirm. “But it feels like a whole lot.”

“Violet, I have a trust fund. I’ve had access to it since I turned twenty-one three months ago.” He cups my cheeks. “My father can fuck off. If you need someone to cover that therapy,Iwill.”

I shake my head. “I won’t ask you to do that—”

“You’re not asking.” He thrusts into me harder, then brings my face down to him. He plants a kiss on the corner of my lips and sweeps across to my ear. “I’m fucking telling you, Vi. It’s you and me. Only us. I’m not letting anyone or anything come between us again. You can count on that.”

“Only us,” I repeat, clutching him tighter. “Okay.”

40

GREYSON

Violet comes home with me.

I don’t ask about the photo album—she doesn’t seem to believe that I’m serious, and I don’t blame her for that. She’ll hold on to it until she feels safe again. And for now, I’m okay with that. After her terrible lie about burning it. She was right. For a split second, I believed her. Then my common sense kicked in… and I was able to piece together her intentions.

Everything I told her was the truth. The last month was my most frustrating—and hockey was my outlet. Now I’m flying high on adrenaline andher. The smell of her. The taste of her. She lies on her side, her head on my shoulder. She’s curled around me, our legs tangled, and I feel… content.

There’s another shoe waiting to drop, though.

Secrets I don’t think she knows.

She seemed naïve about my father paying her medical bills, because that offer didn’t come out of left field.

It’s been tried—with great success.

I force my eyes closed. Six months ago, we were different people. She was hurt, I was angry. Okay, she’s still injured and I’m still pissed, but it wasnewto us. We didn’t yet know how to live with it. I’d always felt the rage, but what proceeded to happen with her, the media… it turned it into an uncontrolled inferno.

The added complications stemmed from our families.

Would everything be different if it were just her and me?

Yes—I would be rotting in prison. Probably. I don’t actually know what they would’ve charged me with, and I don’t know how much time I would’ve served. Those are mysteries I hope to never know.

Her breathing is even, and it doesn’t change when my eyes open and I slowly reach for my phone.

I’ve got the old article saved.

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