Chapter 44 Grant #2
The rage that’s been simmering inside me since Steven’s phone call hasn’t gone away.
If anything, it’s gotten worse. Every time I see Heather trying to smile for April’s sake, every time I catch her staring at nothing with that haunted look in her eyes, I want to find Steven and make him understand what happens when you threaten the people I care about.
I’ve never been like Theo. I’ve never been the guy who threw punches or looked for fights. Hockey has always been about skill and strategy for me, not violence.
But now I understand that need to hit something. To make someone hurt.
I understand it perfectly.
Two weeks later, I wake up to find Heather already awake beside me.
She’s lying on her back and staring blankly at the ceiling. She’s not really showing any emotions, but I can see the tension in every line of her body—her shoulders are tight, her jaw is clenched, and her hands are fisted in the sheets.
Today is the custody hearing. The first time she’ll have to face Steven in front of a judge.
“Hey.” I scoot a little closer in bed and reach for her hand, gently uncurling her fingers from the fabric. “Talk to me.”
“I don’t know what to say.” Her voice is raspy with sleep. Or maybe from a lack of sleep. “I keep running through every possible scenario in my head. What he’s going to say. What lies he’s going to tell. What if the judge believes him?”
“Stop.” I give her hand a gentle squeeze. “Richard knows what he’s doing. His whole team has been preparing for this.”
She turns her head to look at me, and I can see the fear in her eyes. “But what if it’s not enough? What if I say the wrong thing and make everything worse?”
“It will be enough. You’re April’s mother. You’ve given her an incredible life, and no judge is going to ignore that.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I know you.” I pull her closer to tuck her against my side, wrapping my arm around her shoulders. “And I know how much you love that little girl. That’s going to come through, no matter what Steven tries to pull.”
She’s quiet for a moment, then says, “Thank you. For being here. For all of this. I don’t think I could do it without you.”
“Good thing you don’t have to find out.”
She presses her face against my chest, and we stay like that for a few more minutes before the alarm goes off and it’s time to get ready.
We move through our morning routine mostly in silence.
Heather showers first while I make coffee.
By the time I’m dressed in the suit Richard insisted I wear—”You need to look stable and respectable,” he’d said—Heather is standing in front of her closet in her underwear, trying to decide what to wear.
She’s already done her hair and makeup, and she looks beautiful, even with the stress weighing on her.
I watch her pull out a navy dress, then put it back. Then a gray one. Then back to the navy.
“The navy one,” I say from the doorway.
She glances at me over her shoulder. “You think?”
“Definitely. It makes you look professional but approachable. Like the good mom you are.”
She nods and lays it on the bed, then reaches for her shoes. She’s still in her bra and panties, and the same possessive feeling I get every time I look at her suddenly takes over.
She’s mine. This strong, beautiful, terrified woman is mine. And I’m about to watch her walk into a courtroom and face down the man who tried to break her.
I cross the room and sit on the edge of the bed. When she turns around, I reach for her hips and pull her down onto my lap, positioning her so she’s straddling me.
The noise that escapes her throat is half-laugh, half-gasp. “Grant, what are you doing? We don’t have time—”
“Look.” I turn her to face the full-length mirror across from us, adjusting her position so she can see our reflection clearly. “Look at yourself.”
She tries to look away, but I gently grip her jaw to keep her gaze on our reflection.
“What do you see?” I ask.
“I don’t know. Me?”
“Tell me what you see.”
She swallows hard, and I can feel the movement against my palm. “I see someone who’s scared.”
“What else?”
“Someone who’s trying really hard not to fall apart.”
“What else, Heather?” My voice is firm now. “Really look.”
She stares at her reflection for a long moment, and I watch the emotions play across her face. “I see someone who’s tired. So tired of fighting.”
“And?”
“And… I’m still here. Still fighting.”
“Yes.” I press a kiss to her shoulder, letting my lips linger on her skin. “You’re still fighting. After everything Steven put you through, after nine years of doing this alone, you’re still standing. Still protecting April. Refusing to give up.”
Her breath catches.
“You’re the strongest person I know,” I continue, trailing my lips up the side of her neck. “And today, you’re going to walk into that courtroom and show everyone exactly who you are. Not the person Steven tried to convince you that you were. The person you actually are.”
“I want to believe that.”
“Say it.” I tighten my grip slightly on her jaw, keeping her eyes on the mirror. “Tell me who you see.”
“I see…” She takes a shaky breath. “I see someone strong.”
“Again.”
“I see someone strong. Someone who’s been a good mother. Someone who’s given April everything she needs.”
“Again.”
“I see someone who deserves to win this.” Her voice is stronger now, more certain. “Someone who isn’t going to let Steven take what matters most.”
“That’s right.” I turn her face toward mine and kiss her, hard and claiming. My hand slides from her jaw to the back of her neck, my fingers threading into her hair, holding her to me.
When we finally break apart, she’s breathing hard and there’s a flush spreading across her cheeks. “Thank you. I needed that.”
“I’m not done yet.” I kiss her again, slower this time, letting my tongue trace the seam of her lips.
“When you walk into that courthouse today and have to look at that piece of shit…” I pause to drop my voice lower and lean in close to her ear.
“I want you full of my cum. I want you to feel me inside you the whole time you’re sitting there. ”
She sucks in a sharp breath, and I can feel her pulse hammering against my lips as I kiss her neck, just below her ear.
“Does that turn you on?” I ask, nipping at the sensitive skin. “Knowing you’ll have part of me with you?”
“Yes.” Her voice is barely a whisper. “God, yes.”
My cock throbs against her ass, already hard and insistent.
I slide a hand up her thigh, feeling the goosebumps rise on her skin as I push her panties aside and slip a finger inside her.
She gasps, her hips shifting forward to take me deeper, and I add a second finger, curling them to find that spot that makes her whimper.
“I need this.” She whines softly as she grinds against my hand, her inner walls already starting to flutter around my fingers. “I need you. Please, Grant.”
I want to draw this out, want to make her come on my fingers first. But the thought of filling her up, of marking her as mine before she has to face him, is too much to resist.
“Stand up.” My voice comes out rougher than I intended, almost a growl. “Take these off.”
She stands on shaky legs and slides her panties down, stepping out of them carefully.
I’m already freeing my cock from my pants, shoving them down just enough to pull it out.
When I reach for her again, I guide her back onto my lap, positioning her so she’s straddling me again, and I line myself up with her entrance.
“Look in the mirror,” I tell her, gripping her hips. “I want you to watch.”
She does, and I can see her pupils dilate as I guide her down onto my cock. She takes me slowly, inch by inch, her mouth falling open and her breathing getting heavier as she stretches around me.
“So big,” she breathes, her hands coming up to grip my forearms for balance. “God, you fill me up so much.”
“That’s right. Take all of me.” I grip her hips tighter, helping her move, lifting her up and bringing her back down. “I want you to remember this feeling all day. Want you to remember who you belong to.”
She starts to ride me, slow at first, finding her rhythm, then faster. Her head tips back slightly, but I tap her jaw to remind her.
“Eyes on the mirror, Hurricane. Watch yourself take my cock.”
She does, and I can see the flush spreading down her chest as she watches our reflection. I reach around to find her clit, circling it with my fingers, adding pressure every time she sinks down on me.
“You’re mine, Heather. Say it.”
“I’m yours,” she gasps, her movements becoming more frantic, more desperate. “Only yours.”
“That’s my girl. Now come for me. Let me feel you.”
I pinch her clit lightly, rolling it between my fingers, and she shatters.
Her whole body goes taut, her back arching as she cries out, and her pussy clamps down on me so hard I can barely move.
The rhythmic pulsing of her inner walls pushes me right to the edge, and I manage to thrust up into her a few more times before I follow her over.
I pull her tight against me, wrapping my arms around her waist and keeping my cock buried as deep as it will go as I fill her with my cum. We stay like that for a long moment, both of us breathing hard, her body still trembling with aftershocks.
When I finally lift her off me, I quickly push two fingers inside her, feeling the warm slickness of my cum already starting to leak out. I push it back in, deeper, making sure it stays where I want it.
“Keep it in there,” I murmur, slowly pumping my fingers to push the cum deeper. “Don’t waste any of it.”
She clenches around my fingers, doing exactly what I told her to, and I watch her face in the mirror as she concentrates on keeping my cum inside her.
“Good girl.” I withdraw my fingers slowly and kiss her shoulder, then her neck. “Remember, no matter what happens in that courtroom today, you’re not alone. You’ll have me with you. Always.”