Chapter 10
CHAPTER TEN
Arabella
“Save me? You?” I snort, my eyes still closed. “You are the last man who should be unleashed on an unsuspecting female.”
“Too true. Don’t be mad at him, though. His intentions were to send more of a Prince Charming, I think. Convince you that you might find someone besides Preston when you couldn’t deny your attraction to me.”
“I don’t believe that Luke sent you to be a Prince Charming without supervision.”
“You weren’t speaking to him, he was worried.” I open my eyes in time to catch Gris’s wince. “And I did it once before. With Nia Kincaid.”
That one makes me sit up. “You’re kidding me.”
“I was the perfect gentleman,” he lifts a hand from the shifter and holds his palm up like he’s swearing an oath. “With her.”
“You? And Nia?” It’s like peeling an onion, these stories about my family. How do I not know any of this?
He shakes his head. “I pretended to be interested in her and then when she came out to meet me for a date, Jake intercepted her and brought her out to the desert.”
My brow scrunches. “Are you saying that my uncle Jake kidnapped his now-wife?” What the actual hell is happening?
“Yes. I am saying that. And by the way, your brothers were all in on it.”
My brothers? I really should have gone off to school in Europe. New York was not far enough.
“But…” he says as he rubs his hand over his thigh, “you’re right about Luke expecting me to remain a gentleman. I went to Hawaii with my own agenda.”
I grimace as I turn my body and my face straight ahead. He did just save me from getting smacked into a million pieces, but now I’m alive so that he can continue to blackmail me. I shouldn’t give him too much credit.
“But Bella…” His voice takes on this note, a softness I haven’t heard before. The sound pulls my gaze back to him. “I didn’t mean for it to go as far as it did and I…” He tapers off as he parks the car. “I made promises to my family, but I hate that you’re hurting.”
I frown. “Thanks.” But his regret doesn’t change anything. It’s a nice token, but it isn’t real currency.
“I told you the truth about Luke because…” He draws in a deep breath through his nose. “I wanted you to have the power to destroy me too.”
My lips part as I stare at him. “What?”
“If Luke found out what we did…” Gris grimaces. “I like Luke. He’s the best mate I’ve had in a long time.”
I can’t trust that he isn’t manipulating me again, but I also can’t help going a bit soft inside. He’s not just trying to hurt me, he’s giving me the power to hurt him too.
I open the car door, and step out into the garage, closing it behind me. Then I start toward the elevator.
With everything I learn, I feel less safe, more vulnerable. I can feel tears welling again, but I push them back, pulling my shoulders straight as I walk toward the elevator. Maybe I’ll leave tomorrow. Book a flight to some tropical island and never come back.
Then again, is there anywhere far enough to escape my family?
Their resources are endless, their reach far. Would they let me go?
“Arabella?”
I push the button on the elevator several times, praying for it to open and take me away. I can’t even escape Gris.
He steps up next to me, his hand warm and strong at my back. “Let me walk you up.”
“I don’t want anything from you,” I whisper. A lie.
Even now, I want to sink into his arms.
He knows it too. He wraps an arm around me as the elevator opens, guiding me inside.
I don’t fight him. I don’t have the strength or the desire. But as the door closes, I notch my chin to look at him. “I’m not sure I’m tough enough for this fight, Gris. I’ve always left that to my brothers. You chose the wrong Kincaid to be your instrument.”
His arms come around me, his forehead dropping to mine. “Just lean into me, luv.”
I’d snort again, but I’d be the biggest hypocrite, the way my weight sinks into his muscular frame.
I don’t tell him that I already ended it with Preston. Don’t tell him that I only went to dinner for Mason. I just stand there, letting the warmth of his breath fan my face, his hands spread wide over my back.
“I’m really more of the peacemaker. Or maybe just a coward.”
“I don’t know. You got pretty tough with Luke.”
I smile into his chest. “Mason is going to be furious about all of this if he finds out.”
His arms tighten as the elevator opens. “I’ll handle Mason if he gets out of hand.”
It’s a promise I doubt he’ll keep, but I still appreciate it. And, honestly, I know Gris isn’t my hero. I’ve always known that.
But maybe, just for tonight, I’d like to pretend.
We walk down the hall and reach my apartment. He takes the key from my hand and opens the door.
I haven’t lived here long, but I loved decorating this place.
I took everything I learned in design school and poured it into my new home.
From the drapes to the furniture, it’s so me.
Gris swings the door open and flicks on the lights.
I expect him to say goodnight, but with his hand at my back again, he helps me inside and then he closes the door behind him.