Chapter Three
Grizz
“Grizz!”
I hear someone shouting my name from the other room, but I don’t care enough to stop looking at Anastacia.
Maybe I’m still drunk. I did drink a lot today. So much that I don’t remember. So much that I came here to apologize, but I barely did that. I mean, I sort of did, but not really. Honestly, I don’t think Snapper cares either way.
“Fucking hell. I’ve been calling you for five minutes,” Kolton growls from beside me. I look up at him. He scoffs. “Get that fucking look off your face and get into the living room.”
He walks away, and I look back at Anastacia. She’s shaking her head with a smirk. But I don’t find this funny.
“He talk to you like that??” I ask seriously.
Her face changes instantly, her smile dropping. “Never.”
“You sure?”
“Yes,” she says with a firm nod.
Something in her eyes tells me I can believe her.
“I’ll be right back,” I say before I get up and go into the living room. The guy, whose name I still haven’t learned, is on the couch, while Kolton is standing beside it, typing furiously on his phone. He looks up at me when I get closer.
“Can you stay here for a few hours? I—”
“Yes.”
Snapper frowns, then shakes his head and walks away, muttering something under his breath about killing me if I get cum on his furniture.
“Lucian, by the way.” The other guy offers me his hand as he gets to his feet.
“Grizz.”
“I remember.”
“From…” I tilt my head to the side.
“Did I age that much?” he jokes. “I remember when you were a little boy.” He leans in, lowering his voice. “Pretending to be a big scary bear who was going to save all the princesses.”
I chuckle as the memory comes back to me. I did that a lot when I was little. No wonder Snapper is annoyed with me. I was a dumb as fuck kid.
“Fuck. Ain’t that some shit?”
“We’ll be back soon.”
“Take your time,” I say as he walks away.
When they’re both gone, make sure the door is locked behind them. I’ve been to Snapper’s house one other time, but I’ve never been inside before. I let Anastacia know they left, and that I’m going to check the house to make sure all the windows and any other doors are locked.
I do that quickly, surprised at how big this house is. What the fuck does Snapper need all this space for?
Guess the same reason I have all the space in my house. It’s just how they are out here. Lots of land with huge, old farmhouses that need work placed somewhere on it.
“All clear,” I say, finding Anastacia in the kitchen, loading the dishwasher.
“As I said it would be. He’s very good about security.”
“Why are you doing this? Let me do it.”
“It’s already done.” She bends down, and I notice a flinch.
I put my hand on her lower back.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes,” she says, her voice quiet. “Just pregnancy pains.”
“Here, come on. Do you want me to carry you?”
She laughs as she straightens. “I am not a damsel.”
“Too bad, cause I’d save the fuck out of you.”
She laughs again, and I lead her to the couch. She sits, and I pull the blanket from the back of it, and lay it over her lap, then get the remote from beneath the TV and hand it to her.
“You’re so sweet,” she says.
I grin as I go back to the kitchen to finish cleaning up. She wasn’t wrong. Just about everything is done. I put the soap into the dishwasher and start it, then rinse the sink and wipe down the dining table and push in all the chairs.
If Snapper is anything like he is at the club, he likes things a certain way, and I’m still not sure he won’t stab me. So I wipe down the counters and the stove, and even the fridge since I see a few fingerprints on the stainless steel, before going into the living room and sitting on the couch.
“What’s good to watch on TV?” Anastacia questions.
“I’m fine with just watching you.”
Her head turns toward me, confusion on her face, before her lips turn up into a smile.
“You’re very cute.”
“You should stop with the compliments,” I say.
“Or what?”
“I may fall in love.”
She huffs a laugh, her attention going back to the TV. After a long moment, I pull my attention from her and bring it to the TV. She’s browsing movies on a streaming service.
“That’s a good one.”
“This?” she questions, stopping on Men In Black.
“Hell yeah.”
She shrugs, then clicks on it. “I guess the classics don’t get old. I can’t remember the last time I saw this movie.”
And for some reason, that makes something click in my head.
“This movie… or any movie?” I ask carefully.
Her head turns toward me again; this time there’s a frown on her face. She doesn’t answer, and she doesn’t have to. I see the fear written all over her face.
“You don’t have to answer that. I can imagine what you’ve been through, and I bet it’s not even close to the real thing.” She swallows hard. “Just know that you’re safe here. With Snapper, and with me.”
She nods, but my words don’t make the fear go away.
So I shift on the couch and lift my arm, gesturing for her to come to me.
She does. It takes her a few moments to get comfortable, and I fix the blanket to make sure she’s covered.
She smells like vanilla and sunshine. It’s the best thing I’ve ever smelled in all my life.
I have the strongest urge to lean down and kiss her head when she settles it on my chest.
Fuck it.
I hold her a little tighter and press a kiss to the top of her head just as the movie starts to play.
“I’ll keep you and your baby safe, if it’s the last thing I do,” I whisper.
Her body shakes as she takes a slow, deep breath.
I don’t know what I did to get into this woman’s orbit, but what I do know is she’s mine to protect now. I feel it in my bones, in the way my chest tightens and flutters when she looks at me. Maybe she is my purpose in life—the reason I’ll no longer be alone.
I’ve never believed in fate before, but something brought me here tonight. Every action I took today led me here, into Snapper’s house. And I know deep in my gut that nothing will ever be the same.