CHAPTER 10 - BRYNN
“Let me wrap this, then I’ll get you a jacket,” Grizz mutters, taking my hips in his hands and helping me down from the kitchen counter. Even with my feet steady on the floor, he lingers for a breath—steadying me or just looking for a reason to hold on, I’m not sure, but I don’t care.
I like him there.
I want him there.
“I don’t need a jacke—”
“You’re gonna need a jacket,” he repeats sternly and reaches past me to the cupboard behind my head. I lean back against the counter and grip the edge, chewing on my bottom lip as he leans into my space.
While at this point, I’m practically addicted to the smoky cedar scent that constantly swirls around him, I catch an unexpected sharpness this time.
Coffee.
Dark, bitter, none of the fancy extras—so him.
I let out a soft giggle just as he pulls back with a bandage roll in his hands and a frown on his face. “What?” he questions, but I’m already shaking my head.
“It’s not important,” I say with a smile as he gingerly takes my hand and wraps the bandage round and round the pasty concoction slathered on my arm. “It already feels a lot better.”
He nods but doesn’t look up, his brow pinched in focus. “Yeah, but wait a few hours to wash it, otherwise, it’ll just flare up again.” He finally steps back, admiring his work for a moment before lifting his eyes to mine. “Wait here while I grab you a jacket…”
He pauses, lifting his eyebrows as if daring me to argue.
Part of me wants to, just to see the playful spark in his eyes ignite into a fire.
But instead, I do something far more dangerous.
I agree.
“Yes, sir,” I answer with a smile, and there’s suddenly a hand at my throat.
His touch is intentional—tight enough to let me know I’m in trouble, but in the most exhilarating fucking way.
If you ever asked me before meeting Grizz if I could imagine letting a man put his hands on me in this way, the answer would have always been hell no.
But Grizz is not any man.
He’s a dangerous man with his thumb pressed to my pulse, and yet somehow, it feels less like a threat and more like a promise.
The air between us hums, vibrating with tension and electricity. Every nerve ending in my skin is alive and waiting. Just waiting for him to make a move, to give in.
One of us has to.
And I need it to be him.
No one has ever chosen me before. No one has ever stepped up. My dad walked out on us, my mom never protected me, and while Jovie’s dad was a deadbeat who shouldn’t have been fucking around with a teenage girl—I wasn’t even good enough for him to stick around for.
He leans in, his hand loosening and slowly slipping away, my breath stuttering as the air rushes into my lungs again.
“I’m gonna forget you just said that,” he growls, voice gravelly and sharp.
I swallow, my chest rising and falling quickly. “Why?”
His mouth falls to my ear, lips brushing over it lightly. “Because we have somewhere to be, and the first time I get my hands on you for real, I wanna take my fucking time.”
God damn it.
He pulls back enough for our eyes to meet, and I press my thighs together, trying to stem the rush of heat that has sunk straight into the pit of my stomach and is pulsing between my legs.
Fucking hell, the restraint this man has is almost as intoxicating as the thought of him giving in right here and right now.
“You hear me?” he questions, and I instantly know it’s a test.
So I swallow back the answer I want to say, and remember that I have a little girl who I need to get back to. She’s my priority. “Yes,” I whisper, then clear my throat. “Yeah, I hear you.”
He gives a sharp nod and gently pulls at the sleeve of my hoodie, tugging it down over the bandage. “Maybe we should walk,” he mutters under his breath. “I think we could both use the cool air.”
He’s not joking.
It feels as if at any minute, I could spontaneously combust.
Our bodies brush as I shuffle to the side, suddenly eager to get going. “I’ll just be outside when you’re ready.”
He doesn’t move as I hurry to the door, yanking it open and stepping out and feeling the instant relief of the sharp breeze against my cheeks. God, I bet they’re bright red. Like school girls get when they spot their crush.
Grizz is a grown man. He’s made it clear he doesn’t want girls throwing themselves at him like the other night at the bar. And here I am, trying to flirt my way into his bed just like every other female who looks at him.
I shake my head, mentally admonishing myself for getting so flustered.
The door creaks open behind me, and he steps out, holding up a heavy leather jacket.
“Arms,” he orders, and this time, he gets no smart mouth or objection. The mountain air seems to have grown a fair bit colder over the past thirty minutes, or however long I’d been here.
That, or maybe I just didn’t realize how comfortable and cozy I was inside.
I hold my hoodie sleeves as Grizz slides the jacket over my hands, lifting it up onto my shoulders. Then he steps around in front of me, hooking the zip together at the bottom and slowly dragging it up until the collar stands tall around my neck, protecting it from the winter breeze.
“Come on,” he says, giving it one last tug. “We’ll skip the nature walk this time and use the street.”
I nod, the two of us marching down his steps and onto the worn path, passing a large building with motorcycles parked inside a brightly lit garage.
A couple of the boys look up, and I recognize them from the bar, but nothing is said other than Grizz mumbling a few words under his breath that I don’t quite understand.
When we slip through the large gates and out onto the street, I finally clear my throat, breaking the silence, though, not because it’s awkward, but because I’m not sure when we’ll get this kind of time together again.
“For a man who practically has back off stamped on his forehead, the home you’ve built is so warm,” I say as we walk down the narrow sidewalk. His stride is strong and steady, so I have to walk a little faster to keep up.
“I had the fire going,” he answers, not looking over.
I roll my eyes. “You know that’s not what I mean.”
His home is like nothing I’ve ever experienced.
It’s not an old apartment with ten locks on the door, a cold draft that whistles in the wind, and shag carpet that never feels clean.
Grizz’s cabin has life.
Not the living, breathing kind, but the kind that’s created when someone puts their heart and soul into something.
It sounds cliché but it’s true. In that cabin, I can feel Grizz.
He’s in the gritty, natural wood of the walls and the heat from the fire.
Every touch of the furniture inside felt as though I had my hands on a part of him, dragging my fingers along each surface, learning, exploring, excited to know more about the man who has captivated me since the moment we met.
“When you spend years in a cold, concrete prison cell, you find yourself wanting something a little less hard and dark,” he says, glancing over at me as if gauging my reaction, just like he’d done in the cabin at the first mention of prison.
Part of me wants to know more, to ask questions. Who, where, what, why? But if I’m being completely honest with myself, none of it matters to me, and by his change in demeanor when he mentions it, I know for sure the story comes with scars.
And I’m sure he will share those if and when he’s ready.
“I figured if I was gonna start over,” he continues, “I’d do it somewhere quiet. Somewhere that has no expectations or demands of me.”
“And the club?” I ask.
“They’re not quiet,” he says with a short, rough laugh.
“But they don’t expect much either. Just honesty and loyalty.
” I nod slowly, both of us looking down at our feet as we crunch through some frozen leaves, our breaths visible in the quickly cooling air, making me laugh. “You don’t get this in Texas.”
I glance up, surprised. “I didn’t…” then it clicks. “Jovie.”
The smirk on his face is confirmation. “Don’t worry, she didn’t mention why you left.”
“I’m not even sure there’s a reason,” I admit without thinking. “Whether I’m running away from that life, or running toward a new one.”
Grizz is quiet for a beat, and I’m sure I’ve lost him with my rambling.
“Maybe it doesn’t matter. As long as you’re moving,” he suggests finally, and I fight a smile.
Nope.
Turns out he understands me better than I understand myself.
The sudden acceleration of a motor has Grizz moving closer, backing me away from the road. But then a woman’s voice calls out, “Hey!” and a low growl rumbles in his throat before his shoulders drop and he steps back.
A large silver SUV pulls to a sharp stop beside us, Victoria leaning out the window. “Sarah said you went on a nature walk. Did you get lost?”
There’s laughter in her voice, but it doesn’t reach her eyes.
Those are narrowed on Grizz as he moves in a little closer to me.
The woman didn’t hide her dislike for him and the club, even though she shows up in spaces like the bar, knowing they’ll be there.
Though it’s also very obvious she’s a controlling mother, and while that grinds me the wrong way, I also understand wanting to protect your daughter from men you think might not be right for them.
If that’s her prerogative, I can’t exactly be angry about it.
I guess I just see things differently.
Walking a little closer to the large vehicle, I hold up my hand.
“I was nature walking, but took a side path and had a little run-in with a beautiful but angry plant,” I explain with a tight smile.
“Thankfully, Grizz was nearby. He helped wrap it up and offered to walk me back to the bar so I didn’t take another wrong turn. ”
Her eyes scan over me, settling on my hand for a brief second before flicking to Grizz.
There’s a darkness.
A spark of anger, maybe, as if she thinks he’s responsible for me hurting myself.
I clear my throat, drawing her attention back to me. “Honestly, I went off the normal track, so it was really my fault,” I try to tell her, not wanting to cause even more problems where there is obvious tension already. “Hopefully I’ll get to know the place a little—”
“Well, that settles it then!” She exclaims suddenly, her dark frown shifting to a beaming smile as if someone has flicked a switch from night to day. She takes her hands off the wheel and claps them together. “Tomorrow I’m going to take you and Jovie on a lovely tour of the town.”
I smile but shake my head. “Oh gosh, please don’t go out of your way—”
She waves her hand, cutting me off sharply. “Nonsense. I would love the opportunity to share the history of Hallowed Springs with you. Let you know all about the town and the families who built it. Maybe even share with you some of those spooky legends people love.”
I’m ready to give her a thank you, but no thank you speech. Jovie has already been on my back about taking one of the paid tours in town, and I really did want to stay on everyone’s good side if we were going to stick around a little longer.
So I nod. “Yeah, okay. That sounds great.”
It’s less than enthusiastic, but Victoria doesn’t seem to notice, her eyes lighting up like it’s already Christmas. “Perfect! I’ll pick you up in the morning!”
“Okay, I—” Her tires skid on the slippery street, the car sliding a little before she finally got traction and took off, waving her hand out the window. “—‘ll see you then.” I turn back to Grizz with a sigh. “So there is no love lost between the club and Victoria.”
His lip twitches. “She comes from one of the founding families and thinks we're dirtying the town's reputation.”
“Do I dare ask what the club thinks of her?”
A slow, dangerous smirk spreads across his face, one that makes my stomach tighten and my pulse misbehave. “You know the Devil Pools the town is so famous for?” I nod and he leans closer. “We’re pretty sure Victoria is what crawled out of them.”
Laughter bursts from my chest. “Great!” I say with a chuckle. “So tomorrow, Jovie and I get to go sightseeing with Satan.”
What could go wrong?