32. Verena
32
VERENA
How do I thank him properly? Never in a million years would Leo have offered to bring Mística home. I mean, I do have a few things in mind that I know he’d like.
A lightbulb goes off, and just like that, I know the perfect way to show him my genuine appreciation for his heart. “I figured maybe we could take them to your place for a little while. There’s another place I’d like to take you but it’s not exactly the best place for dogs, let alone the two most stereotyped dogs.” Grimm says with a shrug. “Is that cool?”
My spine stiffens in my chair. This trip has been fucking phenomenal. It’s felt like an endless dream and I’m not ready for reality to seep back in just yet. I can’t go back home. I can’t see my parents. Grimm notices my hesitation. He’s looking my way with one eyebrow arched because he knows there are thoughts reeling through my mind and I won’t share a single one unless he asks. I swallow and smile, “I don’t think my parents would want two dogs running a muck in their pristine palace.”
He nods, “Understandable. Good thing they aren’t home.”
My head snaps to face him as I question, “How do you know that?”
Grimm throws his head back with a chuckle and his dimple makes an appearance, “Elijah Denissova. The kid is good at what he does. Weaseled his way into your parents’ emails and found that they’re both away on separate business trips. Your mom left last night for New York and your dad left this morning for Illinois.”
My heart rate amps up just thinking about all the digging and planning he did for this trip. Sneaky little sucker.
With my mind at ease that my parents won’t be home anytime soon, I agree to leave the dogs at the house while Grimm takes me on whatever exciting excursions he has planned.
We pull up to the large white mansion, the neutral colored rocks and white siding sit perfectly in place, not a dent or scratch in sight. The lawn is greener than the bud we’ve got stored in the middle console and my favorite part, the driveway is empty.
I sigh, feeling relieved I won’t be running into them during our trip.
Unbuckling my seatbelt, I exit the car, and open the backdoor to collect the dogs. We all head inside and I bring the girls out to the backyard. I set up their things in my bedroom and meet Grimm at the bottom of the stairs. He’s staring out the back window that faces the yard. The dogs are running circles around each other, tails wagging, tongues hanging out of their mouths. They certainly enjoy each other’s company and I know his heart is just as happy as mine.
I wrap my arms around his waist and press my face into his chest. “Thank you so much for this. Thank you so much for bringing back a piece of me I thought was gone forever.”
His arms envelop me and squeeze. “The world is yours, baby. I’m just doing my due diligence by giving it to you.” Kissing the crown of my head, he backs away and lets the dogs inside. We bring them up to my room and put out food and water for them before closing the door and heading back downstairs.
We’re walking towards the front door when I hear the beep of a car being locked outside. My head whips to Grimm, just steps behind me. I grab his shirt and pull him into a hall closet, placing a finger over my mouth to signal him to be quiet.
I hear my father’s voice, but can’t make out his muffled words. My eyes widen. We haven’t been within arms distance of each other in almost two years. Now I’ve got this six-foot-tall monster hiding in one of his coat closets and two small fucking horses in my bedroom. Grimm looks at me, a smug grin on his face. What the fuck are you up to now?
Placing his hands on my waist, he brings us face-to-face. He kisses my nose and pecks my lips, moving to my ear and whispering, “I’ll be quiet. Will you be?”
Just as I’m about to ask him to clarify, his hand slips into the front of my leggings and he cups my center. I gasp and he puts his finger over his lips, that smug grin still holding on tight. “What’s wrong? I thought you said we needed to be quiet?” He whispers, his thumb circling my clit.
My head falls back at his touch. His calloused hands have a way of making me feel like the most precious artifact in the world. He slips a finger into me, and then another, and one more. I groan and Grimm’s free hand flies over my mouth as I begin rocking back and forth against his hand.
Whimpers fall from my lips as he pumps his fingers in and out. Just as I’m about to reach my climax, Grimm leans down next to my ear again. “You want me to stop so we can focus on being quiet? Seems like you’re having a hard time there, pretty lady. I, on the other hand, can behave like a good boy whenever you need me to.” His voice ignites the bomb that’s building in my core and I detonate, my release spilling over his fingers. After removing his hand, he shoves his fingers in his mouth and savors every drop.
In a lust-filled haze, I drop to my knees and undo his belt and pants. Gripping the material, I pull it down, his underwear coming down with it, and let his cock spring free. Already hard and thick for me, there’s a bead of precum at the tip and I swipe it with my tongue. Grimm shudders and moans at my touch. “Shhh,” I whisper before taking him fully into my mouth.
His hand rests on my head. He doesn’t yank or pull. No, he pets me. Fucking pets me. Grimm caresses my head and even twirls my strands around his finger. Immediately, I feel that pulse again between my thighs and I throw all caution to the wind.
“Be a good boy, Grimm. Give your pretty lady what she needs.” I bob my head on his cock, the tip hitting the back of my throat with every stroke. Once the head touches the back of my throat again, I close my mouth and swallow. Grimm’s body reacts, sending him slightly forward. He catches himself on the coat rack in front of him, remaining inside my mouth the whole time.
“Fuck, V. That feels so good. You’re a fucking goddess. I love when you take control of me. You’re fucking perfect.” My eyes look up to meet his. I keep sucking as we stare into each other’s irises. He sees me for everything I am and doesn’t expect me to be someone I’m not. Grimm has shown me the most pure and rawest forms of love. He’s seen me at my lowest and chose to fight for me every single time. There’s no getting past that.
I licked him, so he’s mine.
He moans as I bring one hand to his ass and the other to his balls. I gently massage them both and he unravels before me, his release filling my mouth. I swallow all of his cum down before pulling his pants back up, tucking his not-so little guy back into his underwear, and redo his zipper and belt.
Footsteps sound just outside the door, before we hear the front door swing open and slam shut. A few moments later, a car engine starts and we hear my father peel out and away.
“That was close. Grab our little bitches and let’s get the fuck out of here.” I say, unable to contain my smile.
We slowly retreat from the closet and I peek out of the window to confirm that my father has left. Grimm runs upstairs to collect the girls and when he meets me outside, I ask, “I thought you said he left this morning for a business trip?”
Grimm shrugs, “That’s what I was told. Take it up with Eli, not me.” Once we’re buckled in, we hit the road and I remember why the dogs were in the room in the first place.
“Wait! What about our little impromptu rendezvous?” I ask, with a giggle.
“It was just that. Impromptu because I like giving you everything you need and more. Nothing we can’t do back home.” He replies, his free hand stroking my thigh while his other guides the steering wheel. “What happened back there?”
I look out the window, wishing to avoid the discussion altogether. I knew it was coming, I was just hoping we’d never have to actually talk about it. “I’m not sure what you mean.”
Grimm reaches up and pinches my nipple through my shirt. “Hey! Hands on the wheel!” I chuckle.
“You can talk to me, you know. I just want to understand you. Did you avoid him because he didn’t know you were coming? Or because you don’t want to see him?” He asks, patiently waiting for my answer.
My confessions spill from my lips, “I don’t have a good relationship with them. While I was spending all of my free time with Ronnie, they were at fundraisers and meetings, caught up in temporary, unimportant matters. Ronnie’s life was the only temporary thing that had any level of importance. They weren’t there. She missed them. She wanted them around and they left it up to me, a fucking teenager, to make sure she was at peace before her life ended. They had no regard for what I was going through. All that’s important is the money, the house, the cars. Materialistic bullshit.”
“Sometimes I wonder if they went into overdrive because they had to pay for her medical treatment. But I’m almost positive they had more than enough sitting in a savings account, nestled away in a foreign bank. They had the luxury to take time off of work, to spend her last days with her, to reassure her that she was loved and valued. If my mom had time to get a fucking rhinoplasty a few days before Ronnie died, she had plenty of availability to spend time with her daughters. The one that was grieving and the one that was dying.” Tears are streaming down my face before I can pull myself together. “That solidified it for me. They didn’t care about us. They thought of us as extensions of them, heirs to their legacy. Those expectations died when I fought for a chance to study art and writing. Ronnie wasn’t even going to make it to middle school.” I blow out a breath and Grimm pulls the car over to the side of the road.
He unbuckles his seatbelt and reaches over the console to hold me. I wrap my arms around his neck and bury my face into him. “I don’t know if they’re even together anymore. They’re married on paper but those business trips could be weekend getaways with mistresses and gigolos for all I know. But I truly don’t care. I just needed them to pay for my tuition at Blackwood. Once I graduate, I’ll be free from their shackles of pressure. I don’t know what I’ll do, where I’ll work, or how I’ll survive, but I’ll do it. I always have.”
“Stop right there,” Grimm interrupts. “You’re not alone anymore, V. You haven’t been alone since the first day we met, and you certainly haven’t been alone since coming to Blackwood. Feelings are a fickle thing. They trick us into believing that our emotions are fact. Newsflash, that’s a fucking lie. You have Aspen and Blair. They care for you so much. Even if they’ve got their own shit going on, you know if you call them, they will always be there for you. Also,” he brings his hands down along his body to present himself as an obvious choice, “I’ve been here since day one. It may have taken you a while to notice, but this didn’t start at the beginning of the school year or when I saw you hanging off of Leo’s arm for the first time. The moment I saw your light brown hair, your pink high-top converse, paired with those low-rise jeans held up by that awesome black-and-white checkered belt,” I can’t help but laugh. At the same time, I’m fucking shocked he remembers the details that well. “I became yours. Even when you turned around and I saw that funny looking cartoon monkey on your shirt blowing up a glittery ball of bubblegum.”
Now I’m cackling and regretting my previous outfit choices. Those styles were all the rage way back when, but I wouldn’t be caught dead in anything remotely close to that now.
So many parts of me have changed and gotten lost along the way, some for the better, but there are parts that I wish remained. My innocence, my trust, my confidence. I just hope that in time, I’m able to build up all the best parts of myself once again.
Grimm brings his hand to my face and strokes his thumb across my cheek. “All jokes aside, it has always been you. It will always be you, V. My little monster. I love you.” Grimm freezes and his Adam's apple bobs as he swallows, his face turning a bright shade of pink. My eyes widen as my mouth falls open in disbelief.
He WHAT?