Chapter 33
Grace
Asshole! Son of a bitch. How dare he? I was angry, my insides alive and awake. I deserved better.
After Liam, I”d felt weak and helpless; after Zephyr, I felt strong and powerful. And I felt stupid. Why did I trust that moron? I should never have let him in. I”m an idiot and….
I heard noises downstairs and froze.
I reached out to my bedside table and pulled out my Glock. I tiptoed to my bedroom door to listen. I heard a creek, and my heart stopped. Someone was coming up the stairs. I stood back from the door, aiming my gun.
The door opened slowly, and I got ready to pull the trigger.
”Jesus Fucking Christ, Grace.” Zephyr had his hands up movie-style. ”I”m sorry, okay. I lost my temper. No need to shoot my sorry ass for that.”
I almost did, just to cause him pain. ”Don”t tempt me.”
”You shoot me. You won”t see me grovel as my siblings have informed me I must.”
Even when he apologized, he was a cocky son of a bitch. It infuriated me even more. ”You”re an asshole.”
”Can you…ah…put the gun down while you call me names? I may pee my pants, and that shit”s gonna be embarrassing.”
I shoved the gun back into my bedside drawer. I usually didn”t keep it loaded, but what with the Russian mafia dropping people around me, I decided it was better to be safe than sorry.
”I fucked up.” Zephyr dropped to his knees in front of me.
What the fuck? Was Zephyr Doucet on his knees in front of me?
He hugged me and laid his head on my belly. ”I lost it. It was fucked up of me. I”m so fucking sorry.”
”You called me a prissy little bitch.” Tears filled my eyes. Liam also apologized the first few times he hit me, and I took him back. Was this history repeating itself?
”In my defense, Grace” — he looked up at me with a smirk, and as I was about to kick, he hugged me hard, immobilizing me — ”you can be a bit of a prissy bitch.”
”Is this how you apologize?” I screamed at him.
”I usually don”t,” he admitted. ”Usually…hell, Grace, I never lose my temper, and that”s the God”s honest truth. It just…Henri is the only adult in my life who paid me any attention. It hurts like a motherfucker that he”s the one who has been fucking with my family.”
I narrowed my eyes. ”You believe me?”
He nodded. ”Yeah. I don”t like it. Not even a little bit. But I trust you. I trust Rome. I trust Nick. I believe you.”
”So, what was that yelling at me business?”
”Stupid knee-jerk reaction.” He was still hugging me tightly, and I was afraid I”d lose my balance, which was exactly what he wanted—me to lose my balance.
”No,” I finally said. ”You can get the fuck away from me.” I didn”t swear often, but this man was pushing my buttons, something crazy.
”I ain”t going nowhere, darlin”.”
”Liam used to apologize, too, and I used to take him back, and he”d do it again and again.” I shook my head vehemently. ”I”m not going there again.”
He cocked an eyebrow. ”Little Tempest, you compare me to your asshole ex, and we”ll have problems.”
”Really? So, you”re here to tell me, I”m sorry, Grace, it”ll never happen again and—”
”Oh, it”ll happen again,” Zephyr cut in. ”Life is long. I”m probably gonna lose my temper sometime in the near or distant future. I”m probably gonna say stupid shit. Can you promise you won”t ever say something to piss me off?”
”Don”t turn this around on me.” Damn him! Hadn”t I also said hurtful things to him?
”Question? When Liam apologized did you scream at him like you are with me?”
I considered his question, and because I didn”t like the answer, I just shrugged. Hell, no, I didn”t scream. I was scared as hell. I wasn”t scared of Zephyr. I wasn”t even sad. I was furious. Angry. Deep, deep down in my head and my heart, I knew he”d apologize, and it would be sincere.
”Couples fight, Grace. They say stupid shit. I”m sorry. I love you.”
I glared at him. It had been exactly forty-five minutes since he”d spouted that garbage at me. Forty-five very long minutes where I”d castrated him in various ways in my imagination.
”You hurt me,” I told him, the anger slowly dissipating, now giving way to sadness.
He straightened and hugged me close. ”I”m so sorry, baby. I freaked out.”
”But you still think I”m a prissy little bitch.” A sob escaped me as I leaned my forehead against his chest.
He stroked my hair. ”Yes, Grace, I do.”
”Because I am.” I looked up at him.
”Because you can be, yes.” He kissed my nose.
”You”re an asshole.”
”From time to time, yes.” He kissed my mouth.
Making up with Liam had never been like this. It had been all sorry, and here is another tennis bracelet. This was honest. This was genuine. He”d say stupid shit. I”d say stupid shit. This was what it meant to be in a relationship.
”So, this is it, we”ll keep hurting each other like this?”
He pulled back and kissed my forehead. ”Yes, baby, and then we”ll heal each other. Blaze and Nick have some epic fights.”
”Rome and Gaia?”
Zephyr shook his head. ”She gets sad when they fight, and he can”t stand it. But when he was pissed with her, and he was for a long time, he said and did some really ugly shit. But they were apart for many years, and there was a lot of trauma on both sides. He believes you entirely about Henri, which surprises me.”
”Oh my God,” I gasped. ”Did anyone see you come in here? Zephyr?”
He grinned. ”I thought you were ending the op.”
I made a face at him. ”I was annoyed with you.”
”I was very careful. I drove a buddy”s motorbike. No one was following me. We”re good.”
”Well, since you”re here anyway” — I turned to look at the bed — ”I guess we should get some sleep.”
Sleep? Maybe. Not right away, though. We needed some make-up sex. What was the point in fighting if there wasn”t make-up sex?
”Grace, I am sorry,” he said seriously. ”Please forgive me.”
”Okay. But next time I say something horrible and mean to you, I get a pass.”
”Deal. But after that, you”ll give me a blowjob whenever you screw up.”
I cocked an eyebrow. ”And what do I get?”
He grinned wide. ”Let me show you how I like to make up, Little Tempest. I promise you”re gonna love it.”
Spoiler alert: I did.