Chapter 28
Grim
I glance over at Wren. She’s sleeping, her head resting against the window, her chest rising and falling with each steady breath.
Fuck, but she’s beautiful.
I want to reach over and touch her. Put my hand on her thigh or touch the curve of her cheek with my thumb.
I can’t. I absolutely cannot do either of those things. That’s what people in relationships do. I’m not in one, and I don’t want to be in one.
I drive a little more carefully, so she doesn’t jolt around. That’s the best I can do.
This morning was a onetime thing. We both agreed. No complications. No attachments. Just two people seeking comfort in each other’s bodies.
Except I never expected her to be so…fucking perfect in every way. So utterly craveable.
The sounds she made. The way she responded to my touch. How she let me push her boundaries, and not only did she lap it all up, but she pushed for more.
I saw her wince when she stood up at breakfast. Saw the light bruises on her skin this morning when she was getting dressed. Faint marks on her hips where my fingers dug in. A pink handprint on her ass.
My dragon growled when he saw it. He wanted me to put one on the other cheek.
I was probably a little too rough. No – I was definitely too rough. I pushed her out of her comfort zone, tested her limits.
And she rose to the occasion like she was starving for it.
She’d even accused me of going easy on her. Of holding back.
My cock stirs at the memory, and I shift in my seat, forcing my attention back to the road.
I find myself wishing we could have one more night. Just one. What I wouldn’t give for it to happen. To explore every inch of her again. To find all the other ways I could make her scream my name.
Her breathing changes, becoming less rhythmic. She clears her throat softly.
I glance over. Her eyes are open, looking at me with that soft, sleepy expression that makes me warm right up.
“Did you have a good nap?” I ask.
She yawns and stretches, pushing her chest out. Those amazing tits strain against her T-shirt. We found some gym clothes in that storage room this morning. I have to force my eyes back to the road before I drive us off into a ditch.
“Yes, I did,” she says, her voice still husky from sleep. “Surprisingly good. I needed that.”
I’m reminded of something she said last night.
“Why did you hate your breasts when you were younger?” The question is out before I can stop it. “You told me that last night.”
She laughs, the sound filling the SUV. “Where did that come from?”
“Oh…um…you stretched, and I looked at them. I couldn’t help it.
” I’m sure I have a sheepish look. “You have great tits, Wren. Like, amazing.” The words tumble out in a rush.
“I can’t believe you ever had a problem with them.
You don’t anymore, I hope.” I narrow my eyes on her for a moment before looking back at the dirt road.
She laughs again and shrugs, but doesn’t answer directly.
“You can’t be serious,” I tell her, risking another glance her way.
“You have the best body I’ve ever seen…and I mean that.
You’re pretty, too. Like girl-next-door but with a banging body.
I wouldn’t blow smoke up your ass if I didn’t mean it.
Beautiful, hot, sexy. You’re all of it.” I smile at her despite myself.
“Thank you,” she says quietly. “I know you wouldn’t just say that, and I appreciate it. I wish they were a little perkier, that’s all.”
“They’re plenty perky,” I assure her. “And they bounce beautifully…trust me on that one.”
She laughs again, and I keep smiling at her. I can’t seem to wipe the thing off my face even though my world has imploded. We’re in grave danger. Sally is dead. I’m a wanted criminal. I don’t care about myself, but I worry for Wren.
And still, I’m over here smiling like a fucking fool.
“You have a great smile,” she tells me.
I look over at her. Her cheeks have gone a little pink.
“It’s nice to see you smiling, Grim. You look a little lighter despite everything that’s going on.”
“I am,” I tell her. “I lost about a pound this morning.”
“It was definitely a good workout,” she agrees.
“Yes, it was, but that’s not what I’m talking about.”
“Oh.” She frowns, confused.
“I don’t think I’ve ever come that much in my life,” I tell her bluntly. “I’m sure I could have filled a bucket.”
She laughs so hard she bends over at the middle, clutching her stomach. She laughs until her eyes fill with tears.
“I cannot believe you said that.” She’s still laughing, gasping for breath. “You are terrible.”
I shrug. “It’s been a little while for me. I’ve barely even jerked off in the last six or seven months. I can’t remember the last time I tugged on my dick. Too much information, I know, but since we’re sharing and all that.”
Her laughter dies abruptly. She gets very serious. “Did you have a relationship with Jordyn? You did, didn’t you? She was the person you were last with.”
Fuck.
Why did I go down this road?
“No, I didn’t have a relationship with her,” I tell her. “We fucked. We only managed to form a partial mind-bond, so we had to have sex to make it stronger. Otherwise, I never would have gone there.”
“What’s a partial mind-bond?” she asks. “I’m assuming it isn’t a proper bond.”
“You’re assuming right…yes,” I tell her. “In order to strengthen the bond, we were encouraged to have sex a couple of times.”
I pause, remembering. “It was good. I enjoyed myself. Once the bond formed, we were told to stop fucking…”
“You didn’t?” she says.
I glance over at her. She has this look of hurt on her face.
Crap.
I forgot for a second that Wren likes me.
Like really likes me. She was the one who insisted we sleep together last night.
The one who said we had to keep it to this one time only.
I’d almost forgotten that she has actual feelings for me.
At least, I think she does. Maybe she was only ever attracted to me. That’s possible too.
“No, we kept going,” I admit. “In hindsight, she instigated it more than I did. I didn’t tell her no…I probably should have.”
“I’m sure she instigated it,” Wren says, her voice flat.
I look her way, frowning.
She rolls her eyes. “You’re good in bed, Grim. You have to know that. I take it you’ve had a ton of partners.” Her mouth falls open. “I can’t believe I said that. I’m prying again. I’m so sorry. Shit!”
“That’s okay,” I tell her, but I don’t say anything more.
“It isn’t. I don’t mean to pry; I’m just interested, that’s all.
I’ve only had two…before you, that is,” she continues, filling the silence.
“Not that you asked, but there it is. I met Jock in college. We ended up moving in together once we graduated, but it fizzled out quite quickly after that. I was single for two years before meeting Tim. We moved in together quite soon, but he turned out to be a great, big, fat liar. I came to realize it. He would lie about stupid little things. I ignored it. It wasn’t a big deal until it was. ”
“He started lying about big things,” I say.
“Yep. Turned out he had a gambling addiction. He started borrowing money from loan sharks. He lied all the time to cover it up. I found out when some thugs came over. They broke two of his fingers right in front of me and then threatened to break his arms if he didn’t come up with the money.”
“That must have been traumatic.”
“It was.” She nods, her eyes hazy. “I gave him all of my savings and then maxed out my credit card. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if they had come back and hurt him for real. I also asked him to move out, and that was the end of that.”
“I’m sure.” I negotiate a turn, my eyes on the road. “Good thing you didn’t marry him.”
“You’re telling me.” She huffs out a breath. “That’s one thing I really like about you, Grim. You don’t talk a whole hell of a lot, but when you do, you just say it like it is. I respect that.”
Shit! Shit!
I haven’t been straight with Wren at all. I only made friends with her so that I could use her. I didn’t tell her all I know about the vaccinations. I told her she might be allergic to dragons, when I should have told her that we nearly mind-bonded.
I’ve lied plenty.
I don’t deserve her respect. I feel fucking terrible.
“I’m pretty sure that we wouldn’t have ended up together even if Tim weren’t a pathological liar and a gambler. We’d been together for years, and there was no talk of marriage or children, or any of that stuff. In fact, he’d shut me down quickly if I tried to bring it up.”
“So you want kids, then?” I ask.
“Yes, I do. I also want a husband who adores me.”
“And a house with a big yard?” I fill in.
“Yep. I want it all.”
I take a breath. “I haven’t had many partners,” I tell Wren, shocking myself. I’m not normally this open.
“You’re referring to sexual partners or relationships?” she asks.
“Both. I’ve never been in a real relationship.”
“That’s sad.”
“I’ve dated a few times over the years, but nothing serious. Jordyn wasn’t serious either.”
I can tell from the way she’s looking at me that she doesn’t buy it.
“Why were you so broken after Jordyn?” she finally asks.
“She severed her bond with my beast when she left and betrayed us. If my dragon hurts, then so do I. I trusted her. I will struggle to ever trust someone like that again.”
“If anyone can understand trust issues, I’m them,” Wren says.
“At the same time, I’m sad for you. I think you could have a lot to offer someone…
The right person, that is. Just because one person hurt you, doesn’t mean that the next one will too…
I mean, when they come along. You need to be open to it, Grim.
Otherwise, you could end up being alone for the rest of your life. ”
“First, I have to clear my name and avenge Sally,” I tell her. “Then I need to sort myself out and figure out what my future is going to be. I’m a long way off from being ready to be with anyone.”
“Me too,” she agrees.
“Why is that?” I’m not sure why I asked. I shouldn’t. But I find that I really want to know.
“I have some goals to achieve first.”
“Your own house with a yard for the boys, and a nursing home complete with a small farmyard on the side.”
She smiles. “Just the house with a yard in my name, at this stage. The nursing home is just a pipe dream.”
“No, it isn’t. I think it’s great, and I think you should go for it once we clear this whole thing up.”
There’s a fork in the road up ahead. I hesitate, taking my foot off the gas. Then I take the right fork.
“We’re nearly there,” I tell Wren. “I recognize that cluster of rocks and that dead tree.”
I make a few more turns, following the route from memory. The jungle is thick here, the trees pressing in on both sides of the narrow dirt road.
We make a hard turn, and Drake’s truck is right up ahead, parked in a small clearing.
I pull up, parking next to it.
Drake is behind the wheel, his expression serious as he watches us approach.
“This is it,” I tell Wren, who suddenly looks nervous. “Time to find out what’s going on.”