Chapter 14 #2
We swam and played some more, until Grayson demanded we get out on the count of my lips turning blue.
He wrapped me tightly in a large towel and took out some snacks from the backpack.
We had worked up quite an appetite. I was shivering cold and hungry, but content.
No. It was more than that. I was radiating happiness.
The purest form of happiness I haven’t felt since childhood.
Everything that saddened or hurt me, couldn’t reach me here, in this dreamlike place, underneath the rainbows.
Surely the gods themselves visited this waterfall.
I could almost feel the magic brushing against my skin.
When I’d won the fight over who got the chocolate bar, Grayson came to sit at my back, pulling me into his chest and rubbing my arms over the towel to warm me up.
“Did you have fun?” he asked around a mouthful of trail mix.
I swallowed and leaned back, resting my head on his chest. “The funnest,” I sighed happily, taking another bite of the chocolate, then held it up for Grayson to take a bite too, which he rewarded with a kiss on my temple.
It warmed my insides. Paired with his strong body folded around me, I felt as giddy as a child snuggly wrapped in their favourite blanket.
I stared out at the waterfall. “I’ve never seen anything as beautiful as this place. Thank you for sharing it with me.”
“Hmm,” Grayson purred absentmindedly, pressing his cheek against mine, twirling a strand of my hair around his finger.
I shifted and peered up at his face. “What are you thinking about?”
He glanced down, and the way he smiled at me, made a knot in my stomach. “You.”
“What about me?” I pressed recklessly.
Grayson chuckled and released me from his stare. “Can’t say. I promised to behave, remember?”
I elbowed him playfully in the ribs, but my heart was beating in my throat. I offered him another bite of my chocolate and popped the last piece in my mouth, hoping it would distract from the flutter in my stomach.
We were quiet for a while and I settled back against his warm chest, turning my head to rest in the crook of his neck. It was completely inappropriate, but it felt so right in this perfect moment, where reality couldn’t reach me.
“There’s more places like this that I can show you,” Grayson whispered. There was an underlying inference to that simple sentence. Stay.
Grayson must have felt the tension stiffening my body. He straightened his spine a bit. “But unfortunately, you’re not part of the club, so…” He shrugged it off.
I gratefully took the out he offered. “Whatever. I’m too cool for your club anyway,” I joked.
“Impossible. I know Banksy’s real identity. Name anything cooler than that.”
I laughed. He had me there. “So it’s not just old Van Gogh’s you’re into?”
“Anything beautiful with a message behind it catches my eye. Like this.” He pulled my hair back and traced the tattoo behind my ear.
His soft caress on the delicate skin made my thighs clench together.
“Three moons. The Triple Goddess, right? I’m not sure what it symbolises these days, but in ancient times, this symbol was worn by High Priestesses and witches. Are you a witch?”
I turned to look at him. “If I was, you would’ve been dragged away by hellhounds the moment you touched me.”
Grayson’s eyes lighted up. “You underestimate my rank in hell, darling. There wasn’t a force in this world that could’ve stopped me.”
I didn’t know why my insides warmed at that, or why I was smiling like a damned fool.
“I have a necklace with the triple moons that once belonged to a High Priestess, if you’d like it,” Grayson murmured.
“This particular Priestess enjoyed luring bad men into the woods, making them believe they were the predator, before cutting their hearts out. I think it’s better suited in your hands than mine. ”
“You think I’m capable of cutting out a bad man’s heart, Grayson?” I whispered mischievously.
He swallowed hard, his eyes darkening. “Yes,” he whispered back.
I jumped forward, towards his knife lying by the backpack, but just as my hand closed around it, Grayson was on top of me. A fit of giggles overtook me as he battled against me, for the knife.
“I’m locking your door tonight. For my safety,” he declared breathlessly, when he finally pried the knife from my fingers.
I laughed from my belly. “Look who’s scared now.”
He flicked my nose, and I pinched his leg, which got me a bite on the cheek. He was absolutely feral, and had no sense for rules or boundaries, so I quickly surrendered.
Grayson wrapped himself around me again, holding me tightly.
“You’re a good fighter,” I remarked. He’d held back, letting me keep hold of the knife.
The way he easily disarmed me when he finally decided to take it from me—he could have pried it from my fingers within seconds.
It made me think of that first day in the forest. How did I even manage to scratch him?
Had I surprised him? Or was he playing with me?
“I’ve been taking different martial arts classes since I was a kid. It helped with the anger.” His voice changed as the memories of his childhood flickered behind his eyes.
“Are you still angry?” I dared.
He smiled down at me, but it was sad. “No. Not anymore. The anger burned out a long time ago. Now I’m just… different. Cold.” Grayson shrugged.
My heart bled. I lowered my head to his chest and pressed my cheek against him. “I don’t know about that. You feel pretty warm to me.”
He chuckled darkly, gently loosening a knot in my hair with his fingers. “So does the devil, little witch.”
“Are you the devil?” My heart pounded against my ribs. I don’t know why his answer mattered so much to me. What did it matter who and what he was? I was going home soon.
Grayson watched me for a second, deciding on whether or not he should say the things hidden behind those dark eyes. “I’ve been called King of the Underworld by those who know of me.”
I swallowed hard. What does that mean? “Is that why you found it so funny when I said my name was Persephone?”
He chuckled again, like he did that day. “You were spot on, Princess.”
“King of the Underworld,” I mused. I was clueless to the reason why people would crown him as such, or if he was even telling the truth, but somehow it felt right for him.
I was quiet for a while, but my curiosity got the better of me. “Why do they call you that?” Did I really want to know? My insides twisted a little.
Grayson gave an amused snort, then lifted my chin. “I’ve told you this before.” His eyes darkened as they swept over my face. “Even the highest-ranking monsters of this world fear me.”
A shudder rippled through me. “Why?” I whispered.
His lips turned up into a chilling smile. “Because I can raise hell.”
“Like the devil,” I breathed.
“Like the devil,” Grayson echoed, tenderly sliding his finger around the contours of my jaw, his twisted eyes holding me captive.
“I’m not scared of the devil.”
Grayson lifted my chin a little higher. He had a devilish gleam in his eyes that sent hot waves of electricity through my body. “That’s not very smart, Ava. You should always run from the devil,” he whispered ominously.
“No. I’m not scared,” I whispered back, but my heart skipped a beat, and my breathing stopped.
A slow grin spread across Grayson’s face, and I swore the skies darkened. “Wrong answer, little witch.” He snatched me into his arms and lifted me off the ground as I yelped in surprise. He ran to the pool, my scream of protest cut off as he dove us both into the icy water.
“You bastard!” I screamed in shock as we resurfaced and pushed him under again. He didn’t come back up this time. “Grayson?” I called after a while, a little panicked, not being able to see him. Was he okay?
Suddenly, his fingers closed around my ankles, and I managed a little gasp of shock, before he dragged me under.
I would have gladly stayed right there, under the rainbows, for the rest of the day—playing, bickering and laughing with Grayson, while he held me warm, but it was Grayson’s turn to make dinner.
Imagine that. The devil cooking for his family. It was like there were two different beings in his body that left me utterly confused.
So, we got dressed, packed up and made our way back to the cabin. I picked a few wild herbs and mushrooms for Grayson’s soup, which he eyed suspiciously, and asked more than once if I was sure it was edible. I enjoyed the look on his face as I pretended to be a little uncertain.
The beautiful cabin appeared through the trees. I stopped. I needed him alone for a few more seconds. “Hunter says you sneak up the stairs at night.”
Amused surprise flitted onto his face. “What an owl.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “You come into my room when I’m sleeping?”
He shrugged, giving me one of his half-smiles I’m sure he perfected to entrance women. “I don’t sleep much, so I sit on the windowsill and watch the trees.” He took a step closer to me. “And sometimes I watch you.”
“So you’re a creep.”
My insult didn’t faze him much. “I’m fucked in the head, Princess.
I thought you understood that by now.” He lifted my chin and unleashed the full force of his eyes on me, making me wonder if he could see all the way into my soul.
“If it bothers you, I will stop. But I don’t think it does.
I think you like the idea of me watching over you at night, however messed up it might seem to the world.
And I think, if you stopped lying to yourself, you’ll find you’re just as fucked in the head as me. ”
A shiver rolled through my body. I cleared my throat. “Or you’re just a lonely creep.” It didn’t come out as snarky as I intended with my voice so shaky.
Grayson chuckled. “Or I’m just a lonely creep.” He nodded and flicked my nose. He started walking towards the cabin again, speaking over his shoulder as he went, “A lonely creep whose ass you’re ogling right now.”