Chapter 12
CHAPTER TWELVE
APRICOT
Closing the doors, I sigh in relief. The day is over with, and I’m glad about it.
The opening was a success, and I couldn’t be happier.
The best part of it is that Grimm showed up shortly afterward and spent the rest of the time hanging around looking incredible.
I had several people come in and buy. I even had multiple orders placed for arrangements.
Fawn and a couple came in to pick out what they wanted for their wedding. This means good things for me, and I’m excited about it all.
However, the day is over, and I’m exhausted. All I want to do is fall into my bed and sleep.
“You ready to go, Dimples?” Grimm asks, coming my way.
“Yeah.” I nod. “I just need to lock up and close down the drawer. If you wanna go ahead, I’ll be right behind you,” I offer.
“I’m good, I’ll wait.”
I smile at him and wrap my arms around his waist. I tilt my head back and look up at him. “You know that you’re amazingly sweet?”
“Sweet?” Grimm quirks a brow, his lip curved upward on one side.
“Yeah, lately you've been nothing but sweet and gentle. It’s something I’m not used to,” I explain.
Grimm loses the upward curve as he frowns. “I’m not a sweet and gentle man, baby.”
“You are with me.”
“That’s cause it’s you. Anyone else, they can kiss my ass.”
Giggling and shaking my head, I lean against him. “But if it’s because of me, how come I wasn’t able to get through to you before?”
Grimm tenses, his fingers at my waist flex. “Guess you can say I got my head outta my ass.”
“Guess so.” I pull away and do what I need to in order to get out of here. I don’t want to push him, and the way he said that, I sense something isn’t right. Hopefully, he’ll talk to me soon and open up.
For now, I’ll get the shop closed up, and the two of us can get to my place. Maybe even do more of what we did last night.
Standing at the counter, I go through my mail, tossing the junk to the side to throw away, and neatly place what I need to keep in a pile to take care of.
I get down to the last envelope and freeze as I recognize the handwriting.
It’s been a while since I’d seen it. I don’t know who it is, but I’ve been getting letters from whomever it is for years now.
I’ve never told anyone. I didn’t want to worry my parents or anyone else, for that matter.
I figured it was just crap anyway, though I knew better in the back of my mind.
With a shaky hand, I open the seal and pull the slip of paper from within. I unfold it and start scanning over the words written so precisely.
You’ve damned yourself, my love, and the sins of what you’ve done must be rectified. As chosen, you will be cleansed.
That’s all it said, but it’s enough to freak me out.
“Dimples,” Grimm calls out, getting my attention.
I quickly ball the paper up, toss it on top of the junk mail, and whirl around to face him.
Grimm had gotten a phone call when we’d first been walking in the door, and he stayed outside to take it .
. . something to do with the club. Having grown up in the life, no matter how much it annoys me the whole no women allowed, I know not to push or pry.
My mom told me that as an ol’ lady, you get told what’s needed and have to trust them.
“Everything okay?” I ask, trying to hide my fear. I pull my bottom lip in between my teeth.
“Yeah, everything’s good. Pirate told Viking about my phone, and Viking made sure to call me rather than text to let me know we’re having church in the morning.” Grimm watches me, his eyes taking in my lip, and I can’t help but fidget under his watchful stare.
“I thought they had it last night?” I was afraid he’d get in trouble because of him missing church.
“Got pushed back. Viking and Fawn had to take Rocco to the hospital. Kid had spiked a fever.”
Oh right, Fawn told me about that earlier. She’d looked tired and said Rocco had his first ear infection. Poor kid. I know what it’s like. I used to get them all the time.
Instead of saying this, since I’m sure he knows what happened, I bring up his phone. “What’s wrong with your phone?” He hadn’t said anything about it.
Sighing, Grimm shakes his head. “Had Pirate look at it. Says I need a new one.”
“Well, that depends. How old is your phone and what is it doing?” I might not know a lot about electronics, but I know something thanks to a friend from college.
She was taking computer science and engineering.
Swear Diya could fix anything if you give it to her.
It’s a shame she moved back to Indiana, but that’s where she’s from.
“Had the same phone for five years,” he says, closing the distance between us. “Lately it seems to have a mind of its own.”
“That’s a long time. You’re lucky it lasted so long. Nowadays, phones barely seem to want to last two years without needing to be replaced. Something always goes wrong. The battery, something internal . . .”
I stop rambling as Grimm gets in my space, his hands on my waist. I notice his assessing eyes take on a life of their own and I lose all thought of anything else.
“You good?” he asks.
I nod and suck in a breath. There’s no way I could answer him right now.
“Baby, you gotta use words. A nod doesn’t answer shit.” He grins, giving my waist a squeeze.
“Yes.” I barely get the word out before Grimm’s mouth is on mine.
Everything seems to go by in a blur of motion.
I love his hands on me, his mouth moving over my body.
And the way he slides inside me. It’s perfection the way we fit together.
Even better, when the intensity of it all heightens to the point of no return, I let it take over, washing through every cell within me.