Page 54 of Hunted Innocence

I want to kiss every single inch of her as my way of apologizing for what happened to her, what I allowed to happen.

I may not have done that disgusting shit to her body, but I agreed to using her as bait to draw Landon out. I agreed to allow her to move freely without being monitored as closely as she had been, so yeah, this shit is all my fault, and she will never convince me otherwise.

“Grayson, come to bed.”

She repeats her words, and they make my stomach roll. The thought of my unworthy filth climbing into bed beside her makes me want to throw up. Shaking my head again, I open my mouth to tell her that I’m going to take the couch.

“If you sleep on the couch, I’ll just follow you, and I think it might be too uncomfortable for me, but I’ll do it.”

Her threat is cute, but also, I don’t want her to be in any more pain than I’m sure she is already in. “I’m going to take a shower. Do you need anything?”

She shakes her head, her eyes staying focused on mine before she speaks. Her words come out soft and barely above a whisper, but they feel like a punch to my gut.

“Just you, Grayson.”

Fuck.

“You’re all I need.”

I move toward her. I know that I have blood still covering my face and body, but I don’t care. Sinking down on the side of the bed, beside her hip, I lift my hands to cup her cheeks before I shift my head closer.

Touching my forehead against hers, I close my eyes and just feel her breath wash over my face. Her breathing quickens, and I want to kiss her. I want to touch my mouth to hers, slide my tongue inside of her and taste her.

But I refrain.

“Grayson,” she exhales.

I could listen to her say my name over and over in any type of way and never grow tired of it. Sucking in a breath, I hold it for a moment, knowing that I can’t kiss her. I can’t take this any further, no matter how badly I want to.

Shifting backward, I let my hands fall from her cheeks before I stand. “I need a quick shower. I’ll be back.”

I leave her alone. I know I’ll be sleeping beside her tonight and any other night she needs it, I’ll protect her with my life until the day I die, but we can never be together again.

Stepping into the bathroom, I turn on the water to warm up the shower and think about the future. It’s not that I think anything is wrong with Nadine. I fell for her before I knew a single thing about her past, and knowing what I do, it hasn’t changed anything.

But she’s been through so much, and my appetites will only harm her further. She doesn’t need me choking her. She doesn’t need me taking her ass. She doesn’t need it, and as someone who has been through everything she has and possibly more, the last thing I want to do is harm her further.

The entire time I wash the blood from my body, I think about Nadine. And by the time I’m finished, I feel even more solid about my decision.

She’ll live with me.

She’ll be my woman.

But she will never share my bed again. I will protect her forever because I do love her, but we can’t be together again.

We’ll be wedded roommates.

Everything that is mine will be hers, and if something were to ever happen to me, she can have the protection of my estate. Every fucking ounce of money, property, everything.

Because if nothing else, Nadine deserves to live in peace. No wonder I was so attracted to her. She’s a kindred soul. I just didn’t realize that she needed me for more than a lover. Now I know, and I will protect her and her gentle heart until the day I die.

NADINE

Something has shifted between us,and I don’t like it. Unfortunately, as much as I don’t like it, I anticipated it. Maybe I put it in the atmosphere or something, but it’s here, and I need Grayson to tell me exactly what he saw.

I need to assure him that I’m okay and that everything is going to be okay between us. I’m not irreversibly damaged. I have been through so much more than anything that Landon could have even attempted to do in those few hours he had me.

But Grayson obviously sees me differently now, and it makes me feel physically ill. I have secretly yearned for him from afar for years. Even living in that safe house, being so close and yet so far away from him, my feelings never wavered.

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