Page 105 of Shattered Souls
Logan nods as though he expected nothing else. He tucks my hair behind my ear, tracing my jawline with his finger. “You should. He needs you tonight. I’ve got Aurora.”
“Thank you.” With another press of our lips, I slip from his room and go to Royce’s. He doesn’t hear me enter, bent over his desk with headphones in as he draws. I tap his shoulder gently so as not to startle him, and lifting his head, he pulls the headphones off. “Ry.” He glances past me toward the door. “You’re both home?”
I nod.
The openness he always sports when he’s drawing slowly shutters until his face is set in its typical hard mask. “I need to go… Lydia.” I’d momentarily forgotten we left her tied up in the basement of Dax’s club. I hadn’t been joking when I said that she was dead to me. Still, we can’t just leave her there indefinitely.
“Should you be going alone?” I question, worrying my bottom lip.
He gives me a sly smirk. “I’ll be fine, James. You just take care of Grayson for us.”
I give him a soft, weary smile. “I will.”
His lips quirk in the semblance of a smile before he ducks in, kissing my temple. “Help yourself to something to sleep in,” he offers, gesturing toward his dresser as he grabs his jacket before disappearing out the door.
I take him up on his offer, grabbing a t-shirt of his before making a pit stop at the bathroom to freshen up. Once I’ve stalled for as long as possible, I approach the stairs leading to Grayson’s room. Dressed in Royce’s top, my legs and feet bare, I pause with my foot on the first step, worrying my bottom lip. I’ve never been in Grayson’s room, and suddenly, I’m second-guessing myself. Would he want me in there when he’s grieving? Maybe he’d rather be alone?
Except, isn’t that Grayson’s problem? He shuts down and pushes everyone away. Knowing the stubborn asshole as I do, he’s probably shoving every bit of emotion he’s feeling into a box and snapping it shut.
Frowning, I march up the stairs, refusing to talk myself out of what I’m doing as I push open his bedroom door and step into the dimly lit room.
Grayson’s bedroom is perfectly him—dark and moody. The walls are a deep charcoal, and the slanted ceiling adds unexpected coziness. A massive bed dominates the space with its dark, luxurious linens. The rich, deep tones of the bedding and furniture give the room a masculine elegance. Two doors are on the far side of the room, one presumably for the closet and the other for the adjoining bathroom.
The only light in the room is the bedside lamp. It creates a warm pool around the bed, the rest of the room fading into shadowy corners. A sharp, warm scent lingers in the air from Grayson’s cologne, and feeling the plush carpet beneath my bare feet, I pad on silent feet into the room, quietly closing the door behind me.
Grayson lies flat on his back in the middle of the bed as he stares at the ceiling. Not once has he looked my way since I walked in. However, I know he knows I’m here.
“Go away, Riley.”
Aaaand we’re back to being an asshole.
Oh, how Grayson loves to give me whiplash.
“Yeah, no, I don’t think so.”
Done with letting him push me away, I move to perch on the opposite end of his bed.
He sighs but doesn’t make any further attempts to get me to leave.
Because despite the walls he’s putting up, he doesn’twantme to leave. Stupid, stubborn male. The muscles in his face twitch before smoothing out one by one.
Stretching my bare leg across the bed, I poke him in the ribs. “Don’t do that.”
His head falls to the side, flat eyes staring unblinkingly at me. “Do what?”
“Shut down.”
He sighs, returning his focus to the ceiling. “It’s the only way I know how to deal.”
“No, it’s the only way you’veallowedyourself to deal,” I correct. “You’re used to shutting everyone out, turning off your emotions to tackle the practical problem instead, but you can’t keep doing that, Grayson.”
“Says who? You?” He frowns.
“Yes. Me.” Shifting my legs beneath me, I lean on my knees. “You say you don’t want to waste time, yet here you are,wasting time.”
Snarling, he hauls himself upright to glare at me. “The only family I have just died! I’m allowed to take some time.”
Before he can launch me across the room, or I can chicken out, I crawl into his lap, planting my knees on either side of his narrow hips as I grab his face between my palms.
