Page 13 of Shattered Souls
Still hunched over, Grayson lifts his head from his hands and turns at my admission. His wild gaze latches onto mine like I’m a lifeline before the anger gradually seeps out of him, slow and steady, until all that remains are the vulnerable emotions underneath—the ones he never allows himself to actually feel.
“Everything is so fucked.” Shaking his head, he exhales heavily. “I don’t have any right to complain when I don’t even understand how you’re still standing. I shouldn’t have made you come tonight.”
“You didn’tmakeme do anything, Grayson.Ichose to go tonight. To confront Lydia, but also because Bertram still has so much power over me. I’ve learned to accept what he did to me because Aurora came out of that horrific time, and she is the best thing that’s ever happened to me.
“But Bertram is still a constant presence stalking me from the shadows. Peering over my shoulder and following my every move, even when he was behind bars. As terrifying as it was, Ihadto go tonight. Not because he all but demanded it. Not because Iwantto play his game.”
Glancing down, I fiddle with the hem of my dress. “As a teenager, he was this omnipotent, all-powerful being. He had full control over me. I needed to prove to myself and him that he was not in control anymore.Iam. I’m not that terrified teenager he remembers. I took the damage he caused, and I built myself a suit of armor that is in-fucking-domitable.”
Pushing open the car door, I step outside. After my little speech, Grayson appeared incapable of any sort of verbal response. He merely stared at me with admiration and lust and something far more primal that heated my skin and made a pulse throb between my legs until I couldn’t sit in the car a second longer.
The cold air is a balm to my frayed nerves. It’s the end of February, and although the worst of winter has passed, it’s still bitingly cold once the sun goes down. I’m not dressed for exploring, but I find myself drawn to the old church regardless.
“Riley,” Grayson chastises as he steps halfway out of his car. “What are you doing? Get back in the car.”
Because taking orders from Grayson is something I’ll never do, I ignore him as I climb the uneven steps at the front of the church. The wooden door has rotted away in places, hanging open at an angle on the rusted hinges.
Glancing back over my shoulder, I flash him a grin before I slip inside. The interior is dimly lit by the moonlight filtering through the missing roof tiles and broken windows, the air cooland musty against my skin. While my eyes adjust, I turn on the flashlight on my phone before holding it out in front of me and doing a sweep of the room.
The floor is littered with debris, fallen leaves, and bits of broken stone crunching beneath my feet as I pick my way down the aisle between the empty pews. The silence is deafening, broken only by the sound of my own breathing echoing off the walls as I run my hand along the rough wood of the nearest pew, feeling the years of history beneath my fingertips.
The light of my torch catches on a rotted Bible sitting on the bench, its pages yellowed and brittle with age, before I swing my phone toward the front of the church, where an altar stands beneath a faded and molded tapestry. Its surface is cracked and weather-beaten, the once-golden trim now tarnished and dull.
Despite its dilapidated state, the church has a sense of grandeur, a feeling of reverence that hangs in the air like a tangible presence.
“Riley,” Grayson hisses from the doorway, having seemingly followed me. “You’re going to break your goddamn ankle walking around in the dark in those heels.” His footsteps echo off the walls as he stomps down the aisle toward where I’m standing. With eachthud, my heart races, and I turn to face him as he approaches.
The moonlight glances off his sharp features, casting half his face in shadow and making him appear like a dark god in the dim light—powerful and menacing yet undeniably beautiful.
There’s a raw energy about Grayson that sends shivers down my spine, and despite the fear that gnaws at the edges of my mind, it’s excitement that pulses through my veins.
I can’t tear my eyes away as he stalks closer, his every movement deliberate and controlled. There’s a magnetic pull between us, a tension that crackles in the air like electricity. When he stands before me, his dark eyes ablaze with emotion,I feel a thrill run through me unlike anything I’ve ever experienced.
“Grayson…” There’s a question in my tone, one that has him cocking his head. “Remember that time you chased me through the field?”
His eyes narrow, however it does nothing to hide the spark of excitement I see hidden in his dark depths at the memory.
“Chase me.”
“Riley…” Unlike before, there’s a strain in his voice as he says my name. He wants to; I know he does.
“Chase me, Grayson.” My voice is barely a whisper in the silent church. “You brought us here because you wanted to forget everything for a little while… I want to forget too. I want to escape this pain, if only for a few moments.” I can feel the weight of my agony pressing down on me, threatening to crush me beneath its unbearable weight. But in this moment, with Grayson’s hungry gaze fixed on mine, I’m desperate for a reprieve, however fleeting it may be. “Chase me, Grayson.”
I’m already slipping off my heels, first my right one, then my left, until I stand barefoot in front of him, my soles pressed against the cold stone.
A range of emotions flit across Grayson’s face—uncertainty, desire, hesitation—before he finally settles on one:Want.
Pure, unadulteratedneed.
“You want to run, Tempest?” The deep purr of his voice is both sinful and seductive. I catch a flicker of something dark and intense in his eyes as he leans in, warm breath caressing my cheek before he whispers, “Then you betterpraythat I don’t catch you, ‘cause when I do, I’m going to force you to your knees and make you scream my name until you’re hoarse.” His lips brush tantalizingly against my skin, eliciting a full-body shiver as my temperature spikes. “By the time I’m done with you, there will be no question over who you belong to.”
Adrenaline courses through my veins—a heady mix of excitement and fear, anticipation and exhilaration, as if I’m about to flee from a predator, and yet I can’t help but feel a thrill at the chase.
A primal urge takes hold and implores me to run, escape, and forget.
With the heat from his body wrapped around me, Grayson plants a taunting kiss on my jaw as he strokes a light finger down my opposite cheek, before he rasps in a thick command, “Run.”
With a quick intake of breath, I turn and sprint down the aisle. My heart pounds in my chest. The slap of my bare feet against the stone echoes off the walls of the old church. Behind me, I can hear Grayson’s footsteps matching mine, the sound like a drumbeat in the darkness, driving me forward, pushing me to run faster, to forget everything but the exhilaration of the chase.
