Page 10 of Crash
He seemed tense, almost angry, though she couldn’t figure out why. He’d left like his ass was on fire.
She watched as he left the parking lot, only to drive to the charming home across the street. He wasn’t jokingwhen he said he was just across the street. Quynh ducked behind the curtain when he glanced up at her window and waited a moment before pulling the curtain aside again. He went inside, judging by the lights that were now on in his house.
Dropping the curtain, she went to make sure the front door was locked and slid her shoes off her feet. Her toes curled as they buried themselves in the plush carpet. Pickles was going to love destroying this carpet once he woke up.
She unlocked the carrier and placed it on the ground. Running to the kitchen to find two bowls, she poured water into one and placed the empty one next to it. She brought some of Pickles’ dry food with her in the suitcase.
The bedroom was furnished with a queen-size bed and a dresser. There were fresh sheets on top of the unmade bed. Her suitcase lay on its side in the corner of the small room. Kneeling on the floor, she opened her suitcase and took out a few items she’d needed for tonight before closing it back up.
First things first, she needed to set up Pickles’ food and litter box. Once the task was completed, Quynh went to the bathroom and turned on the shower. As the water warmed up, she made her bed with the salmon-colored sheets.
She was looking forward to a relaxing shower to wash off the grime of the last twenty-four hours and sinkinginto the fresh sheets. The thought revitalized her as she started stripping her clothes off and made her way back into the shower.
Finally, the hot water slid over her body, taking the clingy film of sweat and grime with it. Her tense muscles relaxed under the almost too-hot spray of the shower. Quynh braced her hands against the warm tiles as the tears she had held back since she met Griffin fell.
She finally let go. She imagined the tight ropes holding her sanity together, snapping as the dam burst open. She allowed herself the space to unload the emotional turmoil of her unexpected job loss. She cried for the loss of a colleague whom she had known for years, and about the poor health of her birth father, whom she never really got to know but would have to say goodbye to shortly.
Life was unfair.
The cooling water brought her back from her wallowing. When she was freshly washed and showered, she shut the water off and sniffed as the tears dried along with her shower. Sometimes, all a woman needs is a cathartic crying session to reset. Or, in her case, multiple crying sessions.
Tomorrow will be a better day. It has to be.
She couldn’t have been more wrong.
five
QUYNH
Quynh’s eyes snapped open as she became aware of three things at once. The first was that she was not in her apartment. The second, she was naked under the sheets.
She didn’t normally sleep in the nude, but she was so exhausted after the events of the past couple of days, and coupled with letting all of her emotions out in the shower, she was completely wrung out. She must have just crawled into bed and passed out.
The third thing was the loud and angry knocking at the front door. The knocking sounded again as she bolted upright in bed, tits perky in the morning’s chill air. She scanned the room and found the oversized shirt she’d left on top of her suitcase with the full intention of putting it on before bed. Scrambling out of bed, she ran to get the shirt and put it on as she raced toward the front door.
There could only be one person knocking at this hour. She yanked the door open just as the knocking resumedagain and met the angry glare head-on. Squaring her shoulders and clearing her throat, she glared right back at the hot-tempered mechanic.
“Yes?” She leaned into the edge of the door and tried to ignore the way her skin pebbled underneath her shirt.
Quynh didn’t think it was possible, but she swore Griffin’s glare intensified as if the mere sight of her incensed him.
“Do you always answer the door in just a shirt?”
His growl sent shivers through her body, and she knew he could probably see her nipples pebble in response to his tone.
“Of course I do.” She couldn’t resist pushing his buttons.
He glowered at her for another moment, the muscle in his jaw feathering, and his nostrils flared.
“Was there something you needed…? I was having a really good dream before you woke me up.”
“Your car is downstairs.”
“Oh.” She straightened up as she was reminded of the reason she was here in the first place.
“I have an order to finish up first, but I’ll take a look under the hood to see what’s happening.”
“Oh, thank you.” A blush crept up her neck at his generosity. Here she was, being ungrateful when all he’d done was help her when she didn’t even deserve it.
