Page 22 of Midnight Confessions

“Stop trying to figure me out, Grimm.” A wave of something I don’t recognize swarms inside me. This hollow, sinking feeling in my chest telling me whatever I went through, whatever happened to me before I was ten is too dark for Winter Sommers, the girl with two seasons for a name. The girl whose eyes show signs of being able to cure even the darkest of moods.

I casually fasten my unaffected, shallow mask, and dig my spoon in for another bite.

“I’m not. I’m just… Well, I’m trying to make an effort. Maybe if we knew each other more, we’d—”

“What? Become friends?” I laugh sardonically. “I have enough friends, Grimm. And since you won’t let me fuck you, I really have no reason to get close to you.”

“Wow.” She pulls her face back, narrowing her eyes on mine. “You truly are just an asshole in an expensive suit.”

“That’s a very accurate observation. I’m not trying to hurt your delicate feelings, I just don’t like being prodded.”

“I was simply trying to get to know you. That’s all. I felt bad for mentioning your parents earlier. It obviously struck a nerve, and I agree it was below the belt since, you’re right, I don’t know dick about your parents. Or you.”

She uncrosses her legs, letting them dangle off the edge of the counter. It takes everything I have not to reach out and slide my hands between them to her growing heat. Even more so now that I’ve made her angry.

I could have any woman I want. I could walk downstairs, find a woman, say some things, smile, and she’d come willingly. But not this one. Most of the time I’m quite certain she hates me. The rest of the time I feel her attraction to me, but it’s drenched in the suspicion that she wouldn’t piss on me if I were on fire.

Mental note: Have Detective Grady do a full background check on Miss Sommers. I’d like to know who she is.

“And stop acting like I’m this boring little china doll,” she spits. “You, Mr. Fox, don’t know dick about me either. ButI’mnot a coward. I’ll answer any question you ask.”

“Fine. You want to tell secrets, Grimm? You want to do each other’s nails and cry to each other about why we’re so fucked up? Let’s do it. What did he do? Tell me what your ex did that was so bad you’ve treated me like I’m dipped in shit since the moment we met.”

“Aleck, you’re not innocent. When we met you were about to have sex with two—”

“So? So what? I have a healthy sexual appetite. They were two consenting women. You didn’t know me, so why did you care? And why wasno women in our suiteyour bargaining chip, anyway? Why didn’t you ask me to stop calling you Grimm for the closet space?”

“Because...” Her chest rises and falls as she drags air through her plump little lips and exhales like she’s cursing me under her breath. “Because…”

“Becausewhy?”

“Because it reminded me of walking into my ex’s office and finding his secretary’s mouth wrapped around his dick.That’swhy!”

Shit.

Asshole cheated on her. I’ve never been hurt in that way because I’ve never committed to a person in my life, but I can imagine the mistrust followingthatkind of deception would be hard to get over. Even for a woman as tough as Winter.Especiallyfor a woman as passionate as Winter.

“How long were you together?”

“Three years. Thenhebroke up withme.”

My eyebrows dip immediately. “Wait… You caught him cheating, but he dumped you?”

Winter puts the lid back on the ice cream, deciding for the both of us that we’re done eating, then hops off the counter, and puts it back in the freezer. She snatches the spoon from my hand, throws both hers and mine in the sink, then leans against the counter across from me.

“Pathetic, right? I caught him cheating, then found out it wasn’t the only time. He begged me not to break up with him because he still loved me, so I didn’t. I was such a stupid romantic. I was the kind of person who thoughtlove always wins.I thought we couldn’t have forever if we didn’t allow each other room to screw up, so I forgave him. He broke up with me two months later. And honestly, now that the pain has passed, and it’s been replaced with anger, I can admit I always knew. I knew he didn’t love me. I guess that’s what kept me there, my inherent need to heal the strays of their self-inflicted wounds. Jokes on me, huh?”

I tilt my head, taking in Winter’s delicate features. This is the first time she’s let down her guard and trusted me enough to tell me something other than directions on where I can go to fuck myself. Something warm accompanies this newfound trust, and I can’t decide if I like it or if it makes me sick.

“No, Winter. Jokes onhim.”

The neon glow of the clocks on the stove and microwave, combined with the soft light through the windows from the distant shore, cast slivers of light across Winter’s warm caramel hair, cascading in lazy curls over her bare shoulders.

Her chest rises to take in deep breaths, then falls to exhale them shakily. She’s nervous and vulnerable, something I’m sure she’s tried hard at not becoming. Especially in front of the likes of me.

And that’s when I notice her goosebumps.

She opens her mouth to speak, her bottom lip shaking. I know I’m staring at her, but I don’t care. Witnessing her vulnerability without making light of it or crowding it with sexual innuendos—even though I’d very much like to fuck her into next Tuesday—brings out something in me that doesn’t quite feel natural.

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