Falling with Grace - Page 161

He swiped the water bottle from my hands. “Remember,I saved you from a bullet in the head.”

My face scrunched as I cocked my head. “So I should thank you for the watery grave instead of instant death?”

Javier crossed his massive arms against his chest. “If you think that’s all they would have done, then you haven’t been truly exposed to the depravity of men.”

Acid burned the back of my throat. “I’ve seen and experienced more than I care for.” I shouldered past him and stepped into the living room as Elias walked through the double doors, his frame breaking up the sun casting a dark cloak around him.

Javier walked toward Elias, their conversation muted and brief, before he glanced back at me and then disappeared outside.

“Are you okay?” He stood with his hand perched in his pocket, his other scraping the scruff along his tight jaw.

No.

“I’ll be fine.” I gulped.I always am. “How is Rosa?”

“She fell and cut her head open.” His hand moved around the back of his neck, and I gulped again. “Dr. Navarro will take a look at her when we get home.”

My shoulders sagged. “That’s good.”

He stepped towards me. “Why didn’t you listen?”

“I-I’m sorry.” I moved away from his outstretched hand, my body rigid. Pain shot through my chest, and my heart gave a few extra beats.

He stopped, his gaze dropping down to my shuffling feet. “You’re afraid of me?”

My breath lodged in my throat. “No.” A knot formed in my belly.

“Then why are you moving away from me?”

“Giving you space.”

“I don’t need that.”

I swallowed hard. “I just thought…”

“What? Because I was upset that I wouldn’t want you?” His hand skimmed the back of the couch, his steps calculated as my hands flexed by my sides, my nerves on fire. A sly grin lifted the corner of his lip.

I stumbled as my butt hit the chair beneath the counter.

“What’s wrong,Grace?”

“Nothing.” I shook my head, my hair falling into my face.

A dark gleam glossed over his eyes, his primal need heavy in the air as though I were the hunted, the prey, and the next meal he itched for. “I don’t believe you.”

Heat swirled in my belly, mutating the panic clenching my chest. My knees buckled as my ankles hit the bottom step, my hand jolting for the banister. My ass hit the rounded step’s edge, causing a deep sinking ache in my muscle.

Elias jerked forward, his body over mine in a blink, his hand nestled around my throat. “I only ask for your honesty.” He slid his tongue over my firm lips, pressed in a line, leaving warmth blooming between my thighs.

My mouth opened on a gasp, allowing him in, his tongue taking advantage as he ravaged me.

He roamed my body, his hands trailing down my belly, stopping at the metal button below my belly button.

“Honesty?” My chin quaked, my thighs wide.

“I’ll have all of you, Grace. Even your thoughts.” He ground his hips into my needy flesh, and I clutched at him, my hands tight in his shirt as the steps dug into my back, his body rocking mine.

“All of me?”