Falling with Grace - Page 195

“Come in.”

The door swung open as I gathered the images and shoved them inside the envelope.

Grace stepped inside with a sheepish smile. “I didn’t want to bother you, but your mother decided to change out of her church clothes, and I didn’t want to sit by myself.”

My chest swelled.

“Have a seat.” I stood from behind the desk and sauntered towards the liquor cart. “Do you want a drink?”

“No, thank you.” She sat down in the reupholstered chair where Nadia died for betraying me, and Grace, her feet tucked under the seat, her hands writhing in her lap.

“What’s wrong?” I sat beside her, the ice clinking in my glass.

“Is it true?”

I cocked my head to the side. “You’ll have to be more specific.”

“Right. Sorry.” Her shoulders hunched, and a tinge of pink hit her cheeks. “Your mom, she um…” Her gaze hit the ceiling. “God, how do I put this?”

“As plainly as possible.”

She gave a nervous laugh. “Okay, then.” She swallowed, her throat bobbing. “She said…you loved me.”

Grace bolted from her seat, and my heart clenched in my chest. I clutched the collar of my shirt and pulled it from my throat. “Well, she knew how to keep secrets before…”

“Is that true?” Grace whipped around, facing me. Her lips parted, her tongue slipping out across her bottom lip.

“Of course it is. After everything—”

She rushed towards me like a whirlwind, leaping into my lap with reckless abandon. The tumbler slipped from my grasp, crashing to the floor in a clangor of shattered glass, its contents spilling out like my secrets laid bare.

Her lips pressed against mine as she cupped my cheeks, then slid them around the back of my neck, her arms wrapping tight.

I slide mine around her waist, holding her tight around me, pressing her chest against mine.

Her heart beat and mine.

Our breaths together.

As one.

She pulled away with a suddenness that left me reeling. “I was so afraid to tell you how I felt.”

“Howyoufelt? Why?”

“Yes.” Her lips pressed into a thin line. “I wasn’t sure how you felt. I was dealing with so much…I couldn’t handle the rejection.”

“You spilled a glass ofDeleón Leona Añejoall over my rug.” I gave her a lopsided grin. “If I were to deny you, it’d be after that.”

She glanced down at the liquor soaking into my Persian rug and gasped. “I’m sorry.”

“Shut up.” I grabbed the back of her neck and captured her lips with mine, our tongues sliding against one another, drawing a sensual whimper from her throat. “Just tell me you feel the same way.”

“Yes.” My lips trailed down her throat. “I love you, Elias.”

A growl rumbled in my chest as I stood and dropped her butt on my desk, her back laid out on my desk, her hair spread across the envelope, driving a dose of sobriety through me.

My cock hardened against her.