Page 70 of Hunted Innocence
I haven’t eaten in days. I’m hungry, exhausted, and need to make a decision. Do I go back to Nights or stay here and try to make a new life? Do I want a new life? I was pretty happy in Nights, all things considered. Just because Grayson doesn’t want to keep me, does that mean that I need to leave?
But freedom is calling me.
Pinching my eyes closed, I think about the future. About what it would really look like without Theron, Lucille, and Brody. I don’t think I like that. I don’t think I want that. Inhaling a deep breath, I hold it for a moment, then let it out slowly.
Instead of calling Brody or Theron, I pack my things. The beach was nothing but a fantasy anyway, just like Grayson was, too. I didn’t know the person deep inside him. I only knew the surface, which is all he knew of me, too.
The sex was amazing. But I need to come to terms with the fact that was all it was and just have it be a delicious memory. A perfectly amazing memory. Maybe I can look back on it fondly, in time, without heartache.
I thought that I loved him, or rather that I could love him. I wanted to love him. I wanted to build something with him because I know that he is a good man, and while I’ve been surrounded by good men the past few years, I have never known the touch of a good man before Grayson.
It was beautiful, and I wanted to hold on to it, to keep it in my grasp until my dying breath. But the tighter I wanted to hold, themore he slipped away from me. He saw things that he could not easily forget. I can’t blame him for any of it.
I can’t blame him for seeing me differently after being abused at the hands of Landon Tate. So, as I pack my bag, I have to think about the good things that Grayson brought into my life. The quickening heartbeat, the way his touch was beyond welcoming, and not once did I think about any other man’s touch.
That means something.
The way his fingers wrapped around my throat. The way he knew exactly what I needed when I needed it.
Nothing was too soft or too harsh.
Everything was perfect.
Another reason why it hurts so badly is that he knew my body better than I did. He knew what I desired, and I didn’t even know I would have wanted that. I didn’t know that pain could feel good like that if done right.
Gathering my bags, I shove my phone in my pocket and head toward my car. Once I have everything loaded up, I check out before I sink down into the driver’s seat. I plug my apartment address into the GPS and start the engine, but before I leave, I send a message to the group text with Lucille and Colette.
I’m on my way back to Nights. Can you come to my apartment this evening?
LUCILLE: Girls’ night? Do we need snacks?
COLETTE: We always need snacks.
LUCILLE: Desserts or actual food? How upset are you?
I smile at the sight of the banter, knowing that this was the correct decision.
Salty and sweet. I’m upset, but I want to devise a plan, and you’re the only ones who can help me.
LUCILLE: I love a good plan. A crazy one.
COLETTE: I’ll help, but nothing crazy.
LUCILLE: The crazier the better.
I smile at the back-and-forth texts. I can’t wait to get back to where I belong. I wish I had never left. But maybe I needed to. But now that I’m going to the office, home, everywhere without Grayson, I’m going to get him back.
The way he made me feel wasn’t just something passing. I may not know every single thing about him, but I know his heart, and that is all I need.
With renewed determination and excitement, I sink my teeth into my bottom lip and head straight for home. I am going to get my man back. I don’t know if I ever even had him to begin with, but that’s beside the point.
I am determined to live my best life now that Landon is gone, and that includes Grayson. I’m not going to let him run away from me because he has some notion that he’s not a good man. That he’s not the best man and can’t be a good father. He will be the best at everything he does because that’s who he is.
And I’m going to show it all to him—and more.
So much more.
GRAYSON
