Letting go of Grace (17 page)

“I’m sure you were professional.” He smirks as he takes my hand to his mouth to kiss it.

“I wouldn’t be with you,” I say leaning in for another kiss.

“I would hope not.” he whispers against my lips. I take his hand and bring him down the hallway.

“Go visit with Aiden and come get me for lunch when you’re done.” I turn and kiss him again.

“And Grant, be nice OK?” He nods in agreement. He kisses me and looks over at the nurse’s station. A crowd has gathered and they all glance down when we look over.

“I bet Aiden is eating this up,” he laughs.

“He told me he feels like a piece of meat,” I laugh back.

“Yeah, he’s just waiting to be eaten.” He stops and kisses me again.

“I’ll be up soon, babe,” he promises, then walks into Aiden’s room.

I head over to the nurse’s station and Stacey stands up.

“Sorry, what can I help you with?” I say as I lean against the desk. She stares at me with a smile.

“I was just going to ask you if you were dating Aiden, but clearly I had that wrong” she replies, turning red.

“Oh, no, I’m dating his brother Grant. Aiden and I are just really good friends.” I think about the words I just said and how weird they were to hear them said out loud.

“Is there anything he likes that I can get him to make him more comfortable?” she asks timidly, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. I want to chuckle, but I hold back. What does Aiden like? Sex, but I can’t tell her that.

“Nothing I can think of. His brothers are all over everything, they are doing shift changes in between rooms.” She looks at me in shock.

“There is another brother here?”

“Yes, he’s in the burn unit. I’m sure he will make his way down here in the next few weeks.”

“When will Aiden be released?” I ask her. I watch as she pulls the chart out and reviews it. I glance at all his blood work.

“Within the next few days, I would assume,” she states. My mind starts to wander. Will he go home or will he want to come stay with me like Grant and Shane? Oh boy, this could get weird really fast.

SOME TIME PASSES AND GRANT
calls me to let me know he has to leave for an emergency meeting. I make sure to see Aiden before I leave, but I find him sleeping so I leave not wanting to disturb him. I pick up the kids and head home to make dinner. Annie is busy in the kitchen when we walk in the door. I smell something, but I wouldn’t say it smells good.

“Oh hey Hannah, I was just making dinner for everyone,” She announces. I catch a closer glance of her and I can tell she has been crying. I direct the kids upstairs to watch TV in my room.

“What’s wrong, Annie?” I ask as I walk across the kitchen to her.

“Nothing,” she murmurs, fighting back a sob.

“It’s OK, Annie, you can tell me.” I rub her back and she turns to me and buries her head into my shoulder. She begins sobbing and she can’t stop. She tries to talk but I can’t make out a single thing she says. I shh her and rub her back till she calms down. When she can breathe again without shuddering she steps back to tell me what’s wrong.

“I’m sorry, it’s the hormones. I tried to make dinner and I ruined it. I don’t know why I’m acting like this, but I can’t control it.”

“It’s OK, it happens, Annie. It’s normal.” I smile at her and look around the kitchen. It looks like a tornado ran through my kitchen.

“Sorry about the mess, I’m not much of a cook. I just thought I would cook to be helpful. I can’t do anything right.” She goes off the deep end, again.

“Annie, why don’t you go and lie down, I can take care of this, OK?” She covers her face and walks out of the kitchen and up to her room. I just stand there and look around. Where the hell do I start? I try to not get frustrated. It was a nice gesture, I tell myself. I turn my iPod on and link it to my wireless speaker. Seconds later calming music is playing and I start to attack the kitchen.

A few minutes into cleaning up Grant and Shane walk in.

“Oh shit, did Annie try to cook?” Shane says with a sigh.

“Yes she did, I walked in on her melt down. I sent her up to bed,” I sigh, patting his arm.

“Hannah, go sit. I’ll take care of this,” Shane says, picking up at pot and smelling it.

“Shit, what the hell was she trying to make Boiled shit?” Grant starts laughing at Shane’s comment as I silently stare at both of them.

“You better pray she didn’t hear that because that would send her over the edge. Shane you should go check on her.” A look of shame contorts his face. He dumps the concoction that was in the pot in the garbage then places the pot in the sink.

“I’ll be back. Stop cleaning, I will take care of the mess,” he requested before he runs up the stairs. I ignore what he said and I continue to dump everything in the garbage and pile all the dirty dishes in the sink. Grant takes off his jacket and places it on a chair and starts to roll up his sleeves.

“I’ll do the dishes and you might want to wash the floor.” He picks up his foot and looks at the bottom of his shoe.

“Is this peanut butter?” he asks. I shake my head and grab my mop.

Twenty minutes later the dishes are done, the floor is cleaned, and Grant and I are wiping down the cabinets. I have no idea what she was cooking or how she cooks, but I have never seen a mess like that. It was like she was shooting the ingredients into the pot from across the room.

“I’m ordering Chinese,” I inform him as I grab the takeout menu out of the drawer. Grant moves behind me and wraps his arms around me. I lean into his chest only because the kids are upstairs in my bed watching a movie. After I saw Annie, I did not want them to see her so upset.

“What would you like to eat?” I ask.

“Mmm… some of you,” he whispers, nipping at my neck. I lean my head to the side giving him better access to me. He trails wet kisses down my neck and back up again, then we hear Shane clear his throat.

“I thought I told you I would clean up?” He looks at me annoyed.

“I’m capable of cleaning my own house, Shane.” I pass the menu to him.

“Well, you shouldn’t have to when you didn’t make the mess.”

“I helped her clean up Shane. It’s not a big deal,” Grant says making himself comfortable behind me again. He wraps his arms around me and leans back down in to my neck. I elbow him, but he pulls me in tighter.

“I’ll order. What do you want?” Shane asks. I list off a few things I know the kids and I like and ask Grant what he would like. Shane pulls out his phone and places the order. When I finally get away from Grant, I set the table. Shane goes upstairs to get the kids and Annie, leaving Grant and I alone.

“So when do I get to sleep in bed with you?” Grant asks standing in front of me.

“When the kids aren’t around,” I reply back trying to walk around him.

“OK. Well, I have a few meetings in the Caribbean next weekend; I was hoping I could get you alone for a few days. I want to show you newest the hotel I had built.” He gives me a sweet look.

“You have to give me the days and all of the info. I think we were going to go up to the cabin next weekend, but maybe my parents can take the kids and I can meet them after?” I shrug my shoulders.

“I’ll have Wendy send you the itinerary,” he states, before he kisses my forehead, then walks down the hallway into the office. He closes the door to Chase’s office and I cringe a bit. The love of my life used to work in there and now my new, whatever Grant is to me, is in there.

The night flies by and Annie doesn’t make an appearance for dinner. I get the kids washed up and in bed after Grant sat and did homework with us, then played with them for an hour. The kids are really falling for him and I don’t think I want them getting close to him this soon since we are just starting over again, but it’s hard not to fall in love with Grant, especially seeing him with my kids. It’s not like he puts on an act around them, it’s more like he finally becomes himself when he is around them. His whole demeanor changes, he smiles and laughs more. I love the Grant I see when we are at home. The other Grant that dominates his company is nothing like the man that rolls around on the floor wrestling with Hunter, but I love both sides of him. I just have to let myself love him. Open and freely, but I’m scared of getting hurt again. We talked about trust and I know I have to trust him. I won’t ruin it for us, not again.

Once the kids are settled, I shower and get ready for bed. I check on them one last time and see that they are fast asleep. Walking back over to my room I stop in front of my door, then turn and walk downstairs to find myself in front of the office. I knock lightly twice and wait for Grant to respond. Within seconds he opens the door and pulls me in while he is on the phone. I smile as he hugs me, then he leans in and kisses me softly. I sit down on the couch that is now pulled out into a bed. I sit for a minute then lie down to see how bad Grant has been sleeping. Surprisingly it isn’t bad. It’s actually really comfortable. I smile up at Grant when I notice he is staring at me.

“That’s fine, move forward. I have to go. I have an important meeting that’s starting in two seconds.” He hangs up, tosses his cell on the desk, then brings his hands to the back of his neck and tugs off his T-shirt.

“I thought you had an important meeting?” I question him.

“I do, it’s you.” His sexy grin appears on his face as he starts to climb on the bed. I have missed playful, sexy Grant.

“Oh really?” I tease, leaning up on my elbows to look at him. I watch as he slowly brings his body against mine, forcing me to lie back down on my back. His lips start to kiss my neck, making their way up to my ear and back down to my jaw. I let a deep breath out as he makes his way to my mouth. He kisses me gently, slowly building me up. He knows what my triggers are and he is making sure to set off each one. I shift under him, rubbing myself shamelessly against him. His hands slides down my body and stop at my hips, holding me down so I can’t move them against him. Frustrated I wrap my legs around his waist bringing him closer to me. He pulls back from me trying to hold back a laugh. In one fast movement he pulls my top off, finding no bra on underneath it. His smoldering eyes stare at my bare breasts with desire. He kisses down my body and finds another of my triggers. As he sucks my nipple into his mouth I arch my back. His arm wraps around my lower back holding me closer to him as he swirls his tongue around my sensitive nipple. I run my hands through his silky hair and pull his mouth off me to bring him back to my mouth. We have too many clothes on still, so I start to pull his pants down with my hands, then finish them off with my toes. Freeing his long, thick length I start to shimmy out of my pants. Grant pulls away briefly to yank my pants off. I see his grin get wider when he notices I have no panties on. He lifts my leg up and kisses from the inside of my ankle up to the top of the thigh, then slowly kisses down my other leg.

“Grant, please,” I plead softly.

“Tell me what you need, Hannah,” he growls.

“You,” I whisper as I pull him back on top of me. His kiss makes me crave him more. Slowly he starts to inch into me, and my toes start to curl from the pleasure. Inch by inch he fills me. I rock my hips up to meet his so he can fill me deeper. When he is in me as deep as possible, he pushes just a little more. I throw my head back on the pillow from the profound feeling of ecstasy.

“Oh my God.” He pulls out at the same pace he went in. I look up at him and dig my heels into his ass, pushing him into me hard. He gives me that sexy grin. He knows what I want. The next thrust ignites the fire in my core. Each time he pulls out he pounds back into me harder. My orgasm slowly building, I meet him thrust for thrust. We find a rhythm and it becomes faster and harder. We can’t get enough of each other. His kisses become consuming. He leaves my mouth and starts to kiss me all over. Then I free fall, hard. Grant’s hand covers my mouth to hold in my screams and I delight in watching him push into me three more times. I love watching him come undone inside of me. His eyes stare right onto mine and my breathing is still fast. I lightly bite his finger when I start to come down off my high. I get a wicked smile from him in return. He leans down and gives my neck a little nibble.

“I missed this,” he whispers into my ear after he kisses it.

“I missed being inside you,” he says while burying himself deeper in me.

“I missed being lost in you, being one with you.” He leans up on his forearms to look me over.