“Last night, you could’ve told me to fuck off. I would’ve fucking hated it, but I would’ve done it.”
I tried to lean back, but his hold on me was firm. And, for added measure, his other arm snaked around my waist, yanking me to the edge of the seat, holding me against him. “You didn’t give me that impression last night,” I lied.
He saw right through me. “You had a choice. With me, you’ll always have a choice. Why did you open up to me last night?”
“Hayes, I think we should go inside,” I said. “We’re already late.”
“Fuck that. Answer the question,” he snapped.
I jerked back. “No.”
His hand moved back, his fingers weaving through my hair, gripping it tightly as he forced my neck to arch. “Answer me,” he ordered.
I scoffed, trying to brush it off. “It’s not that big of a deal.”
“It is to me.”
He wasn’t going to let this go. Suddenly, I felt like I was being studied through the lens of a microscope, every fiber of my being on display for him and him alone. My voice dropped to a trembling whisper, laced with doubt. “Why?”
“Because you’re you.”
“That’s not—”
“Why did you let me in?” he seethed, shaking me gently, baring his teeth. “Why did you let your walls fall down for me last night? Why did you beg me to hold you while you cried halfway through your story, Margo? Huh? Why, after telling me that you weren’t mine, did you let me feel like you were?”
I lost it.
“Because you’re you, Hayes fucking Mitchell! Mr. Perfect Superman! Mr. Grumpy Top Gun who can do no wrong! That’s why I let you in! Because you’re the only person in the world who makes me feel safe in the middle of a storm. You don’t let it drag me under. You keep me afloat. I should hate you for the way you left me alone in my bed, for not waking me up and talking to me, but for some fucking reason, hating you is proving to be one of the hardest things I’ve ever tried to do.”
His gaze was burning into me now, branding my soul as his chest heaved against mine. The glimmer within his dark green pools was unfamiliar. All I knew was that it was dangerous. And yet my mouth continued to move. “Last night, you didn’t look at me like I was some damaged thing, a lost cause. You still looked at me the way you’ve always looked at me,” I finished on a whisper.
“How do I look at you?” he rumbled, his voice thick.
Before the words could slip out, the shrill sound of his cell phone ringing cut through the air like a knife.
I swallowed the truth back down, ignoring how painful it felt.
“Fuck.” He dropped his arms from me and stepped back, putting his phone to his ear. “Mitchell,” he answered, his eyes cutting to me as I swung my legs out, my skin tingling. “Yeah, we’re here. On our way up now.” He ended the call, pocketed the phone, and grabbed my hand.
“No one can see the ugly parts of me. I won’t be able to survive it,” I rasped, falling into step beside him.
Nothing was said until we were in the elevator, the door falling closed as his fingers weaved through mine.
“Set your boundaries and I’ll make sure no one crosses them,” he promised.
“Grayson, can you please stop looking at me like that?” I pleaded up to him.
His piercing dark gaze didn’t falter, leaving me pinned in place, my skin covered in goose bumps. From his cold gaze anddark hair to the scar that trailed from his temple to his neck, Grayson looked like something out of a nightmare. Even though I knew what kind of man he was, in this moment, he scared the living shit out of me.
My body started to quake as fear cackled loudly, the horrid sound causing my ears to ring. “Please.”
Hayes’ voice surrounded me then, the warmth of it causing my shoulders to sag. “Gray, she asked you to stop. You don’t, we got problems.”
Hayes’ business partner blinked, snapping back to reality, a muscle twitching in his cheek. He said nothing as he gave me his back and returned to his desk. There, he braced his hands on the glass surface and dropped his head, not taking a seat. I shot a questioning look at Hayes, who was standing on the far side of the room, arms folded over his chest, eyes on his friend.
When the elevator doors had opened only just a few minutes ago, Ash was there to greet us, and before I could even greet him, he pulled me into a tight bear hug and kissed my forehead. He assured me that Jake and Dominic wouldn’t see me until we talked to Grayson.
Which was good.