Page 109 of Gravity

“You blow my mind, Shortcake. You take my breath away every damn day.”

We hold each other’s gaze, my hands gliding up and down his back as his weight bears down on me. It’s something I love so much. It’s protection I’ll never tire of, and one that I feel I’ll need forever. But as I stare up into his eyes, the uncertainty of what the future will be grips my stomach, and my anxiety at the idea of not having him in my life takes over. It’s not the time to allow it to emerge and it’s something I know deep down I don’t need to worry about because in my heart of hearts, I know where his lies. But at the same time, it’s also a fear I can’t run away from. I need that little bit of reassurance to make it right.

Reaching up, I trail my fingertips over his cheek and whisper. “Promise me I’ll never lose you, Grayson.”

With a soft smile, he calms the looming storm inside my heart. “Every second with you is another minute my heart loves you more. You are my reason and my future, little lady. You’ll never lose me.”

Chapter Thirty

Grayson

I wake with a jolt, unaware of what has disturbed me so suddenly. My heart pounds a few beats faster, but it’s soon slowing down when I latch eyes on my girl sleeping peacefully at the side of me. Curled up in the bedsheet, her silky, hot-toffee hair drapes across the pillow and her long lashes fan against her blush cheeks.

I can’t recall the number of times I’ve watched her sleep, but it’s the one thing that I love doing the most: just watching her, knowing she’s with me, wants me, loves me. Sometimes, I’m waiting to be woken from this dream because it all seems too good to be true.

Reaching out, I brush my knuckles across her cheeks and a sweet whimper leaves her. I’m about to do it again when something stops me. Movement comes from the stairs, and my head lifts off the pillow, waiting for my cats to bound into my room as the door is ajar, and leap up on the bed. However, the shadow from the gap in the doorway tells me it’s not my cats, and my heart is suddenly in my throat.

I don’t have a chance to do anything before the bedroom door swings back with force and a furious Asher charges toward me.

“Sonofabitch!”

“Asher. No.”

His fist makes contact with my jaw, and my head swings back.

Nora’s scream fills the room, but before I can protect myself, I get another blow to the face, my vision now dazed as alcohol infused words growl in my face.

“I trusted you. You fucking asshole.”

Another hit.

“How could you do this!” he seethes.

Knowing I need to gain some control, I force myself up off the bed and block his oncoming punch. I hit him hard in the stomach, and the sound he makes tells me I’ve winded him. Going at him harder, I bundle him against the wall and smack the fucker square in the jaw. But the hits keep on coming. His hard fist whacks my ribs, and I groan. It’s a weak spot of mine, and the fucker knows it. He hits me again in the same place, and I stumble back, him not giving two shits that I’m naked.

As he takes an unsteady step toward me, his arm swings out, but I catch him off guard and hit him again in the face. Blood sprays from his nose, and I go in for another punch, wanting to take the control now that he’s unsteady, but a plea hits my ears.

“Stop. Please!” she cries. “Both of you stop.”

Like cold water has just been poured over me, I’m brought back to the here and now. The fear in her voice is noticeable to the both of us, and I try and get my breath back, wincing at the pain that now wraps around my ribs.

“Welcome the fuck home,” I growl. “Now get the fuck up off my floor.” Grabbing my jeans and T-shirt, I shove them on and glance over at Nora, who is at the other side of the bed with the bedsheet wrapped around her. Her eyes are wide with unshed tears as they dart from her brother to me, still in shock to have been woken as she has.

“I’m sorry, baby,” I whisper, kissing her forehead. “You okay?”

She nods, wiping the tears that fall before her eyes move past me and back to Asher. And just like that, her beautiful blues transform into hues of pure resentment at the sight of him but it’s not a patch on how I’m feeling.

Rage races through my body as I try to process what just happened.

I should be there for him; I should support him if he’s trapped in a world from which he can’t escape, but right now, I can’t because despite the troubles he may be going through, the sight of my best friend curled up in a drunken mess on my bedroom floor only heightens my disappointment in him.

How could he do that to them?

How could he do that to any of us?

But more importantly, how could he do that to my girl?

Countless times she’s cried herself to sleep with her head on my chest because all she’s wanted was her daddy back and her brother home. Yet while I’ve been trying to comfort her, the big, protective brother has been getting shit faced in bars before laying with countless women whose names he won't remember.