I wasn’t, of course. I was with him through and through, but I could already picture Tito in my rearview mirror.
If I knew with complete certainty that there would be no issue between them, I would put it all out in the open. My gut told me that wasn’t the case, though.
“If you’re not with me, then I guess youwouldbe a whore.” He spat the word at me like it tasted vile in his mouth. “Get your ass upstairs, the fuck out of my sight.” He walked away, back towards the front of the warehouse.
“Shit,” Cobra muttered, taking off after him, leaving the clueless blonde beside Arlen.
Sucking in a breath, I stared after him, looking down when I felt a tug on my wrist. “Come on,” Grimm coaxed.
I let him lead me up the stairs, surprised when he followed me into Romero’s room.
“I’m not looking for a pity fuck,” I clarified right off the bat.
“I don’t want to…I would never.” He looked mortified at the very idea of it, the most emotion I’d ever seen from him written all over his face. He shook his head, stroking his beard.
“I would never fuck you because you belong to my best friend, and he would do things to me not even I could imagine—and I’m real imaginative, just for some clarification. I would never fuck you because nothing you said in that car was true.
“You’re not a whore, Cali. You were just a little girl and no one was there to protect you. I promise you there are a lot of people in this world who regret that.”
The sincerity laced in his words knocked against my stone exterior. Dropping my gaze to the floor, I sat on the edge of the bed and let out a dry laugh.
“That’s real sweet of you, Grimmy, but no one in this world has ever apologized for what happened to me, and I no longer expect them to. I just want to find a place where I fit in.”
“You already did. I don’t have any issues with you staying, as long as you’re in it for the long haul. We haven’t got to the good parts yet.”
Toying with my hair, I gave him a small smile. “Thank you.”
His regular inexpressive face was back but I could swear by it the man almost smiled. He nodded and headed for the door, pausing after he pulled it open.
“You’re crazy and a pain in the ass. He’s insane and always fuckin moody but the connection is undeniable. Everyone sees it. You fit—you’re a fucked up pair of star-crossed lovers.”
With that, he walked out of the room and shut the door, leaving me to wallow in my thoughts.
Falling back onto the bed, I looked up at the ceiling, blowing out my cheeks.
Me and Rome.
Rome and I.
We were unhealthy, dysfunctional, toxic.
I could flip through both an encyclopedia and a dictionary and still wouldn’t find words to describe us.
Beyond the excitement, beyond the lust, he gave my aching heart a place of comfort that I’d never known. This thing between us was certain death, all smoke and darkened skies with no sign of a sunrise, but I wanted what I wanted, and that was him.
Her moans grew louder and louder, and the headboard hit the wall in a steady rhythm, echoing down the darkened hall.
I glanced over at Arlen and snickered.
“It ain’t funny.”
“Either the sound of fucking makes you irritated, or who’s doing the fucking has you irritated. I’ll take a wild guess and say it’s the latter.”
“I don’t need you to play couch therapist, and Cobra fucked her too so that trumps your theory.”
She tossed the blanket off and sat up, crossing her inked arms over her chest.
“What’s your story?” I already knew it. I just wanted to hear her answer.
