Page 51 of Traces of Her
Thirty-Two
ROWENA
“COME ON, GHOST,” Jared says, grabbing my upper arm and drags me out of the room and into the hallway.
Struggling to plant my feet, it’s impossible with his strength pulling me along with him. “Where are we going?” I ask quietly.
Abruptly he halts, spinning on his heel and gets in my face “What the fuck is it with you fucking bitches and your goddamn questions?” he says harshly as droplets of his saliva land on my face. He grabs both of my arms, giving me a swift shake, glaring at me with the eyes of the devil. “Does it fucking matter where I’m taking you? You have no fucking say in anything so why don’t you keep your fucking mouth shut.” He breaks out into a sinister grin and chuckles. “Seems like you can’t do the same with your legs though, huh?” he taunts.
“Get your fucking hands off of her, Jared,” Griffin growls from the end of the hall as he stalks toward us. Jared’s hands drop from my arms just as Griffin shoves him in the chest, slamming him against the wall. “I will fucking end you,” he seethes. “Do you hear me? You keep your goddamn hands off of her.”
The devil’s eyes light up at the challenge.
“I’d like to see you try, little brother,” he mocks. “We both know you wouldn’t dare because we both know how it would end and honestly I don’t feel like having to clean up a bloodbath myself.”
Stepping backward he grins at the two of us. “Your room’s through that door on the left. I made sure Scarlet left you some blankets in there so you’re nice and comfy.”
“Oh,” he adds. “This place is locked down like Fort motherfucking Knox, so don’t even think about leaving. You’re both in this ‘til the end now.” He turns his back on us and walks into his room, slamming the door shut behind him.
Griffin and I stand there in silence, partially in shock from how we ended up at this point.
“Let’s just go to bed,” I say as he glances over at me with confusion.
He doesn’t protest, but simply slips his hand into mine and follows me into the empty room that is now ours. Stopping inside, I stare at the pile of blankets in the middle of the bare room.
“Fuck no,” he grumbles, turning to leave the room but stops as I grab ahold of his arm.
“Griffin, it’s fine. We can make a bed,” I tell him, silently pleading him to not go poke the bear.
He looks at me incredulously. “The fuck we can,” he scoffs. “I will not have you sleeping on the floor like a goddamn dog.”
Cupping his cheek in my hand, I stroke the stubble lining his jaw. “We’ve both slept in worse conditions. We have each other and that’s enough, that’s all we need.”
Slowly he smiles, reaching to brush my hair from my face and leans down kissing my forehead. “When did you become the voice of reason here?”
“Since you needed me to be. It’s what we do, it’s why we work. You’re my rock, just as much as I am yours. We rise and fall, we switch roles, but we always find a balance between us.”
“I don’t deserve you, but fuck me if I’m not keeping you,” he wraps his arms around me. “You mean much more than the world to me, Ro. You are the world. You’re the air I breathe, the sun shining in the sky, the moon hanging in the dark surrounded by the brightest stars.” He pauses for a moment. “I love you with everything I am.”
I melt into a puddle at his feet as every word he speaks flows through my body.
“There aren’t enough words for me to tell you how much I love you,” I confess into his chest.
“I don’t need any words to know. Your soul, it speaks to mine with every look, every kiss, and every touch, telling me everything I need to know. You let me in, Ro and I’m never leaving.”
Pulling back, I look up into his dark brown eyes and find nothing but pure love staring straight back at me. He gives me a lopsided grin as he perks up.
“How about we get to work on our luxurious bed here?” he laughs lightly.
I smile wide, as we both make the best out of what we’ve been thrown into.
“Let’s do it.” I wink at him as we both grab the blankets and make our little nest and settle in for the night, wrapped up in each other’s arms.