Page 8 of Save Me the Trouble (Country Love Collection #12)
Chapter Five
Killian
M y heart pounded against my chest as people scrambled to clear out the store. The way the tourists lingered and tried to gawk at the unconscious woman in my arms was infuriating; I would’ve punched someone if my arms hadn’t been otherwise occupied.
Grace made a soft sound, her soft body cradled protectively to my chest.
“I’ve got you, Grace. You’re going to be okay,” I murmured, my jaw wrenching tighter as they cleared off the counter. Not fast enough.
I never lost my cool. Never…threatened. But seeing how all the color drained right out of her before she went down…my stomach had plummeted right along with her.
“Here you go, sir.” The barista wiped the last corner of the counter, and I gently laid Grace on it, keeping her head slightly elevated on my arm.
“I need a wet cloth and a cup of water,” I demanded, my voice still sharp. One of the employees rushed to get what I asked. I took the cloth first, bringing it to her forehead.
“There you go, Grace,” I murmured, dragging the cool cloth to her cheeks and then to her neck. “Just a little overheated.”
She shifted and sighed, turning her head toward me.
God, she was beautiful.
I memorized the slope of her nose and the lift of her lashes. Watched the tremor of her pulse and steadying of her breath.
She whimpered, and her eyelids started to flutter.
“Grace.” I set the cloth down and brushed a strand of hair from her face just as her eyes opened, her gaze cloudy with confusion.
“What…”
“You passed out. Here, drink this.” I didn’t give her much of a choice or chance to protest before resting the cup of water against her lips.
As she took several slow sips, the color of her cheeks evened out, though she still looked fragile, more delicate than any other moment I’d spent with her.
I had a feeling fragile wasn’t a common state for Grace Johnson, and I couldn’t shake the protectiveness I felt in that moment, a fierce need to shield her vulnerability from everyone but me.
I turned my head to the barista and instructed, “Please have everyone wait in the back. I’ll let you know as soon as she’s okay.”
His eyes widened, but he complied, ushering the rest of the staff through the door into their break room.
“I’m fine,” Grace mumbled and tried to sit up, but as she did, she swayed into my chest.
“Fine must be a relative term.” I clamped my arm around her, supporting her and carefully lifting her upright.
I turned her on the edge of the counter, coming to stand between her legs.
“You got a little overheated,” I said and handed her the cup of water again. “Keep drinking.”
She finished what was left in the cup. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize.” I framed her face in my hands, tipping her head up. “How do you feel? Hot? Lightheaded?” My eyes locked on hers, the proximity of her face…the part of her lips…the way I wanted her was suddenly impossible to ignore. “What can I do?” My voice rumbled deeper.
Her tongue darted out to lick her lips, a different kind of haze in her eyes now. Something hot and sultry. Something too strong to suppress underneath boundaries and banter. Something I felt, too.
“Killian,” she said in just above a whisper.
Hearing my name on her lips was a temptation I couldn’t resist. I let out a groan, my thumb working under her chin to angle her head a little higher as my mouth dropped lower.
The tension between us thickened, a magnetic pull too strong to fight.
I leaned in, my breath colliding with hers and filling the space around our mouths with invisible explosives just waiting for a spark.
For the first time in a long while, I felt something real, something I couldn’t control. Something I wanted more of.
A low sound escaped my chest when my lips touched hers, like the strike of a match against the box.
And then the fire ignited.
Her mouth pressed into mine, and it was all the invitation I needed. I slid my tongue along the seam of her lips, and as soon as they parted, I pushed in deep. Damn, she tasted good. Sweet and spicy and so damn real.
My hand cupped the back of her head, supporting her neck as I licked and stroked every inch, hungry and desperate for a taste of something I hadn’t had…hadn’t felt in so long.
But just as quickly as the moment absorbed me, it shattered. Grace pushed me away with a small cry.
“Stop,” she demanded, her voice trembling with a mixture of anger and something else I couldn’t quite place.
“Grace, I’m sorry?—”
She hopped off the counter and backed toward the door, the look on her face something like betrayal.
“I can’t believe you,” she said, her voice trembling with anger. “I’m here to do a job, Mr. Crown. A job I want to keep regardless of what you think. You don’t get to destroy the lives of everyone who works at Embers just because you’re against having a dating profile.”
Her words hit me like a punch to the gut. No one questioned me like this—like her. And then for it to be doubting my morals…I knew I’d made my displeasure about this whole process clear, but did she really think I’d destroy her life because of it?
I straightened, a coldness settling over me. “You have a lot of thoughts about me, Miss Johnson, but I promise you, I would never take advantage of you or ruin your job. You have my word.”
Her bark of laughter was like a knife to my chest.
“Your word?” She folded her arms and shook her head. “Is that the same word you gave to Aleta before you got her fired?”
Aleta? What the hell was she talking about?
“I’m not going to let you do the same thing to me, Mr. Crown. I need this job.” Her cold, impersonal address made me stiffen. The pained resolve in her tone…in her expression deepened the wound of her accusation more than I was willing to admit.
I growled. “Grace, what?—”
“I’m leaving. I need to go.” Her movements were jerky as she reached for the doorknob.
“Grace, wait?—”
The door banged as I followed her through it and right into the storm that had opened up over the city.
“Grace, stop.” I grabbed her arm, but she already left the shelter of the awning, rain pelting the both of us. “You’re not walking home in this. Not after you just passed out.”
“I’m—”
“Fine, I know,” I growled. “Well, you can either be fine in the back of my car with Lester driving you home, or I can call an ambulance so they can make sure you’re okay.”
“You have a car here?”
I nodded toward the black Mercedes sedan parked a few feet away, the wipers picking up speed to keep the rain clear from the windshield.
Her eyes flicked to the car and her jaw started to drop before she snapped it shut and declared, “I’m not riding with you.”
“I’ll run back. Just get in the car.”
“You’re going to run in the rain?” Her gaze flickered with wariness, like I’d finally broken through the shield of her anger with my sacrifice.
To make sure she was safe? Felt safe? I’d do anything.
“Another fact no one else knows about me…I don’t melt.” I pushed my wet hair back from my face. We were soaked. “Get in the car. Please.”
“Okay.”
I followed over and held the door as she scrambled into the back. “Take her wherever she wants to go, Lester,” I instructed my driver, who tipped his head back to me in confirmation.
My eyes snagged on hers, wide and confused. That made two of us. I didn’t know what the hell she was told about Aleta, but it sure as hell wasn’t the truth. But then what did the truth matter now if she was so ready to believe a lie?
“Killian—”
“Take care, Grace,” I said low and closed the door, tapping on the roof for Lester to go.
I should’ve picked up my run—or at least moved under shelter, but instead, I stood and watched the car drive away. The farther it got, the stronger the unfamiliar feeling that twisted in my gut. Like I was losing something important.
I didn’t have to answer her accusations.
I didn’t owe her the reason for what happened with her coworker, Aleta.
Hell, I didn’t owe anyone an explanation for my actions, no matter how grossly misconstrued they were.
But if I wanted to see Grace again, if I wanted there to be any chance to know more about her, to feel this real thing again…
I’d have to find a way to tell her the truth.