CHAPTER SEVEN
Henry wasn’t even bothering with subtlety as he struggled to convey to his brother that his presence was not a welcome addition. How could the brat not realize he was being a third wheel? When Grace invited Jackson to stay and eat with them he realized he’d been effectively cock blocked.
“I’m going to kill you,” he mouthed angrily at his brother, drawing a finger across his throat when Grace’s back was turned.
“Let’s play a game,” Grace suggested when they’d finished eating and cleaning up the kitchen mess. She wasn’t caught up with escape plans, because she had nowhere to run to. The only thing she wanted to run from was her burgeoning lust for her jailor. Jackson’s arrival had been a Godsend. He was the quintessential chaperone. Also, there was nothing like brotherly squabbling to make a girl feel more at ease in an unorthodox situation.
“I love Twister,” Jackson said with a boyish grin on his face.
Henry’s bear started to rumble rather vociferously, and it was all he could do not to punch his brother in the face. He knew exactly why the little pervert had selected that game. The twerp wanted to see just how high her shirt dress would ride up during all the bending and twisting involved in the game.
Well, as much as he wanted see firsthand whether or not his future mate was wearing his underwear or going commando, he certainly wasn’t about to share the privilege with any other man. Maybe if he just threw his brother out a window he’d finally take a hint and leave. His mother would likely applaud him for his restraint.
He’d never felt so jealous of another human being in his entire adult life. He could feel the tension in his joints, as the muscles and tendons prepared to take on a new shape within him. He took a deep calming breath and suggested with a growl that they play Sequence instead. In addition to being a great game, Sequence had two major perks. There was no touching, and absolutely no bending involved in the board game.
When Grace agreed to his choice it calmed his bear a little. He even managed to reign in his primal urge to shift, but he doubted the close cropping of fur on his forearms had evaded his pain-in-the-ass brother’s notice. He was never going to live this down. Jackson had a big mouth, and with gossip this juicy there was no way he’d be able to resist blabbing to the rest of the family that Henry had found his mate.
Unlike the men, Grace had never played the game before, but she was a quick study. Fortunately for her the most confusing rule was actually listed on the board about the difference between two-eyed jacks, which acted as wild cards, and one-eyed jacks, which had the power to remove someone else’s chip if it was blocking your path. All it took was a couple of rounds for both of the men to realize that in addition to being particularly clever, she had a competitive streak a mile wide.
“Of course she’s smart,” his bear rumbled from his subconscious, as though he’d somehow maligned her honor. “She’s our mate and that makes her the best . . . at everything.” There was no point arguing with his bear, not when he wholeheartedly agreed. As far as he was concerned, the sun rose and set at Grace’s feet. If only he could get his nuisance of a brother to beat it so he could prove it to her by worshipping at the altar of her body.
***
“I like your brother,” Grace said after Jackson had finally departed from their company in order to drop off the car somewhere it couldn’t be traced back to them or the clan.
“Hmph,” Henry grunted noncommittally. “So what do you want to do now?” He scooted closer on the couch and draped his arm behind her on the headrest. She pushed the offending limb off of her person and scooted as far away from him as the cushions allowed.
“Your seat is over there.” She glared at him as she proceeded to give him a repeat lecture of her earlier speech regarding how there was to be absolutely no funny business between the two of them. “You’re my jailer, not my boyfriend,” she finished loudly.
“There’s no reason I can’t be both.”
He winked suggestively, but scooted back to his own spot as ordered. His bear was happy just to be near her, for now anyway. He’d gotten her to kiss him in less than twenty-four hours, he could afford to be patient a little longer.
“Do you have a computer?” she asked out of the blue.
“Why? So you can call the cops?”
“Ummm, if I wanted to make a call I’d ask for your phone, not a computer, genius.”
Henry scented her words, and he didn’t sense any lies. He tried not to read too much into her behavior, but was it too much to hope that she had no plans of escape because she loved him already and was ready to agree to be his forever mate? Okay, so his bear wasn’t exactly known for his keen intellect.
He retrieved his laptop from the office just the same. Then he entered his password and handed it over to her with a big syrupy smile. Everything was going great until he tried to ask her what she was doing. That’s when she got all secretive and agitated. Like an idiot he kept prodding, and finally she yelled her answer at him. He felt so guilty he immediately wished that he hadn’t relentlessly badgered her.
“I’m a high school dropout, okay? It’s not something I’m proud of. But I thought that maybe, since I’m stuck here . . . and there’s a roof over my head . . . and you’re feeding me . . . well, I thought that just maybe I might be able to do something about it. I’m an idiot and this was obviously a dumb idea.”
Grace shoved the computer back into his lap and stormed out of the room. She slammed the door to her bedroom and threw herself face down on the bed crying wet-hot tears. The broken door bounced immediately back open, and Henry stood in the hallway for a good minute, watching her weep and feeling like the world’s slimiest toad of a villain.
“I’m an asshole,” he said as he poised awkwardly in the doorway.
He moved across the room, sitting down tentatively on the edge of the bed. He ran soothing circles on her back as her cries gradually subsided into mere hiccups. He would have given anything to pull her into his arms like he had when she’d had her nightmare, but he understood that he hadn’t earned the right. But someday, somehow, he vowed that he would.
“Just forget about it,” she said, her words slurred and muffled by the pillow.
“It’s not stupid. Please let me make it up to you, Grace. Let me help you study, or whatever you need,” he begged huskily.
“Really?” she asked, turning her head so that she could look at him squarely.
“Really,” he said with complete sincerity.
And when she smiled at him it was like the warmth of the sun shining radiantly upon him, and he knew he was going to spend the rest of his life doing whatever it took to make her happy and wipe the sorrow from her eyes. He may have been big and tough, but she cut straight through all of his bravado to the soft and sensitive layers buried within.
Henry ran back into the living room and grabbed the laptop. He quickly navigated to a website associated with the Alabama Community College System to research information on the GED. After looking at GED testing centers in that area, he located the official website to find study materials. Grace had initially thought that maybe Henry was only lending his assistance as a way to get into her pants, but he seemed genuine in his support.
She had no idea what all was involved with getting a GED, and would likely have been overwhelmed by the foreign process had it not been for his help. This was something that she never would have had the confidence to pursue without someone to encourage her. Unfortunately for her, such a person had never been there for her...at least not until now.
The best thing about her day was the fact that Henry kept her so occupied that she hardly thought about drugs at all. All she could do was take it one step at a time and learn to make good choices. She only hoped that every day could be as easy as this one had been. She felt like she had a guiding purpose for the first time in her life, and that maybe, just maybe, the future might hold good things, unlike her past.
That night when she settled into sleep she started to reach for her secret stash of pills, but she stopped herself. “I don’t need them,” she whispered softly to herself. She smiled when she realized that if she’d been in an official program she would have just earned her 24 hour chip. That made her feel good, like she’d accomplished something huge. She was stronger than she’d thought.
She rolled over and fell asleep, but once again her slumber was shattered by cruel nightmares. As with before, Henry came in and held her. He rocked her gently, adding new verses to his special song, pouring his heart out through the special music until at last she was lulled into a peaceful sleep.