Chapter Eleven
A loud thump woke Vitus from his deep sleep. His body stiffened as he peered through the darkness around and patted the bed next to him only to find the sheets cold and empty. His blood ran cold as fear pulsed through him.
No. She couldn’t be gone. He couldn’t have failed her like that. He had been so tired from the fight and healing that he’d let something happen to her as she slept in his arms.
Another thump came from the other room, and he glanced toward the door. A low growl escaped. If anything had happened to her, he didn’t care if every Glycon in the area was in the other room, he’d make them pay.
A small sliver of light came through the opening. Grace’s sweet Vestal scent floated to his nose, but there was nothing of the harsh stink of a Glycon. His pulse began to drop back to normal.
Vitus climbed out of bed. He headed into the living room still wearing only his boxer briefs. Apparently, he wouldn’t need to dispense bloody vengeance that night.
Another thump caught his attention from the kitchen. He glanced that way.
Vitus spotted Grace standing there wearing the shirt he had given her and a very large pair of sweat pants that hung low on her hips. They outlined the perfect swell of her ass as she leaned over into the fridge.
He forced down a growl. Parts of him stirred at the sight before him. Vitus took in deep breaths as he tried to ignore his already semi-hard cock. He didn’t want things to happen like this. After everything Grace had been through, he needed to show some restraint.
Grace turned around and gasped loudly, nearly dropping the eggs in her hands.
“Geez Louise,” she said, taking several deep breaths.
Grace’s gaze roved over his body, eventually landing on his lower half. Her cheeks reddened, and she looked away. Apparently, he wasn’t the only one appreciating a surprise sight.
A small smile played on his face. There was something almost comical about the way she avoided curse words but could look at him as if she wanted to swallow him whole.
He grunted. Maybe comical wasn’t the right word considering his current predicament. If Grace kept looking at him like this, there was no way the situation could end without them steaming up his room.
“What are you doing up at five in the morning?” Vitus asked.
Grace moved around his tiny kitchen, not looking his way, in fact doing anything she could not to look over at him. She pulled a large mixing bowl from the cabinet and started cracking the eggs inside.
“I thought I would make you breakfast before I went into work,” she said as she continued to work. “I figured you’d be hungry.”
A frown spread across his face. How could she even think about going back to work after what had happened the night before? He stepped over to the opening of the kitchen.
“What are you thinking?” Vitus said. “You can’t go to work.”
Grace stopped her whisking and turned to look at him. Her soft hazel eyes narrowed.
“I’ve got a business to run,” she said. “Unless is a national holiday, we’re open for business. I have people who depend on me. Trucks that are coming to deliver food. I have to be there. That’s what it means to be an important part of a small community.” She pointed toward a window. “Considering how you all live here, I thought you of all people would understand that.”
Vitus stepped into the kitchen and leaned on the counter next to where Grace was whisking the eggs. He watched as she chopped up a few vegetables on the wooden cutting board. She only stopped when he placed a hand on his shoulder and turned her around to look at him.
“I understand that,” he said softly. “You’ve only had a few hours of sleep. I can see the exhaustion on your face. Not to mention everything that happened last night. You should spend the day resting. That’s what you should be doing.”
“What about the store?”
“You have employees, right?”
“Yes.”
“And I’m guessing they must know how to do at least some of the things you need to do to run the store.”
Grace sighed. “You don’t understand.”
He arched a brow. “Then explain it to me.”
“Yes, I have employees.” She shook her head and went back to chopping the vegetables again. “I’m well aware of what happened last night,” she said. He could hear the waver in her voice as she spoke but continued. “But if I let him run me out of my store, what does that leave me? I’m not going to let something destroy what I’ve built. What my parents built.”
Vitus wasn’t certain he had an answer. She did have employees, but she was the owner in the end. He knew that the longer she avoided it, the greater the risk of a problem arising that one of her employees couldn’t handle.
The store was her livelihood, and if she abandoned that, he wasn’t certain what else she would have. Still, he couldn’t let her just roam around like Thrax hadn’t just come to take her. At least not right away.
“Look,” Vitus said, moving his body closer to hers. He wrapped an arm carefully around her shoulders and pulled her back against his bare chest. “It’s dangerous going back to work. I’m just worried.”
Grace took in small breaths as she leaned her head back against his chest. There was something about the movement that felt so intimate, like standing in the kitchen with one another was the most natural thing they could do.
She turned in his arms and stared up at him. Her cheeks tinted pink as she glanced down at his bare chest.
“I have to go in,” Grace said. “Maybe my employees can handle it for a few days, but that’s not the point. That store is who I am. The store is all I have.”
Vitus shook his head. “That’s not true. You have me.”
Grace opened her mouth in surprise, and for a moment, he thought she might kiss him again. Instead, she turned around and went back to working on her eggs. He watched as she dropped a pat of butter into the skillet and slid the eggs into the pan. She scooped the vegetables on one side of the eggs and let them simmer.
“I’m going into the store, and there’s nothing you can do to stop me,” Grace said firmly. “It’s not like Thrax is going to show up in the middle of the day with tons of witnesses. He might be a monster, but he’s not mindless, right?”
Vitus sighed and let his hands drop from her shoulder. He turned and made his way to the bedroom. “Finish making breakfast, and I’ll get dressed.” He glanced over his shoulder as he spoke and found her staring at him.
“What are you going to do?” Grace asked.
Vitus shrugged. He really didn’t have much of a choice. “I guess I’ll be going to work with you,” he said.
Grace quickly flipped half of the egg over the vegetables and stomped over to where he stood. “You can’t come to work with me. People… will ask questions.”
Vitus snorted. “What the hell do you think I’ve been doing these past two weeks?”
She opened her mouth and closed it again. This time he turned fully and backed her up against the counter. Vitus pressed in, his body touching hers as he did so.
“There is no way in hell I’m letting you go spend all day at the grocery store unprotected,” he said quietly. “We don’t know what Thrax will do. He’s convinced you’re his mate.” He frowned. “I’m coming with you, and that’s all there is to it.”
Without waiting for a response, Vitus leaned down and placed a soft kiss against her lips. He pulled back to stare down at her.
“I plan on protecting you no matter what,” he said. “That is nonnegotiable.”
Grace gave a small nod, her lips pink from the kiss and face flush with excitement. Everything in him called to finish what they started, but instead he stepped back, not allowing himself the opportunity to pursue what he really wanted.
She would need to come to him. That was the only way he’d have any chance of truly winning her over. Vestal instincts were one thing, but he wanted her to choose him freely, not just because of their bond.
Vitus made his way into the bedroom. It was time to get dressed for his first day on the job.