One look at her face, and I know she means business, though.
Her eyes soften as she regards me knowingly. “You remind me so much of myself when I was younger, you know…”
She reaches over to grasp my hand, though I notice her grip isn’t as strong as it once was. “I know what it’s like to be a wild thing that doesn’t want to be caged, but, honey, there’s nothing wrong with letting the right man tame you.”
I look into my gran’s wizened old eyes and listen to what she’s saying. “Gran, I…”
“Do you love him?” she interrupts me.
I feel a lump in my throat. Do I love Nick? As impossible as it sounds, I know I do, but I don’t know if he feels the same way. Yeah, he wants to possess me, but does that mean he loves me?
“I don’t know if he feels the same way,” I whisper, tears pricking my eyes.
“Ach,” Gran scoffs. “Of course he does. A man doesn’t pay for your ailing old gran’s medical care if he doesn’t plan on sticking around for the long haul.”
I think about what she’s said. “Maybe…” I concede slowly.
“Have I ever steered you wrong before?” she asks me with a delicate brow arched.
I shake my head.
“You’re darn right I haven’t,” she confirms. “Now, go on. Get out of here.”
I ponder what she’s said. Maybe she’s right, and either way, I’ll never know if I keep hiding out here in the hospital with her. It’s time to face the music.
I lean over and kiss her on the forehead. “Thanks, Gran. I love you. You call me if you need anything, okay? I’ll make sure to keep my phone on me.”
She motions me away with a wave of her hand.
* * *
Daisy
I’m a bundle of nerves as I pull up to Nick’s house in my beat-up old truck—the same one that had crapped out on me the day I’d met him.
I hadn’t told him I was coming. I just jumped in the truck and came straight here from the hospital before I lost my nerve.
Nick’s door opens before I ever make it up the steps of his grand entryway.
He takes a couple of steps toward me and then stops himself. His hands curl into a fist and then flex slowly out. Every muscle in his body seems to be coiled tight like he’s ready to spring at any moment.
He looks like a predator.
Dark and deadly, and I feel my heart speed up at the knowledge that he could so easily devour me.
“Hey,” I say shyly.
“Hello, kitten,” he greets me cautiously. He’s standing stock still, but his eyes are blazing as they trail over me, devouring every inch of me with his eyes. If it’s possible to have sex with your eyes, then consider me thoroughly fucked.
“How’s your grandmother?” he asks me.
“Better.” I nod my head. “She’s doing much better. Thanks to you. Actually she’s why I’m here.”
His face falls somewhat, but he quickly masks it. “Does she need another type of treatment? Whatever she needs, if it’s in my power to get it, I’ll get it for her. You know that.”
I shake my head and close the remaining steps between us. Taking a deep breath, I crane my neck to look up at him. We’re so close I can feel the heat emanating off his body. Still, he makes no move to touch me.
I feel a moment of uncertainty. What if Gran was wrong? What if he doesn’t feel the same way?