he’d left out for me, the scent of steak and eggs permeating the air.
I peered around the corner, watching my ex-boyfriend pouring coffee. Hero greeted me, licking my face. I rubbed his ear like he always liked, and he let out a groan.
I noticed Grant watching my interaction with Hero. Uh oh. I’d seen Hero with new people. He was fiercely protective of Grant, and would lunge at anyone for getting near his master. Hopefully Hero wouldn’t give me away.
“Morning, beautiful. Have a seat. I made you breakfast.” Grant motioned over to the reclaimed wood table that occupied his eat-in kitchen area; a warm smile graced his beautiful face. The mere sight of him made my chest tighten.
A steak topped with a fried egg awaited me, a glass of orange juice standing next to the plate. He placed the mug of steaming coffee next to me, and poured in hazelnut-flavored creamer. Dammit—I was a vegan. I’d had sushi on our date and still felt sick. But avoiding this food could raise suspicion. I wasn’t going to take any chances.
Grant used to make me breakfast every morning, no matter what time he had to go to work. Back in the day, he would always make me a special meal—tofu scramble with soyrizo. At the time, I didn’t realize how thoughtful that small act was, but now my gut wrenched thinking about how stupid I was to throw this wonderful man away. Maybe everything would be different if I had told him the truth about why I left him; maybe he would’ve forgiven me.
The problem was I didn’t really know the truth myself. Yes, I knew what had happened, but since I didn’t know who was to blame, I could never fully heal. I couldn’t move on. I was incapacitated with the daily reminder of the over looming shame that had become my existence.
I halted that train of thought right in its tracks because I could feel myself retreating. I straightened out my posture and fought to meet Grant’s scrutinizing gaze.
“Thank you. You did not have to cook for me this. It is sweet.” My knife sliced into the meat, blood squirting into the yolk of the egg. I took a deep breath, shoved a bite into my mouth and prayed that I wouldn’t gag.
Grant watched me intently. Was he testing me? A huge meat-centric breakfast for a stripper he’d known less than a week? Maybe this had become his modus operandi for all the women who spent the night in his bed. I was clearly being paranoid. He was probably just infatuated with the submissive character I was playing.
My face didn’t flinch as I chewed the gummy flesh. Perhaps I should’ve forced myself to eat meat for the past six months to prepare my stomach. “It tastes very good to me.”
He winked and that devilish smile crossed his lips. “Glad you like it, babe. I know this great steakhouse downtown. Maybe we can go sometime.”
I gave him a big, wide-eyed nod, batting my eyelash extensions, like this was the best date suggestion ever. “I’d love to go to there.” It would be a blast—I could don a cow costume and pour a bucket of red paint over my head to protest the slaughter of those magnificent animals. That would definitely be preferable than attempting to have a romantic dinner there. I probably wouldn’t make it in the door without yakking all over the place. I focused my energy on remembering not to bite my lip when I lied. Lord, Grant was already driving me crazy. With my luck, for our next date, he would suggest we go hunting.
He leaned back in his chair, and crossed his arms over his chest. “So I’ve decided,” he said, and moved to scratch his jaw over his sexy morning growth that he hadn’t yet bothered to trim this morning. My eyes dropped to his fingers and I momentarily remembered peppering that jaw with butterfly kisses in the mornings to get him to wake up. “It’s time for you to quit Panthers.”
My eyes jumped back up to where they belonged because what the fuck did he say?
“Quit? No, it may not be dream job, but it is job. What do I do to get
I peered around the corner, watching my ex-boyfriend pouring coffee. Hero greeted me, licking my face. I rubbed his ear like he always liked, and he let out a groan.
I noticed Grant watching my interaction with Hero. Uh oh. I’d seen Hero with new people. He was fiercely protective of Grant, and would lunge at anyone for getting near his master. Hopefully Hero wouldn’t give me away.
“Morning, beautiful. Have a seat. I made you breakfast.” Grant motioned over to the reclaimed wood table that occupied his eat-in kitchen area; a warm smile graced his beautiful face. The mere sight of him made my chest tighten.
A steak topped with a fried egg awaited me, a glass of orange juice standing next to the plate. He placed the mug of steaming coffee next to me, and poured in hazelnut-flavored creamer. Dammit—I was a vegan. I’d had sushi on our date and still felt sick. But avoiding this food could raise suspicion. I wasn’t going to take any chances.
Grant used to make me breakfast every morning, no matter what time he had to go to work. Back in the day, he would always make me a special meal—tofu scramble with soyrizo. At the time, I didn’t realize how thoughtful that small act was, but now my gut wrenched thinking about how stupid I was to throw this wonderful man away. Maybe everything would be different if I had told him the truth about why I left him; maybe he would’ve forgiven me.
The problem was I didn’t really know the truth myself. Yes, I knew what had happened, but since I didn’t know who was to blame, I could never fully heal. I couldn’t move on. I was incapacitated with the daily reminder of the over looming shame that had become my existence.
I halted that train of thought right in its tracks because I could feel myself retreating. I straightened out my posture and fought to meet Grant’s scrutinizing gaze.
“Thank you. You did not have to cook for me this. It is sweet.” My knife sliced into the meat, blood squirting into the yolk of the egg. I took a deep breath, shoved a bite into my mouth and prayed that I wouldn’t gag.
Grant watched me intently. Was he testing me? A huge meat-centric breakfast for a stripper he’d known less than a week? Maybe this had become his modus operandi for all the women who spent the night in his bed. I was clearly being paranoid. He was probably just infatuated with the submissive character I was playing.
My face didn’t flinch as I chewed the gummy flesh. Perhaps I should’ve forced myself to eat meat for the past six months to prepare my stomach. “It tastes very good to me.”
He winked and that devilish smile crossed his lips. “Glad you like it, babe. I know this great steakhouse downtown. Maybe we can go sometime.”
I gave him a big, wide-eyed nod, batting my eyelash extensions, like this was the best date suggestion ever. “I’d love to go to there.” It would be a blast—I could don a cow costume and pour a bucket of red paint over my head to protest the slaughter of those magnificent animals. That would definitely be preferable than attempting to have a romantic dinner there. I probably wouldn’t make it in the door without yakking all over the place. I focused my energy on remembering not to bite my lip when I lied. Lord, Grant was already driving me crazy. With my luck, for our next date, he would suggest we go hunting.
He leaned back in his chair, and crossed his arms over his chest. “So I’ve decided,” he said, and moved to scratch his jaw over his sexy morning growth that he hadn’t yet bothered to trim this morning. My eyes dropped to his fingers and I momentarily remembered peppering that jaw with butterfly kisses in the mornings to get him to wake up. “It’s time for you to quit Panthers.”
My eyes jumped back up to where they belonged because what the fuck did he say?
“Quit? No, it may not be dream job, but it is job. What do I do to get
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