meet an addict who admits they have a problem.” I could tell that my flippant remark pissed him off and I wanted to kick myself for making it.
“Yeah? Well there’s a first for everything,” he snapped, and took off down the hill. This time I didn’t follow after him.
By the time Hank and I caught up with him we were already back at the hotel. As I made my way up to my suite to shower I reflected back on our conversation. How I ended up giving more information than I received was beyond me. I was going to have to watch Grant. He was good at subterfuge.
I would just have to be better.
Chapter Nine
Don’t You Dare Quit Your Day Job
Grant
W hat am I doing? I asked myself for the millionth time. The second I saw her standing there in that ridiculous outfit I wanted her. She was the plant, the narc, the fruit hanging from the forbidden tree, and I was most definitely the snake. One minute we were taunting each other and the next she was challenging me to a race. A fucking race! Was she crazy? The second I stopped laughing I took off after her. Rule number one, never throw out a challenge you can’t win. We raced like two children down the streets of Houston and for the first time in a very long time I felt alive. So deep was I in my need to beat her, however, that I didn’t even consider her bum knee. It wasn’t until she let out a hiss of pain and began to slow her pace that I realized how much it was bothering her. I was an asshole, plain and simple. As she jogged along beside me, obviously in discomfort, a million thoughts rushed through my head, one of which was how to get Hank to go fetch the car without embarrassing her. Mallory Scott was proud, strong, beautiful… and the enemy. She was also in pain.
“You okay? I shouldn’t have pushed you. That was stupid of me,” I told her.
She let out a cute little snort and waved her hand in the air. “I’m fine.” Her heavy breathing and slight limp said different but I didn’t dare challenge her. I made sure to slow way down to a light jog. “I had an accident,” she announced, as if I hadn’t already figured that out for myself.
“No shit?”
“Your turn,” she dryly replied. I wasn’t sure but I think she rolled her eyes at me. Her ability to ignore my bullshit was impressive. It was also annoying and made me want to poke the bear, pick the scab, to fuck with her head just to see how far I could take it before she called me out on my bullshit.
“Uh-uh-uh, you have to give me more than that, sweetheart,” I taunted. The hell if I was dishing without getting something in return. Nothing was for free, especially not in the world I came from.
“Fine, I injured it in a ski accident when I was in my late teens,” she huffed. I couldn’t help but smile. A pissy Mallory was like a Christmas and birthday rolled into one.
“You ski?” I asked. I’d been skiing a few times. Just last year we took a much needed break and flew to Colorado to ski for a week. Blane rented out the entire resort so we could have some peace and quiet. We still partied but we managed to keep most of it on the down low.
“Uh-uh-uh, your turn,” she threw back at me. Sassy Mallory was cute. I tried not to stare at her body but my eyes kept wandering to that tight ass and those muscular legs. Clearly she worked out. A few times she turned and I got a glimpse of her taught stomach through the gaping sleeves of her shirt and I wondered what drove her. She glanced over at me as if waiting for something and I realized I hadn’t answered her question. I thought about how much to give her and decided on the bare minimum. She had my file. She could read it.
“Rehab was pointless,” I told her.
“Pointless how?”
Nope, it was her turn. “You ski?” I asked.
“I did. That is, I did until I hurt my knee,” she fired back at me, and followed it with a, “Pointless how?”
Without thinking, I blurted, “Rehab is pointless when you don’t have a problem.” The
“Yeah? Well there’s a first for everything,” he snapped, and took off down the hill. This time I didn’t follow after him.
By the time Hank and I caught up with him we were already back at the hotel. As I made my way up to my suite to shower I reflected back on our conversation. How I ended up giving more information than I received was beyond me. I was going to have to watch Grant. He was good at subterfuge.
I would just have to be better.
Chapter Nine
Don’t You Dare Quit Your Day Job
Grant
W hat am I doing? I asked myself for the millionth time. The second I saw her standing there in that ridiculous outfit I wanted her. She was the plant, the narc, the fruit hanging from the forbidden tree, and I was most definitely the snake. One minute we were taunting each other and the next she was challenging me to a race. A fucking race! Was she crazy? The second I stopped laughing I took off after her. Rule number one, never throw out a challenge you can’t win. We raced like two children down the streets of Houston and for the first time in a very long time I felt alive. So deep was I in my need to beat her, however, that I didn’t even consider her bum knee. It wasn’t until she let out a hiss of pain and began to slow her pace that I realized how much it was bothering her. I was an asshole, plain and simple. As she jogged along beside me, obviously in discomfort, a million thoughts rushed through my head, one of which was how to get Hank to go fetch the car without embarrassing her. Mallory Scott was proud, strong, beautiful… and the enemy. She was also in pain.
“You okay? I shouldn’t have pushed you. That was stupid of me,” I told her.
She let out a cute little snort and waved her hand in the air. “I’m fine.” Her heavy breathing and slight limp said different but I didn’t dare challenge her. I made sure to slow way down to a light jog. “I had an accident,” she announced, as if I hadn’t already figured that out for myself.
“No shit?”
“Your turn,” she dryly replied. I wasn’t sure but I think she rolled her eyes at me. Her ability to ignore my bullshit was impressive. It was also annoying and made me want to poke the bear, pick the scab, to fuck with her head just to see how far I could take it before she called me out on my bullshit.
“Uh-uh-uh, you have to give me more than that, sweetheart,” I taunted. The hell if I was dishing without getting something in return. Nothing was for free, especially not in the world I came from.
“Fine, I injured it in a ski accident when I was in my late teens,” she huffed. I couldn’t help but smile. A pissy Mallory was like a Christmas and birthday rolled into one.
“You ski?” I asked. I’d been skiing a few times. Just last year we took a much needed break and flew to Colorado to ski for a week. Blane rented out the entire resort so we could have some peace and quiet. We still partied but we managed to keep most of it on the down low.
“Uh-uh-uh, your turn,” she threw back at me. Sassy Mallory was cute. I tried not to stare at her body but my eyes kept wandering to that tight ass and those muscular legs. Clearly she worked out. A few times she turned and I got a glimpse of her taught stomach through the gaping sleeves of her shirt and I wondered what drove her. She glanced over at me as if waiting for something and I realized I hadn’t answered her question. I thought about how much to give her and decided on the bare minimum. She had my file. She could read it.
“Rehab was pointless,” I told her.
“Pointless how?”
Nope, it was her turn. “You ski?” I asked.
“I did. That is, I did until I hurt my knee,” she fired back at me, and followed it with a, “Pointless how?”
Without thinking, I blurted, “Rehab is pointless when you don’t have a problem.” The
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