Page 56 of Grayson’s Challenge

“Yeah, ‘cause you know everything better, don’t you? And I’m just a hysterical girl, aren’t I? Just like when I was eleven.”

Grayson ran a hand through his hair, his mind working overtime. A memory, one he’d pushed back into the dark recesses of his mind, tried to surface, but he couldn’t quite grasp it.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Of course, you don’t,” Monique snapped, glaring at him. “Because all you think about is yourself. You don’t care about other people’s feelings. No, you’d rather humiliate someone than admit that you’re wrong.”

“Monique! Damn it, I have no idea what this is about. I thought you and I were on the same page.” After all, they’d gotten close and comforted each other only a few hours earlier.

“We were never on the same page.” She sucked in a breath. “And you’re still the arrogant little prick you were when you were twelve and called me a coward and a liar when I didn’t want to jump into alligator-infested waters. You had to humiliate me, because you wanted to be the brave one. And it didn’t matter to you that you hurt my feelings. Because all you care about is yourself.”

Fuck! The memory of that summer in New Orleans suddenly flashed in front of his eyes. Every single second came back to him now.

“Oh, God,” he murmured and looked at Monique with different eyes. He ignored the fact that they weren’t alone and that his colleagues were watching them in silence. He had to clear this up with Monique now.

“Monique, I was twelve years old. I… uhm, I…” Fuck, this was hard. “Damn it, Monique! I had a crush on you back then. And your brothers knew it and teased me relentlessly. I was embarrassed. Hell, what twelve-year old wouldn’t feel embarrassed about having a crush on a girl who didn’t even give him a second glance? So I lashed out. I had to prove to your brothers that I wasn’t soft on you. That’s why I called you a coward. When really I was the coward, because I couldn’t admit to anybody that I liked you.”

Monique stared at him, her lips slightly parted.

“But I’m not that kid anymore. And I don’t care who knows about it.” He glanced at Amaury, Thomas, and Eddie, then back at Monique. “So I might as well tell you how I feel about you. I’m in love with you, Monique. And I’m not gonna hide that fact this time, no matter what anybody says.”

“Grayson…” she murmured, the fury visibly seeping from her body.

“And the reason I don’t want you to go to New Orleans is because I could never forgive myself if you got hurt. But since we both know that you’re not gonna back down, and will go no matter what anybody says, I’ll go with you. Whether you like it or not.”

It was so silent in the office that a pin could have been heard falling to the floor. It seemed that he wasn’t the only one waiting for an answer from Monique. Amaury, Thomas, and Eddie seemed just as curious how she would react to this confession.

~ ~ ~

Monique’s heart beat into her throat. She hadn’t expected this. Grayson was in love with her? And he’d announced it in front of his colleagues as if he didn’t care who knew about it. His confession that he’d had a crush on her twenty years ago, and had acted out of embarrassment was equally unexpected. He was laying himself bare in front of her and his colleagues. It took a strong man to do something like that, to make himself vulnerable. She’d completely misjudged Grayson. He wasn’t the spoiled heir of Scanguards right now. He was so much more. He was a man who knew exactly what he wanted, and wasn’t afraid of opening himself up to get it.

“Did you mean everything you said?” she murmured.

She stared into his eyes and noticed how his irises began to shimmer golden. It drew her to him. He was Gray again, the stranger she’d made love to.

“Yes, babe. Every single word.”

Her feet moved of their own volition as she bridged the distance between them. Standing only a foot away from him, she put her hand onto his chest and felt his rapid heartbeat beneath her palm. Her own heart was beating just as frantically.

“Forgive me, Monique,” he whispered. “I never meant to hurt you back then.”

At the recollection of what had happened twenty years earlier, she suddenly realized why she’d been so hurt. It was so obvious now, yet all these years she hadn’t been able to see it. She too had had a crush. A crush on Grayson. And when he’d hurt her, it had turned into resentment. The rejection had stung, because his opinion of her had mattered. It still mattered. Even more so now.

Monique put her arms around him and hugged him tightly. His arms came around her, and he held her closely. She buried her head in the crook of his neck, inhaling his enticing scent.

“I forgive you,” she whispered into his ear.

“Will you trust me now that everything I do, I do because I couldn’t live with myself if anything happened to you?”

“I will. I trust you.”

She lifted her head and looked into his eyes. His lips parted on a breath, and she brought her lips to his.

Somebody cleared his throat. Suddenly remembering that they weren’t alone, Monique pulled out of Grayson’s arms and turned. All three vampires suppressed smiles.

Grayson cleared his throat. “Uhm, Amaury, could you do me a favor, and call the Stealth Guardians and see who’s available to take us to New Orleans?”

“No problem,” Amaury replied and pulled out his cell phone. “But you should take a few people with you as backup. You still have four hours until the sun comes up in Louisiana. Take Blake. He knows the palace.”