Fallen from Grace (10 page)

He hung up.

Grace looked at the phone.
What had she done?

R
EBECCA
WAS
A
MESS
.

She was dancing on the table in front of Judas, and bunching up her hair on the top of her head. He knew she used alcohol and drugs as an escape. And Judas understood how she felt; he wasn’t happy with his life either. The past two weeks had been torture. Grace’s kiss had ignited a frenzy inside his body; a frenzy that constantly made him crave her taste, her touch, her smell…

Her rejection had settled as a gut-wrenching ache in the pit of his stomach, but he wasn’t going to humiliate himself like Rebecca was doing. He wished she would stop with this behavior before she got hurt. Rebecca was better than this shit.

When he spoke with her earlier, she was disoriented and had no clue where she was; she’d had to hand some random person her phone to give Judas directions. When he showed up, and Rebecca saw him, she burst into tears. She kept mumbling something about finding someone who was going to help her, but they had to go out of town until next week. When her favorite song came on, she ran—stumbled—to the dance floor and eventually made her way back to him.

“I was told to find a friend, or someone I trust, or something like that,” she said, hopping over to him like the Energizer Bunny on crack—twenty dollars’ worth of bourbon scattered across the floor and on Judas’s feet. “And lucky for you, Judas
Smexy
Woods,” she finished off the remaining bourbon, then looked at him through the bottom of the glass, “that person is you.”

Judas rolled his eyes. Yeah,
lucky
him. Judas was relieved Jack no longer wanted information on Rebecca. But even though he no longer had to be around her, Judas couldn’t just abandon her because there was a deep connection of familial betrayal they both shared.

Rebecca didn’t need any more people betraying her; she needed a friend, but her poor self-esteem constantly tested how good of a friend he was willing to be. Judas felt horrible for thinking it, but maybe a treatment facility was exactly where she needed to go.

She jumped off the table, climbed onto his lap and straddled him. Leaning over, she kissed his neck and licked his ear. “Maybe we should try again, Judas. I can make you happy,” she said, grinding her ass against him. They had never had sex, Judas rarely got physical with his
marks
. He was usually in and out, no pun intended, of their lives before things went that far.

His pocket vibrated. Rebecca felt it too. “Oooh…baby,” she murmured.

Judas physically moved her to sit beside him, he stood and walked outside. The area code was from the Hamptons.

“Hello?”

There was no response, but as he pulled the phone away from his ear, he heard Grace’s voice.

“Judas?”

“Grace.” He glanced around him for any sign of wild card Rebecca. “How are you?”

“I’m fine.”

Something wasn’t right.

“What’s wrong? Who are you in the Hamptons with?”

“Ellis.” He heard her sniffle, “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have called you.”

“I’m on my way. Did he hurt you? I’ll fucking kill him.”

She must have come clean about the kiss, but it was Judas’s fault, not Grace’s. If Ellis hurt her in any way, it would be the last thing he ever did.

“He didn’t hurt me, don’t come here. We’re staying at my parents’ house on the East Shore, Ellis is there right now. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have called you,” she repeated again. “I have to go back.”

Judas didn’t want to scare her; she sounded fragile. “Don’t ever be sorry for calling me, Grace. You’re upset, and even if you hang up this phone right now and go to him, I’m still coming there. My family’s home is down the shore from the main marina.” He gave her an exact address. “Please, go there and wait for me. There’s a key under the swan on the back deck, make yourself at home.”

He hung up.

Rebecca was dancing on the table again, so he grabbed her legs and hauled her over his shoulder.

“Put me down!” she screamed.

He carried her to his car, and placed her feet on the ground. When her intoxicated gaze attempted to find his through one eye, she stumbled. “What’s suddenly crawled u-up,” she hiccupped, “your ass?”

“I have to go somewhere, but I’m not leaving you here. You need to go home.”

“Pshhh. Home, shome. I have no home.” She waved her hand and rolled her eyes, then turned toward the bar. “I’m going back inside.”

“Rebecca.” His threatening tone brought her attention back to him, “If you don’t get in my car and let me take you home, I won’t ever talk to you again.”

She bit her lip and eventually reached for the car handle behind him, hitting him in the back as she opened it. On the drive home, he was somewhat surprised by how compliant she was being, but he knew Rebecca couldn’t afford to lose him as a friend. When they pulled up outside her apartment building, she grabbed her purse and looked at him.

“Thank you, Judas.”

“You’re welcome.” He removed his seatbelt, then got out and walked around to her car door.

As soon as he opened it, she clambered out. Judas wanted to make sure she made it safely inside her apartment. He walked her to the elevator and rode to the top floor with her. As soon as her apartment door shut behind her, he was on the freeway and breaking every speed limit to get to Grace.

Please be there.

It normally took an hour and a half to get from NY to the Hamptons, but Judas drove there in under sixty minutes. At one point, he’d passed the designated vehicular manslaughter speed of 120 mph.

Parking his car in front of the beach house, he dashed up the stairs. Crossing the porch he tried the door and was bothered when he found it unlocked; she should have locked it behind her. Yeah, the area wasn’t known for burglaries, but there were dangerous people in this world. He felt an instinctive surge to protect her seething through him.

“Grace?” he called when he stepped inside, shutting the door behind him.

Walking across the hallways dark wood flooring, he went into the kitchen. The light was on, and the balcony doors were open. He had no doubt she found the layout easy to navigate as the majority of the houses along the shore were the same—front entrance from the road, and a back deck that led to the beach.

He saw Grace sitting on the deck with a glass of wine in her hand. A bottle of wine was on the table with one empty glass next to it. She didn’t turn to look at him.

He allowed himself to smell the saltwater and hear the ocean hitting the shore as he watched her. Never in a million years had he thought he’d return here. And today of all days. Walking to the balcony’s edge, he looked at the moon. It was bright and full as it hung over the ocean.

“I didn’t think you would be here.” He turned around and looked at her.

“That makes two of us.” Grace looked at the glass in her hand. “I can’t stay here, I have to go. I should have called again, and saved you a trip all the way out here, but I don’t have my phone.”

“Why did you call me from the Two Mile Beach’s payphone?”

He couldn’t be certain, but he thought he saw her smile. He wanted to switch on the light, but didn’t want to make her uncomfortable. What was she wearing? It looked like a long dress, but the side was open at the bottom. He wondered how far the slit traveled.

“How is it that you have that phone number memorized?”

Judas chuckled and shook his head. “I spent many a summer growing up here.”

“Has your family lived in this house long?”

“Yes, since I was in utero.”

“I can’t believe it.”

“What?” he asked, taking a seat across from her.

She laughed. “Do you know how many times I’ve seen this house? Every time my dad took me and my brother out on his boat, we would pass by here. I love this house. It’s one of my favorites.”

It only cut him deeper, knowing he could have met her years before Ellis. He wanted to ask her what happened, but he didn’t want to spook her.

“My mother remodeled it. She spent a lot of time alone. Jack rarely came here with us, so she had her projects.” Judas reached for the bottle and poured himself a glass, taking a rather large drink. He never thought he would speak so casually about his mother again. Grace was the first person he’d ever talked about his mother with, and he knew if he said much more he might lose it.

“Where is your house?” he asked, changing the subject.

“Near Two Mile beach, off Further Lane.”

“I had a friend that dated a girl who lived around there. His name was Travis-”

“Parks,” she finished. “That was me. You know, Travis?”

Judas laughed at the odds. “I do. Well, did. I haven’t been here in a while and sort of lost contact with most of those guys.”

Grace shook her head and leaned forward. “Small world.”

“Indeed.” He twisted the stem of the wine glass around with his fingers. “Does your brother live in the city too?”

“No.” Her voice was muffled, and he realized she was crying.

He rushed to her side, crouching down beside her, but before he could touch her, she was standing and walking around him into the house. Judas trailed inside behind her.

She was standing next to the granite counter top where her purse and jacket were lying. His eyes hit every inch of her body
—
b
lack stilettos, long legs and thigh highs peeking out at the end of the slit. The dress she was wearing hugged her curves just right, and it made keeping his distance unbearable. Judas wanted to be touching her; admiring the feel of the fabric before slowly removing her dress and tasting the sweet, ivory skin that lay beneath.

“I have to go, Judas. This is wrong.”

“Why did you call me, Grace?”

Walking up behind her he got as close as he could without physically touching.

“I wanted to hear your voice,” she whispered.

“And what about my touch?” he asked.

“I’ve missed it…”

Starting at the tips of her fingers and working his way slowly upward, Judas stepped close and brushed his hands up her arms. When he reached her shoulders, he brushed her hair to the side and kissed her neck. She smelled sweet, like lavender and vanilla, and her skin was soft and warm.

When Grace didn’t protest, he twisted her around and held her firmly against him as he looked into her eyes and pressed her back against the counter.

“And my lips? Have you imagined them on yours?”

“I’ve
—
”

Judas stole her words with a kiss.

Her hands slid inside his suit, and she pressed them against his chest, but something scraped against his palm as he touched her hand. He pulled back to see what it was, and saw the diamond ring on her index finger.

This was it.

He could feel the knife twist just one last inch before completely gutting him.

“You’re going to marry him?”

“I—”

He left the kitchen and walked down the hall and into the living room. He stood, staring at the fireplace; Grace must have started the fire when she’d arrived as several logs were burning and warming the cold that had abruptly seized his bones. When she walked into the room and stopped behind him, Judas turned around.

The strapless dress left her arms and neck bare, and her auburn hair lay behind her shoulders. Her hazel eyes shimmered with tears, and Judas wanted to comfort her, but he was too angry. He sighed as he thrust a hand through his hair.

“I don’t understand. Is this cold feet? Are you unsure if he’s the right man and you need to test out the
local bad boy
before making your decision?” He felt bad for throwing Alex’s words back at her, but he was upset.

“No, it’s not like that, Judas,” she murmured.

“Then please, tell me how it is. You know how I feel about you, Grace. I’ve made it very, very clear. And in case you’re worried that I’m only interested in a one night stand, I’ll clear that up right now too. I’ve
never
felt this way before, and I know I barely know you, but I want to change that. I’ll take as many nights as you’ll give me.”

She shook her head, “It’s complicated. I’ve been with Ellis for six months. My parents love him and—”

“Who cares what your parents think? You’re a grown woman, Grace. What do
you
want?”

“You don’t understand. You don’t know what we’ve been through, Judas. Ellis has made my family better, and for the first time in a really long time, my parents are happy.”

“Dammit, Grace, but what about you! Are
you
happy because they aren’t the ones who are going to marry him. You’re the one who will have to spend the rest of your life with him. Is that what you want?”

She started shaking her head. “They’ll hate me.”

“Who cares?”

“I care!”

His jaw tightened in aggravation.
He
knew she didn’t want to be with Ellis, but he needed
her
to realize it. He only had one option, and it might not work, but it was all he had.

“Perhaps you’re right…This is wrong, Grace. You should go.”

She gasped. “You want me to leave?”