Broken Truths (The Frayed Trilogy 2)

I’d dropped her off at Lauren’s before going on my hunt for Easton. With a glance at my watch, I note she’s been there for a few hours now. When Easton left the bar, I stuck around and had another drink myself. Taking the time to try to sort out what the fuck just happened, though it didn’t help much at all. I’m just as confused now as I was when he stormed out.

“I love your voice,” Grace says, and my steps falter at the strange greeting.

“Are you okay?” I ask with a frown, not that she can see it.

“Of course. I just miss you,” Grace says, and my chest puffs at her words, although the slight slur has me sighing.

“Are you drunk?”

“No!” she answers too quickly, followed by a hiccup, and I groan. I should have known something like this would happen.

“I’m coming to get you,” I say, heading straight for my car. “And Grace?”

“Mm-hmm?”

“Drink some water,” I say, not wanting her to pass out before I get there.

“Is that an order?” she asks, her voice breathy.Jesus Christ.

“Yes.” If it would get her to drink the water, I’d play the part. But I can’t deny hearing her ask that stirs something inside me.

“Okay,” she says, and the tone of her voice has my dick twitching.

“I’ll be there in ten,” I say, waiting for her to acknowledge me before ending the call.

It probably takes me closer to five minutes to get to Lauren’s apartment. She’s only on the third floor, but the lift seems to take forever to reach it as I wonder what kind of state I’ll find Grace in. Finally, the doors open, and before I know it, I’m standing at the door to Lauren’s apartment. Music sounds from the other side of the door along with some less than stellar singing. Knocking on the door, I wait for someone to open the door. When no one comes, I try the handle.Locked. Using the side of my fist this time, I bang on the door, louder this time, and it’s not long before the door is pulled open.

Grace stands in the doorway, her cheeks flushed and her long wavy hair hanging a little messy over her breasts. “Hi,” she says with a sweet smile I want nothing more than to kiss. Like she’s reading my mind, Grace raises onto her toes, grasping the back of my head and pulling me down to her. With her balance almost nonexistent at the moment, she practically falls into me. My arms come around her waist, steadying her as her lips find mine.

What I thought would be a sweet kiss turns into anything but when Grace dives her tongue into my mouth, her fingers tugging on my hair, pulling a groan from me. It feels like she licks every part of my mouth, savouring my taste before sucking on my tongue. With a burst of control I wasn’t sure I could scrounge up, I peel her off me, holding her at arm’s length, though I don’t let her go in the worry she might fall.

“That was hot,” Lauren says, and my head snaps to hers as she stands frozen halfway between the living area and where Grace and I stand in the doorway.

I pull Grace back to me and use her body to shield the bulge I’m now sporting. She automatically wraps her arms around my waist, burrowing her face into my chest.

“You smell good,” she mumbles against me.

“How much did you girls drink?” I ask Lauren with a sigh as she shakes her head to break whatever daze she was in.

“Just a bottle.” She smiles before a small frown creases her brow. “Actually, maybe it was two.” She grins at me, and I roll my eyes. She’s clearly drunk, though I think she’s handling it a little better than Grace.

“Will you be okay here?” I ask, not wanting to leave her if she’s going to pass out somewhere and hit her head or choke on vomit.

“I’m a grown woman, Sebastian. I can handle a few glasses of wine,” she says, rolling her eyes before proceeding to walk directly into the arm of the couch with anoomph. “That was an accident,” she says at my raised brow. “I swear I’m okay. I’m going to crash soon anyways.” She seems okay, albeit a little unsteady.

“Call me if you need something, Lauren.”

“Okay, Boss,” she says with a grin. That’s my cue to leave.

Grace says a mumbled goodbye to Lauren, and we leave Lauren to put herself to bed.

“Let’s get you home, huh?”

Grace says something that I can’t make out, so instead of trying to walk her down to my car, which is proving quite difficult as she won’t untangle herself from around my waist, I think of something else.

“Wrap your arms around my neck.” Grace must see that as a good enough compromise because she does as I say, allowing me to lift her into my arms. It only takes a minute to get to my car parked out front, but she’s already asleep after barely five minutes of driving.

Soft snores escape her, filling the mostly silent car. The only other sound is that of the engine. Her small hand is still encased in mine, holding on tight. The whole thing with Easton weighs on me, but with the very girl driving a wedge between us, squeezing my hand, even in her sleep, I don’t know how we’re going to move past it. Because I don’t think I could give her up.

Not even for my best friend.