Dangerous Promise by Gwendolyn Cease Read online

  “He has blondie blond hair, too.”

  “Who does?” he asked, forcing his attention back to the child.

  “Stark, Calena’s dad. He’s a vampire. And he didn’t want Calena to be friends with Jessie because she’s human and humans aren’t supposed to know about vampires.”

  “I can understand his concerns,” Grimm said, since he very much did understand.

  “Olivia?” a female voice called and Grimm knew who it was.

  He could scent her before she came around the corner.

  “Hi, Momma.” Olivia waved her book. “This is my friend, and he helped me get my book.”

  The woman he’d thought about, the woman he couldn’t get out of his mind, stood before him. Hell, she was even more beautiful than he remembered. But did she remember him? By the expression on her face, he didn’t think so. Fuck, she looked as if she wanted to sweep the kid up and run screaming through the aisles.

  “Kate.”

  She stared at him for a long moment, her brow wrinkling in confusion. Then he saw recognition light in her soft blue eyes. She gave a slight smile. “Grimm.”

  He nodded. “You remembered.”

  “Momma,” Olivia’s voice cut in. “This is my friend. He helped me get my book.”

  “Did he?” she asked but never took her eyes from him.

  “She thought climbing the shelves was a good idea.” He took a step toward her. He needed to be closer. “I helped her out.”

  Kate’s gaze dropped down to the little girl. “I thought I told you not to try to get books from the top shelf by yourself. The last time you almost fell.”

  The girl’s eyes darted around and Kate crouched in front of her. “Are you hurt?”

  “No,” she said. “He saved me.”

  “Olivia Rose,” Kate said, pinning the child with a stare.

  Damn, the tone almost made him cringe. Had his mother ever worried about him that way? No, he doubted it. The woman was all about getting him grown enough so he would leave their home. No self-respecting vampire couple wanted to raise a throwback.

  Olivia sighed and hung her head. “I’m sorry.”

  “She’s okay,” Grimm said, feeling as if he had to defend her for some reason “No harm. I’m sure she won’t do it again. Right?” He nudged the back of Olivia’s head gently with a finger.

  Olivia nodded vigorously. “Never, I swear. Can we have coffee now? Please.”

  Kate stood and took Olivia’s hand. “Sure. Abby is already up at our table, waiting.”

  “Do you want to have coffee with us?” Olivia danced in place as she watched Grimm.

  Kate smiled wanly. “Thank you for helping Olivia, I appreciate it. Um, it was nice—”

  “I’d love to have coffee with you.” He cut her off. “If that’s okay?”

  Yeah, if she thought he could be blown off that easily she had another thing coming. He wasn’t leaving them. He wanted to spend all the time he could with her. Fuck, what if she didn’t want to spend time with him?

  “Uh, sure, yeah,” Kate said hesitantly and gave a small smile.

  The three of them headed to the café, and Grimm found himself watching Kate. He couldn’t help it. She was just so lovely and carried herself with such confidence. Thankfully, she was tall, too, since he was a big man and hated feeling as if he was overwhelming the person he was with. But not with Kate. He knew she would fit perfectly in his arms, against his body.

  She glanced at him from over the top of her square-frame glasses and he got hard, instantly. The woman was going to kill him with the shy looks and the sweet smiles. Did she know what she did to him? He doubted it since she’d probably run away. Play it cool, he told himself. You can’t rush her.

  They approached a table to find another little girl sitting there. She was older than Olivia, but with the same brunette hair and serious brown eyes.

  “Abby,” Olivia said, as she dropped into a chair, “this is my friend, Grimm.”

  Abby looked up at him. “That’s not a real name.”

  Grimm almost laughed at Kate’s horrified expression. He quickly said, “I know, but it’s my name. You’ll have to take it up with my parents. They named me.”

  “Can we have drinks now?” Olivia asked. “Please?”

  Grimm pulled out a chair and motioned for Kate to sit. “Of course, what would you ladies like?”

  “I’ll get it for us,” she protested.

  “Kate, it’s my pleasure. So what would you all like?”

  The girls quickly gave their orders and, after a moment’s hesitation, Kate told him what she would like, also. He watched her lips move and longed to lean over and lick her, taste her. She blushed, and Grimm could feel himself grow harder. He had to stop, especially since they had an audience. He forced himself to turn and walk to the counter, but he could still feel Kate’s eyes on him.

  He waited for the orders he’d placed, making sure to position himself so that he could keep an eye on Kate and the girls. Kate. His Kate. He didn’t understand where the knowledge came from but knew she was his. Her scent was so right. It twined through him and wrapped him up, bound him to her. He sounded as if he was losing his mind, but there was no other way to describe what was happening. He just knew she was his and, as she was, so were the girls.

  He glanced again and found them all laughing together. He wanted to be a part of them. He wanted to belong to them as he knew they belonged to him. He had to take it slow, though. He couldn’t rush things. He certainly didn’t want to come off sounding like some crazed stalker. But maybe that’s what he was? What the fuck? He’d met Kate exactly twice, and he’d had no real conversations with her and yet imagined they somehow belonged together. Shit, maybe he was going crazy like Talon. But then again, Talon hadn’t been crazy. He’d been without his Liaison. Once he and Joelle had gotten together, he’d actually pulled himself together or as together as Talon was going to get.

  He was dragged from his thoughts by the girl behind the counter. He grabbed up the drinks—two hot chocolates for the girls, some kind of coffee concoction for Kate, and a regular coffee for him. He put everything on the table then went back for the large chocolate chip cookies. He loved them and figured the girls would, too.

  As he doled out the sweets, the girls went into raptures of delight and thank yous. He smiled. Yep, couldn’t go wrong with cookies, especially ones with chocolate.

  “You didn’t have to do this,” Kate said, as she handed napkins to the kids.

  “I know.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Anytime,” he said and meant it.

  * * * *

  Nearly an hour later, Grimm found himself totally relaxed, laughing and talking with all of them. This was something new for him. He never relaxed when he was out. He was always on and waiting for something bad to go down. And though he was still aware of everything, he was able to sit back and enjoy himself. The girls were so smart and just damn funny. He loved watching how Kate interacted with them. She never talked down to them in any way. In fact, she was more apt to ask their opinion on something and really listen when they answered. Even Abby, who he knew instantly was the shy one, was talking and laughing.

  “It’s dark,” Olivia suddenly announced, sitting up in her chair to look at the front windows.

  Abby followed her gaze and nodded. “We need to go.”

  Kate nodded. “Okay, let’s get our things.”

  “I’ll walk you out,” Grimm said, puzzled by their need to leave. It was Friday so there was no school tomorrow, but maybe the girls had a strict bedtime. Hell, what did he know about shit like that?

  Kate helped the girls get into their coats as Grimm gathered their bags. As they moved to the doorway, he pulled out his phone. “Can I have your number?”

  Kate stopped and watched him for a long moment. He nearly held his breath until she smiled.

  “Okay.”

  He programmed the number she gave him then pressed a button. Her phone rang, and he sm
iled. “Now you have my number.”

  He ushered them out the door to the well-lit parking lot and followed them to where Kate had parked. She opened the back door and the girls climbed in. She buckled Olivia into her booster seat as Abby climbed into her own. Grimm moved around so he could help her get settled. He asked about the book she’d picked and Abby talked excitedly about her find. He wasn’t quite sure what he was doing, but she helped him figure out how the seat worked. Once he’d finished, she smiled brightly.

  “Thanks for helping me, Grimm. And, I’m sorry what I said about your name.”

  “It’s okay, Abby. My name is a little odd. I had a good time tonight.”

  “Me, too. See you later, okay?”

  “You got it.”

  Once the girls were buckled in, Grimm came around the car to where Kate stood. They looked at each for a long moment and Kate finally broke eye contact and blushed. Damn, he wanted to kiss her but knew it was too fast, and they still had an audience.

  “I’m going to call later to make sure all of you made it home okay.” He opened her car door as she climbed in.

  “You don’t have to do that.”

  “You’re right,” he murmured low, “but I want to. I need to.”

  “Okay, then I’ll wait for your call.”

  “Good.”

  He watched as they pulled from the parking lot. Now all he had to do was figure out what he was going to do until he could call her. Shaking his head, he disappeared.

  Chapter Three

  Kate checked the house one last time to make sure everything was locked up tight and the alarm was set. After they’d arrived home, the girls had insisted on walking through the house with her to check it. They always did this if they got home after dark. She couldn’t be angry at them because she had the same need. In the two years since Janie’s murder, Kate had lowered her guard some. In those first days, she’d checked and checked again, over and over, even getting up in the middle of the night. She had nearly driven herself crazy, but as time and distance had separated them from the events, she’d relaxed. Or, at least, relaxed as much as she was ever going to.

  “Is everything okay?” Abby called from her bedroom

  Kate went in and sat on the side of the bed. “We’re locked up tight and the alarm is on.”

  “Remember to leave the light on in the hall, okay?”

  Kate never, ever forgot, but she just smiled at the little girl. “Of course I will, and I’ll leave my door open just in case you need me.”

  Abby sat up and flung her arms around Kate. “I love you.”

  “I love you, too, honey.” Kate held her tight and rocked gently.

  “I’m glad I’m here with you,” Abby whispered. “I’m glad I’ve always been with you. Is that bad?”

  Kate pulled back to look into the little face that meant so much to her. “No, it’s not bad. Why would you ask that?”

  “Because you’re not my real mom,” Abby said, tears springing into her eyes. “Even when I was with her, I used to pretend you were my real mom, and I was just staying with her.”

  Kate forced herself not to tear up. She didn’t want Abby to think her confession upset her, but inside, Kate wept for the child she held. “Oh, baby, I’m so glad you’re with me. I’ve always been glad. I love you so much. Janie loved you, too, but she just couldn’t take care of you, and that was her fault. It had nothing to do with you, do you understand? So no matter who gave birth to you, I think of you as my baby, just as I think of Olivia that way. I wouldn’t give you up for the world.”

  Abby curled into her. “I’m going to call you momma, just like Olivia does.”

  This did bring tears to her eyes and Kate smiled. “I would love for you to call me momma.” She kissed Abby and snuggled her tighter.

  The two of them sat this way until Abby began to sag against her. Kate smiled, knowing she’d fallen asleep. She laid her down and covered her, making sure her nightlight was on as well as the light in the hallway. Quietly, she went across the hall to check in on Olivia, who was already asleep.

  Finally, she went to her own bedroom and fell back on the bed. Damn, she was tired. She knew she should do some work, but just didn’t feel like it. Instead, she lay with her eyes closed and brought Grimm to mind. Ice-white hair framing a face that was saved from being beautiful by a strong jaw and high sharp cheekbones, but it was his eyes that really caught her. They were a true perfect gray. One dance, that’s all they’d had, and he’d been the subject of her erotic fantasies for the last couple of weeks. He was even more handsome than she had initially thought. Who would have ever imagined that she would see him again? She knew how club hookups worked. You met, danced then never saw each other again. But this time, they had met, and he acted as if he wanted to continue to see her.

  She huffed out a breath. Yeah right, but that didn’t mean he would really call. He’d seen what her life was like. She had two small daughters who came first. Most men wouldn’t want to jump into dating a woman with a family, especially if the man looked like him. Hell, he probably had tons of women following him around. The evening had been an anomaly, that’s all. He’d seen her and had probably felt as if he had to stick around and chat.

  Her cell phone rang and Kate rolled over to grab it off the nightstand. Grimm’s name lit up on the screen. For a brief moment, she stared, stunned, wondering if she had fallen asleep and this was actually a dream. When it continued to ring, she pressed the button and put it to her ear.

  “Hello?”

  “Hi, Kate.”

  Damn, he had a great voice. “Hi,” she replied lamely and rolled her eyes.

  “I wanted to check to make sure you all made it home all right.”

  “We’re good. No problem, whatsoever. I really appreciate you hanging out with us and getting the girls drinks and cookies. They loved it.”

  “Just them?”

  “What?”

  “Was it just the girls who loved it? Because I’m hoping you liked it, too.”

  She couldn’t stop herself from smiling. “I really liked it, too. I had a good time.”

  “Good, because so did I. Look, I know it’s probably too soon, but I want to see you again.”

  “I’d like that,” Kate heard herself reply.

  What the hell? She couldn’t get involved with a man. Her life was crazy, and she had two kids, and their life wasn’t exactly normal. And she especially couldn’t get involved with this man. She’d already had fantasy sex with him. There was no way reality could compete with that. Could it? Besides, he was like a god, and she wasn’t even close to that.

  “Good,” he said. “So what are you all doing tomorrow evening? Maybe we can meet for dinner somewhere?”

  Kate sat up. “I don’t think that would work. This is too short of notice to get a sitter for the girls.”

  “I was hoping to take all of you out, if that’s okay?”

  “Really?” Kate asked in disbelief. How many men wanted to spend an evening with two little girls? Was she really thinking about doing this?

  “I like you, Kate, and want to get to know you. The girls are a part of your life, an important part, so I’d like to get to know them, too. I don’t usually get the opportunity to hang out with kids, and they’re fun.”

  Nothing in his tone or action made Kate’s warning bells go off. In fact, she was more comfortable with Grimm after spending only a few hours with him than Tori’s brother. And she’d known Deacon for almost two years.

  “Kate?”

  “Is it all right if I check with the girls first? I don’t like to make plans without talking with them.”

  “Of course, if you want you can call me back tomorrow. I work nights so I’ll probably be sleeping, but you can leave me a message.”

  “I work nights, too,” Kate said.

  Before he could reply, she heard what sounded like someone speaking to him. He sighed and said, “Yeah, I’ll be there in a minute.” To her he said, “I have to go.”
/>   “Okay, I’ll check with the girls and get back with you tomorrow.”

  “Good night, Kate, sweet dreams.”

  Once they’d disconnected, she flopped back on the bed. She highly doubted her dreams would be sweet now that his low voice was still buzzing in her ears.

  Grimm walked down the corridor toward his rooms and wondered how soon Kate would call him. If she didn’t call, he already knew he would call her. Did that make him pathetic? Did he care? An angry female voice interrupted his thoughts, and he veered down another hallway to find out what was going on.

  “You little assface.” Joelle gritted her teeth and stomped her foot.

  “You know you shouldn’t call Talon names.” Grimm leaned in the doorway and eyed her.

  She shot him the finger as she grabbed a towel and began to wipe up liquid from the floor. “Don’t you have somewhere to be?” she demanded as he lounged in the doorway.

  “Nope, if you’re calling Talon names, I wanna see.”

  She rolled her eyes. “You’re a jerk.”

  Before she could say more a gray kitten pounced on the towel in her hand and attempted to wrestle it to the floor and kill it. She rolled her eyes. “Pain in the ass, go away and let me get this mess up.” Even as she pushed the cat away, he bounced forward to have another go at his damp enemy.

  “Damn, he’s gotten big, ” he said, referring to the kitten Talon had brought home to Joelle just a short time ago.

  “I know, and the assface is into everything. I can’t leave a cup sitting for ten seconds before he rushes and knocks it over.”

  “Assface? I thought his name was Sebastian?”

  She blew out a breath. “If he keeps this up, I’m changing it. So what’s new with you?”

  “Nothing, I figured I’d come in and change before I have to head out. Where’s Talon?”

  “He’s fixing us breakfast.” She smiled and tossed the towel into the bathroom. The cat squeaked and streaked after it. “And don’t leave without him. He’ll be flipping pissed if you do. You know the new rules—none of you go out alone.”

  “Yes, Mom, I remember. Just have him tag me when he’s ready to leave.”