Total pages in book: 34
Estimated words: 31834 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 159(@200wpm)___ 127(@250wpm)___ 106(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 31834 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 159(@200wpm)___ 127(@250wpm)___ 106(@300wpm)
Chapter Four
Stop.
That was all it had taken.
Grim had never been the kind of man who would force himself on a woman. There were limits to what he would do or allow to be done. Yes, he would kill a woman, even torture her, but never to that point. Some may consider his limits a weakness, but he believed they were a strength. Some women would see their bodies as a tool. Grim didn’t even give them that hope.
The moment Eve told him to stop, he had recoiled. Causing his wife pain or discomfort was simply unacceptable to him. He would do anything for her, but he had a feeling she didn’t realize the lengths he would go to protect her. He loved her so completely, and considering he was a monster and had never understood or knew love, those words didn’t come lightly to him.
Grim watched as she twirled the pasta between her fork. She’d been playing with her food for the last two minutes. He had picked meatballs as he knew it was what she liked. The sauce had already been in the oven defrosting and cooking, along with the meatballs. Eve had spent a good hour describing the perfect sauce and meatballs to her. She did like to experiment, trying different ingredients, but that was rare.
Her favorite was always her mother’s recipe and the ultimate comfort food, and he wouldn’t take that away from her. When his wife needed comfort, he would provide it in the best possible way.
He waited until she finally put her fork filled with spaghetti into her mouth, and then he breathed a sigh of relief. After the spaghetti, next went a meatball. She was eating, and now he could relax and eat.
The silence was not welcome. He loved Eve’s constant conversation. She could talk for hours about everything and nothing. He found it rather relaxing. Some men might find it a little irritating, but not him. He loved to hear her voice. But he didn’t know what to say to fill the silence. This just made him wish he’d killed that little bastard slower, so he could have enjoyed it more.
“This is good,” Eve said.
Grim lifted his head. “You cooked it, babe. I just reheated it.”
“What will it take for you to grant me a divorce?” she asked.
He knew she wouldn’t let it go, and he couldn’t blame her. “You’ve got to stop thinking of divorce.”
“I don’t know how we’re going to continue. Do you honestly believe we can have a marriage with this?” She pointed her hand between them.
“Yes.”
“Are you delusional?”
“Eve, we were married for six months and our life was fine. You loved coming home to me. Loved cooking with me. Loved going out with me. Our life was not affected by what I did.”
“Until the cabin,” Eve said.
“Yes, and that was unfortunate, but that is not going to happen again.”
“You killed him.”
“Eve, I will not lie to you, so any question you ask, you have to be prepared for the answer.” He stared at her.
“You killed him.”
“Yes, I killed that man as well as the men who sent him.” He took a bite out of the meatball. Until Eve came into his world, he was more of a steak-and-potatoes kind of man. He didn’t care for much of anything else, but when she started to cook for him, she did open his world to the endless possibilities of food.
Eve had been so flabbergasted by his statement that he hated meatballs. It had been one of their many dates where she had stayed over. No sex. Nothing inappropriate. She had cooked for him. Grim had been quite shocked about having a woman in his home without demanding sex.
Eve had told him straight that she wasn’t in the market for a good time. She was saving herself for marriage. At first, Grim had thought it was stupid. However, his need for her kept him coming back for more. And then, one day, out of the blue, he had found himself at a jewelry store, looking at engagement rings. From there, he had proposed and Eve had said yes.
Their wedding night had been their first night. It had been magical, at least he had made it so, after hurting her. He had promised himself that would be the only time he hurt her.
“How can you think we’re going to make it work when you say stuff like that?” Eve asked. “We’re two completely different people.”
“We made it work before.”
“That was before. This is now.” She held her knife and fork in a death grip. He saw she was holding on by a thread.
“Then we take it one day at a time. That’s all we have to do,” he said.
She let out a little laugh. “One day at a time?”
“Yes.”
“And you think that will … what?” she asked.