12. Jesse

Chapter twelve

Jesse

H olding her hand gently, I guided Grace upstairs to my room, letting her look around as we walked. Every time we walked past a door, I sent her a picture of whose room it was, so she could get the layout of the house. We passed Anders's room, and Levy's, before I stopped, indicating that we were at mine. She nodded, chewing on her lip, and I tugged her inside, grinning. She looked around, her eyes wide as she absorbed my space. It was the complete opposite of the rest of the house, which was all sleek and modern. My space was an explosion of—well, Anders called it crap. I collected things, and I had trinkets from all of my travels. Every surface was covered in stuff, and the walls weren't much better. I had rugby jerseys and soccer posters pinned on the walls, and my surfboard was propped up against the far wall with my wetsuit hanging over it.

I left her to snoop while I dug through my closet, looking for something she could wear. My Flyers jersey would fit nicely. I yanked it out of the closet and held it out to her, pointing at the door on the other side of the bed to the bathroom. She nodded, mouthing something that might have been ‘thank you', then winced and looked at me apologetically.

"Thank you," I mouthed, touching my fingers to my chin and bringing them away from my face. I did it once more, and she mimicked the action, smiling. I nodded and she beamed, heading to the bathroom. I should probably get a shirt on myself, seeing as I was still bare-chested from my gentlemanly act earlier. I grabbed a tank top out of my closet and slipped it over my head, smoothing my hair out of my face.

With nothing else to do, I dropped down on the bed and waited for her to come out of the bathroom. We didn't usually bring women back here, so it was a little odd having her in our space like this. Anders was not a great host, and Levy didn't like strangers around, so, whenever I got lonely, I just went down to the beach and hung out in the bars around there. Tourists were always visiting, eager to hook up with some West Coast surfer dude, and I was more than happy to oblige their little fantasy. Sometimes Erik would join me, playing the helpful translator. We didn't mind sharing, and neither did the women we met. Unfortunately, Erik's recent plans had taken up most of our spare time lately, so we hadn't gone down to the beach in ages. I was getting that ache in my bones again, the one that could only be soothed by someone else's skin against mine.

Movement caught my eye, and I looked over to find Grace hovering nervously by the bathroom door, a handful of clothes bundled in her arms. The jersey fit her like a dream, falling halfway down her thighs and leaving the rest of her silky skin on display. I gestured for her to come in, signing for her to just dump the clothes on the floor. She blinked at me, and I sent her an image of the clothes in a heap by her feet. She looked around my messy space and bent down to set them on the floor. The jersey rode up her thighs as she bent, and my fingers nearly leapt out at her of their own accord.

She straightened quickly, a light flush spreading across her cheeks. Do not seduce her, Jesse. Do not. But she looked so lost, I just wanted to tug her onto my lap and stroke her until she relaxed in my arms. Restraining myself as best I could, I patted the bed next to me, and she joined me hesitantly, pulling the jersey down so it covered her lap.

"Are you hungry? Thirsty?" I signed slowly, flashing her quick images of food, and then someone drinking, repeating the signs until she mimicked me. She shook her head for both, which had to be a lie. Anders wasn't being the nicest about it, but she did look a little malnourished. We'd work on that.

"Are you in pain?" I asked, reaching out to the mark the seatbelt had left on her. It was starting to bruise properly now and looked nasty. She flinched a little and I paused halfway, letting her settle herself. I flashed a picture of her neck, and she touched the injury, grimacing. "Pain," I signed, and she repeated the sign, shaking her head.

"I've got meds that would help if it hurts," I signed, flashing her an image of pills, and she winced, shaking her head quickly. Okay, not a fan of drugs, that was good to know.

Her mouth opened, saying something before pausing and biting her lip. She mimed sleeping and pointed downstairs. Oh, she wanted to go downstairs and sleep? I shook my head, patting my bed gently. Grace shook her head quickly, moving to the edge of the bed and hopping off, heading toward the door. I caught her hand, holding it gently. I sent her a vision of her sleeping on my bed, her hair fanned out on my pillow and the jersey riding up her thighs. I, however, was notably absent in this vision. I patted the bed again, signing the word for sleep. She flushed and glanced down at my bed, still uncertain.

I stood and scooped her up in my arms, and her mouth opened in surprise. I was gentle as I carried her and yanked the covers back, setting her down in the bed and tucking her in before she could protest. "Sleep," I signed again, climbing off the bed. She watched me for a moment until I turned off the lights, and her eyes finally drifted shut. I really wanted to climb back in with her, but that would probably be too much for today. So instead, I closed the door and left her to sleep.

The dining room was empty when I returned, so I checked the office to see if Erik was hiding in there. When that failed, I headed downstairs and found him in the gym, punching at the heavy bag hanging from the ceiling, his face a mask of serious concentration. Smirking, I walked up behind him, noticing that he had his headphones in. I sent him the vision of Grace sprawled out in my bed, the jersey up around her hips. Erik stumbled, the punch he swung glancing off the bag awkwardly, leaving it swaying to the side. He turned, his eyes flashing, and I squared up, cocking an eyebrow in challenge.

Erik charged, aiming a punch at my head, a bold starting move. I dodged, bending my knees and catching him around the waist, using his momentum to flip him onto his back. I swung my leg over him and dropped, pinning his thighs underneath me. He huffed and shot up, hooking his arm around the back of my neck and bringing me down with him. I let him pull me over, bracing my arms on either side of his head so I could flip over and escape his hold, spinning in a crouch to face him. Erik was still scrambling to his feet when I stuck out my leg and tripped him, shoving him back to the ground, facefirst. I pressed my knee into his back and grabbed his wrist, pinning it behind him at a painful angle. He slapped the mat on the floor three times, and I ruffled his long hair before letting him go, chuckling as he scrambled to his feet.

"You haven't been practicing," I signed, and he grinned and waved me off, moving to grab his water bottle off the floor.

"I've been busy," he replied, drinking deeply. I flashed him an image of him jerking off behind his desk, and he laughed and flipped me off.

"Asshole, did you come down here just to humiliate me?" he asked, setting the water back down.

I smirked and nodded, dropping to the floor and stretching while he unwrapped his hands. "Grace is sleeping in my bed." I smirked, and his eyebrows shot up. "No, I didn't," I continued, guessing his next question.

"But you wanted to, didn't you?" Erik smirked back at me, and I grinned, catching the hunger mirrored in his eyes.

"Of course, I'm human, aren't I?" I replied, stretching my hamstrings. He rolled his eyes and I scoffed. "Oh yeah, Mr. King. Like you haven't been thinking about your newest subject on her knees for you," I signed, sending him a vision of Grace kneeling, her mouth open as she stared up through her lashes. Erik dropped down onto the mat, adjusting himself and glowering at me.

"From the sounds of things, the only men she's known have been kicking the shit out of her for her entire life. So maybe let's not pounce on her like a pack of wild dogs," he told me, stretching his shoulders. I sighed and waved him off.

Yeah, yeah, of course. But someday very soon, I would show her how a real man treated a princess like her.