A Ruthless Game: Vol. 2 | Grayson Hawthorne x reader

01

     The story starts when it was hot and it was summer and...

      A cool breeze blew that made the thick Texas heat a little more bearable. I sat in a chaise lounge by the pool and sipped some iced tea.

I'd lived in Hawthorne House for a few months now. A lot had a changed since I'd come here. The most obvious thing was that I was a billion. Aidan and Alisa had become annoyingly smitten with each other and were completely insufferable to be around. There had been multiple threats on my life, and I now had a highly extensive security detail. But arguably the best thing to happen to me since coming here was him...

I looked over at the water and watched Grayson swimming laps. His back muscles contracting with each stroke. He caught me staring and swam over to edge.

"Looking for something?" he grinned. He pushed himself out of the pool and started walking toward me. Water dripped off of him and glistened. His blonde hair hung in his face, and he brushed it back with his hand.

     I couldn't help but stare as he walked toward me. His body was fit and well-defined. But as I looked at him, my eyes lingered on something.

     His gunshot wound.

     Shortly after my arrival at Hawthorne House, Grayson's mother, Skye, had sent a hit man after me.  He failed the first time, but the second time he found me, I was in the tunnels under Hawthorne House with Grayson. He took a bullet for me.

     A sense of guilt hung over me.

I was snapped back to reality when Grayson reached me. "Come swim with me."

"I can't. Alisa will kill me if there's chlorine in my hair for the gala tonight," I explained.

"Who said she has to know?" he smirked.

"It's Alisa, Gray. She'll know," I joked.

     "I think we can handle her. Come on. Swim with me," he pleaded.

"Fine," I rolled my eyes and smiled as I grabbed his hand and dragged him over to the edge of the pool and pushed him in. I laughed at him as he reached up and pulled me in.

     I quickly surfaced, and we wrapped our arms around each other. I stopped laughing, and we fell into a comfortable silence. Then his expression shifted suddenly.

     "I love you," he whispered.

     I slightly taken aback, but I quickly smiled and said, "I love you, too," and leaned into kiss him.

• • •

I stood in front of the mirror and anxiously twisted my necklace. I wore an emerald, silk gown accompanied with long, black, silk gloves, and an emerald necklace worth more than most houses.

      "Are you almost ready?" Alisa walked in. I nodded. "Good. Grayson's waiting in the car. We don't want to be late to your own gala event."

      I had decided to start a new charity in addition to the Hawthorne Foundation. I wanted to give back, and I certainly had enough money to do so. Alisa suggested that throwing a gala would be the perfect way to launch the charity. I reluctantly agreed. Grayson had agreed to escort me to gala as my date. It would be the first time we were seen in public together, so everything had to go perfectly. But as I stepped into the car, I was unsure they would.

      I thought back to our moment in the pool. We hadn't said 'I love you' yet, and it had caught me off guard. I really do care for Grayson...I just didn't think things would move this quick. I quickly glanced over at Grayson and noticed he was staring at me. I smiled awkwardly and quickly broke eye contact.