Deadly Sin // Grayson Dolan

Façade

Sweetshurb, lilac, blood root, black cohosh, Nikolai said that he wanted these specific plants and I could grab others that I wanted. I'd never even heard of any of these plants other than lilac, when I made it back into town I saw Hecate's shack and parked out front. When I walked in I didn't see the woman anywhere, I looked around for some of the things Nikolai wanted and luckily some of them were already grown a little so we didn't have to get all of them as seeds. I looked around for periwinkle since it was my favorite but someone grabbed my arm, I turned and there Hecate was looking as frantic as ever. "Thea you're alive? Is everything ok, what happened did the herbs I give you work?" She checked my arms and face probably looking for bruises or markings that weren't even there.

"Hecate, yes you're herbs worked. I pray out loud everyday and burn sage throughout the house." I felt bad lying to her but I knew she'd never get off of my case about it, her intentions were pure but Nikolai was far from evil. "That's very good to hear, are you ready to check out?" I grabbed the periwinkle seedling and walked over with her to the counter, as she typed in all the plants she gave me questioning look. "These are very unusual picks Thea, are you a gardener?" I didn't know anything about these plants but i couldn't tell her I was getting them for Nikolai "Oh um- yes, my father used to have a garden and he grew these plants so I've come to bring a part of my old life here." I smiled waiting for her face to soften but it didn't, I was about to cry out the truth but she put all of the plants in the cart and helped me load them in my car.

I can't believe I lied to that woman twice to her own face, she was just looking out for me and this is how I repay her. I pulled up to the house and I saw Nikolai shoveling the weeds and getting the soil ready for these plants, I opened the huge front gate and pulled the back of my car in so he could help me unload these plants. "These look beautiful, did Hecate give you any trouble?" He dug holes in the soft dirt so he could put in the first bush, I looked at him as his back muscles flexed and tightened. "No, she was scared that something had happened to me but obviously I'm fine so I told her that everything'd be ok." He didn't say anything, he just continued to put the plants down in the ground so I decided to help him by digging holes for him so when he was done with one he could just move one to the next without having to stop every time. He was down on his knees covering the roots of a plant and I threw a little dirt at him from the shovel, he whipped his head to me and I smiled innocently "Sorry, it was an accident." He smiled and shook his head at me then continued to cover the last plant. The garden looked a little better but now we had to worry about keeping these plants alive. I grabbed the hose and started watering each plant before just spraying the grass down.

Nikolai pulled his shirt off revealing his sweaty glistening body, he wiped his face and body with his shirt and put it behind his neck "Need to cool down?" He looked over at me blankly for a second "Yeah but I'll wait for you to finish so we can both go in-" I turned the hose to him and pushed my thumb in the middle so the pressure was stronger. He quickly brought his arms up in front of his face and started yelling, he tried running but I followed him with the water, he made it to the very edge of the garden and the hose didn't reach anymore. He stood there with a huge toothy smile and he started laughing, I smiled and waved at him then continued to try and get him with the water. "You're going to regret doing this little dove!" He then began sprinting towards me, my heart dropped and I began running with the hose in my hand. I was about to reach the door when two strong arms lifted me off the ground, I couldn't help but scream. He put me down and grabbed the hose from my hand, he was holding me against him and his abdomen was cold from the water. "Nikolai please no! Have mercy on my soul!"

I tried squirming out of his grip but he held me tighter "You should have thought about mercy when you chased me with the hose." He lifted the hose over our heads and the cold water began splashing down, it seeped into my shirt and I screamed. I clawed and started punching his arms but I could just hear his laughter. After a few second he put the hose down and let me go, I immediately turn and slapped his chest. "Nik that water was freezing cold!" I yelled out and he just smirked at me before taking a step closer. "Hey at least we're cooled down." I looked up at him and chuckled a little, his wet hair had little water droplets dancing down and he gave me a sexy smile before stepping closer and snaking his arm around me. I put my hands on his chest and started into his adventurous eyes, I knew what he was about to do but I didn't know if I wanted it yet. I didn't know if I trusted his story enough, sure he was funny and he gave me his so called back story but maybe it was all a façade. He began leaning in and I turned my head to the house. "We should go shower, maybe you can help me make dinner after?" He pulled back and looked at me puzzled before letting go "Yeah dinner sounds great, you go shower first I have some things I want to take care of here first." I nodded and began walking inside. I closed the sliding door and I saw him still standing there looking out at the garden.

My heart was racing and my core was tingling, I didn't even know this man and yet I'm craving all these things from him and trusting him. He seemed to be getting deeper under my skin every time we come in contact. I stripped from my wet clothes and hopped in the warm shower to wash off all the dirt and sweat. When I was done I quickly slipped on some sweat shorts and a old shirt that belonged to my dad. I ran downstairs and I saw him laying out on the porch, his skin and hair looked dry but his jeans still had a few wet patches. I knocked on the sliding door and he turned to look at me, slowly I slide the door open and leaned in the doorway.

"As much as I'm enjoying the view its getting dark and I think you should go shower so we can start on our dinner."

~~Hope you enjoyed this chapter, don't forget to like and comment! Much love!