This Round I'm Yours Read Online Free PDF Page B

watching you in the shower?”
    “You’re sick!”  

    “Why…how?” She stared at her naked self on the phone, taking so damn long to shower because she was an idiot. An idiot, she thought with self-revulsion.
    “My shower, my rules.”
    Her head jerked up, a thousand words of recrimination brimming on her lips. But when she saw Grant’s eyes, she knew it was pointless.
    “You’re sick.” She saw it now, what she was too caught up with the excitement of her new life to see. What she had been too scared to see. His mood swings, his bursts of violence, his tendency to stare at her for far too long, longer than what was normal.
    “Grant—”
    “Don’t look at me like that!”
    “Get rid of the video. Of the recording. I’ll pretend this never happened—”
    “And what? You’ll pretend you don’t love me, too?”
    “I never did,” she cried out.
    “Liar! What about the times you told me I’m your number one—”
    “You are my number one. You’re my best player, but that’s it!”
    “And the hours you spend with me almost every night, letting me feel your body—”
    “We were practicing. PRACTICING!”
    “I don’t believe you,” he snarled. “You’re just lying. To me. To yourself. You love me, you love ME!”
    “No,” she screamed back. “I don’t and I—”
    “You will love me, Lacey baby. You will. You know why? Because if you don’t, I’m going to show this to everyone. I’m going to ruin all your chances of your dream ever coming true.”

    Lace remembered the first time he had shown it to her like it had just happened a moment ago. The feel of her blood turning cold inside her veins, of the ground disappearing under her feet, of the sense of betrayal choking her, making her unable to breathe.
    When she remembered, it hurt. And it made her hurt. Not Grant. But herself. She hated herself for always thinking she was so smart but in the end, she had been more of an idiot than anyone could have ever imagined.
    “Enough with the B.S. What do you want, Grant?”
    “You. Always you.”
    And she knew, in a way, he meant it.
    “I’m sorry. You can’t have me.”
    “It’s not over between us.” He spoke like he hadn’t heard a thing she said. She had always thought this was a cute part of him, one that was effective when blocking out yells from the rival team’s fans. But now, she saw it for what it was – his psychotic side, only showing him the world the way he wanted it to be.
    “I gave you time, you know.” His voice was indulgent, as if he were speaking to a runaway pet. “I wanted you to realize on your own that you’re mine. Always been mine. But…it’s taking you too long, so I thought I’d give you a reminder.”
    Standing up, he laid a hundred dollar bill on the table. “I hate to leave you first, Lacey baby, but I thought you’d appreciate seeing this on your own.” He pulled out an envelope and laid it on the table as well.
    As Grant walked away, she slowly took the envelope. Opening it, she saw a set of photos, all of it from the video he had taken when she had borrowed his shower.
    Over his shoulder, Grant said, “You can frame them if you like.”

Bad Moves

    Lace arrived at the airport lounge thirty minutes ahead of time. Even at seven in the morning, the lounge was a busy place, and there was even a long line leading to the shower stalls.
    All seats were occupied, every inch of available space already taken by sleeping bags laid out on the floor.
    No good place to wait, all in all, which meant her airport pass from Slade meant nothing.
    “Lace?”
    Turning around, she saw that it was the European prince Silver had been in such a great hurry to take her away from. “Gabriel.” The memory made her smile. Silver had told her he had been extremely jealous that time.
    In a t-shirt and jeans, Gabriel was dressed far too casually for his standing. According to the royal family’s P.R. guy, the prince was on an “indefinite leave” to provide the