Dana Bell - Eye of the Beholder

Grimm didn’t know it yet, but by laying hands on Jamie he’d started a war he had no hope of winning.

Baldur had risen.

And Grimm’s Ragnarrok had begun.

Jamie limped into the condo on Travis’s arm, staring around at the white on blue décor, the pale maple floors and the huge wall of windows with no drapes or shades of any kind. She had no clue what her sister saw in it. It was so…sterile, and the three lovers were anything but, yet she knew Jordan loved the look of the place. She grimaced at the thought of her sister with the two men. When Jordan decided to do something, she didn’t do it half-way. She’d fallen for both the bad boy and the angel, and fallen hard. Jamie was just glad both men returned her sister’s feelings, because if they hadn’t, they’d have her to deal with.

Jamie winced a bit as her damaged leg wobbled under her. She squeaked as Travis picked her up, but before she could really protest he had her in Jordan’s spare bedroom. He put her on top of the comforter, stroking her hair back when she gasped in pain.

“Sorry, Jamie. I’ll try to be gentler next time.”

Jamie nodded. She understood. No matter how she moved everything still hurt. She didn’t blame Travis at all.

She blamed Grimm.

Kir deposited their luggage inside the door before pulling it closed with a smile.

“I’m going to get your pain medicine, okay?”

Before she could protest Travis was out the door, that fine, fine ass of his flexing most temptingly in his blue jeans. She closed her eyes before she made a complete fool of herself. It wasn’t like he wanted that kind of attention from her, anyway. She’d seen the women he’d dated and not one of them had red hair.

She’d built so many daydreams around him it was sickening. No other man had ever come close to measuring up to him. Jamie had loved him since the first day she saw him. He’d stood there, staring at her and Jeff, his blond hair streaked by the sun instead of a salon. His neatly trimmed beard couldn’t hide his full mouth or firm chin. His blue eyes had been both startled and, ultimately, full of amusement as she and Jeff told him off for stealing their big sister away from them. He’d thanked them for telling him his shirt was wrong and his tie was crooked, then sat down and asked them their opinions on what clothes he should buy. She’d been charmed at being treated like a lady by such a handsome man. She hadn’t even shrieked at him once, and she’d totally planned on it the moment he put them down. But Travis never did. He treated everyone with respect, and earned that respect back tenfold.

She’d dreamed of him every night since. She’d probably dream of him until the day she died, no matter how much she might wish otherwise. But those dreams had changed recently. Now he rescued her from Grimm instead of asking her on a date.

She was pretty sure that was the only reason she was still sane.

Working for Guardian Investigations was both heaven and hell. She got to see him and talk to him every single day. That was heaven.

Hell was seeing the women he dated and knowing that there was no way she could ever measure up.

Soon after coming to work for Travis she’d seen him with his girlfriend of the time, Karen. The way he’d held her, stroking her through the thin silk blouse she’d had on, his hand drifting down to the blonde’s ass, had broken her heart. The heat in his eyes when he’d looked at Karen had been intense. The friendly regard he’d turned on Jamie had been horrible. The smug, satisfied look on the blonde had been worse.

She’d gone out with her boyfriend that night, gotten tipsy and finally given him her virginity. It hadn’t been bad, actually. Some of it felt pretty good. They’d gotten comfortable with one another, or so she thought.

When she’d found Tim cheating on her she hadn’t been as heartbroken as she probably should have been. That was when she knew no other man would ever measure up to Travis. She’d given up looking soon after that, kicking Tim’s ass to the curb, much to her father’s relief. Fred Grimm had never approved of him.

“Here.”

She jumped. She must have dozed off, because Travis was standing over her with her pill and a glass of water clutched in his hand. “Mmm. Thanks.” She sat up gingerly, easing herself against the pillows. He handed her the pill and she took it, making a face as it stuck halfway down.

“Logan’s going to bring you something to eat in a few minutes. When you’re done eating I want you to get some sleep.”

She rolled her eyes at him. “Yes, Daddy.”

He shuddered. “ Please don’t call me that.”

She shrugged and tried to smirk, knowing it looked more like a grimace but not caring. “It’s better than Pita.”

“That’s debatable.” He turned as Logan carried in a tray with a bowl of tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich on it and frowned. “That’s it? That’s what you’re feeding her?”

“Yes.” Logan placed the tray on her lap, winking at her.

“Hell, I can open a can of soup and make a grilled cheese. I thought you were actually going to cook .”

“Obviously your mother never made you the perfect sick foods before.” Jamie dug into the soup with gusto. The almost painful bite of the soup had her groaning in pleasure. “Oh, lord, Jordan told you?”

“Yup. Happy, Pita?”

She ate another spoonful of the sinfully spiced soup and sighed. “Practically orgasmic.” She ignored Travis’s growl and happily ate her soup, stopping every now and then to take a bite of the ultra-gooey grilled cheese.

“Are those jalapeno peppers in your soup?”

She looked up into Travis’s horrified face. “Oh yeah.”

“And grilled pepper jack cheese?”

She bit into the sandwich with as much gusto as her broken face would allow. “Mmm-hmm.” She licked her lips, moaning in cheesy ecstasy.

A dark flush crept up Travis’s cheeks. He cleared his throat. “Isn’t that bad for someone who’s sick?

Aren’t you supposed to eat bland food?”

She looked at him blankly. “I’m already hurting. Why suffer more than I absolutely have to?” She finished her soup and handed the tray back to Logan with as sweet a smile as she could muster. “Thank you, Logan.”

He smiled down at her, his fondness for her written all over his face. “You’re welcome, Pita.”

She finished off the water and handed the empty glass to Travis, who took it with a frown. She yawned, snuggling down against the pillow, the pain pill making her sleepy again. “’Night, Travis.”

“’Night, Pita.”

She smiled, her eyes closed as she began drifting off to sleep. The gentle kiss she imagined against her lips sent her into sweet dreams where Travis actually wanted a crazy, pushy redhead for his own.

Travis lifted his lips from her, shaking his head over the lingering taste of peppers. He smoothed his hand over her hair, unable to resist the way the limp curls clung to his fingers.

She needed a bath. As soon as she woke up, he’d see to it she got one. He’d have to be careful of the cast still on her wrist, but he could deal with it when the time came.

He left her to sleep, heading into the living room to find Jordan, Jeff, Logan and Kir waiting for him.

“What?”

“Nothing. Just wondering when you’re going to move your stuff into her bedroom.” Jeff threw a piece of popcorn up into the air, catching it in his mouth. He grinned at Travis as he chewed.

Kir grinned. “Already taken care of.”

Travis did his best to keep his expression serene. If he had any hope of a happy life with Jamie he’d have to make sure her twin was okay with it. “You have an objection to that?”