Page 36 of Blake

Tilting his head to the side he looked at her. “You okay?”

She angled her head to him and let out another small sigh. “I guess.”

“Want to talk about it?”

Pax reached out and twined her fingers through his as she dropped her gaze. “My father was my hero. I adored him, and it was mutual. He never missed a single thing I did. The happiest times of my life was drawing and colouring in his study as he worked.” She looked up and he saw the echoes of grief in her eyes. “Even on the day I found out what he had done, I didn’t want to admit it. My heart was broken about Benny. I had been barred from his funeral because his family blamed Sana.”

Blake felt a tendril of unease curl through him at the thought of Pax being blamed for something which she had no control over. He shouldn’t but he felt angry towards Sally Nixon for taking her grief out on a child. His rationale told him it was not her fault. For a mother to lose a child was incomprehensible but when it came to Pax, he had no impulse control. “It wasn’t your fault, Gracie.”

“I know that now, but it hurt. I had spent a lot of time at Benny’s place and they had treated me like one of the family, then all of a sudden I was like a leper.”

He pulled her closer and kissed her head in a comforting gesture. “It must have been hard.”

Pax was silent for a little while before she spoke again. “It was like he had no clue the damage he had done, no concept of the pain he had caused. He just saw the bottom line for the business and this drug would have done good things for Sana if it had worked.” She was tracing the veins on his arm as she spoke, completely absorbed in a time gone past. “That night I packed my stuff after fighting with my father and left. I never went home.”

Blake stayed silent feeling she wasn’t finished as she cuddled closer to him lifting his arm so she could rest her head against his shoulder.

“The sad thing is, when he was pleading his innocence today and telling me about his angina, I had to fight everything in me to turn and walk away from him.” She lifted up and looked at him tears in her eyes. “How is it that I still love him? Am I just a glutton for punishment?”

Blake took her face in his hands and made her look at him. “No, Gracie, it makes you human. Relationships with parents are complex. You can dislike them but still love them, hate them but still seek their approval.”

A single tear tipped over the edge and slid slowly down her cheek breaking his heart.

“I don’t know exactly what happened with Sana and Benny and if your father was involved or not, but we’ll find out—together. I promise you.” He swiped the tear away with his thumb as she nodded. They sat in silence for a while, content to just be with no need for useless words to fill the void.

Pax shifted and her eyes came to his. “What’s the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to you?”

Blake could see the playful look in her eyes replacing the sadness of earlier. “Hmm, let me think.” He brushed his fingertips over her arm as he thought. “When I was fifteen my mum had to go into hospital for a minor operation.” He leaned forward and set his glass on the table. “My dad had gone with her and I was watching my sisters for a few hours. I was in my room playing Xbox when my youngest sister Erin came in and said Natalie was crying.

“Nat is three years younger than me. I was pissed because I had just managed to get past a new level on Call of Duty and wanted to play it, but Erin insisted. My baby sister can be very demanding when she wants something.” He laughed at the memory of her badgering him.

“When I went to Natalie’s room I knocked, and she told me to go away. I was tempted to just walk away but she was crying so I knocked again and asked what was wrong.” Pax was hooked to his every word, her lips parted. “She came to the door and opened it a pinch. She was distraught and didn’t want to tell me what it was, but I kept on. I can be a persistent bastard.” He laughed at that.

“What was wrong?”

“I eventually managed to get it out of her that she had started her period for the first time and had no supplies. I didn’t know whether to run and hide or puke. This was my sister. I did not need to know that—ever, but I couldn’t just leave her. I told her to wait there and I took Erin and we walked to the local shop. I nearly died when I saw all the choices. I had no clue, there were so many different kinds.”

Pax laughed, throwing her head back and he grinned at her, taking in her beauty and knowing she had no clue how gorgeous she was.

“It gets worse! Not knowing what to do I chucked one of each in a basket, added a tone of chocolate and a heat pad thingy, and went to the till only to find Janie Lawson and Dylan Jenkins at the checkout. Janie was the girl I was crushing on and Dylan, her boyfriend at the time, was my arch enemy. I wanted the ground to open up and swallow me. I went so red I swear my cheeks were burning. Erin was no help, she told them all the details leaving nothing out—little brat.” He said the last with affection. Pax was wiping her eyes from tears as she laughed making Blake chuckle. “Hey, be nice, he teased me mercilessly for months.”

Pax reached over and kissed him softly before pulling back. “Poor baby, and you did such a sweet thing for your sister.”

Blake shrugged. “What else could I do? I couldn’t let her suffer and it turned out okay. I got to steal Janie from Dylan because she thought I was sweet for doing what I did.”

Pax climbed across him, settling herself across his thighs as she ran her hands up his chest. “You are a good man, Calvin Blake.”

He ran his hands over her hips and ass loving the feel of her against him. “If you could read my mind right now you wouldn’t think so.”

Pax pressed her firm tits to his chest as she twined her arms around his neck. “Oh?”

“The things I want to do to this body are illegal in some states.”

“Why does that make you a bad man?” She nibbled on his ear biting down. “I think it makes you a very,” she said it slowly, “very good man.”

Blake felt his dick harden at her sexy languid voice in his ear.

Standing he swept her up into his arms and she shrieked as her hands grabbed his shoulders. He was about to carry her to bed and show her exactly how good he was when the ping of a bullet hit the toughened glass of their balcony.