“You going to tell me the truth?”
Her eyes flashed, cheeks reddening. Moving my face closer, I watched her pupils enlarge. Her breasts heaved, grazing my chest.
“What truth? What are you doing?” she asked, her exhalation catching my lips.
My restraint wavered on a dark edge as adrenalin began its destruction through my body. Like on a mission, I walked into unknown territory, the thrill making me heady.
“You don’t want me to leave. Why is that, Red? Answer me, and it better be the truth.”
Gasping, she attempted to pull her head free, but I held strong. I had all the control and my psyche cheered.
“Or what?” she challenged.
Oh no. Do not challenge me, woman. I will win. Every. Damn. Time. “You don’t want to find out.”
But the challenge was already there. Egging me to act. So I did. Without thinking. Pure instinct I knew I’d live to regret.
Dragging her mouth onto mine, my fingers still balling in her hair, I thought I’d combust when I tasted her. Every cell in my body imploded. The kiss had a mixture of anger, frustration, and pure need in it. Her lips parted immediately, asking for my tongue. It knew what to do and found hers without hesitation. A low whine left me in a rush as if relief were the cause, and quite possibly it was. It had been a long time since I’d had a woman, desperate and pliant, clinging to me. Her hands found my shirt and seized it.
I let go of her hair and gripped her head with one hand, the other pulling her in until we were glued together. By God, the frustrating woman felt better than I’d imagined. My body ignored my head’s warning to back off. She felt amazing. Better than I deserved, given the way I’d treated her. But hell if I wasn’t going to enjoy the sensation for a bit longer. The aggressive assault didn’t seem to frighten her. In fact, the noises coming out of her throat told me the opposite. Her lips were a feast and I’d been in a famine. Moist and plump, I fed off her and she gave me what I needed as if she knew.
Her curves made me want to explore, and so I tested the waters, sliding my fingers south to her ass cheek. Oh yeah. Just as I figured. Firm and round, fitting into my large hand as if God himself had crafted it just for me.
The heat was unbearable. My mind was a hazy mess of hormones, my body amped up on repressed sexual tension.
When her hands left my chest and worked their way under my shirt to claw their way up my back, I damn near lost it.
Just the simple touch her fingers elicited on my too sensitive skin had me bite her bottom lip, hard.
A growl left me, a muted sound she captured on a hiss, her lips kneading my own. Hard pebbles pressed into my chest, brushing backward and forward. Letting her head go, both hands gripped each ass cheek. I thrust forward, desperate for friction. Pressure built.
Her ass wasn’t enough. I needed more. Her breasts beckoned, and in a nano-second I had a handful of plush flesh, thumbing a throbbing nipple into oblivion.
Pulling back, Char arched her neck and let out a long moan. “Ahhh, yesss!”
Hearing her satisfaction pushed me into the red zone. Her long, elegant neck invited my mouth to a feast of epic proportions, allowing me to nip and suck my way along its length.
And then the unthinkable happened. My acute hearing, no matter that I was in the zone, made me drag myself away and spin when I heard a gasp.
Shoving Char behind me without thinking, ready to go ballistic, I tightened in preparation.
Standing in the kitchen entryway stood Mac and Dec. Mac appeared stunned, her eyes wide, hands around her neck. Dec, the prick, grinned like the ass he was. When the hell had they come in, and why hadn’t they knocked?
Breathing out harshly as my shoulders released some tension, I barked out, “The fuck, man? Ever heard of knocking?”
“I did. Hard. You didn’t answer, so I tried the door. It was open. Ever hear of locking it?”
Remembering I’d gone to check the mail earlier, I’d left it unlocked. Stupid on my part. Now that I had Red to worry about, I needed to keep it locked for her peace of mind and mine. Normally I didn’t worry about it. I could take care of anyone who dared try and step foot in my home without an invite. I guess having her around had me not thinking with a clear head.
Char was a quiet mouse behind me. I could only imagine how embarrassed she was. Needing to get rid of the awkwardness, I asked, “So. This better be good.”
Mac attempted to relax, but her eyes kept darting from me to where she knew Char hid.
Throwing a six pack of beer on the table, Dec played it cool. “Thought we’d stop by after Mac’s shift and have a drink. Say hi before you leave.”
Pivoting to make sure Red was decent, I stepped away, walking over to my friends. Giving Dec a bro hug, seeing the knowing smirk back in place, I leaned into his ear and ground out low, “Wipe that smile, shit for brains. It was a moment of weakness. Nothing more.”
He roared with laughter, which pissed me off. Giving him a glare, I rounded on Mac and embraced her with more affection.
“Uh, are we interrupting?” she asked. “’Cause we can come back tomorrow night.” Noticing the uneaten dinner on the table, she frowned and glanced at Dec. “They haven’t eaten yet. We should go.”
“No!” Char and I both confirmed in unison. Looking at her with rosy cheeks, oversized lips I’d been gorging on, and her hair clumped in a mess, my inner warrior high-fived at the fact I’d made her look like that.
Mac walked over to Char and both girls hugged. Something was whispered I couldn’t make out, so I left them to it, grabbed my plate and cutlery, and walked into the living room, giving Dec the signal to follow. “Grab me a beer.”
Chapter Twelve
Char
I eyed my best friend after she’d hugged me. She stood close with a curious look on her face.
“I take it you’re feeling better?” she offered.
Knowing what she referred to, I gripped the edge of the sink where I’d been mauled only moments earlier. I could still taste him. Smell him. Feel him. What had happened to my willpower? And why did I not care if I ever found it again?
“I’m okay. Physically, anyway.”
Knowing what was coming, I braced myself. Mac looked to where the guys were as if hoping they were still out of earshot range.
“Soooo…you two have come to a truce?”
“Look, I know what it looked like and what you must be thinking. To be honest, it just kind of happened. One minute he was telling me about his next mission in two days, and then, well…you know the rest. Nothing is going on. I don’t know. Shit. My mind is so messed up after the attack.”
Giving me another hug, she backed off. “It’s okay, sweetie. You don’t need to explain. You’re both adults. You’re both attractive. Single.”
Moving to sit at the table, she added, “You don’t even have to talk to me about it. Come. Sit. Eat your food.”
Deciding I didn’t want to talk about what just went down because even I didn’t know, I sat.
“How are you feeling, really?” she asked, back to the concerned friend.
“My injuries are healing. I just feel…jumpy and scared, you know? Lost and numb at times.” Cutting my chicken, I took a bite.
“It’s totally understandable. I can arrange for you to speak to Jen at the hospital.”
Jen, the psychologist, mainly helped patients, but I knew she’d squeeze me in for a session if I chose. Did I need to? I wasn’t sure.
“Maybe. Just give me a few days.”
“Okay. Let me know. How long do you think you’ll have off work?”
“They’ve given me a week, but I’ll see how I feel in another couple of days. I may return early. I actually think work will help. I hate sitting around thinking too much. You know I’m not one to sit idle at the best of times.”
Nodding, she said, “I do know, and I kind of agree about work keeping your mind busy. I just don’t want to see you go back before you’re mentally ready.”
“I don’t know if I’ll be mentally ready for a while, but I need to get back.”
Hearing the boys laughing in the other room, I changed the subject. “So. It looks like I’ll be living with you for a bit, after all.”
Smiling, she cheered, “I’m so excited! We can do girly stuff. Lounge around at night in our PJ’s. Bitch about work. Not that we don’t do that anyway, but you get the idea. It’s going to be fun.”
“Yeah, fun listening to you two going for it at night. Seriously, how will I cope with that?”
She smirked slightly, her eyes alight as if thinking about her nightly shenanigans. “I’ll talk to Dec and insist he tone it down a bit. You know, play the unstable friend card.”
“You think he’ll be annoyed I’m staying?”
“No!” she offered immediately. He likes you. He’ll comply with my wishes and be on his best behavior if he knows just what you’re going through.”
Breathing out, I hoped so. I hated intruding on their lives now that they were at a better place.
Needing to ask a question I’d wondered about for a while, I didn’t hold back. “How do you do it? I mean, you went through far worse than I did and here you are. Normal. I know you had a few freak-outs and nightmares, but you seem your old self.”
Looking pensive, she thought about her answer. “It wasn’t easy at first. Har…Dec helped. Damn, I still go to call him Harley. He’ll always be Harley to me.”
Harley was the name given to Declan when he had suffered amnesia and didn’t know his identity. We’d all gotten to know him as Harley. Then when his memories returned, he decided no matter how much he wanted to be Harley, he couldn’t. Declan was who he truly was.
“We both went through the ordeal together, and I think because we were both involved, it helped when we talked about it. Dec was great. And you, of course. I’m here for you. Let me know what I can do to get you through it.”
Picking at my salad, I smiled at her. She truly was the best. “Thank you. I mean it.”
Realizing I ate in front of her, I asked, “You want some of this? I’ve made plenty of chicken and there’s some salad left over?”
“No. We grabbed Subway after work. I didn’t feel like cooking and neither did Dec.”
“Okay. Well, I’m going to leave this for later. I’m not all that hungry now. Let’s go join the men.”
Putting my plate in the fridge, I followed Mac into the living room. The boys were sprawled out on the couch, beers in hand, smiling about something we weren’t privy to. Mac went and sat on Dec’s lap, leaving me uncomfortable as to where to sit. Eying the space beside Viper, knowing it wouldn’t be a great idea to be that close, I opted for the single chair on the other side of the coffee table. Far enough away to keep his heat from leaching into me.
I couldn’t even look at him after our fiery tryst, so I stayed focused on Mac and Dec, but immediately became keenly aware that he watched me.
“You doing okay, Char?” Dec’s concern made me smile. He truly cared.
“Yeah. I’ll be fine. I’m gonna go back to work in the next day or so. I need it.”
“The hell you are!” rumbled a thunderous boom.
Unable to stop my blood from rising at his commanding tone, I shot him a glare. “I’m going. It’s not up for debate. You don’t get to dictate to me. You’ll be gone, anyway.”
He clenched the can so tightly I expected it to spill over under the pressure. Green eyes had darkened. A vein in his neck popped. “You’re still recovering! You need to rest.”
Mac fidgeted on Dec’s lap but she didn’t interrupt.
“Resting isn’t doing me any good. I need to keep busy. I know what I need!” I almost shouted.
Deep down I knew he was simply concerned and it should have placated me, but when someone tried to tell me what to do, it brought out my stubborn side. I didn’t like to be told what to do. Especially by such a commanding man who obviously had issues with being put in his place.
“What you need is to listen to reason. You might think you’re ready to return to work, but you’re not. You freaked out earlier at the slightest sound. That’s not ready to go back to a chaotic hospital where you need your wits about you.” His voice was eerily low. He stared me down. Tension filled the room.
Dec cleared his throat. “Ahh, how about we assess the situation in a couple of days? Let’s get you settled in with Mac and take it from there.” Turning to his friend, he shared, “I’ll make sure she’s ready, man, don’t worry.”
Viper didn’t waver. Something in that gaze made me take pause. It was more than the need to control. Sitting underneath I saw fear. Fear for me? Fear that he wouldn’t be here to make sure I was okay? I couldn’t be sure but, I sighed. Could it be possible that he actually did care about me in his own odd way?
Silently he appeared to be pleading with me.
“What Dec said.” I put the burden of the conversation back onto someone else.
It took a few more heartbeats, but finally, Viper looked at his beer before taking a long swig. Very slightly he gave a nod, ending the dialogue. Relaxing slightly, I changed the subject, grabbing Mac’s attention.
“So, speaking of work, what’s been happening?”
Happy to be free from the spider’s web of awkwardness, she proceeded to fill me in on what had been going on, leaving the boys to quietly engage in their own conversation. I couldn’t help but notice the way Dec rubbed his thumb up and down Mac’s wrist, almost absentmindedly. Like he had to be touching her. She really was lucky. I wondered if Viper would ever be so unconsciously tender and then balked at the thought.
He rarely did tender. He only did fierce. Actually not so true. When I’d had a meltdown in the shower, snippets of his tender side lodged in my brain. But for the most part, he acted all macho and alpha. Not that I’d complained before Mac and Dec had turned up. My mind turned to what would have happened if they hadn’t arrived. Would we be in the bedroom right now? He’d definitely proven how turned on he’d been. Oh, God. He wasn’t small by any means. My skin tingled and I had to change positions on the chair to push away the images of being taken by the beast of a man.
“Char? Did you hear me?” asked Mac, dragging me to the present.
“Huh? Sorry. What were you saying?” I could feel all eyes on me. Lucky they couldn’t see into my head.
“Are you okay? You seemed miles away.”
“Oh. Yeah. Sorry.” Remembering the last thing I’d heard Mac telling me, I hoped she believed me. “Just trying to picture old Mrs. Morris attempting to chat up Dr. Andrews.”
She seemed to buy it. Mrs. Morris had been brought through Emergency two weeks ago with pneumonia. The sprightly eighty-six year old, now in a ward, apparently still attempted to humor staff, in between bouts of coughing. The thought of her flirting with handsome Jace Andrews was particularly funny, considering the fine doctor was gay.
A quick glance at Viper showed me his concern mapped out on his face. Perhaps he thought I was going into another meltdown. Giving him my best smile, I turned back to Mac and made sure to pay attention.
***
After a couple of hours, we bid our friends farewell. Fatigue had me wanting to skip my now cold dinner and just head straight to bed, but I knew I needed to eat, regardless of my appetite, which had waned since being wrapped up in one hardened soldier earlier.
Moving into the kitchen, I pulled the plate from the fridge and ate the salad before reheating the chicken in the microwave. Viper hadn’t joined me, which I was glad of. Instead, I heard the shower switch on.
Was he pissed at me for defying his request to take more time off work? Too bad. It was my life and I only had myself to answer to.
Images of a hot, wet body flashed across my vision, causing me to squeeze my eyes tightly to get rid of it. Nope. Didn’t work. With the sound of the water forging through the pipes and remnants of him over my skin, I became a hot mess. Normally, I’d be like old Mrs. Morris and flirt my ass off for a one-night
stand or quick fling, but somehow with Viper, I knew that even after one round of intense sex, I’d be ruined forever. Ruined for other men. Did he do the casual hookup thing? Or had he sworn off women altogether after his ‘almost marriage’?
So many questions. So few answers.
Too tired to overthink anything further, I threw the small piece of chicken left in the trash, rinsed my plate, and loaded the dishwasher.
On autopilot I shuffled down the hallway, almost at my room when the bathroom door opened, leaving me breathless.
Naked, except for a sliver of a towel, stood the man of my fantasies. Literally. In an instant, I was alert and focused. He stopped directly in front of me in a taunting manner and damn if I didn’t almost crumble.
Small trickles of water pebbled on his torso, new ones dripping down from his wet hair. Healed scars added to his edge. His chest rose and fell as he stood, motionless and silent. Stealthy. I stepped back, needing room to pass, but he took a step forward. Dear Lord, I felt like the prey of a giant predator. Small and helpless.
Don’t look, Char. Don’t look. But I’d always had trouble following my brain. I rose my chin to find heaven and hell combined. Heavenly good looks mingled with a fire straight from hell. I was in so far over my head that I decided to stop fighting and just concede.
At that point, I couldn’t figure out which part I liked more.
“Tell me, Red. Do you always push people to their limit?”
Only you. Only you. I kept that one quiet. Instead, my mouth moved of its own accord.
“I don’t know what you mean.”
Gripping the back of my neck, he towered over me. “You know exactly what I mean. I think you like pushing my buttons. I think you get off on it.”
He smelled of fresh soap and it looked like he’d had a quick shave in the shower. Earlier two-day growth had vanished, along with my willpower.
“Do you?” he moved his face ever so close.
The Lost and Found Series Page 42
