by Haley Weir
He caught sight of her faint blush and stamped down the urge to kiss her. Tilly grabbed his hand instead of keeping it on her elbow and tugged him down the next aisle. He learned very quickly what her favorite things were and, apparently, she had no qualms about eating cereal for every meal. “You’ve been teaching for too long. You have the palette of a four year old. I’ll be in charge of cooking if this is how you live.”
“Hey, sometimes I don’t have time to eat at all.”
Michael backed Tilly into a shelf, startling her like a deer caught in the headlights. “Do I need to manage you, Matilda? Do I have to make sure that you take care of yourself and oversee every hour of your day? Because I will.”
“No,” she sighed. Her eyes dropped to his mouth and Michael leaned in on impulse, lured by the hues of amber in her eyes. “I don’t need you to manage me.”
“But you need something else, don’t you?” His leg came up between her parted thighs. “You’re lucky we’re in public and I’m a gentleman or else I’d take you right here.” Michael moved away and didn’t miss the way an elderly woman cleared her throat. He also chuckled when she winked in his direction.
They finished up their shopping and Michael paid before Tilly returned to the counter. She insisted on carrying in the groceries to earn her share and he waved her off and carried them in anyway. Her impish little glares did nothing but spur him on...at least until she called out his behavior. “Stop, Michael. You’re acting like a boyfriend...not a roommate or a friend or whatever we are at the moment. I’m confused.”
He paused with his back to her, pushing a box of organic pasta into cupboard. “You don’t believe that I’m a nice person? When I show you kindness, I’m automatically trying to sleep with you or be in a relationship?” he scuffed. “We flirt, Matilda, that’s all we do. I don’t know what guy hurt you so badly that you can’t be around me without thinking the worst, but I'm tired of it. Play your games with someone else.”
“You think I’m playing a game?”
“What else do you call it?” He asked.
“I call it protecting myself.”
“Without a care for how I feel or how you treat me in the process, clearly. One minute you look at me as those you can’t wait to taste my lips and feel me press you into the mattress, but then you give me the cold shoulder and make me feel…”
“What? How do I make you feel?”
He moved around her and headed for the door. “Forget it.”
Tilly followed him, not willing to back down anymore than he was willing to give in. “No, Michael. Talk to me. I don’t know if I’m doing something wrong if you won’t tell me. I’m obviously missing something.”
“Look, let’s just leave my emotions out of this. If you want sex, then I’ll have sex with you. If you want to be my friend, then I can do that too. But you can’t have both.” Michael stopped outside of the guest room. “I can leave, you know. We don’t have to go through this back and forth every time we’re near each other. You can date whomever you want and we can go our separate ways. I’ll still help with the fundraiser-”
“Michael, just listen to me for a second.” Tilly turned him around to face her and wrapped her arms around his waist. She rested her chin on his chest and stared up at him through long lashes. “I think we need to talk about a few things before we make any crazy decisions. After all, once you hear what I have to say, you might not want anything from me anymore. You might not ever want to speak to me again.”
“Well, then I should probably tell you my story as well.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
They sat at the kitchen table with two steaming cups between them: coffee for Michael and tea for Tilly. She swirled her spoon around the rim and toyed with the edge of the tablecloth. The tension in the room made her squirm in her seat a little. “I have always been attracted to men like you...or what I thought you were: powerful men with big egos and even bigger reputations for being playboys. I should have known I would get hurt one day, but it was always no strings attached between me and the men I dated so I never thought that would change.”
“Sounds perfect for them.”
“It was perfect for me, actually,” Tilly admitted. “I never asked for the attention, but it came my way anyways. When I graduated high school, I went out with friends for a few drinks. That’s when I met Gareth. He was everything I ever wanted...tall, gorgeous, and confident. He looked like a prince charming with a bad boy attitude all wrapped in a perfectly tailored suit.”
Michael nodded, but didn’t interrupt her.
“At first I didn’t realize that he noticed me. Next thing I knew, we were two bottles in and talking like we’ve known each other for years. Nothing came of it aside from texting, emails, and the occasional heated phone call,” she explained. “ I had dated other people, of course, but I looked forward to hearing from him every day. When I entered my second year in college, he showed up on campus in a Rolls Royce with flowers in his hand and that up-to-no-good smile of his.”
Tilly’s leg began to bounce under the table nervously. She sipped her tea before starting up again. “It was perfect. We had such a passionate chemistry that I couldn’t help falling in love. He left town and I felt like he was taking my heart with him. Then I found out that he was engaged.”
Michael reached across the table and rested his hand on top of hers, stopping her from picking at the skin around her thumb as anxiety thrummed through her body. “He used you,” Michael stated. “But that doesn’t mean he didn’t feel anything for you.”
“He loved me, actually. I was the problem. I didn’t fit into his perfect, cookie cutter world like his fiancé. God, she looked like Barbie…perfect, plastic, skinny…”
“I’m sure she wasn’t perfect if he found a way to steal a moment of your time. Whether it was under false pretenses or not,” Michael said. “I’m not condoning his behavior. In fact, I’d probably kill him if I saw him, but you’re impossible not to notice. I wouldn’t have cheated, Matilda, but I would have left any woman for you.” Michael became flustered as though he hadn’t intended to reveal his true thoughts. He hid behind his coffee cup and removed his hand from hers.
“What about you? I admitted to using men and letting men use me. What’s your big secret, Michael Adair?” Tilly asked. He looked uncomfortable, but unguarded somehow. She never expected to see such raw, open emotion on his face. It was as though the kitchen had become a sanctuary where they could confess their sins.
“My father was an alcoholic. He drank until he was nearly blacked out, but violent enough to cause so much damage that I couldn’t go to school. When I did...the only person who believed that it was my father was my favorite teacher. She tried to get Brock and I taken away, but my father was a Marine and everyone respected him.”
Tilly’s stomach turned. As a teacher herself, she had heard one too many stories like his. “Where was your mother?” she asked.
“Turning a blind eye because she was terrified he’d turn on her,” Michael replied. “I took as much of the beatings as I could because Brock didn’t understand what was going on at the time. He put me in the hospital. Broken wrists, fractured ribs, and ruptured blood vessels in my eyes every couple of months. People just thought I was a rebellious kid that got into too many fights.”
“That...that’s terrible, Michael.”
“I did whatever I could to shield Brock from my father. Mom left and I was the only one standing between the two of them. Brock started getting mouthy, acting out and threatening to call the police...but he wasn’t the one taking the hits. I was.” Michael downed his coffee and carried the cup over to the sink. He washed their cups and sat back down at the table. “The first time I shifted was around puberty. I was older than my friends, so it hit me first. Brock and I were fighting because he pulled a stupid prank that went wrong. I knew we’d get it bad when we got home. He didn’t like me telling him what to do, so he hit me. I turned and nearly killed them.”
“Oh
my god,” Tilly gasped. “He hit you?”
“He didn’t know any better.”
“No way ,” she snapped. “He had to have known what you were going through to keep him safe and he repaid you by doing that?”
“We were young and in an impossible situation. I know you don’t want to hear me defend him, but he had seen our dad do it so many times that he thought that was how you dealt with anger. None of us spoke of shifting after that day, at least not around anyone else that could overhear.” He grabbed Tilly’s hand again, drawing comfort in a way that made her think of her students. “One night...dad was drinking even more than usual and he nearly killed me. It triggered a shift and...there was so much blood. I knew I had to leave or else I would have finished him off right there.”
“Where did you go?”
“The mountains. I walked and walked until state lines blurred and then I isolated myself so I could learn how to control it,” he stated. “When I came back, Brock accused me of abandoning him. I did whatever I could to clean up his messes after that just to prove to him that I was still the brother he remembered. My friends all turned one by one after that. Brock was one of the last, but it scared him. So, I started protecting all of us.”
“You were so young…”
“It didn’t matter. I had a responsibility to my brother.” Michael’s thumb stroked her wrist gently. He always touched Tilly like he was afraid of breaking her. “Everything after that just got more and more complicated. I kept people at arm's length, knowing that I would put them in danger if they found out that I was running from hunters since I was a kid. For as long as I could remember, I let people think the worst of me. Casual friends were accused of being whores or gold diggers just using me for my money.”
“And I thought the worst of you, too.”
“You didn’t know any better.”
“Stop making excuses for people, Michael!” Tilly rarely raised her voice, but she felt the need to do so. He carried so much weight on his shoulders, weight no one else cared enough to see. “It’s alright to admit that you were wronged. I hurt you. Just like everyone else in your life, I hurt you and you just let me do it. You need to get angry. Stop being so impassive all the time.”
“I...get angry, but usually at myself. I always think there was more I could have done to change things. Even when Brock brought the hunters to Haden Springs, I blamed myself because I didn’t warn him that hunters were even out there.”
Tilly stood up and pushed Michael’s chair back. She climbed into his lap and wrapped her arms around him. “I’m so sorry for the way I treated you. I was callous and I didn’t think of how you felt until it was too late,” she whispered. “Forgive me?”
“Sweetheart, I can barely think with you in my lap like this.”
Tilly let out a cheeky little giggle. “I don’t want you to think that I’m just using you for sex, Michael. I think we need to get to know each other outside of the bedroom. But...you’re very tempting. I’ll have to lock myself in my room at night to keep my hands to myself. It’s not fair to the other people we’ve been seeing.”
Michael laughed through his nose. “I’ve only been on one date, Tilly. You’re the player in this house, not me. She was a nice girl, but I have no intention of seeing her again. You can...date I guess. I won’t like it. But I’ll be here when you decide what you want. I’ll keep trying elsewhere, but...I think you’re the one I want.”
Tilly leaned back to look into his face. “You’re serious?”
“Deadly.” The feral rumble in his chest was icing on the cake. Michael kissed the base of her throat. “But I understand that you’ll need time. My heart can take it, I promise. You won’t be hurting me by exploring your options as long as you’re open to the idea of the two of us trying this out in the future.”
“But no sex?” she asked with a pout.
Michael shook his head. “Not while you’re dating other people. We’re friends first, Matilda. And friends get to know each other and support each other. I can support you, but we can’t have sex or else it’ll complicate things.”
“How did I become the male stereotype in this?” she sighed. “I agree, though. But I nearly tore the house apart when I found out that you went on a date. I didn’t know what to do, so I called Corey. By the way, did you know he was seeing someone?”
Tilly kissed the corner of Michael’s frown when it appeared.
“No, he never said anything. I hope we’re close enough that he’ll mention it eventually. If he’s happy, then I’m fine with it.” Michael set her down and opened the freezer. He set out a pint of chocolate ice cream and two spoons. “He probably didn’t want me poking around in their background. I have a tendency to gather information about people without their consent. It’s a problem, but one I can’t let go of.”
“What do you mean?”
“When I meet someone, they’re like a mystery to me and I don’t like that. Unsolved puzzles bother me, so I dig up whatever I can until that itch in my brain goes away,” Michael said. Tilly came over to the counter and accepted one of the spoons. “That’s why Hydra has taken an interest in me besides my abilities, I think. I know too much about him and his operation. Money isn’t power, knowledge is. And I’m the biggest investor. My connections are so deeply ingrained in his operation that he can’t sneeze without me knowing.”
“Then why haven’t you gone after him?”
“While I know a lot, I don’t know everything. There’s something he’s hiding, something that I’ve only just begun to scratch the surface of.” Michael wore an expression that Tilly had never seen before on the big bear. He leaned over the counter with a faraway look in his eyes and a slight lift to his brow. Tilly found it incredibly charming and absolutely kissable, but she reminded herself to behave.
“Michael?”
“Yeah?”
“I thought I lost you for a minute there. What were you thinking about?”
He tapped the end of the spoon on the counter and chewed the inside of his cheek. “I know a lot about Alexander Collier’s family. Probably more than he’s aware of, but one thing I can’t get out of my head is how much Destiny talks about her mother. I don’t think she’s dead or missing, I think he has her.”
“Why would he keep her alive all this time?”
“He loves her. It’s as simple and as complicated as that. If she had died, Alexander would have given up on his research a long time ago. But something gave him hope, something that made him think he could find a cure for her illness. It twisted his mind and made him obsessed with unethical science.”
Tilly took the spoon from his hand before he poked an eye out with it. “I think you have to make contact. That itch in your brain isn’t going to go away unless you storm the fortress and force him to talk to you. It’ll be dangerous and it might get someone killed along the way, but...something has to give. We can’t just keep hiding, Michael.”
“You’re right. Which is why Corey and I have been planning something big.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Opening up to Tilly about his past had changed things. They no longer avoided one another in the hallway or tiptoed around uncomfortable topics, but the yearning never went away. It lessened, but it still simmered just below the surface. Michael tolerated the men she dated and she agreed not to sleep with anyone until they discussed it first. It was strange for someone to care about his feelings. Anders tried on occasion, but eventually his own agendas won like everyone else.
Tilly was different. She had been out for herself since the beginning. Her selfish intentions were an attempt at self-preservation, which he respected. It took a moment for them to come to terms with the fact that their roles had been reversed. Tilly had initially accused Michael of selfishness while she had harassed him for years just to milk his reputation to get funding for her school. And Michael had underestimated her determination and assumed she was a mousey schoolmarm.
How wrong they had been. In reality, Michael was
a selfless as a man with a righteous soul and Tilly was the one with black tar on her wings. He drove to Brock’s home and waited outside for a moment to gather his nerves before ringing the doorbell. Footsteps thundered on the other side of the door and he nearly turned back and drove away.
Brock pulled him into a ridiculously tight hug the second the door opened. “Dude, why do you have to be so difficult? I’ve been so worried about you. No one has heard from you for a week. Where the hell have you been?”
“Matil—ugh...Tilly’s.”
“Tilly?” Brock asked. “Why? I thought the two of you didn’t really like each other.”
“Actually, it seems like we like each other too much and can’t really cope with what that means. So...we’re trying something. So far it’s working. And before you ask, no, we aren’t together. But I’m quite certain she’s my mate.”
“You two are just weird enough that it might work out for the best.” Brock stepped aside and let Michael in. He stood in the entrance hall of the sickeningly domestic home awkwardly glancing around as though the love in the house was contagious. Destiny came out of nowhere and hugged Michael with the same enthusiasm as Brock.
“Must I remind you both that I hate being touched? Please refrain from your strange tendencies,” he groused. “Now, I came here for a reason. There are a few things we need to discuss that might turn those hugs into swinging fists.”
“Is this another one of those moments where you reveal something important that you’ve known for a long time and withheld it long enough to make someone seriously pissed off at you?” Brock’s nostrils flared. “I know you, Michael. What is it?”
Michael remembered the last time he had to reveal something important to his brother. Things hadn’t gone well and Brock ended up leaving with Corey in tow.
“Hydra’s name is Alexander Collier. He was born and raised in Manchester, England and was the father of two children. Not long after Corey was born, Alexander’s wife as diagnosed with a terminal illness. Things were looking grim and there was no end to her suffering in sight. While his wife was pregnant with Destiny, he heard rumors of inhuman healing abilities.”
