by Liza Street
“I’m just gonna grab your clothes,” she said, “and close your truck door. I’ll be right back.”
She ran down to the driveway and came back as quickly as possible. He hadn’t budged.
“How are you feeling?” she asked, setting his jeans and the remains of his shirt and shoes next to the door.
“Shitty,” he said with a laugh. “But at least the view and the room service are nice.”
She took the empty glass from him, refilled it, and set it on the nightstand next to him. Then she turned off the lights and walked around to the other side of the bed. She sat on the edge and looked down at him. “Don’t worry, old man,” she said, “I’m not going to ravish you while you’re recuperating.”
“Too bad.” His voice exaggerated his disappointment. In the moonlight coming in through the window, Hayley saw him wince as he turned slightly to face her. “What do you mean ‘old man,’ anyway? I’m not that much older than you.”
“I’m twenty-one. How old are you?”
“Ha. I’m still in my twenties.” He paused, then chuckled. “But barely. I’ll be thirty in January.”
“Yep,” she murmured. Despite his sense of humor, she could tell he was exhausted. The fight and blood loss had done a number on him. “You are an old man.”
“When I’m feeling better, I’ll prove just how young I still am.”
“Can’t wait,” she said, watching his eyes start to close.
Once his breathing was even and he was truly asleep, Hayley pulled back the comforter and climbed into bed beside him. She inched slowly closer until she was on her side, resting one hand on his uninjured shoulder.
What a wonder, to fall asleep beside him, listening to his heartbeat, his rhythmic breathing, feeling his warmth. His dried grass scent filled her nose, and she slept.
*
She woke when it was still dark, but the bed next to her was empty. She sat up. Was he okay? Why had he left?
A second later, she heard the toilet flush, and his shadowed form padded back into the room.
“Did I wake you?” he said quietly. “I’m sorry.”
“No, it’s all right. I woke up on my own. How are you feeling?”
“Good, actually. The worst of it is still knitting together, but nothing’s bleeding anymore.” He paused at her little table on his way back to the bed. “What are these papers for?”
She could see the faint outline of his features as he squinted.
“College application,” she said. “Collecting dust.”
“You’re going off to college?” he asked.
“Don’t sound surprised that I’d want higher learning,” she said, throwing her pillow at him.
He caught it. “Not surprised at all. I’d just hate to…lose you.”
“Well, I’m not going anywhere. That application is for Huntwood Community College.”
“Cool,” he said. Bringing Hayley’s pillow with him, he climbed back into bed and stacked her pillow on top of his own.
“Hey, give that back,” she said.
He grinned at her, his teeth white in the moonlight. “You threw it at me. It’s mine now.”
“Hardly.” She tried to yank it back, but his hold was too strong.
“What do you want to study?” he asked.
She stopped tugging on her pillow. “Education. To become a teacher.”
He was quiet.
Hayley could guess what he was thinking. “Go ahead and say it, I’d make a shitty teacher.”
“No, not that,” he said, lying back on the pillows and gazing at her. “I was just wondering why. You didn’t sound excited at all just now when you said it. And from what I know of you, it seems an odd fit. But hell, Hayley, whatever you wanted to do, you know I’d encourage you. But I am curious why.”
She sat with her legs crossed, facing him. “I showed my parents that I was the worst sort of trouble, just before they died. Ever since, we’ve been running, and I haven’t been able to show anyone—my brothers or myself—that I’m responsible. Teaching? That sounds pretty damn responsible.”
“What sort of trouble?” he asked. “Does it have to do with crashing Will’s truck?”
She grumbled, wishing she’d never shared that truth over dinner last week. “Yeah. It was stupid. There was a party with some of my friends from high school. I wanted to go, but my parents wouldn’t let me, you know how that goes. So I waited until everyone was asleep. But I lived in a family full of cats, for fuck’s sake. Their ears were too good. Will’s truck was the farthest from the house, so I took that one, rolling it down the drive to the highway. It was snowing that night, but I didn’t care. I went to the party, and on my way back, I skidded and crashed into a tree. I was bruised up but healed fast. Will’s truck didn’t make it. But the worst part was that I’d sneaked behind their backs.”
She took a deep breath and looked at Marius. He nodded thoughtfully, but didn’t say anything. Inside, she was thinking of the worst of it—her parents’ faces, shutting down in disapproval. No, worse—disappointment.
“Because of that, they wouldn’t let me fight when the Clausens came,” she continued. “And because I couldn’t fight, they wanted Jackson to protect me. So that was two fewer fighters. And, as you’ve probably guessed by now, we lost that war.”
Marius hesitated, then rested one of his massive, warm hands on Hayley’s knee. “I’m really sorry,” he said. He took a deep breath and then added, “Do you know for sure that they wouldn’t let you fight because of the car accident? How do you know it wasn’t just that they wanted to protect you, the youngest?”
She stared at him. The thought had never crossed her mind. “I guess I don’t know that. I’d—I’d have to ask Will and Jackson.”
“Maybe you should, then.” He cleared his throat. “My mom, she was a teacher, and she loved it. She died when I was pretty little, but I remember her telling my dad she wouldn’t trade her job for anything. But she also said something else I’ll never forget—that if she didn’t absolutely love it, she wouldn’t be able to stand it. There are other jobs that require responsibility, you know?”
Hayley didn’t have a response. He was making so much sense.
“Sorry,” he said, looking away. “You can tell me to shove my advice up my ass. I know you’re not asking for help.”
“No.” She covered his hand with her own. “I’m just thinking it over. I hate the idea of being a teacher, but I had some belief in my head that it was the only thing to prove myself. But…you’re saying something out loud that’s been bothering me inside all along. Why teaching? Why not something else?”
“Exactly.”
“I could…I could get my general contractor’s license.”
“That, I can easily see you doing.”
“Me, too.” The images filled her mind. She’d be outdoors, creating things. Buildings. Forming homes from scratch. Renovating old homes and making them new again. She lay down on her side and leaned forward, kissing Marius on the cheek. “Thank you. I’m still gonna fill out that application, but it’s going to say some different things about my areas of study.”
“I’m glad,” he said.
Then she yanked her pillow from under his head. He fell back with his eyes wide in shock, then growled playfully and reached for the pillow. Hayley held it behind her, but his arms surrounded her, reaching for it.
It put his body just in line with hers.
Chapter Sixteen
It gave Marius a rush to see Hayley’s eyes widen when his dick pressed against her hip. Her mouth fell open, and he kissed it. He didn’t waste any time and slid his tongue in alongside hers. She sucked it eagerly, moaning. Her scent filled his nostrils, sweet and fruity. He reached for her ass, pleased to see she’d abandoned the pillow. His kiss had an effect on her—on both of them.
Pulling away, she gasped, “But you’re hurt.”
“Not that bad,” he said.
“I don’t want to hurt you more.”
; “Not a chance of that.” He kissed her again, and this time she didn’t pull away. He curled his fingers in the hair at the nape of her neck, pressing her closer. The kiss was bruising, intense. She’d shared a part of herself with him tonight—she’d been vulnerable—and he wanted to show her that he loved her all the more.
Because—he loved her. It had been the truth when he’d said it earlier, woozy from blood loss, and it was the truth now. It would always be the truth.
He cupped one of her breasts, rolling the nipple between his fingers. Hayley tilted her head back, exposing her throat. He pressed biting, sucking kisses along the tender skin.
She squirmed on top of him and scooted back. “Why don’t you lie back and let me take charge this time?”
He stared at her, knowing his doubt was written all over his face. “Taking charge is my job.”
“Not this time.” She grabbed his wrists and placed them up by his head.
Yeah, he could break her hold easily, but the fierce look on her face, and the scent of her arousal in the air, told him that if he obeyed, it’d be worth it. So he left his hands where she put them and watched as she knelt over him, poised to take him.
It was a mental picture he hoped he’d keep all the way to his grave.
She slid down over his length and he exhaled loudly. Her eyes fluttered closed. Bracing her hands on his chest, she began to rock up and down over him, pulling him in and squeezing him, then rising up, nearly all the way off. Her pace was deliciously, infuriatingly slow.
She lifted one hand from his chest and played with her breasts, moving those slender fingers from one nipple to the other. Her eyes were closed—this wasn’t a show for Marius; this was Hayley, wringing her own pleasure from the moment in the way that felt best to her. He watched, enraptured, as she brought her hand down to her pussy. Her fingers moved in a slow circle over her clit. He memorized the movement, determined to use the same technique on her some other time. This woman was showing him what she liked, and that was a fucking amazing gift.
He let her use his cock, and after a few minutes, her movements became faster and more erratic. She would come, and soon. Her fingers moved rapidly over her clit. His own climax was impending. Pressure built in his lower back and coursed through to his balls, but he held back, waiting for—
“Oh, yes,” Hayley said, whimpering. Her pussy squeezed him rhythmically, and he pulsed inside of her, emptying everything in a thick heat.
Hayley collapsed forward, and Marius finally moved his arms, encircling her, holding her tight to his chest. Their hearts pounded in tandem, locked together in their euphoria.
He’d never be able to get enough of her.
*
Marius drove home from Hayley’s feeling like he was on top of the world, and feeling like he was the lowest bottom-feeder. He loved her, and she knew it, and that was great. But he was still holding back something that would change her opinion of him forever.
He had to tell her. She deserved to know the truth. And the truth was—he loved her, and if he could take back anything in his life, it would have been his involvement with the Clausens.
Around ten a.m, she’d kicked him out so she could work on her application. She had things to do today, he got that. But when he got home, he sent her a text.
It all came back to: she deserved the truth.
Chapter Seventeen
Hayley smiled when she saw Marius’s text light up her phone.
Marius: I want another real date.
Hayley: When and where?
Marius: Tomorrow. That diner, off of Main?
Hayley: Sounds good. 7?
Marius: Can’t wait.
He’d said he loved her, last night. Loved her. That wasn’t something to take lightly, although a part of her wondered if he even remembered saying it, because he hadn’t said it since. Maybe he’d been too out of it to know what he was saying.
Or maybe…maybe he’d really meant it.
The thought both delighted and terrified her.
*
At six the next evening, she changed out of her ratty flannel pajama pants and t-shirt and into some jeans and a somewhat nicer t-shirt. She gave her closet a critical look. There’d never been much reason to dress up before. Should she buy a few “nice” shirts? For the first time, she cared how a man viewed her. Obviously, he liked her as she was, but maybe she’d get something new, just to surprise him.
As she pulled on her Licorice Fiddles t-shirt (a joke gift from Jackson, who thought she hated the band…oh, how the joke was on him), her phone rang. She rushed over, hoping it wasn’t Marius canceling on her.
It was Will. “Hey, douche-kazoo,” she said.
He gave a resigned sigh. “Hi, Hayley. Miss your voice.”
“You, too. You know, you could always come by. Plenty of room here.” She frowned, realizing things might get awkward if Will came to stay while Marius was staying. Not that she and Marius where anywhere near the every-night-sleepover stage, but still. It was a thought that popped into her head.
“Why did that sound like a question?” Will asked.
“Uh, no reason.” She winced. If ever there was an obvious lie, that was one of them.
“Does it have anything to do with your underwear being found in Paris Lake?’”
Her face felt like it was bursting into flames. “Jackson told you? I’ll kill him.”
Will laughed. “He didn’t tell me much, just that there was a guy around.”
“Marius,” Hayley said. “And he’s nice, so shut up.”
“Must be real nice. Must be panties-in-Paris-Lake nice.”
“I said shut up!”
“So, he’s a shifter?”
“Yeah. Grizzly.”
Will paused, then asked in a sharp tone, “What’s his last name?”
“Nichols. Why?”
Will paused again. She wanted to reach through the phone and shake him.
“What the hell, Will? Spit it out.”
He still didn’t say anything.
“Will, I swear on my favorite Licorice Fiddles shirt, I will fillet you if you don’t tell me what’s going on right now—”
“The Nichols family was a part of the Clausen Pride,” he said. “Four years ago. They were there, Hayley.”
She shook her head. “Um, no, because that would be weird. I think he’d have told me by now, ‘Hey, I tried to kill your parents. You know, by the way.’”
“Hayley, I’m telling you. Father and son. Nichols. They were there.”
There was no question that Will believed what he was telling her—she could hear the truth in his voice. Besides, he’d never lie about something like this.
“You’re mistaken, then,” Hayley said. “I’m really glad you told me about this, but…there’s just no way, Will.”
“You don’t have to believe me,” her brother said, his voice gentle. “Next time you see him, ask him. You’ll hear the truth—or the lie—in his answer.”
“Fine,” Hayley said. “I will. But I’m telling you, he wouldn’t have done that.”
Quietly, Will said, “I hope you’re right.”
Chapter Eighteen
Marius leaned back in the diner booth, feeling its slick stickiness cling to his shirt. The scents of fried things filled his nose. Meat, potatoes, eggs. A server passed his table and the sweet scent of a strawberry milkshake reminded him of Hayley.
He thrummed his fingers nervously on his knees.
He’d told her he loved her already, but he’d start with that. Remind her that his feelings were strong and even if he never heard those words back from her, it would change nothing in his heart. And then he’d tell her. Everything. He’d tell her the real reason he and his dad hadn’t spoken in four years. He’d tell her the real reason that he’d never deserve her love.
And then…then she’d decide what to do with that information.
Fuck, this was the wrong place to be doing this. He should’ve brought food over to her place, had
this talk somewhere private.
But it was too late, because she was walking in the door, her cheeks pink from the cold, her wild mane of golden-brown hair falling loosely in waves over her shoulders. She stalked forward, her heavy boots clomping on the linoleum floor. Then she sat down across from him in the booth, her Red Vines scent falling over him in a cloud. He very nearly forgot what his mission was tonight.
“Hey,” she said, smiling.
“Hey. Look, before we order, I should—”
At the same time, she said, “Before we start, I’ve gotta ask you—”
They both stopped and grinned at each other.
“Go ahead,” Marius said. He wanted to make a joke, like, foul-mouthed ladies first, but his stomach was in too many knots.
She shook her head slightly. “This is so stupid, but my brother called me tonight. Not Jackson—Will. We talked a little bit about you, because Jackson Dickwaffle Jaynes told him about finding my underwear in the lake.”
“Your—underwear?” Marius asked, knowing his eyes must be as wide as the plates that a server was carrying past them.
“Yeah.” Hayley waved that idea off. “Anyway, Will was there, at the war with the Clausens.”
Time seemed to slow down. The server’s footsteps, brisk just a moment ago, now sounded lethargic. Marius’s heart beat louder and deeper within his chest. Outside, it began to rain, and it seemed he could count every drop if only he had the attention to do so. And right in front of him, the woman of his dreams was asking a hard question, her pink lips forming the words and her blue eyes lowered in embarrassment.
“I hate to ask you this,” she said, “but I promised Will. I know you’d have told me this already. He says you were there when the Clausens came. You and your father. And…that you were helping the Clausens. I know, it’s ridiculous—you would’ve told me. He must have mixed up names, heard something wrong.”
She stared at Marius, biting her lip, as if afraid that she’d offended him. He could only stare, waiting for the right words.
“I’m sorry,” she said.
“No, it’s—it’s not your fault. None of this is.”
