So when Dallas had refused to rat out his brother right after he’d given me the money, I’d let the issue go, intent on dealing with Maddox myself. I hadn’t expected to see him at Thanksgiving, though, so my plan had been to confront him at the sanctuary the following day. But after spending the past hour enduring endless, undeserved glares from a pissed-off-looking Maddox, it had just been too much. He’d ruined what should have been a fun night of harmless flirting with Sawyer.
I liked the vet a lot, but he and I both knew there was nothing there. He was sweet and kind and great with Newt, and totally gorgeous, but that spark just was completely absent. We’d fallen easily into being friends and I suspected he was just as okay with that fact as me.
But Maddox had fucking ruined it all as usual.
Even when he was doing exactly what I’d told him and leaving me alone, he was still ruining things. The fact that I was ready to burst into tears all over again was proof of that. I just really needed to pack up Newt and get the hell out of Pelican Bay. It’d been less than a week and we were becoming way too comfortable. Dallas had even talked about me and Newt moving into the apartment above the garage if we wanted to make staying in Pelican Bay a more permanent thing.
Not because either man didn’t want us in the house with them, but because they seemed to be bending over backward to try to make us feel as welcome as possible.
I’d thought maybe they’d just become overly attached to Newt, but I was beginning to wonder if maybe, just maybe, they liked having me around too.
But no, it’d all been another one of Maddox’s elaborate schemes.
Because he still didn’t see me as someone who could take care of myself and my brother.
Well, he could go fuck himself.
I turned around to tell him just that, not about to mince my words since Newt wasn’t within hearing range, when I suddenly slammed into a hard body. I let out a little gasp, but when I tried to pull back, thick fingers curled around my upper arm.
Tight.
Enough so that I couldn’t get away.
I could see Maddox’s expression in the lamplight.
He looked more pissed than I’d ever seen him.
Shit, I’d really gone and done it this time. I opened my mouth to tell him to let me go, but before I could do more than let out a squeak of sound, he yanked me forward.
And then his mouth crashed down on mine.
I was so surprised that I didn’t react at first. Maddox was kissing me. Why was Maddox kissing me?
I expected him to shove me away as soon as he came to his senses and remembered who I was… and wasn’t. But instead, he drew me forward and wrapped one arm around my waist as his other hand rooted in my hair. His mouth moved effortlessly over mine and he didn’t even hesitate to slide his tongue against mine.
I couldn’t help the moan that escaped my throat at how good it felt. Fire simmered in my blood and my dick reacted painfully as Maddox forced my head back so he could completely plunder my mouth in any way he wanted.
And that was exactly what he did.
I was completely at his mercy.
As he bent me back over his arm just a bit, I reached out to grab his waist to support myself… to have something to hang onto in case he let me go.
But I needn’t have worried about that.
From the way he was holding onto me and owning my mouth, hell, my whole body, I wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
It occurred to me that I should be stopping him, but he just tasted too damn good. Despite the cold air around us and the snow landing softly against my face, I felt warm all over.
And safe.
So very safe.
I was panting by the time Maddox pulled back just a little. He kissed me gently, just once, then softly brushed the tips of our noses together. At some point I’d wrapped my arms around his waist beneath his parka. He was just so big and built…
“Isaac,” Maddox whispered, then his mouth was covering mine again. His teeth gently closed over the piercing in my lip. When he gave the metal hoop the softest of tugs, I felt it in my cock. Then I was the one latching onto his lips and plunging my tongue into his mouth.
Kissing wasn’t something I did often, and never with clients. Trey had been the one exception. But I couldn’t remember kissing anyone and having it affect me like this.
Like my body wasn’t mine anymore.
Like I wanted to crawl inside of someone else and bury myself so deep that I never had to feel alone again.
Warning bells were trying to sound off in my head that Maddox was straight and this was all some big mistake, but my hands and mouth weren’t listening to my brain anymore.
They hadn’t been from the moment his mouth had sealed over mine.
Maddox’s hands somehow ended up covering my ass, but just as he began to grip me like he was going to lift me up, I heard Newt calling my name from the direction of the house. Amazingly, the snow had started to fall more heavily, but I hadn’t even noticed. I was covered in thick flakes.
Maddox carefully pushed me back to put some space between us as Newt called for me again.
“You should go,” was all he said. And just like that, he was the one who turned and walked away.
Without another word.
Not even to say it was a mistake or that it was amazing or that it shouldn’t happen again.
Nothing.
And worse, he’d somehow managed to put the envelope back in my hand. The envelope with all the money still in it.
My body turned icy cold as I watched Maddox get swallowed up by the snowfall. The bag with Mrs. Grainger’s pumpkin pie was on the ground at my feet. I felt sick as I leaned over to pick it up.
“Isaac?”
This time it was Sawyer’s voice calling me.
“Coming,” I called as I turned to head back toward the house. I was cold and wet and covered in snow, but it was nothing compared to how frigid I felt on the inside.
And empty.
So very empty.
Again.
Hey, I’m talking to you!”
Ignore them. Just ignore them.
I repeated the words on a loop as I forced myself not to speed up my pace as I made my way back to my car. It was the day after Thanksgiving and I’d taken advantage of Dallas and Nolan’s offer to babysit so I could run to the thrift store in Pelican Bay to pick up a few things. I’d managed to finally find snow pants for Newt, along with an array of winter gear that would keep him warm when he was outside building the snow fort he and Dallas had been designing on paper for the better part of a week. I’d managed to find a coat for me too, though it’d been a little pricier than I would have liked. But it was good quality and fit me well, so I knew I’d get a lot of use out of it, even in Chicago or New York or wherever we ended up. As it stood, though, I didn’t have a ton of cash left.
Unfortunately, in addition to the clothes, I’d picked up a couple of things I hadn’t intended.
And they were currently following me down the sidewalk toward the alley next to the thrift shop where I’d left my car.
I’d dealt with bullies all my life, so it shouldn’t have surprised me that I’d run into them here in Pelican Bay. But these guys were proving to be pretty persistent. They’d already followed me throughout the thrift shop. Fortunately, I’d been on the tail end of my shopping, so I’d only had to put up with them for a few minutes. I’d figured they’d let me go once I left the store, but clearly the bullies in Pelican Bay had been hankering for fresh meat and I was their prey.
I wasn’t particularly scared because I knew most bullies backed off if you ignored them or stood up to them, but admittedly, I was too preoccupied to adequately deal with this shit today.
Maddox kissed me.
That particular phrase had been repeating on a loop from the moment I’d stepped back inside the Grainger house and Sawyer had hurried to get me a towel so I could dry off. I’d lied and told everyone I’d had to run to catch up to Maddox to
give him the pie so that’s why I’d been covered in snow. It hadn’t been until Newt had pointed out I still had the bag with the pie in it that I’d had to lie a second time and say I hadn’t been able to find him. I suspected Newt had been the only one to buy my story.
It was bad enough I couldn’t stop reminding myself that Maddox had kissed me, but I couldn’t stop remembering every single detail of that kiss. The way he’d smelled, tasted, felt. The way he’d made me feel… at least before he’d turned his back on me. Well, in truth, I was also remembering the humiliation after he’d walked away too.
I’d read way more into that kiss than I should have.
The man had just been frustrated and pissed and he’d wanted to send me a message. I’d tossed that cruel barb at him about walking away and using his brother and he’d wanted to punish me for it.
God, what a mess.
It was just another reason to leave Pelican Bay.
It would be even harder now to avoid the man at the sanctuary. I’d done an okay job of it the past few days, but it’d taken a lot of effort.
“Those holes in your ears make you hard of hearing, freak?”
I sighed at the pathetic barb. God, bullies weren’t even unique anymore. I stopped suddenly and swung around, surprising my would-be tormenters who nearly slammed into me at the move. Clearly, they’d been hoping to confront me in the privacy of the alley while I was trying to make my escape.
“Okay, what’s the plan here?” I asked tiredly as I scanned the men in front of me. There were four of them. Three were just a few feet from me, but a fourth who looked a little younger than the rest was standing back a bit, looking particularly uncomfortable. I dismissed him as nothing more than a follower and studied the other three. The one directly in front of me was definitely the leader. His pinched expression and triumphant smirk told me as much, not to mention the other two kept looking to him as if waiting to see what he’d do. The leader was older than me, maybe early thirties. In addition to needing some serious fashion advice, he also looked like he needed to lay off whatever artificial substance he used to escape the world.
Based on the smell of pot wafting off him, my guess was that he preferred drugs to alcohol to escape whatever shitty life he led. He was tall but scrawny and had greasy long hair and yellow teeth. His friends looked a little more average, though I suspected with how wide their eyes were and how they couldn’t stand still for even a second, they were indulging in the same shit, just not as heavily. The fourth guy, the quiet one, just looked like he wanted to be anywhere but there.
“Is it just the names thing or are you going to threaten me with a beatdown or actually give me a beatdown?” I sniped. “Because I’ve got stuff to do and frankly, I don’t think your little town here wants the blood of some random fag lining their pretty little sidewalks because some redneck wannabe couldn’t figure out a better way to hide his homosexual tendencies.”
The leader’s face fell in surprise, then quickly grew red. He reached out to grab me by the collar of my shirt and slammed me up against the wall of the building next to his. The move caused my cheek and temple to scrape the brick and while it hurt, it fortunately didn’t disorient me. The man’s fist came back and I steeled myself for the blow, hoping it didn’t knock me on my ass, because that would make it so much harder to come up with a good comeback. But before he could let the punch fly, the quiet man from his group grabbed his arm.
“Jimmy, let’s just go!” the man said, his voice thick with fear. “Mom’s waiting.”
“Shut the fuck up,” the guy, Jimmy, snapped and shoved the other man hard. He hit the ground.
Neither of the other men made a move to help him up, but one blurted out, “Jimmy, your bail—”
“Shut up!” Jimmy bit out. His free hand was around my throat and while he wasn’t cutting off my airway, his hold was forceful enough that I’d probably end up with bruises. Jimmy’s dark eyes landed on me as he pulled back his arm, but I spoke before he could take the swing.
“You’re Jimmy Cornell, aren’t you?” I said. “You’re the asshole who attacked Gentry,” I added. “Takes a big man to prey on helpless animals who can’t fight back. Or queers half your size.”
Jimmy’s face got even redder, but I didn’t care. I had a lifetime of dealing with the Jimmy Cornells of the world under my belt. Besides the manhandling he was doing by holding me against the wall like he was, I doubted he’d do more, and even if he did throw a few punches, it wasn’t like I was a stranger to that shit. But if I backed down now, this guy would be coming after me every time he saw me.
“You little piece of—”
“So you’re out on bail, huh?” I said. “Guess that means if you get into any kind of trouble, your bail gets revoked. Straight to jail. Do not pass go.” I kept my voice light and casual, even though I was scared. I knew standing up to bullies was the only way to stop them, but it wasn’t like I was excited about getting my face bashed in. And so far, not one of the few people out and about on the quiet street had done anything but look the other way as they’d hurried to the opposite sidewalk.
“Just remember this when you’re letting your fists fly, Jimmy. My first stop after you’re finished will be the police station because I’m not some defenseless animal who can’t stand up for itself and point the finger at you,” I lied, because no way in hell was I going to go to the cops. But he didn’t know that. I dared to get in his face. “And I will be pointing every one of my fingers” –I held up my hands to show off my sparkly nails– “at you.”
Jimmy scowled and I saw that his temper was going to get the best of him. But the man who’d tried to intervene grabbed his arm and jerked him back. I watched in horror as Jimmy punched him instead. “Don’t ever put your fucking hands on me again, little brother!” he snarled. Jimmy shot me a glance, but since he had a new and seemingly less threatening outlet for his anger, he didn’t come at me. Instead he grabbed the younger man’s arm and jerked him forward. Jimmy’s eyes held him until the younger man looked away like when a submissive animal cowered to a more dominant one. The move seemed to satisfy Jimmy because he thrust the man–his own brother, apparently–away and snapped, “Let’s go,” to the rest of his little crew.
I waited until they were out of sight before I relaxed enough to take a deep breath. My heart was racing in my chest and I could feel a little bit of warmth on my cheek. When I touched the spot, my fingers came away with a little bit of blood on them, so I used the hem of my shirt to dab at both my cheek and temple until I got most of the blood off. Then I reached down to pick up my bags and hurried to my car.
My fingers were shaking as I got my car started, and I was still on edge by the time I got back to the sanctuary. I parked in front of the office and found Nolan and Dallas looking at something on the computer. I didn’t see Newt among the kittens that were in the cordoned-off area in the corner.
“Hey,” Nolan said. “Newt asked if he could go down to the cat building to get that wand cat toy. He really wanted to go by himself. Sawyer is down there vaccinating the cats, so we told him that Newt is on his way down and to look out for him. I hope that’s okay.”
“It’s fine,” I said with a nod. Newt had been begging me for more independence over the past few days, so I’d been letting him run little errands for me when I was working in the livestock barn. I’d checked the design of every single animal enclosure, including the ones for the animals who weren’t considered dangerous, and every habitat had security features on them that would keep a child of Newt’s size from getting into them. The only animals he could come into direct contact with were the livestock, dogs, and cats, and he’d been around those enough now for me to see none of them were dangerous. Even Jerry the Ornery Zebra had been uncharacteristically careful with Newt.
Me, not so much.
No, I hadn’t ended up in the water trough on my first day working in that enclosure like Nolan had his first time out, but Jerry had somehow managed to leave a pile of zebra
poop right in my path when I wasn’t looking, and I’d stepped into it while wearing my canvas sneakers. The striped hooligan was the reason I’d splurged and also bought myself some decent winter boots at the thrift store today.
Dallas made a grunting sound, then pointed to my face.
“Oh my god, what happened?” Nolan asked as he got up from the chair he’d been sitting in.
“Oh, nothing, I just fell on the sidewalk,” I lied. That fucker, Jimmy, had caused them so much grief already, I didn’t want to give them another thing to have to worry about. I was pretty sure I’d managed to get the asshole off my back, so I wasn’t overly concerned that he would continue to be a threat.
I would, however, watch my back when I was in town.
Well, I’d watch my back more.
Before Nolan or Dallas could question me further, I quickly backed out the door and said, “I’m going to go check on Newt. I’m sure he’s going to want to try on the snow pants I got him.”
I hurried from the office and rounded the corner. That was when I saw Loki come racing toward me.
Just Loki.
The big animal stopped in front of me and began whining, then he circled me several times.
“Dallas?” I called. I yelled his name louder when Loki became more restless. But when the large animal suddenly grabbed my arm between his teeth, I panicked.
“Dallas!”
Fear went through me at the wolf hybrid’s behavior, but the animal quickly released me, then gently grabbed my arm again and tugged.
And a whole new kind of fear went through me.
Newt.
Panic ripped through me as I began running. I heard Nolan call out to me, but I didn’t stop to respond to him.
“Dallas!” I heard someone shout. “Sawyer!”
Sanctuary Found_Pelican Bay [Book 2] Page 13
