by Jenn Hype
I don’t even care that I’m naked, I don’t have time to worry about it. Wyatt’s already pulling me out of the water by my arms and wrapping my white, terrycloth bathrobe around me. When my limp body becomes too difficult for him to move, Wyatt slips his arms behind my knees and lifts me into the air. My skin is slippery and when he starts moving he loses his grip on me, slipping on the wet bathroom floor.
The sensation of falling snaps me back into reality and I scream, throwing my arms around Wyatt’s neck. He finds his balance and takes off for the door, and within seconds we are outside in front of the building. My eyes are blurry with tears, but I can still make out Keegan’s face running towards us.
“Put her down, Wyatt,” Keegan tells him almost hatefully.
“No!” I yell and squeeze Wyatt tighter to me, shoving my face into his neck. I feel myself being lowered, but Wyatt’s grip on me never loosens. He’s sat himself down on the curb with me in his lap and he’s stroking my hair and whispering soothing words in my ear over and over again. I take deep breaths and the clean, masculine scent of his skin starts to calm my heart and my breathing slows.
“How bad is it?” I ask with a shaky voice.
“How bad is what, Peaches?”
I pull back from Wyatt just enough to look in his eyes, but not far enough to be able to see anything besides his face. I can’t bring myself to see how bad the fire is.
“The fire, how bad is it?” His eyes look pained and I want to start crying again, but when he cups my face in his hands and presses his forehead to mine, the panic that had started to rise again subsides.
“It was just a small fire in the laundry room. One of the lint traps caught fire in the old dryer, but they got to it in time. I’m so sorry if I scared you. I didn’t know until we got outside that the fire was already contained and no one got hurt. You’re okay.”
I’m not even entirely sure why I freaked out so badly, but I’m so relieved to hear the building is fine and no one was hurt that I don’t think about it before I press my lips to Wyatt’s. As soon as I feel his body tense up I realize what I’ve just done, but when I go to pull away, Wyatt’s hands on my face hold me in place. His body relaxes and when he starts kissing me back I completely lose myself in the feel of him.
Much too soon Wyatt breaks the kiss and a small whimper escapes me. My eyes are still closed and I feel Wyatt chuckle, but I don’t even care if I seem desperate or pathetic, I need to feel his mouth on me again.
This time when I press my lips to his again he doesn’t hesitate, and instead of a slow, tender kiss like the one before, this one is full of hunger and need. When Wyatt drops one hand from my face to my waist and pulls my body even closer to his, I let out another moan and he uses the opening to slip his tongue into my mouth.
I know without a doubt that if we were alone in my apartment right now, I’d be tearing at his clothes, ripping them off his body as quickly as possible. If it weren’t for Keegan clearing her throat behind me, reminding me that we are in fact not alone in my apartment, then I might have started stripping him down anyway.
When Wyatt pulls back and presses his forehead to mine again we both laugh. His bright blue eyes hold so many emotions as I stare into them that it’s almost painful to look into them, so I look down to our bodies pressed up against each other. It’s that moment that I realize I’m outside, in Wyatt’s lap with people all around us, completely naked except for my tiny bathrobe that’s not even tied.
Wyatt shifts underneath of me and it’s clear that he is very much aware of just how naked I am, and when a blush creeps up my face I bury my face in his neck to hide my embarrassment.
“Take me home, please.” My mouth is pressed up against his skin and my words come out muffled, and I can feel the effect my hot breath on his neck is having on him. I can’t stop myself from pressing a soft, wet kiss to his neck, smiling when he groans.
Wyatt stands effortlessly with me still cradled in his arms and I hear Keegan tell him she will be by later to check on me. When we reach my apartment door it’s still flung open since Wyatt didn’t bother closing it when we thought the building was on fire. He kicks it shut behind him and walks over to the couch and sits. I start to pull away from him, but he tugs me back and holds me tightly.
“Wyatt, at least let me put some clothes on.”
“I think you’re fine the way you are,” he says seriously, but he has a teasing glint in his eyes.
“And I think you’ve seen enough of my naked body for one day.” Wyatt growls and pulls away from me, then slowly peruses my body, lingering on my breasts, making it painfully obvious that he’s soaking up the view before it’s gone.
“I think I should be the judge of whether or not I’ve seen enough.” I grip his chin and pull his face up so he has to look at me and not my half naked body and laugh when he pouts. “Fine, if you insist, but so we’re clear...if it were up to me, you’d be wearing less clothes, not putting more on.” All the teasing is gone from his eyes and his pupils dilate, and I swear my heart is pounding so loudly that he has to be able to hear it.
“Alright now, get on with it before I change my mind,” he says as he lifts me off his lap and slaps me on my ass.
Once I’m in my bedroom the weight of the last hour hits me so hard it knocks the wind out of me. Everything seemed okay when Wyatt was holding me, but now that I’m alone in my dark, cold bedroom it feels like someone is sitting on my chest. I grab a set of pajamas; a silky, strappy top with matching shorts so short they may as well be underwear. I’m playing with fire – no pun intended – but part of me wants Wyatt to see me in something skimpy. Something that might make him throw me down on the bed and…
My phone that I left sitting by my bed buzzes, and before I can think better of it, I answer.
Emotions I didn’t realize were bubbling just below the surface start to spill over as soon as I hear Mark’s voice. Things between us might be strained and a little awkward even, but he was the one who sat with me for hours and hours after I woke up in Mayford. Until Wyatt, Mark was my source of comfort, just in a different way. In the scheme of things, this is a pretty small breakdown compared to others I’ve had recently. By the time I’m done telling Mark what happened, my tears have dried up.
“Do you need me to come to you, Brailey?”
“What? No! I mean, I appreciate it and yeah, of course I’d love to see you, but you don’t have to drive two hours to see me just because of some silly overreaction to a fire alarm. I’ll be okay.”
“I hate not being there to help you through this, Brailey, you know that, right?” Again with the overly personal response that I don’t know how to respond to. Maybe it’s me. Maybe meeting Wyatt and all the feelings he stirs in me are making me feel guilty and I’m the one putting a wedge between me and Mark.
“I know, but it’s not your job to take care of me anymore.” How horrible am I for thinking life would actually be a lot easier if Mark truly were just my doctor? Why does someone I held so much affection for just a week ago suddenly feel like a tether that keeps me from being able to move forward?
“I don’t want to come there because it’s my job, Brailey. I want to be there for you.”
I want to groan out loud. I can’t do this anymore. Wyatt is waiting on me, and he’s who I want to be talking to. As much as it will hurt, at some point – and soon – I’m going to have to let Mark go.
“I um, I have to go. I have company waiting on me.” He doesn’t respond right away, and when he does speak, his voice sounds angry.
“What company, Brailey.” The demanding tone in his voice raises my hackles. I already have a ridiculously overbearing and bossy man in the other room. I’m not really in the market for another.
“It’s Wyatt. He was here when the alarm went off.” I hate myself a little bit for the bitchy way that comes out, because I’ve been trying so hard for so long to be sensitive to Mark, but it’s getting old - and fast.
“Sounds like you’ve been spending a lot of ti
me with Wyatt.” The agitation in his voice is the last straw.
“Yeah, I guess. Gotta go, call you later,” I say quickly, hanging up before he has a chance to say anything else. Throwing my phone down on the bed, I put thoughts of Mark behind me and focus on the man I’m pretty sure I’m about to try and seduce.
Only it turns out, that man is gone.
Wyatt
Fucking Mark.
I save her life and what does she do? She calls Mark. Yeah, I know he’s her doctor, but that doesn’t lessen the stab to my ego when she’s in there being comforted by him when I’m sitting right in her damn living room.
No, she wasn’t actually in danger, but does it matter? I was the one who was here, the one who protected her. Okay, so I was also the one who set the whole fire in motion, but it wasn’t by choice. I hate this. All of it. It doesn’t matter that it’s my fucking job, because whenever I’m with Brailey, it doesn’t feel at all like work.
For a minute I thought she actually wanted me, but she couldn’t get away from me fast enough. As soon as she’s out of my arms, she runs to her room and calls someone else. A good guy would be grateful that she has someone she can turn to, right? Maybe if I weren’t waiting for her while being rudely ignored than I could find it in me to be the ‘good guy.’
Was she thinking of him when she was kissing me? Was she picturing his arms around her and pretending it was his voice soothing her?
It doesn’t matter, asshat. She isn’t yours.
Reminding myself of this fact doesn’t help ease the ache in my chest when I think of her. I shouldn’t feel this way about her. It’s ten kinds of wrong and it’s going to end up ruining everything. I have a job to do, and it does not include falling for her. If Bryce were here he’d be kicking my ass the same way I want to kick Mark’s.
Our research didn’t reveal much about Mark, and as much as I hate to keep prying into her life, I’m going to have to dig deeper. Something just feels off about the guy. Okay, so maybe I haven’t talked to him or met him, and maybe most of these feelings stem from jealousy, but dammit, it’s my job to make sure she’s safe. So at least I have that excuse to fall back on.
“Fuck!” I yell when I walk into my apartment. I yank on my hair and I just...snap.
Anything that’s not nailed in or too heavy to lift gets thrown across the room. By the time I’m done destroying my apartment, the only things I own that aren’t destroyed are the couch and the TV.
I look around me at all the destruction I’ve just managed to cause in a matter of minutes.
I am so screwed.
Chapter Ten
I’m standing in the middle of my apartment trying to decide whether or not to go after Wyatt and ask him why he just disappeared when there’s a knock on my door. Assuming it’s Wyatt I run over and swing the door open without checking the peephole.
“Hey, where’d you go?” The question is out before I have the chance to stop myself.
“I didn’t go anywhere; I’ve been next door.” Keegan pushes past me with a bottle of wine in one hand and two wine glasses in the other. She’s already filling up the glasses before I even get the door shut behind her.
“Sorry, I thought you were Wyatt.”
She quirks an eyebrow at me, most likely because of how I answered the door. I may have sort of ran to the door and anxiously yelled out my question, so she might sort of think I was excited to see him.
She would be sort of right.
“Don’t look at me like that, it’s just been a weird day and he disappeared when I was in the other room without saying goodbye.”
“Mmmhmm,” she hums skeptically as she gives my skimpy PJs a once over before making her way over to my couch. “That was some kiss you guys shared outside.” My cheeks heat up immediately, but this is Keegan and I know I may as well suck it up because she’s going to make me tell her every little detail, no matter how much I try to resist.
“Yeah, I don’t know what happened. I was just so freaked out at first when he carried me down and then when he told me it was a small fire I was so relieved, and the way he was looking at me, I just...I’m such an idiot,” I groan, plopping down next to her and covering my face with my hands.
“You’re not an idiot, it was hot.”
“Ugh, what if I’m a horrible kisser? Maybe that’s why he left, because he was afraid I’d try and kiss him again.” I throw my head back and stare at the ceiling, then I feel a wine glass being shoved into my hand, so I turn my head to the side to look at Keegan.
“Sweetie, that kiss was amazing, and I wasn’t even a part of it. Trust me, he enjoyed it. Maybe an emergency came up or something,” she offers with a shrug, but I’m not sure she’s right. Seems like he would have at least called out that he was leaving or something. Just taking off without bothering to yell out a goodbye or something just seems...odd.
“I don’t know, he’s so hard to read. Not that it would matter if he weren’t, because I suck at reading people. I just feel like, I don’t know, he’s coming on pretty strong right? Like sometimes it seems like he’s into me, and then the next minute he’s totally closed off or being an asshole. He’s so freaking moody, he even chased me down before work this morning and offered to walk with me. Weird, right?”
I turn to look at Keegan when she doesn’t immediately jump in with an opinion and I’m shocked when I see her avoiding my eyes and looking nervous.
“What?” I ask nervously. She fidgets and lets out a sigh before facing me with a pained expression on her face.
“I honestly don’t know about him, B. On one hand, he seems like a great guy. He’s been there every time something has happened to you since he moved in and hasn’t hesitated to help, but isn’t it odd that he’s always there? I just get the feeling that he’s keeping something hidden. I mean other things besides what happened at the club, and-”
Keegan smacks a hand over her mouth, her eyes wide. “What do you mean what happened at the club? You’re keeping something from me?” Betrayal - definitely recognize that emotion when it stabs me in the heart. Why would Keegan keep a secret from me - especially if it’s about me?
“I’m so sorry Brailey. I wanted to tell you, but he and Garrett ganged up on me and I don’t know, I guess I thought since you were okay that it wasn’t worth it to worry you. But that night at the club when you got really drunk and Wyatt brought you home? You weren’t actually drunk, you were drugged.”
The world around me starts spinning so fast I can’t see straight.
“Wh-what do you mean? How could you even know that?” Keegan squeezes my hand and starts to talk but I interrupt her when I realize she said Wyatt convinced her not to tell me.
“Wait,” I interrupt her, my vision turning red. “What does Wyatt have to do with this?”
“That’s what I’m trying to tell you, sweetie. He’s the one that figured out you were drugged, but he made me promise not to tell you.”
I’m out the door and taking the stairs two at a time, ignoring Keegan’s pleas for me to come back. She’s smart enough not to come after me, probably not wanting to be witness to the confrontation that’s about to take place.
I bang on Wyatt’s door until he yanks it open, and his annoyed expression turns to apprehension when he sees how angry I am. I’ve never felt pure rage like this before - that I can remember - and it’s a little frightening, but the adrenaline coursing through my veins keeps my mind focused on what I came here to do.
“You! I told you. I told you!” I yell, poking him hard in the chest, making him stumble backwards. I follow him, poking him over and over so hard that I think my finger might actually break. “I told you that you got one shot with me. I told you that once I found out you lied to me, that there would be no friendship for us. And you stood there keeping a huge secret from me and lied right to my face anyway.”
Wyatt throws his hands up in a defensive gesture, but when I go to shove him, he grabs my wrists and holds me in place. I’m using all my strength
to escape his hold, but his grip on me is so tight that it hurts every time I yank on my hands.
“Let go of me!”
“Are you going to stop assaulting me if I do?” His calm, unrepentant voice just pisses me off even more.
“You’re a lying asshole! Let go of me right now!” I’m yelling so loud that my throat hurts, and Wyatt quickly releases me, probably afraid the neighbors are going to call the police if they hear me.
“Look, Brailey, I’m sorry. I wanted to tell you. I couldn’t, though, it wasn’t my decision.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Why the hell wouldn’t it be his decision? I’m so confused and it’s obvious he’s hiding another secret from me.
“Dammit!” He yells, yanking on his hair.
“You know what, Wyatt, I don’t even want to know what you’re talking about. It’s obvious you’re keeping so many secrets from me that you can’t even keep them straight. I told you if you lied to me then that was it, so I’m leaving and you better not follow me.”
I stomp-slash-run to his door, but Wyatt grabs my wrist and spins me around, pushing me up against the wall in one graceful move, before crashing his mouth on mine. Wyatt is holding both of my wrists above my head and his body is pressed up tightly against mine, and for one brief second I lose my mind and actually kiss him back. When I feel him try to deepen the kiss I come back to reality and push off the wall as hard as I can, the sudden movement catching him off guard, giving me the opportunity to free my wrists from his hold.
Without giving him a chance to even blink, my hand comes up and smacks him across his face so hard that his head jerks to the side. I want to tell him to go to hell and storm out, but instead I immediately start muttering apologies. When he lifts his head to look at me I immediately wish I had run out the door when I had the chance.
“Wyatt, I…” I trail off, because I’m honestly not sure what I’m trying to say. I just can’t stand the silence between us and the frightening look he’s giving me. His chest is heaving up and down and his head is tilted down so that he’s looking up at me, even though he’s almost a foot taller than me. My heart is pounding in my chest and I’m torn between wishing Keegan had followed me up here so she could help, and being grateful that she’s not caught in the crossfire.
