There was no describing how it felt to slip under the sheets next to Haylie. For the first time in days, the knot squeezing my heart like a mutated virus had loosened its claws. I’d felt like a dying man deprived of oxygen for too long, only now allowed to take a vital breath again.
The way her sweet scent filled me with longing, the way her even breaths fell into a comforting rhythm I became connected to, the way her velvet skin revitalized my senses as if I’d never used them before—it was all a soothing balm for my battered soul.
The woman who was the essence of my dreams since the first time I’d drowned in her jaylior eyes was lying with her back to me, the wet strands of her goddess-like hair covering every square inch of my sheets. I couldn’t help but comb my fingers through them or brush them away from her naked shoulder where my thumb would linger longer than necessary.
“You can’t imagine how good it feels to have you lying next to me,” I whispered into her ear, knowing she wouldn’t hear me.
An inner voice screamed at me to stop as my hand continued to trail a path down her spine, but I just couldn’t stop myself. Never in my life had I wanted to touch a woman so badly, and the Connection whenever we touched was so powerful, it seemed impossible to pull away.
When my wandering hand came to the naked strip of skin on her lower back just above the roundness of her butt, and my dick jerked in anticipation, I finally came back to my senses. Adjusting the blanket, I covered her lower body, so I wouldn’t be tempted to touch her in places I wasn’t allowed. At least, not tonight.
Her reaction to me when I’d found her more dead than alive had made my heart soar. She’d been barely able to move, battered, broken, bruised, and bloodied all over, but it hadn’t stopped her from crashing into my arms and kissing me with a force that made me a goner. I hoped the kiss meant more to her than just a fleeting moment of passion.
I’d find out soon, I promised myself. I couldn’t play this cat-and-mouse game with her any longer. I needed to know what she felt for me, and should I only find one ounce of affection in her, it would take more than a horde of Hunters to keep me from taking her once and for all.
My cock quivered again as I thought about how it would feel to be buried inside her, to have her writhing beneath me, to have her moaning against my lips.
It made me wonder what kind of lover she was. Prude and shy who wanted to be loved gently? Or an untamable beast who needed it hard and fast? The one who controlled, or the one who wanted to be controlled? God, even the image in front of my mental eye made me nearly come then and there.
Honestly, I didn’t care how she wanted to get laid. I could fuck her in every way she dreamed of, and if there was one thing she was never going to regret, it would be her sharing one night with me. It was probably also working the other way around because I knew one night with her would change me forever.
For the first time in what felt like ages, I slept peacefully again—Haylie, not so much, it seemed. Every now and then, she tossed and turned, mumbling about Cassie, Dorian, and a guy named Gordon. My hands fisted the bed sheets as I thought about who he was, what he’d done to her, and if I’d looked into his eyes when I killed him. I hoped whoever the motherfucker was, he wasn’t wandering among the living anymore.
I would sense her fear and pull her closer in an attempt to chase off the nightmares. My proximity seemed to soothe her, and it only took seconds for her to calm—much to my satisfaction.
It was only after dawn finally broke that she relaxed completely.
~~~
Before I opened my eyes, my hand patted over the space next to me only to find it empty. Panicked, I jerked awake and threw away the blankets as if, by a miracle, I’d find her hidden underneath. The sheets were still warm, so I figured she’d woken up not too long ago. A post-it stuck to the cushion, and I took it with a frown.
“Not kidnapped! Just welcoming Jimmy and the rest. H.”
I circled the last letter with a finger, then let my arm fall over my eyes. For a second, I’d thought me rescuing her had just been a dream.
I glanced at my watch. It was about midday, a fact that wouldn’t have surprised me, but the date told me we’d both slept through an entire day. Haylie had needed the sleep, but me sleeping for more than twenty-four hours? Thinking back to the last week when I’d barely closed my eyes, I guess it was no surprise my body needed the shutdown.
Taking a quick shower, I dressed before heading to the control room. Laughter rang through the empty corridors before I opened the door, and I was surprised to find the large space rather crowded.
Everyone was gathered to welcome Jimmy, Josh, and Jared, and for the first time in days, everyone seemed happy. Jimmy was caged in a tight embrace with Lisa, and if the sheen of tears glistening in Jimmy’s eyes was anything to go by, they were having a moment. Not wanting to interrupt them, I strode over to Haylie who laughed at something Lauren said. Her carefree laughter warmed me. I’d been deprived of the sound for too long…
Her jaylior eyes flashed in my direction when she saw me approaching, and the sunny smile curling her lips made my heart flutter. Jeez, I felt like an overly horny teenager.
“Hi,” she said in a husky undertone that shot straight through my libido.
“Hi.”
A moment passed where none of us said a word. “I’ll say hi to the others,” Lauren quipped with exaggerated pronunciation before sauntering away.
“How do you feel?” I asked Haylie.
“As good as new.” She flexed one leg to show me there was no sign of her fatal injuries, but all I could do was ogle the curve of her thigh clad in tight jeans. I pictured kissing a path up the inside to then come to the junction where—
“What about you? Still refusing to let a Regenerator heal you?” I blinked, trying to get back to the moment while she studied my face I knew was sporting a few bruises.
I just smiled, not caring in the slightest about my wounds. Seeing her beautiful face was all the remedy I needed.
Her gaze suddenly landed on my lips. Watching her raptly, I grazed my teeth over my lower lip, followed by the tip of my tongue in hopes of getting a reaction from her. It worked. Her mouth opened slightly in surprise before she averted her eyes with a smile on her face. It died off, though, when her gaze fell on something behind my shoulder. I turned around to find Cassie watching us, an unreadable expression on her face.
“I wanted to thank you for getting me out of there. You saved my life,” Haylie said in a serious tone.
“I will always come for you, Haylie. You should know that by now.” Before she could say anything, a hand clamped on my shoulder.
“There’s my best man.” I turned to see Jimmy grinning at me. “I hear you’ve been involved in some action.”
I chuckled, hugging him with one arm and patting his back. “Damn, it’s good to have you back, Jimmy.”
“It’s good to be back.”
“I’ll let you two catch up,” Haylie announced before joining Josh and Jared. My eyes fell on her butt swaying with her beautiful stride. God, that ass… It would be a shame if my hands were never allowed to cup those cheeks.
Jimmy signaled for me to come over to his desk, and I followed him while he hobbled with his crutches.
“How’s the leg?”
Jimmy huffed, plunging into his office chair and stretching his injured limb. “Doctors said it will take a few more weeks until I can use it properly again.” I nodded. He could let Sarah or Gabby heal the worst, but they were both too exhausted from last night and needed a few days to recharge.
I was almost too afraid to ask, but I had to. “Will you be able to race again?”
“Oh, I’ll make damn sure I will, but I guess training needs to wait for a bit.”
I perched against the desk. “Did the others fill you in on what happened?”
Jimmy heaved a deep sigh, his face full of concern. “Scott told me everything. I can’t believe Dorian managed to shift to Cassie. This is just too weird.”
“Yeah, I’ve never heard of a Shifter so powerful to clone another person, let alone a different gender.” Although, I heard Cassie had managed to shift to Gabby back at Natcos. I guessed if needs must…
“Are you sure he survived?”
“I don’t know. If he’s alive, he’ll come back to seek revenge. We should be prepared.”
“I agree.”
“Did you meet Gabby?”
“I did. She’s a very nice girl, and I’m glad you got her out of Dorian’s fangs. I hear she’s a powerful Regenerator.”
“She is. She healed Haylie in no time.”
“You did great, Dylan. I knew the compound was in good hands.”
I scoffed. “In the few days you were gone, half the compound blew up, killing the bigger part of Cole’s team, and Haylie was abducted.”
“It wasn’t your fault. Phil deceived us. They planned this for a long time.” I just shook my head, throwing a regretful glance at Cassie talking to Cole. “I meant to talk to you about something,” Jimmy went on, and I refocused on him. “I want you to take over the compound. Permanently. You proved many times that you could handle it.”
I raised my eyebrows, surprised by his offer. How many times had I dreamed of taking over the compound, being the leader of the people here? Glancing at Haylie who joked around with Scott, I contemplated my answer. “I appreciate your offer, Jimmy, but I think I’ll decline.”
“You decline?” he repeated in shock. “This is what you wanted ever since I brought you here as a boy.”
I wiped a hand over my face. “Let’s just say my priorities changed.”
Leading the compound included more than just bossing people around. It required permanent commitment, which meant I wouldn’t be able to see to Haylie’s safety and training anymore, and that was no option.
“Ah, I see,” Jimmy said with a knowing smile, eyeing the Natural among us. “As far as I remember, there was a time you couldn’t stand to be in her presence.”
“Some things change…” was all I said. A few months ago, it had killed me to be near her. Now, every minute she wasn’t close was a torturous one.
Jimmy smiled genuinely. “Well then, do your job,” he said with a nod to the person of interest.
“Will do.”
Instead, I walked over to Cassie who sat in an office chair, staring at nothing.
“Hey,” I said softly, taking a seat next to her.
“Hey.”
It was strange seeing Cassie like this. She wore no make-up, no kick-ass clothes, and no heels. Her hooded eyes roamed over the room as if she expected a Hunter to jump out of nowhere. The self-confident, cocky, and sassy Cassie I knew was gone.
“Are you okay?”
She bit her lip as she pondered over my question. “I will be.” She tugged her hands under her arms, and I noticed two fingers wrapped in a bandage. I frowned because Sarah had healed her, right? “It’s not your fault, Dylan.”
My eyes trailed to hers. “I should have known something was wrong. I’m sorry, Cassie. I’m so sorry I didn’t come to get you.”
“Don’t.” She rested a hand on mine, squeezing it. “Don’t torture yourself with things you couldn’t have changed. You got us out in the end, didn’t you?” I appreciated her comfort, but it barely soothed my guilt.
“Guys, I have an announcement to make,” Scott shouted from the other end of the room, and everyone grew silent. “As you know, our cooks left along with the students, which means we now have to care for ourselves for a while. Now that everyone’s home again, I figured we should throw a dinner party tonight. I’ll cook.”
Josh and Sarah whooped, and the others clapped their hands in anticipation. If anyone could swing a spoon, it was Scott. Tracers were known to be outstanding cooks.
“The party begins at eight in the canteen!”
While Lauren helped Scott organize everything for the dinner party, Jimmy, Cole, Chris, and I called in a meeting with the new guards to discuss the compound’s safety status. We agreed on installing sensors at the entrances.
I was glad Josh was back to resume his surveillance duty. Phil had been our best IT man, and other than him, Josh was the only one with the skill needed to handle the servers and software. As it turned out, Lauren had a knack for this kind of stuff, too, and I appreciated her help. If I trusted anyone with monitoring this compound, it was her.
Movement on one particular spot on the monitors caught my attention, and I watched Haylie striding down the hallway with a backpack dangling from her shoulder. My heartbeat quickened. She wasn’t going to give us the slip again, was she?
I sighed in relief as she vanished into the training hall where the parkour was set up.
“Are you guys okay without me for a few?”
“Sure thing,” Lauren replied, continuing to help Josh.
I made my way down to the training halls, curious about what Haylie was doing in the parkour hall. Halting near the door, I nearly did a doubletake at seeing her hitting the obstacles.
I didn’t know what shocked me more—her outfit consisting of tight jeans, the corset she’d worn that night at Hell’s Trial, and black high heels I swore belonged to Cassie, or the fact that she was conquering the obstacles with such accuracy, you’d think she’d been training this parkour for years.
I saw her eyes flash with the Flare whenever she activated her power, and I couldn’t help but watch in amazement at seeing her handle it with such ease, considering how hard it had been for her to control her power shortly after the Awakening.
She jumped over each obstacle differently—straight, with a sideways roll, or with a back flip that would make a circus artist green with envy. She ascended the ropes quickly using only her hands and ability. She skipped the trampolines because her power was enough to conquer the distances.
I shifted in anticipation as she neared the wall she’d always feared so much, ready to bolt into action in case it went wrong like last time, although my gut told me this wasn’t going to happen.
She didn’t even flinch when she charged it. I could only watch with my mouth hanging wide open as she landed on top of the wall in a crouch, as graceful as a cat. Eyeing the mat below, she took a deep breath before jumping down. She flew past the mat on purpose and landed on both feet, making a neat roll to lessen the impact. I could hear her labored breaths as she straightened, turning around and looking at the wall with a satisfied smile on her face.
That’s when a crack echoed through the hall, and I saw her flailing her arms before landing hard on her butt. Lifting her foot, she grunted in annoyance. One heel was broken. The scene was so comical, I couldn’t hold back a loud laugh.
As I approached, Haylie’s eyes shot in my direction, giving me a scolding glare. “Not funny.” I continued to snicker, but the laughter died on my tongue as Haylie let her body slump down in exhaustion, and the corset slipped further up, revealing a good strip of naked skin around her navel. God, what I wouldn’t give to swirl my tongue in there right now…
“It seems the parkour is no challenge for you anymore,” I said to steer my thoughts in another direction. “When did you learn to control your ability so fast?”
“I guess it comes with the right amount of motivation. I was forced to use it all the time the last few days, and there was no room for failure.”
I gave a nod to the last obstacle. “The wall?”
She sat up and unzipped her heels. “I came to fear worse things,” she muttered, making me wonder what happened when she’d been under Dorian’s control.
“Like?” I pressed, although I knew it was better to be left in the dark. It would only shove me into the Bluster knowing what they’d done to her. She stood up to face me but gave me no answer. “Haylie, what did they do to you?” I asked in a lower voice to suppress the underlying tremble.
She shook her head. “I think they did more to Cassie.”
“Haylie…”
“It wasn’t so much what they did to me but more like what they made me do.” She combed a hand through the strands that had escaped her bun. “I killed, Dylan. Viciously.” A haunted look crossed her features, one that made me want to wrap my arms around her and soothe her pain. Was she talking about what I saw in the cell, the one with the smears of blood on the wall and the hole in the ground? “It’s okay, I’ll get over it. Better to get used to it sooner rather than later.” She lifted the shoe with its broken heel and groaned. “Cassie’s going to kill me.”
“I already thought these looked familiar. What’s with the training attire, anyway?” I nodded to her outfit, trying my best not to ogle her plunging neckline but failing miserably.
“Cassie’s idea. She said training in training suits was no use because whenever we need to fight for real, we don’t wear them. She suggested training in the most restraining clothes I had. I don’t own any heels, so she gave me hers.”
It was a shame she didn’t own any. They really suited her.
“So, you and Cassie?” I prodded. The sudden shift in their ‘friendship’ wasn’t lost on me—not that I was surprised. Being together on a survival mission connected you on a deeper level. I was dying to know how long it had taken Cassie to agree on a ceasefire.
Haylie chuckled. “Hardly, but we may have come to an understanding.”
I nodded, considering my next words carefully. “Haylie, I’m sorry I didn’t believe you when you told me something was off with Cassie. I should have listened to you.”
“Hey.” Her hand cupped my cheek, rendering me speechless. “You were right, weren’t you? The Cassie we know wasn’t to blame, after all. I’m glad you didn’t lose faith in her.”
Her hand suddenly trailed lower over my neck and my collarbone. I stood stock still, praying she wouldn’t stop and continue to make her way down, but she pulled away before she reached my pecs, much to my disappointment.
“Dylan, I think we should talk about… a few things. Tonight? After the party?” My heart fluttered in both anticipation and dread. I had the feeling this talk would be a breaking point in our relationship. I just didn’t know the outcome, yet.
“Yeah, we should… talk,” I muttered, my mind already drifting off to what I’d rather be doing.
“There you are!” someone called from the door, and we both turned to find Lauren grinning at us. “We’re going on a shopping spree today. Take a shower and be ready in half an hour,” she ordered.
“Shopping?” Haylie questioned, bewildered.
“Yeah. You’re going to wear a dress tonight.”
“I am?”
“Yes, and as I couldn’t find any dresses in your wardrobe, I figured that’s a no-go.”
“I didn’t think about bringing fancy clothes with me here,” Haylie muttered in annoyance. Haylie in a dress? Hell, yeah.
“We’re going to change that.”
“Who’s ‘we?’” I asked skeptically, crossing my arms.
“Cassie, Sarah, Gabby, Haylie, and me. Don’t worry, big boy, Chris is going to drive us.”
“I’ll come with you.” Leaving Haylie out of my sight wasn’t a mistake I’d make twice.
“Good idea. You can keep Chris company during the three or four hours it will take.”
She grinned at me knowingly, making me wish I hadn’t opened my mouth so fast. How long could it take for five girls to find dresses? Okay, wrong question. I’d gone shopping with Jenna a few times, and it had always lasted an entire afternoon.
“Oh, make that five, as you seem to have ruined Cassie’s pair of heels,” she added with a nod to the shoes in Haylie’s hand.
“I have a feeling this will be more torturous than Dorian’s facility,” Haylie muttered, making me chuckle.
Half an hour later, we were ready to hit the road. When we made it to the shopping center, we entered a café where the girls dumped us for the rest of the afternoon. I watched with chagrin as Chris gave Lauren a passionate kiss before the girls left for their shopping spree, imagining my lips claiming Haylie’s just like it had happened the night of her rescue.
“So, you and Lauren are pretty serious, aren’t you?”
Chris ordered two beers. “Pretty much, yeah. She’s an amazing woman.”
“She is,” I said absently, my thoughts wandering to a woman who was way more amazing in my opinion.
“One would think you’d be in a better mood now that you’ve got Haylie back.”
“I am.”
“I can tell. Why don’t you just go and get the girl?”
“It’s not that easy,” I said in my defense, although I knew it was just an excuse not to look like the coward I felt in front of my friend.
Chris sipped his beer. “She won’t make the first step, you know.”
“Why do you think that?”
“Did you forget how you treated her when you first met?”
The reminder soured my mood even more. “She knows it’s not like that anymore.”
“Yeah, but this is a huge step we’re talking about here. Try to see this from her perspective. You were the biggest asshole to her for weeks. Then you two ran off breaking into the hospital where you seduced one of your nurses, and you never made a secret of the many women you screwed. That doesn’t exactly make you look like a man for a stable relationship. Then there’s the thing with Ricky and her involvement. She’s still blaming herself for his death. And on top of that, she’s never been serious with a man.”
“How would you know?” I asked sharply, not liking the idea that Haylie confided in Chris about her love life.
“Lauren told me. She was eighteen when Shawna died, and according to Lauren, she never had a serious relationship since then. After Shawna’s death, Haylie drowned her misery in alcohol and sex.”
The revelation hit me like a jackhammer. I’d never thought about Haylie having sex with other men. She’d always been under my radar since she came to the compound, so there had never been a reason to lose a thought about her having a lover. I hadn’t expected her to be a virgin, but Chris telling me she’d given her body to various men at various times made my temper flare.
“It took some time for Lauren to snap her out of it and help her through this. Since then, she didn’t engage with anyone,” Chris went on, oblivious to my inner turmoil. It relieved me, though, that this phase of her life had come to a fast end. “She can’t have her heart broken. There’s too much at stake for her. Lauren said you already won her heart. You just need to take it. I agree with her.”
“Damn, when did these things get so fucking complicated?” I muttered, dragging a hand through my hair in frustration.
“Since you fell in love, man. And it’s about damn time.”
I didn’t even care to get into denial. What was the point?
Hours later, we drove back to the compound. It was strange seeing Cassie enjoying herself and not staring daggers at every girl trying to be nice to her.
Lauren started to ramble in excitement about the shopping tour. “This was so much fun, we should do it again. And, oh my God, Haylie, your dress! I can’t wait to see you in it,” she gushed, clapping her hands like a five-year-old. I could see Haylie rolling her eyes in the rearview mirror. “It’s a shame you refused to buy those heels, but I guess your boots will do. I was thinking about doing your hair. Should we braid it or just let it hang loosely?” Lauren addressed Sarah who sat next to Haylie. Haylie huffed and leaned forward between our seats.
“Help me,” she pleaded in a low voice. I laughed, but who was I to intervene if the girls intended to put her in a sexy dress and spice her up a bit?