I CAN SMELL her arousal, but I’m in two minds about whether I should act on it. I’m not an idiot. I know she can’t have sex yet, and I know that’s the furthest thing from her mind right now. But, I’m here, and she’s aroused. What’s a man to do with that?
Before I’ve thought it through, my lips meet hers, and her mouth opens for me, allowing my tongue to slide in and explore. I’m half expecting a hand to the chest and to be shoved away. But it doesn’t come. I taste mint and that all-consuming taste which is just Maiya. I pull her to me. I want her as close as possible. I pull her onto my thighs and fist her hair in my hands. I deepen the kiss, and without realising what I’m doing, I’m lifting her and laying her on the bed. I get a sudden jolt like a bolt of lightning hitting me, and I stop what I’m doing and stand up straight. This isn’t right. She’s vulnerable, and this isn’t what she needs. Fuck me—I’m a dumbass. As if she realises too, she sits up and pulls her knees to her chest. I press my hand to hers.
‘Maiya, I’m so sorry,’ I say before I leave her for the bathroom.
***
I can’t face Maiya yet, so I go straight downstairs.
‘Brad, we’ve sat on this long enough now. It’s time to move. We go tonight.’ I nod as I walk in on the conversation in the kitchen. Jared is getting more and more pissed the longer we stay here, and he wants to be off this asshole’s turf.
‘I’m good to go,’ I tell him. I want this done. We’ve managed to get the recon done over the several nights Maiya was in the hospital. I have their routine down. They won’t be expecting us, and it should go pretty damn smoothly. Howard is grumbling in the corner. He’d been acting strange since we arrived. He definitely has a bee in his bonnet. And considering his face usually looks like his asshole, the fucker was surprisingly worse.
‘What the fuck is eating at you?’ I ask him, giving him a nudge in the ribs with my elbow.
‘Fuck off,’ he grunts.
‘Sorry I asked, dickhead.’
He just glares at me before walking to the door.
‘What time?’ he shouts, making Jared look up at him. Jared has a look on his face when he sees Howard’s hand on the door handle. It’s a look I’ve seen many a time. It means ‘don’t cause any shit’. What the fuck did I miss while Maiya was in the hospital?
‘Four a.m. we go. Don’t be late.’ Jared dismisses everyone, but I wait for the room to clear.
‘What the fuck is going on with Howard?’ Jared inhales deeply before exhaling on a sigh.
‘Some shit with a woman,’ he tells me like he’s sick to death of talking about it already.
‘Howard? Pissed about a woman?’ I query because that’s not fucking normal. ‘What’s up? She wouldn’t suck his dick the way he wanted?’ I laugh at my own humour. Jared rubs at his face with his hands. He’s worried about it. ‘What? Tell me?’
‘We need to deal with this shit first okay?’ I nod my agreeance. ‘Then we can discuss Howard’s issue.’
‘So there is a problem then?’
‘Mmmhmm,’ is all he says. Great. He gets up to leave. ‘Go and get some sleep, and I’ll see you here at four.’ He pushes through the door, and I mull over what could possibly be such a big problem. I don’t go back to the bedroom. I have a big enough problem there myself. So instead, I go out for a walk. I hear Howard before I see him. He’s having words with Brody. I walk over, but they stop before I get there.
‘Everything alright?’ I ask even though it’s obvious that it’s not. Brody is pushed up against the wall, and Howard is all up in his face. Again. I sigh.
‘Howard, come on, man. I thought this shit with you two was sorted?’ I say, stepping between them. ‘Leave the kid alone.’
‘It’s not me he needs to leave alone!’ Brody grumbles as he walks away.
‘Umm, you wanna tell me what that was all about?’ I ask smiling. Sounds to me like Howard and Brody could be arguing over the same chick. I almost laugh, but Howard’s face is anything but amused. He’s really pissed off. That much is clear. He cracks his neck before shaking his head and walking away.
‘Oh, don’t mind me, man. I’ll just answer my own damn self, huh?’
He still doesn’t speak just casually flips me the bird over his shoulder.
I know I’ve been at the hospital most of our stay so far, but this place is eerily quiet. It’s the alpha’s compound, and no one is ever around. It’s not normal. I do a walk around the main fence and then head back to the house. I’m going to take a nap before we head out later. I will have to face Maiya, and that’s that. I get to the bedroom, and she’s sound asleep. I thank God or whoever the fuck people thank for small mercies, and I get myself comfortable on the far side of the bed. I wake up a few hours later with Maiya screaming and fighting against someone. My eyes pop, and my vision kicks in after a few seconds of pitch black. My body goes into fight mode. But I realise quickly that she’s fighting an invisible enemy. Fuck. Another nightmare.
‘Maiya,’ I whisper, trying not to startle her, but she doesn’t respond. I speak a little louder and say it again. Nothing.
Before I know it, Devon flings the bedroom door open, quickly followed by Jared, and she runs over to Maiya’s side. I’m struggling to keep my composure because I know she won’t want them seeing her like this. I want to tell them both to fuck off and leave me with her, but I bite my tongue when I see the pain in Devon’s face as her eyes fill with tears. I’ve seen some shit in my life, but this is by far the worst. Maiya is so fucking vulnerable, and I’m helpless to stop it.
‘Please let me deal with her—she won’t want you here.’
Devon’s face crumples, but I don’t have time to console her. I need to wake Maiya.
‘That was out of line, Brad,’ Jared grumbles as he pulls Devon into his chest.
‘I didn’t mean… fuck, Jared, I meant she won’t want anyone seeing her like this. Please just let me deal with it?’
He nods and practically picks a complaining Devon up and leaves. Leaving me alone, with a hysterical woman fighting the battle of her life in her own head. I pull her up from the bed, and over my shoulder, she’s fighting me now with everything she has. I walk her into the bathroom, and I think about flipping her off me, and straight into the shower, but I decide against it and climb into the shower with her in my arms, turning it on to a cold jet. It’s freezing, and my balls instantly shrivel, but it works. When I look down, Maiya’s teeth are chattering, and her eyes are wide, wondering what the fuck I am doing soaking her in cold water. I can’t answer right now. But I sigh in relief that it worked. I move to turn the water to warm, and she flinches away from me. I can’t even explain how that makes me feel. It’s like I’m filled with lead in my stomach. It’s a shitty feeling, and I can’t stand it for a minute longer. I let her feet hit the deck, and I back all the way out. It’s only when I get through the bedroom door that I strip out of my wet boxers and t-shirt.