Chapter Five
By the time morning came, Mack was a ball of nerves. Would Oliver want to pretend last night never happened? Or had she gone too far; would he want her gone? She didn't want to go–she had only known him for a month, but she realized that she had never felt so relaxed and at home as she did in this crazy open-air house full to bursting with plants, even if it did come with creepy crawlers.
"I'm not the kind of girl who falls in love after just a month," she tried to tell herself, but it was a lie–she might not have been that kind of girl before, but she certainly was now.
She didn't want this to be over. She didn't want to be sent to Utah or wherever else Meyer wanted to put her. What she wanted was for her family to move into the closest town and to set up her animal rescue shelter there, so she could spend her weekends here with Oliver–or maybe they could transform the grounds into some sort of wildlife rehabilitation center.
The point was moot until she knew if Oliver was going to send her back, anyway.
He came shuffling in, looking shy, not at all like his normal self, just as she finished making breakfast. A brief smile crossed his face as he plopped himself at the table. Mack tried to suppress the instant disappointment that flooded her. With her carelessness the previous night, she had ruined everything.
"Sorry," both blurted at the same time.
Mack giggled and Oliver grinned.
"I already told you, you don't have anything to be sorry about," she told him, setting his normal fare of mealworms and mangos in front of him. Mack was going for a safer protein smoothie, made from a vegan protein powder, not bugs. Putting a worm or a cricket into her mouth was something she just wasn't ever going to try.
"I still feel bad. It was wrong of me to go into your room at night. I'm surprised you didn't run away from me screaming last night." Oliver poked at his breakfast. "I told you that I have personal boundary issues. Well, I have a lot of social issues in general. I always have. I've never really fit in anywhere, except here. But it gets lonely."
Mack nodded her understanding. "I'm not always the best in social situations, either. I have a pretty nasty temper when it comes to most people. You ought to have seen the way I ripped apart my dad when I told him I was quitting my job at the zoo. It was a bloodbath, and all he asked was why."
She shook her head, shuddering. She was glad that Oliver had never seen that side of her. She didn't know why, but she never got angry at him. Maybe because he was just so uninhibited that she couldn't fault him when he crossed a line or two or five.
"Why did you?"
"I had a crisis of faith. Sort of. I mean, I do think that there is some good that zoos do, I really do, but I got to a point where I wasn't sure it was enough. To be honest, I'm still not sure exactly where I stand, but I could never go back."
Oliver frowned at that but nodded. "I see."
"Anyway," Mack continued, her hands beginning to shake. She had never talked about sex with anyone before. Even when her mother had given her 'the talk' they hadn't really talked about it. When it came to all of her old friends, they weren't really like the sex-crazed teens who seemed to dominate TV shows, either. "About last night. I'm sorry that I made you uncomfortable—"
"You don't know how uncomfortable," Oliver groaned, then ducked his head. "Sorry. I promised myself I wouldn't do that."
Mack stared at him. He couldn't mean…
Oliver continued. "I realize you were just saying that because it was late and you weren't thinking clearly. I'm sorry that I considered taking advantage of the situation."
It felt like all the air had left Mack's lungs, but at the same time like they were filling with sunshine. She had to fight to keep herself from launching herself on him. "Wait… you wanted to?"
Oliver stared at his untouched breakfast, guilt plain as day on his features, and nodded.
"Really?"
"I'm sorry."
Mack couldn't help but laugh. "No, don't be. I just… I felt awful last night because I thought I made you uncomfortable by suggesting something you had no interest in."
"Why wouldn't I have any interest in you?"
It was her turn to duck her head. "I guess you just always act so… childlike."
"I'm an adult. I'm older than you." Oliver's voice was wounded. "And let's get something clear. From the first moment I saw you, with all your delicious curves, I have been fighting for self-control. I didn't want to make things weird between us, and maybe I overcompensated. But I have social issues, I'm bad at reading attraction and I didn't want to do or say anything that made you want to leave. I like having you live here. It's more than just having someone around. Nobody else has ever played tag with me on my jungle gym."
"Really?" Mack hated how breathless she sounded. She wanted to remain cool and in control, but that wasn't happening. Heat swirled through her and she was thinking of how inviting a bed sounded…
"Really. You're fun and sexy." Oliver's voice dropped a few octaves, staring back at her. "And you're saying you feel the same way towards me?"
Speechless, she nodded.
Oliver stiffened. He raised his face, nostrils flaring as though he was scenting the air. He was on his feet in a second, and in another second he had picked Mack up. She squealed, eyes widening.
"Put me down, I'm too heavy!"
"No." He tore from the kitchen, feet pounding the floor. Mack clutched at his neck. Was this him abandoning social conventions? Her heart skipped a beat, but she was also excited. She had spent the night sleepless because she wanted this, and now—
Her brow furrowed when they entered the atrium, but she shrugged. This was where Oliver was most comfortable. Sex on a hammock couldn't be much different than on a bed, could it?
He set her on her feet and dove between two huge ferns. He wrenched open a trapdoor disguised as a rock and fairly shoved Mack inside. She yelped in surprise.
"Oliver—"
"Stay in there."
Was this some sort of bizarre sex game? Muscles roped and bunched over Oliver's body, and there was a deadly expression on his face as his head swung back and forth, eyes darting every which way. Cold dread drenched Mack. This was no game. Something was happening.
She opened her mouth to ask what it was, but Oliver shook his head. "Stay here. Don't come out, whatever you do. Please."
He lowered the lid, trapping Mack in utter darkness. She felt around the small space with her hands. It would be just big enough for Oliver if he was in here alone. Her heart was in her throat. What was going on? What had happened to spook him so quickly? She crouched in the darkness, straining to hear past the beat of blood in her ears.
When the sound of gunfire exploded somewhere above her, Mack nearly screamed. She shoved a fist into her mouth, eyes widening. Oliver! Was he getting shot to bits? Who would be shooting at him?
Gedge. Gedge had found her! Bile rose in her throat. How had he found her? They were going to kill Oliver, and then they'd find her and kill her too. Tears burned her eyes and she froze in the darkness.
The gunfire suddenly ceased. Sounds of grunting sounded above her, branches breaking, and a repeated pounding, as if something heavy were hitting the ground. A loud noise, half-scream, and half-snarl. And then it was over. More branches broke.
Mack swallowed hard. What had just happened up there? Had they killed Oliver? If she lifted the trap door, would she see Oliver's blank eyes staring at her? The image tortured her. She closed her eyes, pressing her hands to her ears, trying to tell herself that Oliver was fine–but she couldn't banish the image.
No sound came from above her. If she just opened it a little, she could see… Mack could hardly get her body to move, but she set her shoulders against the door and pushed it up. Light poured in. She opened it a little further.
A pair of blank eyes stared at her. But they weren't Oliver’s. It was a man she didn't recognize. Mack stared, frozen, at the body.
The man's head had been turned completely around.