THIRTY-ONE

Ivy woke … in a bed … with another human being. What. The. Fuck. Clearly after their marathon sex session, she had fallen asleep in bed with Lark. She supposed it shouldn’t surprise her – the man was an absolute animal in the sack! But in the past, she had never slept with anyone, not even Alex. She had never allowed her guard to lower that much. And she sure never trusted anyone that much. So what did it mean now, to find her back flush against Lark’s front, as he spooned her from behind?

One masculine hand was loosely cupping her breast and there was a hairy leg, settled firmly and warmly between hers. She could feel his breath disrupting the hairs on her head as he breathed deeply and rhythmically, apparently still in the blissful ignorance of sleep. The previous night had been amazing. The sex had been fantastic – the best she’d ever had. She was feeling comfy and cosy and … panicky.

Lark had tried to do the noble thing yesterday and ward her off, insisting she wasn’t in the correct state of mind to jump into the sack with him. But had she listened? No. Life-affirming, instant gratification is what she had wanted, she remembered. The only problem, now in the light of a new day, was that she had no idea what the hell she was supposed to do from here.

The hand encompassing her breast gave a small squeeze and she felt Lark move his hips ever so subtly, his morning hardness brushing against the curve of her arse. His fingers on his other hand began weaving lazily in and out through the strands of her hair. He snuffled against her neck, “Hmm, morning.”

She felt the words rumble roughly through his chest and fought the shiver they immediately elicited. Danger! Abort, abort! she yelled at herself. She was a ranger on a mission to potentially save their whole society. She didn’t need to be feeling comfy or cosy or any other pansy emotion. She didn’t need to be having sex with her colleague who was one hundred and thirty years younger than her and best friends with her brother. She certainly didn’t need to be as attracted to the man’s mind as much as she was attracted to his body.

Therein lie danger.

Feeling panic, she sprang from the bed and snatched up her phone, racing to the bathroom. She slammed the door, half of her knowing she was acting like a maniac and the other half wanting to hyperventilate. Searching her contacts, she called the only person she knew would pick up;

“Ivy? You’d better be dying,” the sleep-roughened voice threatened, “Do you know what time it is?”

“Get over it!” she snapped, in no mood for Nikolai’s good-natured banter.

She heard a pouty hmpf before he asked, “Are you okay?”

“No! I am not okay!” she screamed, “They infected me with their virus!”

“Infected? Virus?” he yelled back, sounding more awake. “What are you talking about? Are you sick?”

“Yesss,” she hissed at him, “I’m very sick.”

“Chade poison?” he barked out, all business now. She could hear rustling in the background and could picture him throwing on clothes and weapons.

“No, it’s not that. Well, it was that. But not anymore. You’re not listening to me!” she yelled, knowing she had yet to tell him anything to listen to.

“You were poisoned?” he asked.

“Yes,” she huffed, impatiently.

“But you’re fine now. Not dying?”

She yanked on her hair, feeling her anxiety continue to rise, “Yes, I’m fine now. Death is not imminent.”

Nik let out an aggravated breath, “Jeez, Ivy. You scared the crap outta me. What’s going on?”

“It’s their … niceness. It’s contagious. I woke up all happy and safe and warm. I’ve talked more in the past few weeks than I have in my entire lifetime. And I feel like smiling all the time. Smiling!” she panted.

Her boss had the audacity to laugh at her, “I see. Well, this sounds very bad. I agree with you; it’s a virus. Definitely a nasty virus,” his words were solemn but his tone was filled with hilarity.

“I’m serious, Nik. Before I left they were calling me family. Family! It’s going to be even worse now,” she lamented.

“And what’s wrong with that?” he questioned, his tone quieting now.

She scoffed, “Come on, we both know I’m not family material.”

“Do we? Huh, what about Beyden then? Hasn’t he always been your family?”

She gritted her teeth – Nik was being deliberately difficult, “That’s different – he’s my baby brother.”

“And what about your mother? You always told me such wonderful stories about her,” he pushed.

She growled, “You’re deliberately twisting the situation. Of course my mother and brother are family – it’s not like I have a choice about that.”

“No, you don’t. But this family has a choice. And they’re choosing you. What a wonderful privilege,” his voice was soft, rich with rebuke and warmth at the same time.

Ivy felt her panic deflate and shame trickle in. Yes, a family made from choices and love instead of obligation was indeed an incredible type of special.

“Ivy, what’s this really about?” her Commander asked her now.

She felt herself hesitate, “I told you –”

“Yes, yes – you’re turning soft, nice-infections, and fuzzy viruses – blah blah. You’re just letting people in, Ivy, that’s all. That carefully constructed wall we all build so we can go and kill our brethren every day – people are finally choosing to see past it. It’s a good thing, Ivy. It’s about damn time if you ask me. What are you so worried about? Allowing people to see the real you will not take your power away. You’re still a hard-arsed, bitch of a ranger. Always will be. Some of us honestly like that about you.”

She pictured the red-headed, green-eyed man naked in the adjoining room and felt herself sigh, “I know – that’s the problem. He does.”

“He?” Nik’s voice perked up before turning downright cheeky, “He? Well, isn’t this interesting. Do you have a boyfriend, Ivy?”

“No!” she yelled, alarm rising for a whole other reason now. What had she been thinking, calling Nik about something like this?

“Oh, me think you doth protest too much. Tell me about him – no wait, let me guess; he’s mature, tall, dark, broad shoulders with rippling abs and a fuck-the-world attitude.”

Ivy didn’t say anything but knew he could hear the gnashing of her teeth.

He chuckled, “Come on, Ivy. I’m right, aren’t I? I bet he’s a real bear.”

She hated his assumptions, “You’re wrong on every count; he’s young – thirty-one to be exact, lean with auburn hair, the perfect six-pack, and happy as a lark.”

Silence met her ears for a few seconds, before; “Happy as a lark, you say? Or do you mean his name is Lark? Tell me you’re not sleeping with that baby-faced paladin!”

She stiffened in insult from his disbelieving tone, “And what if I am?”

“He doesn’t suit you, that’s all,” he answered.

“What do you mean, he doesn’t suit me? He suits me just fine! I’ll have you know that he’s very intelligent and can actually carry a conversation with words that are more than one syllable. He reads books that aren’t just pictures. He’s open and friendly and caring. And he’s a damn good soldier. You should see him cutting down the chades – he moves like some kind of a warrior-dancer-god!”

By the time she finished her defence of Lark, she was yelling and running out of breath. She then also realised two things simultaneously; Nik had deliberately goaded her into revealing her true feelings and Lark was now standing directly behind her, listening to everything.

“I gotta go. But when I see you next, I’m going to kick you in the nuts – hard!” she informed her commander. His deep, baritone laughter could be heard as she hit the end button on her phone.

Wondering if she could stay really still and Lark would move on just like a T-rex would, she held her breath. But apparently, he didn’t share any DNA with the extinct reptiles because she could feel his breath fanning against the back of her neck and his hands spanning her waist. A definite prod of something hard against her bottom left her in no doubt as to how Lark had received her words.

“Ivy …” he breathed.

“Yes …” she responded, breathlessly.

“I’m good with words.”

She nodded, “I know.”

“But I’m not going to use words now,” he informed her.

She swallowed hard, “You’re not?”

Soft lips traced the back her neck, “Uh uh … I’m going to use actions. Ivy …”

She gulped, audibly.

“Prepare yourself,” he warned one second before lifting her up and throwing her over his shoulder.