Kean

He rolled over on his side to face her, running a finger gently up her stomach and between her breasts, admiring the way they rose and fell gently with her breathing.

“That was fun,” he said softly, glancing up at her face.

Madison’s bright blue eyes weren’t focused on him though. They were staring far away, past the ugly once-white-now-yellowed popcorn ceiling above them, at something only she could see. Kean sighed. He couldn’t tell exactly what it was she was thinking about, but he knew what the look meant. It had been plastered upon her face far too many times.

The Mission, he thought dully, rolling off his elbow onto his back, tucking his hands behind his head as he too stared up at the ceiling.

Maddy didn’t even seem to notice, her mind oblivious to the present as she worked her way through some detail or another. He thought about interrupting her, of bringing her back to the present by perhaps rolling on top of her, or sending his hand questing between her legs to show that he was ready to go again.

None of it would change a thing though, besides losing him any goodwill he might have earned with his efforts during their first session. That and a cross look before she got dressed, hiding her magnificent body from him once more.

Kean kept his sigh as soft and silent as he could.

Maybe it wasn’t the mission, a part of his mind said, presenting him with an even less than palatable thought. Perhaps now that they were finished, both of them having lain back to enjoy the warm fuzzy sensation that accompanied an orgasm, she was having second thoughts.

Regrets.

Was Madison upset that she’d given in to her urges and slept with him? It wouldn’t be over the sex itself, he knew that. They’d paired together too well, reading each other like a book. So it had to be the fact that she’d let herself go through with it in the first place.

Likely she’s upset because that could have compromised the mission.

Cursing himself, Kean looked away entirely, not wanting her to see the anger that played over his face as he beat himself up mentally. This was all his fault. He’d leaned in and kissed her. He’d initiated it.

You knew better. You knew exactly what would happen if you tried to kiss her then. Both of you were high on adrenaline, and any tension that already existed would have been exacerbated by that.

Instead of keeping cool, perhaps taking a cold shower or getting them food, he’d gone in for physical satisfaction. Unable to deny himself and his bear at the same time, Kean had been weak. Now he’d put Madison in a tough spot. How was she supposed to deny what happened? She couldn’t. But she still had the mission to focus on, and now he was a distraction, something that she couldn’t deal with.

She was going to have to remove him as her primary accomplice. It was the only sensible option of course. Gavin would have to take his spot. Or Pierce. He would just do his best to fade into the background, to become part of the backdrop, so that she wouldn’t see him.

Maybe once they’d rescued Raven, then Kean could become a part of her world, when Madison could spare some time to actually think about him.

“I’m hungry,” she said abruptly, standing up and reaching for her clothing.

He noticed she made no attempt to hide her nudity from him. That did little to help his reaction to her, though he tried to pull the covers up to hide it, so that she wasn’t forced to notice.

“Me too,” he agreed listlessly. “Order pizza?”

“You read my mind.”

He smiled, morosely happy at the idea that he knew her that well.

“Do you think there’s a place that delivers all the way out here?” he asked.

“Probably not,” she agreed in retrospect. After putting her underwear and bra on she padded over to the little rickety wooden table placed near the door. On it were some pieces of paper that had been there when they arrived.

“Apparently there’s a diner up the road.” There was an odd note in her voice.

“Oh?” he asked questioningly.

She shrugged. “It’s apparently pirate-themed.”

He grinned, suddenly able to cast off the depression that had been taking over him. “Aye? So what y’arrrr saying matey, is that we can get a bite o’ food?”

Madison rolled her eyes, but he saw a smile trying to force its way onto her face.

“Ye be warned,” she replied in a similar fake-pirate tone, “Here thar be monsters.” She waggled the paper at him like a sword. “Proceed with caution.”

“Shiver me timbers!” he roared, leaping from the bed, forgetting about why he’d slid under the covers in the first place.

Madison eyed his pronounced erection. “Oh, going to make me, um, walk, the plank?”

Kean froze, glancing down between his legs, then back at her. She was going bright red. He burst into laughter, unable to contain it.

Okay, she doesn’t hate me. She might not be happy about what we did, but at least she’s able to accept it without becoming furious at me. That’s a good sign. But don’t push it. Put yer clothes on ya filthy pirate!

He reached for his underwear and slid them on as the laughs faded away at last.

“That wasn’t funny at all,” he announced. “Which must mean we’re delirious with hunger.”

“Well if you’d stop waving your sword around everywhere, we could get going.”

Kean snorted. “Just because you buried the treasure already doesn’t make you captain,” he said, making it obvious just what he thought happened to be the “treasure.”

Madison giggled, but said nothing more as she finished pulling on her clothing.

Stop pushing it, you idiot. Play it cool. Act like you aren’t affected by it, so that she won’t find another partner to finish the job. You can’t fall too quickly for her, Keener.

The last line could have come from the lips of any of his brothers. Kean’s good mood immediately fled, going up in smoke.

They were right, he knew. He had a penchant to believe he was in love with someone before he’d even gotten to know them. To think that they were the love of his life, when in reality, it was just sheer lust. That could be what was happening here as well.

He didn’t think it was. At least, part of him didn’t. The colder, more rational part of his brain had other ideas though. It stood there, looking at him like he was crazy. Of course this was the same, it thought. Why would it be any different with Madison? It told him that he wouldn’t know love if it jumped up and hit him in the face.

Something hit him in the head and wrapped around his face, temporarily blinding him.

“What the hell?” he barked, reaching up to fling whatever it was away, preparing himself for combat as he dropped into a fighter’s stance.

Silence reigned, broken only by the coughing sound that sounded suspiciously like Maddy trying to cover up laughter.

Slowly he reached up and grabbed the item in question, peeling it off his face, only to find that it was, in fact, his pants. Madison must have thrown them at him while he was turned away.

Feeling embarrassed, he stood up and shook the pants out, thrusting one leg into them.

“I meant to do that,” he said piously.

“Riggghhht,” Maddy drawled, rolling her eyes.

The tension in the room was weird. They were both trying to act normal, without acknowledging what had happened, or acknowledging that they both knew the other person was uncomfortable with the situation.

Kean knew he should just come out and say something. To just put it out there, so they could lay all the cards on the table right then and there. It would be easier that way. It would be smarter. It was the adult way to do things.

You can do this. Just be honest, don’t lie, and don’t get weird either. It’ll be far better this way than to leave it hanging between the two of you.

He opened his mouth.