“Max?” Vivian gave him a curious look over the hood of the truck. “You okay?”
Keeping a sharp eye on the nearby woods, he said, “Get inside, Vivian. Now.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” he murmured, not wanting to freak her out. God only knew she’d been through enough freaky shit in the past twenty-four hours to last her a lifetime.
With their bags in hand, they headed up the wide porch steps, and she keyed in the code that Arra had given them for the door. The second he had it closed and bolted behind them, Max dropped his bag and shoved both hands back through his hair as he turned to look at Vivian, his greedy gaze soaking up the sight of her as she stood in the middle of the airy living room, staring back at him. They’d slipped off their muddy shoes before coming through the door, and his lips twitched with a grin when he saw that the green skulls on her socks were a perfect match with her tight green sweater, another pair of skinny jeans showcasing her incredible legs.
Christ, after everything that had happened, he could hardly believe she was real. That she was there with him, still breathing and talking and walking. When he realized she’d run, he’d been so goddamn terrified that he’d lost her, and now that she was with him again, every part of him was drawn tight with need. Tight with raw, visceral craving, until it was all he could do not to cross the room, toss her over his shoulder, carry her into the first bedroom he came across, and get up close and personal with every inch of her beautiful little body as he stripped her rain-soaked clothes away, piece by piece.
But now’s not the time, he told himself. So calm the hell down.
Coughing to clear the knot of lust that was jammed in his throat, he pushed his hands into his pockets and took a step toward her. “I, uh, heard from Elliot while you were gone.”
“He texted you?”
“Yeah. And then he left a voicemail. I must have been in one of the dead spots for service, because it just popped up on my phone while I was still trying to track you down.” He moved further into the room, noticing with his next breath that the place smelled of lemons, cinnamon…and his woman. “I’m afraid the news isn’t great.”
Her cheeks paled as her eyes went wide. “Is Skye okay?”
“Yeah, she’s fine. But the safe house was attacked.”
“Ohmygod!”
“Elliot killed more than a few of the bastards, and the rest ran away. But he questioned one of them.” Before ripping the guy’s throat open, straight through to his spinal column. But Max kept that gory detail to himself, figuring Vivian had already been subjected to enough blood and violence for one day.
“What… What did he learn?”
“Apparently, the man who wants you and Skye is some dickhead named Chiswick. That’s why I asked the Reapers about him. He isn’t human, but the guy Elliot questioned swore not to know what his species is.”
She’d wrapped her arms around her middle when he started talking, and now she looked as if she were barely holding herself together.
“Hey, you okay?”
Her long hair moved over her shoulders as she shook her head. “No. Even after what you told me you learned when you talked to that guy in Philly, I… I’d hoped they would leave Skye alone.” She started shivering, and he knew it had to do with a hell of a lot more than the fact she was cold. “But I was wrong.”
“This isn’t your fault, Vivian. You know that, right?”
She gave him a weary nod, and he wanted to keep arguing his point, but could see that she was exhausted. Wanting to take care of her, he asked, “You think you could eat something if I scrounge up some food for us?”
The idea of food seemed to make her go almost as green as her sweater. “Thanks, but I’m not very hungry right now.”
“Then let’s find you some honey,” he said, already heading toward the kitchen to search the cupboards, “and after that, hopefully you’ll be able to get some sleep.”
“Sleep?”
“Hell yeah.” He found a bottle of honey sitting on the counter beside the kettle, and then the silverware in the second drawer he checked. Grabbing a teaspoon, he filled it up with the gooey honey, hoping that the strange home remedy actually worked as he handed it over to her.
When he was a kid, Michaela had always given him tea with honey whenever he’d had a sore throat, but he’d never heard of it having any kind of supernatural purpose. But hell, it wasn’t like he was an expert on any of this shit, so he was going to make sure Vivian did what the badass biker chick had told her to and pray it gave them some breathing room, because with the way things had been going, they were definitely going to need it.
“Are you in any pain? Need any meds?”
She shook her head again, looking like she might fall asleep on her feet, and he knew it was the change she was going through that was most likely draining her into exhaustion. In the days after he’d been bitten, there’d been times when he could have slept for weeks on end, the shock to his system too extreme to adhere to any kind of normal schedule.
Searching for a glass, he filled it with some cold water for her, then handed it over. “Now go throw on something comfy and find a big bed to climb into back in one of the bedrooms. I bet you’ll be asleep in minutes.”
She took a sip of her water, then slid him a look from under her lashes. “And what are you going to do?”
Crossing his arms over his chest, Max leaned back against the counter, thinking he was going to be doing his best to give her some space and not act like a randy dog. But to Vivian, he simply said, “I’m gonna grab a beer out of the fridge, if there is one, scrounge up some food, and just chill for a bit. Keep an eye on everything while you rest.”
Her head tilted a bit to the side. “You’ll be okay?”
He gave her a little smile. “I’ll be fine.”
She returned his smile, then turned and started to walk away. But when she got to the archway that led to the central hallway, she stopped and looked back at him over her shoulder. “You know, those bikers were insanely beautiful.”
He pulled in a sharp breath, but forced his expression to remain neutral.
Placing her free hand against the side of the archway, she said, “I mean like steal-your-breath, make you want to get down on your knees and thank a higher power kind of beautiful.”
Screw being neutral. Max let a dark scowl draw his brows together, wondering why she felt he needed to know this crap.
“But just so you know,” she said lightly, giving him a heavy-lidded look that shot straight to his dick, “I think you’re hotter.”
Shit. She’s going to drive me out of my goddamn mind, he thought, the husky laugh that fell from her lips echoing in his ears as she disappeared around the corner, and it took every ounce of strength he possessed not to follow after her like a needy little puppy.
Or a primal wolf who wanted to show her just how possessive and hungry it could be.
He stood there, in that exact spot, long after she’d disappeared from his view, struggling for control. When he finally felt he could trust himself to move, he searched for the thermostat and cranked the heat up for her so she wouldn’t get cold. Then he went out on the porch for a smoke, keeping a careful eye on his surroundings the entire time. He locked up again after heading back inside, grabbed a beer and some food, then sat down at the breakfast bar in the kitchen and texted Elliot, telling him that it was shit news about the safe house, and that he hoped he’d destroyed the fuckers. He also told him to tell Skye not to worry, that Vivian was still safe, and that he’d be in touch soon.
He felt like a complete shit for leaving out so much, but what could he say? He still didn’t understand what was going on, and the bikers hadn’t given him anything worth sharing. It was actually a little embarrassing, how little he’d managed to uncover. Elliot had gotten more out of one asshole than Max had gotten out of any of the bastards who had attacked them.
Don’t be so hard on yourself, his wolf murmured, speaking up for the
first time since they’d reached the cabin. You haven’t had the best circumstances for interrogations. And we’ve had our mate to protect.
True. And last night... Hell, he didn’t even have words for what last night had been. Until the Reapers had shown up, he’d been out of his mind with the fear that he was actually going to lose her, and he didn’t think he was going to forget what that terror had felt like any time soon. If ever.
Lifting his hand, he rubbed at the center of his chest, the warm feeling that had started burning there when she’d admitted she was afraid of hurting him still going strong. He knew she wouldn’t—couldn’t—given the connection that burned between them. But he still wasn’t ready to explain it to her, even though keeping it secret felt all kinds of wrong.
Finishing off the beer he’d grabbed from the fridge, Max took the plate he’d made a sandwich on over to the sink and washed it, then headed back into the living room. He knew he needed to grab some downtime while he could, since it looked like they would be hitting the road again come nightfall, so he stretched out on the long leather sofa and closed his eyes. For a while, he just laid there and tried to come up with some kind of plan for what came next, and where they could go—one that didn’t involve his family and friends, since he knew Vivian wasn’t ready for that. And, hell, neither was he. But he also wasn’t going to risk her safety just to keep from putting them in an uncomfortable situation, which is definitely what they’d be in back at the Alley. Shit, Michaela would probably take one look at him and know exactly what was going on, without him having to explain a single thing.
But it wasn’t just the life-mate connection that made him wary of heading home, or Vivian’s surprising reluctance to see Skye. More than anything, it was the fact that he still didn’t have a clue what they were dealing with, or what Vivian was becoming, and until they did, Max couldn’t help but think that they were better off on their own.
At some point, he must have drifted off, because he woke to the sound of water running through the pipes, and realized Vivian was awake and taking another shower. Sitting up, he rubbed his hands over his face, then checked his phone for the time, surprised to see that it was already mid-afternoon. He stretched and moved to his feet, thinking he’d make a pot of coffee for them to down before hitting the road, but then froze, fear locking him in place so fast he actually swayed back and forth a little.
“Oh, hell,” he muttered, panic jerking a low growl from his chest, and he took off running toward the bathroom, terrified he was going to find nothing but an empty shower again, same as he had the day before. But when he threw the bathroom door open, her breathtaking scent hit him at full blast, and he knew she hadn’t run even before he ripped back the shower curtain, needing the visual confirmation as well. He figured he was about to get slapped across the face and ordered out, and was prepared to deal with her fury, so long as he knew she was all right. But what he found when he pulled that curtain back… Yeah, there was no way in hell he could have been prepared for that.
She sat in the back corner of the shower stall, huddled on the floor with her knees up against her chest and her head buried in her crossed arms, sobbing her eyes out.
“Fuck, sweetheart, no,” he husked, stepping into the shower. He didn’t give a shit that he was fully dressed and water was pelting him in the back. All that mattered was getting her in his arms, and he could have sworn that damn burn around his heart got even sharper as he leaned down and scooped her up against his chest.
She didn’t say anything, and she didn’t try to pull away. Instead, she threw her arms around his shoulders and buried her wet face against the side of his throat, crying even harder as he carried her out of the bathroom and back to the bed where she’d slept. He sat on the edge of the mattress, then turned, laying her down in the middle as he leaned over her, their faces so close together he could see the tears gathered on her long lashes, and Max knew that if he pressed his lips to her damp cheek, her skin would be salty with them.
I don’t cry.
Never?
Never.
Noted.
Their brief exchange from earlier played through his head, and he heard a deep rumbling sound grind its way up from his chest. Christ, it was killing him to see her like this.
Her eyes shot open as he shifted to grab the blanket from the foot of the bed, since she had to be freezing, her body vibrating with a fine tremor. But she stopped him as she clutched handfuls of his T-shirt, pulling him closer. “Don’t! Don’t leave me,” she said shakily, her blue eyes tear-drenched and heartbreaking. “Please.”
“I won’t,” he soothed, stretching out beside her.
“Stay,” she whispered, quickly turning onto her side and snuggling up against him with her head tucked under his chin, as he wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. She didn’t seem to give a damn that she was naked and still wet from her shower, and he knew it was because she was upset.
Pressing a soft kiss to the top of her head, he quietly said, “I’m right here, baby. I’m not going anywhere.”
“Good. That’s good.” She burrowed closer against him, the minutes stretching out into something heavy and sweet as her tears dried up and her choppy gasps for air slowly evened out. When she could finally draw in a deep breath, she shifted a bit in his arms, and he damn near had a heart attack when he felt the warm press of her lips against the base of his throat, her voice whisper-soft as she said, “Do more than stay.”
“No. No way, Viv.” He ground his jaw as he tightened his arms around her, the fierce hold as much for him as it was for her. “Not when you’re upset. That would put me in serious dickhead territory.”
“I’m a grown woman, Max. I know my own mind.” She wiggled to loosen his hold, putting a few inches of space between them as she braced herself on an elbow, her pale-blue eyes locking tight with his. “And I’m not too upset to know what I want.”
“You gonna tell me why you were crying?” he scraped out, somehow managing to stop his greedy gaze from lowering to her naked breasts. But, shit, it wasn’t easy.
If you won’t look, then I will, his beast rumbled. No sense in both of us being stupid.
Shut up! he roared inside his head, unable to believe the ass was mouthing off to him at a time like this.
She closed her eyes for a moment as she pulled in another deep breath, then blinked them open as she started to explain. “I… I think it was just…everything. Leaving you…and then realizing that you were in danger again because of me.” She placed her free hand against the center of his chest, right over the heavy pounding of his heart. “I… I thought you were going to die right in front of me, Max, and there was nothing I could do to stop it from happening. I even tried to change into whatever the hell it is that I’m becoming, but I couldn’t.”
He tucked a damp strand of her hair behind her ear, then stroked his thumb across her smooth cheek, her skin the softest thing he’d ever felt. “You know, I’m the last person you should be crying over.”
“Why?” she asked, fisting her hand in his shirt as she searched his eyes.
“Because my job is to protect you. And if that means giving my life for it, then I’ll do it willingly, Viv. What’s important is that you live.”
By the time he’d finished his explanation, she wore a worried expression of confusion. “Max, that’s…crazy.”
A rough laugh fell from his lips. “I don’t expect you to understand,” he husked, settling his hand on the feminine curve of her waist. “Just trust me when I say that there’s nothing, not a single goddamn thing, in this world that could make me walk away from you, no matter how many times you run, or how many assholes we have to face.”
Guilt spread over her beautiful gaze like a shadow. “I won’t, I swear. I won’t run any more. I just got scared.”
“We’re strongest together, Viv.”
“I know. I just… I don’t want you to get hurt because of me.”
“Yeah, well, I’m harder to kill than yo
u’d think,” he murmured with a tight, crooked smile.
“God, I hope so,” she whispered, pressing her forehead against his, her soft breaths teasing across his lips.
He pushed his hand into her hair, threading the sleek strands through his fingers, then ran his palm down her slender back, the touch more soothing than sexual, though his body was extremely aware of the fact that she was lying naked in his arms.
As if she suddenly realized the same thing, she shivered a little as she gave a soft, kinda shy-sounding giggle. “So, um…I’m like really naked right now.”
He exhaled his next breath with his own quiet, gritty slice of laughter, and his hand tightened on her hip. “Will I sound like a total jackass if I admit to being highly conscious of that fact?”
“No.” She lifted her hand from his chest as she pulled her head back and looked at him, her fingertips stroking across the stubble on his jaw that was damn close to becoming a full-blown beard. “You’ll only sound like a jackass if you tell me I’m too upset to know what I want. Because I do, Max. I know exactly what I want.”
“Fuck, Vivian.”
Her blue eyes gleamed beneath her long, dark lashes. “So what I need to know is if you want me too.”
Want her? his wolf snarled. I’d claw my way through a brick wall to reach her, if that’s what it took. Would bite off my own furry arm!
No one’s biting off anything, you idiot! he growled back at the beast, his body so hot he felt like he was burning with fever.
“Do you?” she whispered, the touch of her feminine hand on his shoulder making his muscles twitch with need. “Do you want me?”
He started to give a harsh laugh, thinking this was the worst kind of torture imaginable, being offered the thing he most wanted when he couldn’t fucking take it, but quickly choked off the sound when she winced. “Shit, Viv, don’t look at me like that. You know damn well that I want you. All you have to do is walk into a room and my dick gets hard.”
A slow, beautiful smile spread across her face at his guttural words, lighting her up in a way that made him want to crush her in his arms, lower his head, and kiss the ever-loving hell out of her.
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