by Sasha Winter
“Are you sure you’re okay, Ashley?” Marcus asked, as soon as he felt they were not being overheard.
Ashley nodded in response, then said: “I should be asking you that.”
“I’m good; I didn’t even feel the knife,” he replied. “It bled lots, but it was superficial. I’ll have a little scar for a few months, is all.”
“I’m glad. So what were you doing back here?” she asked softly.
“I came to speak with you,” he confessed. “I, erm… in truth, I was going to ask if you had feelings for me. If you wanted to perhaps go on a real date some time—I’m sorry, I know I’m your client and everything, but I really enjoyed your company last night.”
“Marcus, I…” Ashley began, unsure of herself. “I enjoyed being with you as well, and I really like you. I think you’re an amazing guy. It’s just that after Vince, I really want a life without any threat of violence.”
“How do you mean?” he asked. “You know I only shifted to protect you, right?”
She nodded, tears suddenly brimming in her eyes. “Yes, of course, but Marcus, you were terrifying,” she replied. “I thought being with a shifter could be good for me, but then…I need something simpler. I don’t know if I could start dating someone capable of such… aggression. I honestly thought you were going to kill him.”
Marcus shook his head. “But I didn’t,” he said. “I mean, sure, I could have, seeing what he was doing to you, but I restrained myself. Ashley, I’m not like him. I’ve never raised my hand to…”
He had been trying to say something more, but cut himself off.
“I know what you were doing, and I’m eternally grateful. I don’t know what would’ve happened without you here. Only I don’t think I can handle it in a long-term sense,” Ashley replied, feeling a tear running down her cheek. “I’m sorry. It’s all my fault. I know I was on a lion shifter dating site, but I didn’t realize what it would be like. You’re a world away from me, Marcus, I understand that now.”
“I see,” he replied, with disappointment but also resignation on his face. “It’s fine, I understand, and it’s not your fault, after what you’ve been through with Vince. It makes sense. I just needed to know before tomorrow, really. That’s why I came.”
“What happens tomorrow?” she asked.
“I’ll be packing, I suppose,” he said. “I knew that coming to check with you felt like rushing things, but the army has called me back. They want to set up a special shifter unit and typically this is all the notice they’ve given me.”
“You’re going back into combat?”
“Yes. Where I belong I guess. Don’t worry, I’ll keep up with the physiotherapy, Ashley—I won’t forget you in a hurry.”
“I really am sorry, Marcus,” she said. “I really think you’re a very special person. I know it sounds like a cliché, but it’s really not you, it’s me. I guess I’m just a bit more tender from all that’s happened than I let on.”
“I understand, truly. Just one piece of advice, though,” he offered.
“What’s that?”
“There’s no harm in telling that fucking creep that you’re dating a lion shifter if he pesters you again. I’ve got a hunch that might just scare him off a little,” he said with a wink.
They managed to smile at each other then. Ashley truly wanted him to know there were no hard feelings and that she was very grateful for his help, despite not handling the shifting very well. From the moment Vince had grabbed her, a kind of helpless fear had descended, more incapacitating than she had ever known before. She wanted to go home and curl up somewhere until an illusion of normality returned and she could pretend the world was not such a violent and terrible place, as she now knew it really was.
Marcus felt the need to apologize again for being so forward, but she couldn’t blame him, feeling she may have led him on. He told her he would not cause any bother and hoped she would feel better soon, while she wished him good luck with his return to combat and asked him to take good care.
Once they’d said goodbye, Ashley gave in to her yearning for a closed door to the outside world and went home. All the way there, she fought to maintain an imprint of normality on her face, hoping the world would not see how shaken she was, but the moment the door of her apartment was locked this façade fell away. For a long time she sat on her couch with her head in her hands, determined not to cry but feeling very little inner strength to help her cope. After a glass of the cheap wine she had left over from Veronica’s visit the other day, her nerves calmed a little and she allowed her mind some attempt at rational thought.
Vince had been waylaid for a short time, undoubtedly. There would at least be a few days of respite, but could she really be confident he would run scared for good? Her ex was proud and stubborn. When the fear left him he would be bitter about the intervention for sure, and it was difficult not to imagine him trying to get revenge in some way. Perhaps not through assaulting her again, but some other means.
Eventually, when her mind had drifted away from debating these possibilities and more towards sleep, the thought entered her head that Marcus had been genuinely putting his future in her hands with his dilemma about returning to military life.
That was quite a flattering offer she had turned down, considering it was only last night she thought herself taken with the man. This thought stayed with her for many hours, but she still felt too numb to know her mind for sure, and it was only when it was too late that she began to question if she would live to regret the decision.
Love really did make fools of us all.
Chapter 13
A couple of weeks had passed, and Marcus was yet to fly off and join his new unit, but there had been no change of mind. As was typical of army administration, something that sounded set in stone was in fact not quite organized properly. He had already packed when he informed Captain Forrester of his decision, only to be told that the launch of their operations would be pending for a while, and he would later be informed when.
Probably with a day’s notice again, he thought, but getting used to such uncertainty was a good idea if he was going to be a soldier again, so he didn’t worry. Two weeks had then passed by and there was still no word as to when his special unit would confirm his reinstatement. Life had then proceeded as normal, except without Ashley, though he had been true to his word and kept up his physio exercises. Otherwise he had busied himself with work around the national park, which now included showing some of the tasks and routines to an understudy who would take over from him.
The incident from two weeks ago had deeply disappointed him. Usually coming to the aid of a damsel in distress was supposed to endear you to her, rather than scare her away.
Not that he blamed her at all.
More than anything, the encounter with Ashley’s scumbag of an ex had revealed to him something of what she had been through. He couldn’t blame her for wanting to be cautious about the way forward, and for those who were unused to the form of a lion entering their lives, he could understand it might cause some distress. It was not prejudice she had shown—no one knows how they will react until they are actually in the presence of a fearsome predator. Would her reaction have been different if he had settled the matter with his fists instead—or his gun? Probably not, he thought. The matter would still have been settled with violence, and as it turned out, one of them might have suffered a more serious wound considering the man had a knife.
Marcus refused to linger on the matter, though. Part of being a soldier involved being away from the people you love. Delaying his return was not the ideal scenario, but very soon he would be in the same boat as many others, far from home and wondering if the world they left behind would be the same and welcome them when and if they returned.
A soldier’s habits die hard, he thought again to himself as he returned home from work with Max by his side. So if I’m going to be missing a pretty face back home when I’m away then I will be in fine company.
Eve
n with the army’s delay, he was sure the day would be very soon. Lengthy periods of inactivity followed by sudden bursts of action was how his existence would play out, depending on what his superiors were doing and what the enemy was up to. In return, his task was to never let his guard down, including when it looked like nothing serious was taking place—as well as always presuming the worse-case scenario might transpire—and it was this very discipline that caused him to pause before entering his house when he arrived home.
Being observant was another soldier’s habit that died hard and one that made sure he knew the key under his doormat had been moved. It hadn’t been stolen, but he always placed it in exactly the same spot, so whoever moved it had left a trail his mind could follow easily.
Had he been robbed? If so, the culprit would likely no longer be present, but then his mind jumped back to the incident with Ashley’s ex and he couldn’t help wonder if something more sinister was at work. All he knew about Vince was that he was violent and a poor choice of partner….but could he be a vengeful, murdering swine as well?
Worst-case scenario, always.
“Stand back, Max, and be watchful,” he told his obedient pet, who knew by his master’s body language that something was up. Max was standing bristled for action, without making the slightest pant or attempt to enter the house as soon as the door swung open, as was his usual keen way.
Drawing his gun then, Marcus went inside prepared for the unknown to be thrown at him. Trained as he was, he knew how to enter his own property without making himself easily vulnerable to any of the potential hiding places an intruder might be: checking behind doors and blind spots to make sure no one could sneak up on him. Nothing looked like it had been moved, which furthered his suspicions that whoever had paid a secret visit had done so with malicious intent. Signs of a burglary would have been immediately obvious.
Once the downstairs area, bathroom and spare room had been checked, all that was left was the bedroom. No further clues had been found, and following behind, Max seemed a lot calmer than he had outside and was even happily wagging his tail, but Marcus was not convinced for some reason. The house had that feeling that someone else was there and the possibility of it being the bedroom increased when he saw that the door was ajar. He never left doors open in the house. Whoever had entered illegally had been in the bedroom, and if his suspicions were sound, they probably still were.
Setting his hand to the door knob, Marcus kept his gun by his side, but ready to raise and fire Western-style in an instant if needed. There had been a time when his instincts had failed him in the clamor of battle, causing him to inflict a wound that should never have been made. Considering how scarred he had been by that incident, it was a mark of real inner strength that he kept his head and refused to charge in pointing his gun. Fortunately he did not and it was a relief that no hint of violence was made after what the person in his bedroom had been through.
There was no burglar and no psycho ex-boyfriend of anyone inside. It was Ashley.
Having spent the last three weeks trying to level his mind with not seeing her again, any casual encounter such as bumping into her in the street or in the park would have been difficult to handle. When raw emotions were involved it was best not to keep stirring them in order to avoid getting caught up again.
This was no casual encounter, however. Ashley was not only in his bedroom but sitting up in his bed, and unless his eyes deceived him or what clothing she had was hidden, she was naked.
What was that about worst-case scenario?
More like best case scenario.
Letting her long, dark hair hang loose over her bare shoulders, Ashley held Marcus’s duvet up to her breasts, but so loosely it looked like it could fall away at the slightest slip of her fingers. If she wasn’t completely naked underneath then she had chosen a poor pose to avoid giving off that impression. Plus the coy smile on her face was the kind reserved for lovers, appearing completely unstartled by his entrance and obediently waiting for his reaction before offering any word of explanation.
There was an excited whimper from Max, clearly thrilled by who they had found—though Marcus suspected the hound’s sense of smell had alerted him from the moment they entered the house—temporarily drew his eyes away so he could tell him to stay still. His dog wasn’t daft though; the purpose of Ashley’s visit was clearly not dog-related. As Marcus turned back, his eyes also caught sight of a pair of jeans and something lacy-looking lying beside the bed. There was nothing other than his duvet resting on those alluring curves for sure. Her soft, to-die-for body, to which his imagination had not dared to run for fear of driving him wild, was one gentle movement away.
“Ashley, what on earth?” he said at last.
“You’re not going to point that at me, are you?” Ashley replied, nodding to his weapon, though he was slightly confused by what she meant at first.
“No, sorry,” he replied, placing the gun in a special location in a nearby chest of drawers. “I thought I had an intruder.”
“You do,” she replied, then, pulling a mock sad face, said, “and I’ve been waiting so long…”
“What are you doing here, Ashley? Has that creep turned up again?” he asked, wondering if she had felt the need for his protection.
“Let’s not ruin it by talking about him,” she replied. “He’s part of the past. I want to forget the past. Isn’t it obvious what I’m doing here?”
“Erm…”
Just then Max interrupted Marcus’ inability to find an appropriate response by letting out another impatient whimper.
“I think Max wants to say ‘hello’ to you,” he said instead. “He’ll be unbearable otherwise.”
“Come here, boy,” Ashley said, beckoning with her free hand.
Delighted with the offer, Max ran forward to the edge of the bed and let her give him some pats. Even so, he knew not to go over the top and jump on the bed as he had the last time she was there.
“I’ve missed you too,” Ashley told him, as she gently stroked his head. “You adorable creature.”
“Ashley, I don’t understand,” Marcus said, having collected himself a little. “Three weeks ago, you told me you couldn’t see me.”
Her cheeks turned slightly pink. “I know, and I know I need to explain myself,” she replied softly. “Three weeks can change a girl’s mind, though the truth is that after I last saw you, I changed mine in just a couple of hours.”
“I don’t understand.”
Before explaining further, Ashley then stood up—careful to bring the duvet with her and continuing to hide her naked body—but walking softly over to him and not stopping until she was so close as to be touching.
“I owe you an enormous apology, Marcus,” she said, looking up into his eyes. Her hair smelled wonderful and he realized she had been in his shower since breaking in.
“No you don’t,” he replied. “You’ve done me nothing but good. My knee’s almost healed.”
“Oh, but I do,” she insisted. “You see, three weeks ago I reacted badly. I was a shy and frightened little creature, I just wasn’t ready for the king of the jungle.”
“And now?”
“Now, I know I acted rashly. Now, I know you’re nothing like my ex and only acted violently out of necessity to help an innocent person—or even a not-so innocent person,” she added, with a slight raise of the eyebrows. “After all I had been through, when clarity descended I saw how I had overreacted and I wanted nothing more to be with you again. Only, you should have told me, Marcus.”
“Told you what?”
“I thought I had lost you for good. Thought you were away in a military base, or a warzone somewhere. It was only yesterday when I bumped into a mutual friend of ours and he told me.”
“Blake?” he guessed.
“That’s right. He said your call-up had been delayed and you were still here, working away in the park. Taking Max on walks without me under my very nose. If I’d known, I couldn’t have stayed awa
y.”
“I didn’t know how you felt about it,” he replied.
“Well, you know now,” she said. “You know, since I’ve met you I have this awful habit of getting myself into predicaments.”
“How’s that?”
“Well, first—before I even knew who you were, I was stripping off in my office and taking rude snaps for you. Then, when we met, despite wanting to be as serious and professional as I could, I ended up in your bed and not entirely innocently. And now, here I am again, combining the two. Completely naked and covered up only by your duvet. Marcus, I think it’s time you did something about me.”
And she was right—it was about time.
“Max, please leave the room and close the door,” Marcus managed to say, trusting without turning to look that his dog would obey.
It took only the slightest of forward movements for Ashley to know that she could meet him halfway, then they kissed. She let the duvet fall and the passion poured out of them at last. Each touch was addictive, every sensation a lure. Their lips, their hands, their loins all drawn together, unsure which part of them needed to be loved first, but thriving on the lack of direction in knowing nothing of where their skin would next connect, though happy to let it be whatever the other one felt like doing.
Somehow they made it over to the bed, neither sure of whose intent had took them there. By then Ashley had unbuttoned both Marcus’s shirt and jeans, just in time for both items of clothing to fall to the floor. There was no asking him to remove his pants anymore, she was taking them off anyway. He kicked his shoes and socks off as well and joined her, all the time their lips unable or unwilling to leave the other’s body, and if their eyes opened to look upon what their hands were touching, then pleasure soon ensured they were immediately closed again.