“No, really. Look at him and look at James. It’s obvious who the real man is in this situation. Look at him, Henry!”
“I see him, Elaina. I’m standing right here.”
“I’m in the room, you know,” Gunther mumbled.
“Yes, sorry. I just don’t understand it,” she muttered.
“Quinn said she committed nearly two decades to him and it’s hard for her to shake him free. I don’t know how she can hold a torch for him. Look what he did to her…to their daughter and grandson. I would never leave my wife, let alone my child. It was an easy out for him. I would have crawled back if that was the only way to get to her. I don’t understand how he could have done that to them, but she still has feelings for him. Maybe I should treat her like shit, fuck everyone else, and never be around.”
Elaina knelt in front of him. “She’ll come around.”
His sad laugh bounced off the walls. He stood again, folded the blanket, and stacked the pillow on top of it, leaving them in the corner. “I need some food.” Gunther grabbed his shirt and left the room.
She turned and looked at me. “This is not good, Elaina.”
“I hope she doesn’t leave him. Can you imagine what he would be like?”
“Christ, it would be like a bloody atomic bomb going off. I don’t even want to know. I know how I was when we broke up. Him? Catastrophic.” The next sound I heard was a loud crash just outside the door. “Shit! Stay in here, just in case.”
I ran out of the gym, expecting the worst.
Luckily for Gunther, James had turned the corner the same time he did.
James glanced at him, lips curled into a devious smile, when Gunther growled under his breath. “Living in the gym? How lovely is this? Just getting her to push you away has me feeling joy.”
The adrenaline pumped hard throughout Gunther’s stiffening body. He charged and slammed James into the wall so viciously his body imprinted into the sheetrock. Gunther ground his forearm into his chest and stared him down.
“Get off me!” James strained.
“Not until I’ve had my fill…”
He lunged. A split second before he tore out his throat, Henry screamed at him.
As soon as I exited the gym, all I saw was Gunther going for James’ throat.
“Gunther! No!” I ran and grabbed him by the shoulders. “Let him go! Now!”
Seething, he held James onto the wall with unyielding strength. His desire to kill must have clouded all thoughts of keeping our secret.
After several long seconds, Gunther finally released him, and James dropped to the floor like the sack of shit he was.
I dragged him away while he was screaming at James, “That’s what you get for putting false pretenses into her head, motherfucker! You don’t want her. You just don’t want her to be happy!”
Once we got to the cafeteria door, I stopped. “You can’t be doing that shit, mate,” I growled in a heated whisper. “No matter how much you want him gone, you can’t be acting that way. I won’t have it.”
“I’m sorry.” Gunther paced, jamming his big hand through his hair. “I’m just… I’m just not dealing with this well. I need her and I don’t understand what the fuck is going on.”
“Accepted and I understand. I’d want to kill him myself if I was in your position. You’ll get all this figured out. It just may take a little time. Go get some food and try to calm down. When I’m done in the gym, I’ll get you set up in another room.”
Nodding, Gunther turned around and saw Quinn lingering in the doorway. They locked eyes, then Gunther looked away.
“Excuse me…,” he said as politely as he could, gently touched Grey’s foot, and pushed past her.
I looked at Quinn, waiting for her to say something. She didn’t. Her eyes were swimming with tears. She was hurting as much as Gunther. Goddamn, it was a rough thing to witness. Those two belonged together, just like Elaina and I did. Two pieces of a puzzle, purely connected.
I took a peek around the cafeteria. Josie was playing guitar in Nick’s corner again—one depressing song after another. Josiah sat near the windows watching her with lust-filled eyes. I shook my head, wondering what other messes I would have to clean up.
I decided to go back to the gym since, seemingly, things had cooled off. I suspected James wouldn’t go near Gunther again. At least I hoped so because it was the last thing I wanted to deal with.
Quinn headed into the cafeteria, sitting a couple tables away from Gunther. He watched her every move, yearning for her closeness. Once she sat, he put his elbows on the table and held his face in his hands until he heard the chair next to him pull out.
“I think you’re right,” her voice broke.
Gunther looked up at her, tears streaming down her face. He realized she heard his confrontation with James. He stared at her for a few moments, then wrapped his arm around her.
She cried into his shoulder. “I’m so sorry. You don’t deserve to be treated how I’ve treated you. You make me feel like a queen.”
“You are my queen,” he murmured, stroking her hair. She looked up at Gunther. “Next to this little bear here, you are everything to me. Everything. Hear me when I say that. I can’t express it in words. If I lost you, I would be as good as dead. My heart sank when you told me how you felt about him.”
“I’m so–”
He put his finger to her lips. “Hush. Let’s forget it even happened.” She nodded. He looked down when he heard Grey grunting. “Hey, my little bear.” He took him from Quinn’s arms and cuddled him in his.
Grey was trying to focus on Gunther and his eyes kept crossing, making Gunther chuckle. Quinn wiped her face dry as she laughed. Then, as if Grey was in on the joke, he cooed.
Gunther looked at Quinn. “I just want to tell you that you can talk to me about anything. It doesn’t matter what it is. If you want to talk about the varying shades of grass, I don’t give two fucks. Just fucking talk to me. Open up to me. I’m available for you like you’ve been for me. You can trust me with your feelings no matter what they are. Okay?”
“Yeah. Thank you. I needed to hear that.”
“I mean it, Quinn. I intend to spend the rest of my life with you. We cannot hide feelings, especially ones that make us crippled to point of hurting each other.”
“You’re right. Can we go back to our room and talk?”
“Abso-bloody-lutely.”
Gunther was so relieved to have his life back. One night away from her was hell. Any more would leave him futile.
Josiah couldn’t take his eyes off of Josie. He just wanted to talk to her, but he knew she wouldn’t want to hear a word of what he had to say. The pain in his heart was incessant and the ache for her was perpetual.
Day and night, his thoughts were about her. Her voice haunted his dreams. The pale skin of her face called to him. He remembered what she looked like writhing under him.
With sheer determination, he crossed the room. She was going to talk to him whether she wanted to or not. Josiah stood before her, his hands on his hips. Josie glanced up at him.
“Josie, we need to talk.”
“There’s nothing to say,” she muttered.
“Bullshit. What you’ve done… It’s hurtful. My heart is breaking.”
“Why, Josiah? Why do you have such a need for me?”
“I don’t know. I’m drawn to you. You don’t feel it? There’s something here.” He motioned between them.
“Josiah, stop torturing yourself. There is nothing on this end. Please understand that. I don’t know what else to say to you.”
He pursed his lips, feeling his heart spit and sputter, wanting to quit. “So…that’s it then? You have sex with me twice and leave me hanging? I want to give my heart to you, but you kick me in the balls?”
She got up and tried to head for the door, but he stopped her. “Josiah, please let go of me. I beg you.” Her eyes were full of pain.
Bitterness made its way to the surface when she tried to
run away from him once again. “Did you think of him when we were together?” he spat.
“Don’t,” she scolded with teary eyes. “That’s not fair.”
“Not fair? You did, didn’t you? The whole time you were calling my name out, you wished it was him.”
“How about you shut the fuck up?”
“How about you give me a little goddamn truth? Because what I’m feeling is true, not some teenage crush, or a faked out fantasy,” he growled.
“You want the truth?!” she chided.
“Yeah, actually, I do!” he yelled back in her face.
“I thought of him the first time. I imagined it was him moving inside of me, moaning. I imagined it was him enjoying me and coming in me. Is that what you wanted to hear, Josiah?”
“I’ve heard enough.” He stormed past her and left the cafeteria, his heart completely broken.
In a mad rush, Josie bolted through the door, only to slam right into Jake. “Whoa… Watch it, little bitty,” he murmured, an air of annoyance in his voice.
She looked up and stared at his scarred face, leaving him to turn away from her questioning and prying eyes. Without a word, Josie ran down the hall and into Nick’s room, needing to snuggle in his blankets.
I stalked back into the gym, slamming the door behind me.
“Let’s do some heavy bag training before I blow my fucking lid.” Elaina grabbed the tape and began the daunting process of taping my wrists and hands.
“What happened?” she asked, finishing with the right hand and moving on to the left.
“Gunther threw James into the wall and almost tore his throat out. If I didn’t go out when I did…” I shook my head. “It would have been a bloody mess to try to clean up and explain. Christ.” I shuddered, thinking of the possible aftermath. “I walked him to the cafeteria, scolding him for behaving that way. He apologized.”
“Good. I can’t imagine what would have happened if he did that. He’s got to control himself.”
“James is messing with his family. In case you missed it, Gunther is extremely loyal.”
“I had no idea.” She winked at me.
“Quinn was standing there when I chewed him out. Without saying a word, he walked past her and into the cafeteria.”
“Oh no…” She finished my left hand and I took my fighting stance.
“Yeah. I don’t know. I’m just hoping they can patch it up. I don’t want to deal with him if they aren’t together.” I threw a couple jabs, catching the bag as it rebounded. “It’d be a nightmare. She’s the only one who can keep him together.”
I threw a couple more jabs and added a few roundhouse kicks. Then I beat the fuck out of that bag, getting out some aggression.
In the meantime, Elaina decided to attempt a pull-up or two. I saw her struggling and started laughing.
“Asshole,” she growled.
“Try a chin-up, love.”
She managed three of those, but I still laughed. She glared at me, and I decided it would be a great idea to continue what I was doing before I got myself into deeper trouble.
Once I had exhausted my body, we decided to head back to our room to wash up.
Just as we were heading down the hall, Gunther popped out of his room with a big cheeky grin on his face.
“All good, mate?” I asked.
“Yeah, we’re good. She heard me yelling at James, and it made perfect sense to her. He’s such a prick,” Gunther growled. “Thankfully, she doesn’t want him back because I may have had to kill him. She’s just been struggling emotionally since Grey was born. But she’s talking about it now.”
Relief washed over me, thankful they patched it up because I didn’t want to deal with Gunther being a miserable bastard for the rest of our days.
“Gotcha. Well, it’ll all work out for you. You two are meant to be together.”
“I’ll be right back. I need a snack or something. All those pull-ups made me hungry,” Elaina smirked.
I shook my head and waited until she was out of earshot. In a lowered voice, I said, “Listen, we need to figure out what’s going on. I don’t think we can put off planning any longer. I was thinking you and I could walk down and investigate. Check for any other signs of them. Maybe–”
Gunther interjected, “I don’t know. I don’t think we can afford to get caught out there alone.”
“We need to do something. We can’t just stand by and watch them come to us. It would be devastating if he came here. He probably has enough people and firepower to take us out in a snap.”
“Let me roll it over in my mind a bit longer.”
“I think we need to take action sooner rather than later,” I insisted.
He scrubbed his face. “What the fuck am I going to tell Quinn?”
“So, tell me. What are you guys whispering about?”
“Christ, woman!” I shouted when Elaina snuck up on us. I watched her unwrap a cereal bar. “Nothing, just eat.”
She glared at us again, the wheels turning in her mind. “I will get it out of one of you,” she said, poking me in the chest.
“There’s nothing to get out!” I snapped.
She waved her finger between Gunther and me. “I’m not stupid. You two are up to something.”
He shook his head. “Well, that’s my cue to leave.” He pushed off the wall and headed back into his room.
Mara opened her door and stepped out, staring at Elaina and me.
“Fuck me,” I mumbled. “Not what I need right now.”
“I’m telling you, Henry,” Elaina whispered. “If she tries anything, I will take her out back and show her how a New Yorker does it.”
I raised my eyebrow. “The same New Yorker who can only do three chin-ups?”
“Asshole,” she snarled.
I smirked. Mara was still staring and Elaina decided her husband needed a big old kiss. She grabbed my chin and turned my face to hers, planting a big wet kiss on my lips, making me groan.
“Don’t do this to me here. I’ll throw you against the wall, pin your arms above your head, and ravage you,” I promised against her lips.
“With her watching?” Elaina batted her eyelashes at me.
My soldier twitched. “Maybe then she would realize I only want you,” I groaned as I nipped her bottom lip.
“I doubt that. She’d probably think you were putting on a show just for her.”
I barked out a laugh.
When Mara walked up to us, both of us stiffened. I gripped Elaina’s forearm, trying to keep her under control. “I would like to apologize so…” Mara paused for dramatic effect. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think he really was into you, but I see that he is.”
“Damn, Henry,” Elaina gasped. “We are at the gates of hell and all I see are ice rinks.”
I laughed again while Mara glared at us. “Apology accepted,” I said.
“I’m tired of being the outcast.”
“So you are only apologizing for your own good? Wow… How fitting.” Elaina glared back at her.
“Fuck you, Elaina,” Mara growled, turning around and walking away.
“Oh, love, you kill me sometimes.”
Then Elaina switched topics. “Now, tell me what you were talking to Gunther about.”
“I can’t, love.”
Her famous glare slapped me across the face. “Do you really want to play that game with me? You must have forgotten with whom you are fucking.” I didn’t say a word, and I didn’t plan on it until Gunther and I figured the mess out. “I see.” She yanked her arm free from my grip and headed toward our door, glancing over her shoulder once before ducking into the room.
I stood in the hall for several seconds, wondering what the hell had just happened. “Fuck me! I can’t win.” Like the bloke I was, I blew through the door after her. “Elai…,” I stammered.
Confusion ran over my face. My wife was lying naked on our bed, erotically posed, waiting for me.
“Lock the door.” No fucking problem. I reached
back without taking my eyes off her. “Now, come over here, big boy.” She patted the bed.
I was already raring to go. I kicked off of my trainers as I walked toward her, sat, then tugged off my shirt. She straddled my lap and kissed me like she hadn’t ever before. A groan came deep from within my chest.
When I tried to touch Elaina’s chest, she pulled away and slapped at my hands. “What are you doing?” I asked.
She smirked, the devil glinting in her eyes. “Patience.”
She allowed me to grab her face and pull her close, placing another hard kiss on her sexy lips. With a few tugs, she worked my shorts off and started kissing my body. I decided to lean back on my elbows, watching what she was doing. Every now and then, she would glance up and catch me with my mouth hanging open.
Her tongue circled around my soldier, causing me to throw my head back and groan. That mouth of hers did the most amazing things to me.
“Oh fuck, Elaina…”
Over and over again, she circled me, ensuring I was thoroughly enjoying myself. Then she crawled up, straddling me. Diving into her chest, my hands slid down her curves, working my way behind her to grab onto that amazing ass. Ready to pound into her, I started to lift her, but she pushed me away.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, panting.
“Tell me what you two were talking about.”
What…the…fuck…? I let go of her ass. “Huh?”
“Has the virus taken your hearing, my dear husband?”
“Please, Elaina… It’s not anything I want to discuss at this particular moment.” I started lifting her, but she put a stop to it once again. I covered my face with my hands. “You have got to be fucking joking right now.”
“Tell me and you can have me any way you want.” That got my attention and I removed my hands from my face. With a wiggle of her brows, she whispered, “And when I say any way, I mean any way.”
I sat up on my elbows again, knowing full well I couldn’t say anything to her just yet. “I can’t do that.” She stood and grabbed her clothes. “Elaina, this isn’t fair. It’s a total dick move.” With a shrug, she pulled on her pants and shirt. “Come on, love.” She turned around and made it to the door. “Elaina…please don’t leave.” She had me in knots. Her fingers wrapped around the handle and, glancing back at me once more, she turned it and opened the door. “Fine! Come back,” I moaned.
Fractured Hearts (Shattered Lives, Book Three) Page 39