X had appeared at the passenger-side door just as I’d been about to get out. “I’ll take her in.”
“No,” I’d replied instantly. “I’ll do it.”
“No,” he came back, his voice deep, stern, authoritative. “You and your brothers will head back to Havenway, now. I’ll handle things here.”
“Bullshit!” I’d yelled back. “She’s my … my … fuck that, I’ll handle it!”
X’s hand came down on my shoulder just as I’d stepped out of the truck. “This is not a choice, kid. It’s an order, from the FL. I’m going to take care of this whole situation here and you’re going to get your ass back to the base.” Then the frown marring the big guy’s forehead had lessened only slightly, the muscle twitching in his jaw slowing a bit. “Look, I know what you’re feeling. I get it. But this is how it has to be, I think you know that.”
My teeth had clenched so hard I thought I’d break my jaw. My fingers tightened on Zoe and I dropped my head, looking down at her face, at the way her eyelashes fanned against her clear skin. She was a human, an innocent human that had seen more trauma and heartbreak than anyone should and I’d only brought her more. She was unconscious in my arms now because of the life I’d walked her into, because of my interference. I inhaled deeply, let her scent permeate every crevice of my body. Then I loosened my hold and let X take her out of my arms.
I climbed back into my truck immediately, telling Aidan to drive without even watching to see X take her into the building. I hadn’t looked back, hadn’t contacted her, had tried like hell not to even think about her since that night. But it was all a waste of time, my thoughts could grasp and hold onto nothing but her.
“Sometimes we have to go through trials and tribulations to get to the point of happiness we deserve. It’s the only way we truly learn to appreciate what we have.” Gil continued to talk.
I continued to half-listen, my gaze still focused on the beach, my eyes blinking with the slow measured rhythm of my breathing. Since arriving in Florida three weeks ago, all the time that hadn’t been spent at Marta’s bedside I spent right here in this spot, as if I expected something to happen here, something that would change my thoughts, my emotions, my …
It was a mirage, no, a figment of my imagination, come to life. No, I didn’t believe in any of that crap. But I did blink again, wondering if maybe I did need a little bit of rest or maybe something to eat.
“Life’s all about appreciating what has been given, not harping on what’s been taken away. You should always be focused on forward movement, on being made a better person by past experiences.” Gil was still talking.
At this point I was no longer listening. Instead, I was walking toward the end of the deck, toward the part of the beach where I saw as plain as the sand and the water, Zoe walking toward the house. Her hair was loose, long curly strands blowing in the breeze as she moved. She wore a short dress with straps that circled her neck, the top hugging her breasts tightly as the bottom flowed freely around her thighs. She held shoes in one hand, and the other was raised, pushing back hair that had blown into her face. Her head lifted then, her gaze linking with mine and she stopped moving.
I think I stopped breathing.
Then I was moving, my hands going to the railing of the deck to hold my weight while I vaulted over. I landed on my feet, of course, standing still for a fraction of a second before running toward her.
She opened her mouth to speak the moment I was close to her, but I silenced the words with my lips, cupping her face in my hands and thrusting my tongue into her mouth.
In that instant Gil’s words floated in the back of mind, like a narrator or some cosmic shit like that. My life, the good and the bad parts of it replayed behind my closed eyes, emotions swirling from the pit of my stomach rising upward to my chest. I sank deeper into the kiss, into the feel of Zoe’s palms as they flattened on my chest. Turning my head I took the kiss deeper, felt myself free-falling faster and faster as she matched my hunger with ease, our erratic breathing synced like our movements.
Around us the breeze kicked up, sprays of water prickling our skin as we stood so close to the crashing waves. I pulled away slightly, long enough for her to take one quick inhale and exhale, then my hands were beneath that sexy skirt, grasping her ass and hoisting her up. She had another second to gasp before she was wrapping her legs around my waist, her arms around my neck, and my lips were on hers once more.
A more fanciful guy would say this kiss was dreamy and delicious. Me, I went straight for the candid and the obvious, it was hot as hell and it reached so deep into my chest my next breath was clogged, my heart clenching then warming, my arms tightening around her, my mind knowing I would never walk away from her again, I would never leave her again. I would never leave my mate.
CHAPTER 16
Zoe
Fear had been the first thought as I’d opened my eyes that morning in the hospital, hearing the machines beeping around me, the soft muddle of nursing shoes against shining tiled floors as they moved around the bed. My fingers had clenched in the stark white sheets, my eyes closing and staying that way as I struggled to remember how I came to be here.
Then I remembered.
I remembered it all.
The day I’d met Dex Tavares I’d been awestruck by his good looks and easy conversation. He’d made me laugh a time or two and I figured, why not? After a few dates that question had been answered for me but I’d been either too blind, or too desperate to grasp my own little bit of happiness to realize it. The signs had all been there—the quick temper, the jealousy, the constant need to control me and everything else around him, including those goofs he called friends. I should have known he wasn’t good for me.
And then Caleb had come along and I hadn’t known what to think about him either. I’d wanted to keep my distance but had known that wasn’t going to be possible as something continuously pulled us together.
Two guys that were very different from others I’d met. And yet, I’d always felt like there was something about them that was also the same. A look that each of them had gotten at separate times, of course, but then again that night in the alley, they’d looked at each other like they knew something I didn’t. Like they were anticipating something that I couldn’t understand.
Now, I did.
A week after I left the hospital alone there was a knock on my door. I’d been packing, planning to take the money I’d been saving for college tuition and move. I wanted, no, I needed a fresh start and I’d decided not to think too long and hard about it, but to just do it. So I opened the door, not expecting anyone, since Hanna and I hadn’t really talked much since that morning at her apartment. She blamed me for getting her involved in my “drama-filled love triangle” and I blamed her for running her mouth to Dex about Caleb and then for calling Dex’s boys to— in her words again—“take care of Caleb.” Another friendship or connection cut. It was beginning to be the story of my life so I wasn’t overly surprised or emotional about it.
When I opened the door I was at first a little stunned by the gorgeous female standing in my doorway, then as she lifted a hand to push her hair behind her ears I was captured by the bracelet on her right arm. It looked just like the one I’d seen on Caleb’s dresser. I’d squared my shoulders and prepared myself for the altercation. Caleb obviously had a girlfriend—which would explain why I hadn’t seen or heard from him in days—and she was now here to tell me to stay away from her man.
Same drama, different day I thought, when I asked her what she wanted.