Chapter 3

Chapter Three

We rode down a long lane until we pulled up to Bri's pack. The place was quaint, with small cottages scattered about what appeared to be plenty of farmland.

There didn't seem to be a patrol so much as a few people hanging out near the main road that led in. They didn't even stop us—Kicks merely waved as we passed.

He drove into the heart of the small community. I got off the bike as soon as we stopped, already feeling the awkwardness of the situation pressing down on me. It would be worse when he disappeared later on, or maybe not even that late. He might disappear as soon as he saw her. After all, I'd just told him we were nothing more than a business relationship, and he had a history with this woman.

I kept reminding myself there was nothing really between us. Whatever he did shouldn't bother me. He'd told me on different occasions he wasn't going to be celibate for the rest of his life, and I didn't blame him. We'd both gotten into this with our eyes open, but I wasn't going to be his sex partner of convenience.

No matter how much it bugged me if he made his situation with Bri obvious, I wouldn't cling to him. He'd do whatever he wanted anyway.

I took a few steps away from the bike, giving him the space to handle this however he liked, putting whatever spin he wanted on it. There were already plenty of eyes on us, people who'd seen me get off his bike and were questioning who I was. That would be easy to downplay, explaining to her that this was a mating of convenience. Our body language would speak much louder than any words ever could. If I put space in between us, then I might be able to get out of here with my dignity intact—at least somewhat.

I slipped deeper into our group as hellos were being made, old friends coming out to greet friends they hadn't seen in a while.

I'd never seen Bri, had never heard her name before today, but I knew her as soon as I saw her. She had black hair that went nearly to her waist and seemed to flow behind her, as if even the wind was bending to her will. She had a firm, tight body and didn't look like she spent much time sitting. She wore old jeans that should've been dumpy but clung to every firm curve. Even the flannel she had on seemed to stretch tight in all the right places and then hang loose in such a way that she looked better than most models I'd seen in a lingerie spread.

Her eyes landed on Kicks and lit up. Her pace quickened as she moved toward him, a smile on her face.

With his back to me, I wasn't able to see the matching smile and was glad for it.

"Bri, I'm sorry I didn't give you any warning we were coming. We were on our way from Groza's and the ride took longer than expected." Kick's voice carried easily in the area, even as I tried to ignore the lovers' reunion.

It was like walking into Groza's pack all over again, except this time I was ready for it. The only difference was that Kicks hadn't had me ride in with Buddie, and this time I was more prepared for what was to come.

"Of course you know you're welcome. I'd be upset if you didn't stop by," she said.

Her voice was as lovely as her face, and yet her words felt like a wasp nest attacking me. Had he stopped here on the way to Groza's? He probably had. It sounded as if this was their regular routine.

"I wanted you to meet…"

He was still talking as I tried to weave my way behind Rastin, who was nice and tall and broad. He'd be easy enough to disappear behind and would find it amusing enough to not move. It was either going to be him or a bush. He rolled his eyes as I ducked past him.

I mouthed, Shut up.

Rastin looked as if he wanted to laugh but held back.

Either way, it didn't work, as a hand wrapped around my wrist a couple seconds later. Kicks was tugging me out of the group. The instinct to resist came and fled as the idea of a worsening spectacle entered my mind.

He tugged me until I stood beside him staring at Bri, who looked as if she'd just stepped out of a salon. Meanwhile, I'd been on the back of a bike for the last ten hours. I tried to nonchalantly run a hand through my mass of knots, afraid to look down and see how dusty and dirty my clothes were.

"This is Piper. She's my mate." Kicks somehow managed to introduce me in a tone that sounded apologetic toward her, and yet not quite remorseful enough to make it seem as if he were sorry about me. He walked a razor's edge and didn't even catch a nick.

Bri's eyes flared, but only for a millisecond.

"It's nice to meet you, Piper," she said. "I guess congratulations are in order."

She held out her hand and smiled as if it were genuine. I waited for a swell of anger to rise, but it didn't come. There didn't seem to be any signs that she'd be trying to stab me later on tonight.

"Thank you," I said, trying to appear as collected as she had, but instead sounding like I'd just choked on a fly.

"I appreciate your hospitality," Kicks said.

I interpreted that closer to, Thanks for being nice to my new girlfriend now that I've dumped you in the most awkward of ways.

"You know you'll always be welcome here. Never doubt that."

I translated that to, The door is always open if you want to come back.

Even still, she'd taken the one-eighty and hadn't even gotten a crick in her neck. This chick was good, and seemed almost as smooth as Kicks. The connection was making a little too much sense. They were like two sides of the same coin.

She looked behind us, as if doing a head count. "Let me get you all settled, but then afterward, I'd like to touch base on how things went at Groza's." She looked to me and back to Kicks, adding, "Unless you're too tired, and then we can catch up tomorrow."

"No, that's fine. Let me go wash up and I'll come find you," he said, not taking the out she'd provided him.

He had to wash up to talk to her? He couldn't do it as he was? Maybe that was why she wasn't salty. Perhaps what had just been said had been for my benefit.

It didn't matter. It didn't.

We'd established we weren't anything more than a business arrangement. I shouldn't be jealous. I had no right to be jealous.

"I won't keep him long," she said, smiling.

I smiled back. She wouldn't keep him long? In other words, did she think she could if she wanted to? Of course she did. She actually had a relationship with him, as opposed to me, a business partner.

"The east cottage is open. Why don't you and Piper take that? The rest of your people can spread out in the front guesthouses and overflow into the community bunkhouse."

"That'll work well."

"I can't wait to hear what went down with Grossa," Bri said, laughing. "I told you that would never work."

"I tried to go in with an open mind," Kicks said, shrugging.

"No, you didn't. You went in with your own plan and to see what they were up to," she said, still speaking through a smile.

Kicks smiled back at her, looking way too cozy.

"I'm going to go grab Charlie," I said, edging away from them as if I was distracted and not trying to escape their too-friendly banter.

It was a natural enough excuse to get away because it was what I'd do anyway. It just gave me the benefit of not having to stand there with them a second longer. Kicks might've introduced me as his mate, but I was the third wheel with a duo who clearly had a long history, and a good one.

Charlie was rubbing the sleep from his eyes, sitting on Buddie's shoulders not far away.

"We're going to bunk with the guys in the guardhouse," Charlie proclaimed loudly, and then yawned.

"You sure? Maybe he should come with me," I said, shifting my attention to Buddie. I wanted to grab Charlie off Buddie's shoulders and drag him with me, and not for his benefit. The little guy came in handy as a buffer at times.

"He's fine. We're having a guys' night," Rastin said as he walked over, smiling at me like he knew exactly why I wanted Charlie with me.

"Yeah, a guys' night," Charlie proclaimed, smiling wide.

His mood was so much better than this morning that I smiled and nodded. It wasn't like he wouldn't be safe with the two of them. It wasn't fair to make him come stay at the cottage only to put space in between Kicks and me. I might not need space. How did I know he'd even spend the night there with me?

Kicks was next to me a moment later, our bags in hand. "Ready?"

I nodded.

We walked toward the cottage, pausing intermittently as people stopped to say hello and catch up for a minute. The chitchat made the ten-minute walk to the cottage closer to a half an hour, and we did very little speaking amongst ourselves.

The cottage was a cute little bungalow off by itself, with a beautiful pond view. If we were honeymooners, it might've been perfect.

We weren't.

Kicks tossed our bags down. "They've got well water rigged up with generators, but not a lot. I'd be sparing in your use."

I nodded. I didn't want to speak to him about anything, not water, not Bri. Nothing.

"I'm going to wash up quickly and then go check on the guys. I'll stop by and catch Bri up, too."

"Uh huh."

I didn't need an IQ over fifty to figure that one out. He wasn't just going to explain what happened with Groza. He was going to make belated explanations on what had happened with us.

I tried to pretend I was getting settled in as he came out of the bathroom, looking cleaner than I liked, with a fresh shirt and pants.

"I'll be back in a few." He paused at the door, watching me.

"See you in a bit," I said calmly, like there was anything normal about this situation.

I didn't have a right to claim him, but that didn't make me feel any better about sending him off.

I looked at the little battery-operated clock next to the bed. Two and a half hours. How long did it take to tell Bri that Groza was a psycho and his mate killed people? I got sick of fluffing my pillows and tossing and turning. I also wasn't going to give him the opportunity to sleep in this bed beside me, even if we didn't have sex.

I grabbed a pillow and the blanket and settled onto the small rug on the floor. Wasn't quite as comfortable, and the chill was a bit tough, but at least I'd have my pride in the morning. Kicks could take the bed and there wouldn't need to be a conversation about it. He was lucky I was still in the cottage at all. In another half-hour I was going to go find Charlie's bunk and crawl in with him. If Kicks didn't care what people thought, then why should I?

He might not even know I'd left. Why was I presuming he would come back at all? That might've been nothing but lies. He didn't owe me anything.

My eyes were closed and my back was to the door when I heard him come in. I didn't want to feel relieved. I didn't want a sizzle of excitement over his returning. I had to fight my body's urge to roll over and look at him, ask him what he'd done, what had taken him so long, what he'd had to say that took hours.

"Are you making a point?" he asked.

I could hear him standing right beside me. Figured he'd know I was awake. He could probably hear my breathing or something. Maybe smell the smoke I was throwing off from all the suppressed rage burning inside.

"The bed didn't look that large. I thought I was being polite." I pulled the cover up closer to my chin, not bothering to look at him as I spoke.

One second I was on the floor, the next he was picking me up.

"Get off me! I'm not sleeping in a bed with you after you slept with her."

He ignored me, tossing me onto the bed anyway. "I didn't sleep with her. I wouldn't do that to you."

"You didn't?" I asked, already halfway up and trying to figure out how I was going to get around him. He was standing at the foot of the bed, waiting like a linebacker to block me.

"No. I didn't. We weren't even in her house. I spoke to her outside. I ran into her before going to the bunkhouse to check on Charlie and the crew."

" Why didn't you sleep with her?" He certainly didn't look like a man who'd just had a good time. Even saying he appeared "churlish" might be too kind a description right now.

"Because I didn't want to," he snapped.

Where was the calm and collected Kicks? All his smoothness was gone, nothing but ruffled feathers left.

"But why—"

"I didn't sleep with her. Can we leave it at that?" His eyebrows were halfway up his forehead.

Had she rejected him? Maybe she was mad he had claimed a mate?

"Oh."

"Oh?" he said.

Was he really going to pretend he was confused?

"You know, it's understandable. She's certainly very attractive," I said. "It would be understandable if she was upset with you. You have to see how that would be a hit to her ego and make her less inclined to, you know…"

"I was not rejected , if that's what you are implying."

He turned, stripping off his shirt and digging through his bag, as if he'd moved on from this subject and couldn't be bothered spending another few seconds on it.

His mood certainly had taken another nosedive even as mine improved. It shouldn't have, but the image of him and her…

No. Wasn't going there, because it hadn't happened.

"I'm just saying if she didn't want you, I wouldn't take it to heart, as if you're unattractive." I didn't want to giggle, yet somehow it sounded like I did as I spoke.

He finished getting undressed and I averted my gaze, intent on not sending any of the wrong messages in any possible way.

The bed sank. "She didn't reject me. Can we stop talking about it now?"

"It's okay if she did. I just didn't want you to feel like—"

I squealed as he pulled me to the center of the bed, leaning halfway over me, his eyes drifting to my mouth in a way that made me lick my lips.

"I wasn't rejected," he said. "I didn't want to sleep with her."

"There's no reason to—"

My words were smothered by his mouth covering mine.

It was so hot and intense it was like getting hit with a blowtorch. If he'd asked me what I was about to say, I wouldn't have been able to tell him. All I could think of was the heat of his body touching mine. The taste of his mouth. His thigh slipped in between mine as he gripped my hip and pulled me closer. I arched my back, a groan on my lips.

"I love how you feel," he said, moving his mouth to my ear.

There was a banging at the door.

Kicks pulled back, a mixture of heat and shock in his eyes, as if he hadn't meant for this to happen.

"Piper? Kicks?" The sound of Buddie's voice had me jumping out of bed like I'd just been caught in a crime.

"What's wrong?" I was yelling before I got the door open.

Buddie was there with Charlie beside him.

"Everything is okay. Charlie just had a dream and wanted to sleep with you."

"Are you okay?"

"I dreamt I got lost in the woods," Charlie said.

"No one is losing you." I grabbed his hand, pulling him into the room and nodding to Buddie before he left. "Why don't you sleep here, nice and nestled in between us so you're not scared anymore."

Charlie hopped into the bed, settling in the middle as I took the other side.

"Yes, this way Pips won't be scared either," Kicks said.

"I'm not scared," I said, cuddling Charlie to me.

"Aren't you?" Kicks glanced over, the moonlight illuminating his face.

"I think she gets scared, too," Charlie said.

"I agree with you Charlie."

I pulled the covers up around Charlie and me. "I think we should all be quiet and go to sleep now."