Chapter 40

Chapt er 40

Rose

"I'm going to be staying here." I do my absolute best to keep my voice steady.

"Are you sure? Because you can most definitely come back here too. You don't have to stay with the Orlando Pack if you don't want to," she says, going all mother hen.

I smile. "It's okay. I want to stay."

"How are things going with Maverick?" she asks quietly after a beat.

"I think they're going okay," I say, trying to be as realistic as possible.

"Are you sure? You can tell me if not. I'll send Garrett to teach him a lesson if not."

Her words make me smile and also make me curious. I wonder who would win in a fight in the ring with Garrett and Maverick. I shudder. I don't think I would want to see that particular fight. "He's been fine," I tell her, so she doesn't send Garrett down here on the next flight to "teach him a lesson."

"If you're sure." She sounds uncertain, and it makes me smile.

"I'm fine but thank you."

"All right. But if you need anything, you reach out."

I nod. "I will. Thank you."

"Ava, I'll talk to Garrett as soon as we get off the phone, and we'll make a plan to get you. Okay?"

Ava nods, and I can see the relief coming off her. I instantly feel bad and stay quiet as she ends the call. "You didn't have to come with me or stay if you were miserable."

She gives me a look. "Please. Like I was going to send you here with Maverick by yourself."

"But you're leaving me here now with him?" I say, sort of confused.

She shrugs. "I trust him now."

My eyes widen. "You do?"

She scowls. "I mean he's still a jerk, and I don't like him. At all. But I trust him to protect you and take care of you."

I stare at her, wondering what she's seen to make her say those things. But as it always is, once she's done, she's done. "All right. Well, I'm going to start getting packed in the hopes they come for me in the next few days."

And just like that, my emotions swell. I stand up, wanting to get out of there before those emotions release. "All right. I need to make my rounds but let me know if you need any help." I'm out the door a second later, before she has a chance to see the tears in my eyes. I rest my head against the door for a moment and try to collect myself. When I hear somebody coming down the hallway, I quickly wipe my eyes and start down the hallway. I nearly groan when I realize it's Jacob. He's with another shifter I don't recognize. I drop my head and try to walk past, but he sees me.

"Rose!" Knowing I can't just ignore him, I lift my head and try for a smile. He frowns. "What's wrong?"

Absolutely nothing that I want to talk to him about. "Nothing. I'm fine."

He senses the lie, I'm sure; but thankfully, he lets it go. "When are you going to go swimming with us? I haven't seen you at any of our pack gatherings. Is Mav hiding you away from us?"

I manage a small laugh. "No. I've just been really busy."

He nods. "I get that, but don't stay away. You can't work all the time."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"Oh, this is Nick," he says, motioning to the shifter next to him.

"Hi, Nick. Nice to meet you." I shake his hand, barely taking in his features. I just want to get back to my room. "I'll see you guys later, okay?" Without waiting for a response, I turn and start down the hallway. I'm almost to my room when Maverick comes out of nowhere and snags my elbow. Without a word, he directs me to his room. I'm too busy trying to get my emotions together to fight him. Once we're in his room, he releases me and faces me.

"What's wrong?" I keep my head down a moment longer, trying to compose myself. "Healer?" I lift my head, and every thought in my head goes blank. He's staring down at me with...concern. The man who never wears any expression on his face unless it's a cold smirk is staring at me like he...I don't know what really. "Did somebody hurt you?" There's an edge to his voice that I recognize. I shake my head quickly. "Healer, I'm getting impatient. You'd better tell me what happened before I take matters into my own hands and go find the person who did this."

A small laugh escapes me. "Mav, you should know by now that I cry all the time. Often for no reason at all." I sniff. "I'm fine. There's nothing wrong." I will him to believe me. I don't want him to think I'm sad to stay here. I want to be here; I really do. I'm just sad right now that Ava's leaving.

"There are a million expressions flitting across your face, but I'm not fluent in healer yet to know what they mean."

I smile despite myself. "Well more power to you on that one, because I don't even know and understand all my emotions."

"Will you tell me what's wrong?" His words have an edge of command to them, but I know his heart's in the right place.

I lift my head. "I'm fine. I promise." His eyes narrow and search my face, but I keep my emotions off my face. At least I try to.

"I'll take your word for it, for now."

Guilt sluices through me, but I don't say anything. "You'll tell me if somebody is bothering you." Again, his words come out as a command, but I simply nod. He searches my face again. "You look tired."

"I'm fine."

"Are you still up to doing dinner and a movie because we can skip—"

"No," I interrupt. "I want to, if you do," I add uncertainly.

He nods. "I was on my way to grab food before I came here. You get comfortable. I'll grab the food and be right back."

He's almost to the door when I stop him. "Hey, Mav." He turns back. "How did you know I was..." my words fall off.

He scowls. "Jacob reached out to me through our pack link and told me."

"Oh."

He watches me carefully, and I hold his gaze. I have nothing to hide from him. There is absolutely nothing between Jacob and me. There never will be. Before I can say something along those lines, he turns back to the door. "I'll be back." He opens the door and then his eyes drift over me. "You look nice, but you don't ever have to feel like you have to dress up for me. If you want to put on Pj's so you're comfortable, go for it." He closes the door a moment later, leaving me to stare after him.

"Does that mean I should go put on Pj's? Or stay in what I'm wearing because I look nice?" I groan. "I need a handbook for these things." I lift my head toward the ceiling. "I'm so confused." I pull out my phone and am about to dial Ava, but I hesitate. She'll probably just snap at me and tell me to figure it out on my own. Then I think about what she would do. She most undoubtedly wouldn't have dressed up in the first place. I groan and head to my room where I dig through my drawer and pull out a tank top and shorts. I head back over to Maverick's and try to still my racing heart and try to appear calm. When he comes in a few minutes later with hands laden with food, I jump off the bed to help him. His eyes skim over me, and I don't miss the soft smile on his face. He doesn't say anything, but a warm feeling wells up inside me. I feel like I did the right thing. Just like the last time, he brought a ton of food with him. He fills a plate for me, and I don't bother telling him I'll never be able to eat it all. When he settles next to me on the bed, I turn to him. "You ready for this?"

He gives me a look. "It's not Twilight again, is it?"

I laugh. "No. Although you really shouldn't make fun of that movie."

"I'm surprised you can watch it," he says.

I shrug. "Yeah. I guess because I know what real vampires are like, and Edward and his family are nothing like them."

"So what did you pick this time?" he asks, shifting the conversation away from vampires.

"Only one of my most favorite movies ever," I tell him excitedly. I push play and the movie starts. " Knight and Day . Have you ever seen it?" He shakes his head. "It's got Tom Cruise in it," I tell him, trying to tempt him.

He scowls at me. "That's the only reason you want to watch it?"

I laugh. "No. I said that for your sake."

"Hate to break it to you, but I'm not interested in men," he says dryly.

"Oh my word!" I nudge his arm. "Not like that! Just...watch the movie!" He smirks and starts eating. I lean against the pillows and get comfortable as the movie starts. It only takes me seconds to get sucked in. I love this movie. Before I know it, the movie comes to an end. I sigh. "Wasn't that so good?" I turn to him. "Admit it. You liked it," I say, pointing a finger at him.

He scoffs. "It's just a movie."

"Oh, come on, Mav. It's a really good movie."

"Totally unrealistic."

I put my head back against the wall and groan. "You are not going to ruin this movie for me."

"He's a liar anyway."

My eyes widen. "Blasphemy. I love Tom Cruise. How can you say that?"

He points at the screen. "He didn't look?" he scoffs.

I know immediately which scene he's talking about—the one where Tom tells Cameron Diaz, or June in the movie, that she's wearing all new clothes because he dressed her when she was knocked out, but he didn't look when he did it. "I believe him."

"I don't!" he huffs. "He's a male."

"Oh please!" I turn to him. "Would you have looked?"

His eyes run the length of me and then return to mine with heat in his gaze. "Yes." That one word seems to burn through me, and I feel my body heating everywhere.

"Well..." I have nothing else to say. I kick my feet over the side of the bed and stand up, but he grabs my hand, stopping me.

"Would you have?" he asks, his voice low.

I also know what he's referring to now. She does the same thing for him at the end of the movie and says she didn't look. I meet Mav's dark, intense gaze and swallow. Hard . Somehow, I manage to find my voice. "I'm not answering that question." I step away from the bed to throw away my trash.

"You just did." His low voice follows me, and my stomach muscles tighten in response as heat floods over me again. I throw away my trash but keep my back to him, trying to gain some semblance of control. He startles me when he throws his trash away right next to me. I didn't even hear him move. "Good to know it goes both ways," he says in a low, seductive voice. I close my eyes and literally sway a moment before I catch myself.