Chapter 24
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R ed’s pacing was starting to get on my damn nerves. Her wild, red hair was coming loose from her ponytail, and the whites of her eyes were red in the harsh fluorescent lights.
I leaned against the wall, not giving a flying fuck that Viper’s blood was still fresh on my hands; the world had already gone to hell, what difference did a little blood make?
I flicked open my Zippo, the flame dancing in front of my face as I brought it to the tip of my cigarette. I took a long drag, letting the smoke fill my lungs as I silently observed Red’s agitated pacing across the med bay hall.
“Calm down, Doc,” I muttered, blowing out a cloud of smoke.
I swear, if she kept that up, she’d wear a hole in the floor.
But she didn’t even bother to acknowledge me, too caught up in her own head. Her hands were shaking, her eyes were wide with worry, and her mouth was moving a mile a minute, but all I could make out was ‘I don’t understand how this could happen.’
Me neither, sweetheart.
I rolled my eyes, flicking ash onto the floor and I tried again, louder this time.
“For fuck’s sake, Red, chill the hell out.”
That caught her attention. She stopped in her tracks and turned to face me, her finger jabbing at my chest.
“How can you be so calm?” she asked, her voice shaking with emotion.
I took another drag and blew the smoke in her direction, watching as it enveloped her face.
“What do you want me to do, huh?” I shot back, my own anger rising to meet hers. “Cry like a little bitch? Scream until my lungs give out? Would that make you feel better?”
Red shook her head, her eyes flicking towards the door that led to the operating room. “At least then I would know you give a damn!”
I met her gaze dead on. “And what difference does it make to you whether I care or not?” I shot back, the smoke curling around my words. “Viper is fighting for his life in there. Do you really think me breaking down is gonna change a damn thing?”
I blew out a cloud of smoke, watching as it curled up towards the ceiling in lazy wisps.
Red’s breath hitched, her anger bleeding into something raw and wounded. “Yes,” she whispered, her eyes welling up with tears. “Because if you cared, I wouldn’t feel so damn alone in this.”
The cigarette was almost down to the filter. I crushed the stub under my boot, the ember extinguished with a hiss.
Fuck me. She was ripping me apart, and I didn’t have a clue how to stop it.
“You want me to hold your hand and shed tears? Sorry, sweetheart, but that’s just not my style.”
Fuck this shit. I was standing there, trying to be all patient and shit while Red was having her emotional meltdown. She was always like this, wearing her feelings on her sleeve, expecting everyone to cater to her fragile ass emotions.
Well, not me. Not anymore.
I pushed myself off the wall, so fed up with her emotional rollercoaster I could vomit.
“Deal with your own shit however you please. But don’t expect me to play by your rules.”
Red recoiled, her whole body jerking back like I had slapped her, her eyes filling with tears.
Great, here we go again.
“You heartless bastard...” she screeched, her words slicing through the air like a sharpened blade.
Real fucking original, Red.
I shrugged, feeling that shitload of frustration and resentment building up inside me. Red had this way of looking at the world like it had chewed her up and spat her out, and I wanted to be the one to show her that not everyone was out to screw her over. I wanted her to stand the fuck up for herself, to stop letting people walk all over her like she was nothing.
But she needed to hit rock bottom before she’d finally claw her way back up and stop being such a fucking doormat.
“Maybe I am. But at least I’m not a hypocritical mess like you, drowning in your own self-pity.”
Her hand connected with my cheek, snapping my head to the side. The sting was sharp, but I welcomed it.
“Never belittle me again,” she spat out, all fire and venom.
About time she showed some backbone.
I chuckled darkly, rubbing the spot where she’d slapped me. “Remember this feeling, sweetheart,” I said, my smile widening. “Use it the next time someone tries to step over you.”
Her eyes narrowed, her lips pressing into a thin line. “Don’t push me, Lieutenant,” she warned, her eyes flashing with a fire that sent shivers down my spine.
And fuck me if she didn’t look sexy as hell when she got like this.
I licked my lips, my gaze locked on her like she was the only thing in the room worth looking at. “Push you?” I asked, my voice low and husky. “Oh sweetheart, you have no idea how badly I want to do just that.”
She sighed, her eyes meeting mine in a showdown of wills. She wanted to be mad at me, I could tell. Hell, I’d practically given her every reason to be pissed off. But there was something else there too, something that made her hesitate.
“I don’t have time for this crap,” she said, turning to leave.
“Well, I sure as hell do.”
My hand shot out on instinct, grabbing her wrist to stop her with a grip that was a little too tight, a little too possessive. The touch of her skin against mine sent a thrill straight to my core.
I turned her towards me, my other hand reaching out to steady her as she crashed against my chest with a force that had us both gasping for air.
Fuck, she felt so goddamn good pressed against me, like she belonged there.
I buried my face in her hair, breathing in the sweet scent of her shampoo combined with the faint hint of cigarettes.
“Not so fast, little one,” I said, my words muffled against her hair.
Red looked up at me, her eyes wide with surprise and something else, something I couldn’t quite name. But I didn’t need to put a name to it to know that it had me harder than a rock.
“What the hell, Rogue?” she muttered, her breath hot against my skin.
Her eyes met mine, dark and stormy like a hurricane ready to tear shit up.
I didn’t waste a second, spinning her around until her back was pressed against the cold metal wall. I leaned in close, the scent of her perfume clouding my senses as I whispered against her lips, “You drive me fucking crazy, Red.”
And holy shit, if that wasn’t the fucking truth.
Her hands found their way to my chest, fingers digging into the fabric of my shirt like she needed something—anything—to hold on to. And fuck me sideways if I didn’t want to be that something, the one thing she could hold onto in a world gone to shit.
“You’re not exactly a walk in the park yourself, Rogue,” she shot back, her voice painted with something that sounded suspiciously like affection, no matter how hard she tried to hide it.
Then she tried to push me away, her hands shoving at my chest with surprising strength for someone so small. But fuck if I was gonna let her slip through my fingers that easily.
I grabbed her wrists with one hand, pinning them above her head, her skin burning against my fingertips as she squirmed beneath me. The look of shock on her face just made me smirk.
“Nice try, sweetheart,” I said, leaning in close so that our faces were inches apart.
Red’s nostrils flared, her chest heaving with the effort of trying to break free from my hold. “This,” she spat, gesturing between us with her head, “isn’t happening again. It was a one-time thing, Rogue. Don’t get any ideas.”
I tightened my grip on her arms, relishing in the way her body reacted despite her words. “Oh, I’ve got plenty of fucking ideas,” I whispered in her ear.
She let out a frustrated growl, her struggles growing more frantic as she tried another attempt to escape. But I held firm, my fingers digging into her skin just enough to let her know I wasn’t fucking around.
“You think you can just have your way with me?” she asked, her breath coming in short, angry puffs.
I let my lips trail along her jaw, leaving a searing line of heat. “I don’t think. I know,” I mocked, my lips dangerously close to hers. “And you’re gonna enjoy every second of it.”
Her struggles only seemed to intensify at my words, her hair whipping around her face like a tornado. “Let me go!” she spat, her words like daggers aimed straight at my heart.
I chuckled, the sound rough and guttural in the empty corridor. “Your resistance is adorable, little one,” I goaded, pressing myself even closer to her. “But ultimately futile.”
She struggled against me for a moment longer, but I could feel the shift, her body surrendering to mine like it was always meant to be.
She was fighting a losing battle, and she knew it. But damn if she wasn’t putting up one hell of a fight.
Fuck it. I couldn’t resist any longer.
“Come here.”
I crashed my lips against hers, swallowing her gasp of surprise as I deepened the kiss with a hunger that bordered on goddamn desperation. She moaned into the kiss, a low, sultry sound that sent a shiver down my spine and made my cock throb harder than I thought possible.
She tasted like sin and salvation all rolled into one and every nerve in my body lit up like a Christmas tree. My hands slid down her arms to tangle in her hair, pulling her closer, as if I could never get enough of her—the way she tasted, the way she felt pressed against me, the way she moaned into my mouth while I devoured her like a starving man.
And she matched me, kiss for fucking kiss, her mouth hot and hungry against mine, her nails digging into my back like she was trying to brand me as hers.
I groaned into her, tasting every inch of her as if she was the sweetest thing I’d ever known. I nibbled on her lower lip, earning a whimper of pleasure from her, before deepening the kiss even further, losing myself in the taste of her. My tongue explored every crevice of her mouth as I drank her in like she was my last meal.
I trailed kisses down her neck, feeling her pulse quicken beneath my lips as I bit and sucked at her skin. She arched into me, a soft moan escaping her lips as I found that sweet spot just below her ear.
I was a fucking animal in heat.
I kissed my way down her body, trailing hot, wet kisses along her collarbone and down to her breasts, sucking and biting at her nipples until she was practically writhing beneath me, begging without words.
“Fuck…”
I pressed my rock-hard cock against her thigh, seeking some kind of friction to ease the burning ache between my legs.
I wanted her, needed her, and judging by the way she was responding, the way her body arched and writhed beneath mine, she wanted me just as badly.
“We should stop,” she said, her voice shaking, like she was trying to convince herself as much as me.
Hell no.
Part of me knew she was right. We should’ve stopped, taken a fucking breath, maybe even rethought what the hell we were doing. But the primal, animalistic part of me, the one ruled by lust and desire, couldn’t give a flying fuck about reason or consequences.
I muttered some bullshit that sounded like agreement, but my lips didn’t obey. They kept pressing against hers, hungry and desperate, not wanting to let go of the taste of her.
“You can stop anytime you want,” I muttered between kisses, trying to deflect the blame onto her.
“You’re the one kissing me,” she shot back, her voice sharp with accusation.
“And you’re the one responding,” I countered, my hands still tangled in her hair.
But then, just as I thought we might actually pause, her hand reached down and grabbed my cock, and that was it.
I lost it.
“Jesus fucking Christ,” I murmured, the words coming out in a breathy moan.
My brain short-circuited, all coherent thought flying out the window as pleasure shot through me like a lightning bolt.
“How the fuck am I supposed to stop when you’re touching me like that?”
I groaned, hips bucking up into her hand as she stroked me through my pants. Fucking miracle I hadn’t already torn her clothes off.
I needed to pull my shit together. Fast.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, her fingers still tracing the outline of my cock, and when she gripped me, stars fucking burst in my head.
I shook my head, reaching out to cup her face in my hands. “Don’t apologize,” I grunted, feeling like I was teetering on the edge of a cliff, ready to fall.
My brain was screaming ‘stop, you idiot’, but my body was like, ‘hell no, keep going’. And I let out this primal moan, like a caveman discovering fire.
So, like the reckless fool I was, I slipped my tongue past her lips once again, tasting the sweetness of her mouth, savoring every moment as if it were my last.
But I wasn’t stupid.
With a sharp intake of breath, I grabbed Red’s hand and pulled it gently away from my aching cock, taking a step back to put some distance between us. Her lips were swollen, parted slightly as she gasped for air, and her eyes dark with need.
God, she was beautiful.
I squeezed my eyes shut for a second, trying to get my shit together. I sucked in a deep breath, trying to steady the fuck down. I focused on the sound of my own ragged breathing, using it as an anchor to calm the hell down.
When I opened my eyes, I sighed heavily and looked at Red.
“Alright, Red,” I said, my voice hoarse with the effort of keeping my hormones in check. “Time to get our priorities straight.”
But before we dove headfirst back into the shitshow, I needed to address the elephant in the room.
“So, what’s your theory on what happened with Viper back there?” I seriously asked, despite the lingering ache between my legs.
Red’s lips parted, her expression troubled. “Viper’s sutures were weakened,” she began, her words almost a whisper. “I don’t know how it happened, or how he could bleed out like a fountain after the TXA.”
Weak stitches? Massive bleeding? It didn’t fucking add up.
“Who patched Viper up?” I demanded to know.
She hesitated for a moment before answering, her eyes flickering away guiltily. “I did,” she admitted, shaking her head, clearly just as baffled. “But I swear to God, Rogue, I was careful with those stitches. There’s no way I messed that up.”
As I took a moment to process everything, my mind felt like a blender on full speed. Something wasn’t adding up, and the more I thought about it, the more convinced I became that there was foul play at hand.
I knew Red—trusted her skills like a religion—but this shit tank to high heaven.
“Could this be a sabotage?” I finally asked, the words leaving a bitter taste in my mouth.
She met my gaze, her eyes reflecting the same concern I felt. “I honestly don’t know,” she answered, letting out an exasperated sigh. “This whole mess is giving me a headache.”
I gritted my teeth. This wasn’t just a glitch; it screamed sabotage louder than a bullhorn at a rock concert. But who the hell would stoop so fucking low? The possibilities were endless, and none of them sat right with me.
Could it be Dr. Dipshit?
Or maybe I was just jumping to conclusions like a horny teenager at prom night. Until we had concrete proof, it was all just speculation. And we couldn’t afford to be sloppy. Because if someone was willing to fuck with Viper, they sure as fuck wouldn’t hesitate to come after us next.
This shit was far from over, and if we didn’t figure out what the hell was going on—and fast—we were all going to get fucked.
And not the good kind.