“I am requesting you give me space. Please, Jumoke,” I implore him, staying statue-still.
He groans as another shiver wracks his body, but I feel the heat of his hulking form dissipate from my back as he moves away.
“Don’t say my name with that sexy plea unless you want me to take you against the table. I swear to fucking hell, I don’t know what game you’re playing, but I’m not one to deny myself.”
The wet slap of drenched fabric hitting the floor makes my stomach lurch. With his husky voice and provocative scent battering my senses, it hurts to stay facing the wall.
A chair scrapes against the floor before it creaks as his weight settles on it.
My mind supplies a visual. Shirtless, water droplets dripping from his hair and running down his chest, the roguish male would look all too enticing as he unlaces his boots.
Unlocking my muscles, I wrap my arms around the mostly empty box. Before I can lift it, a solid thump denotes his first boot landing on the floor.
I clench my eyes closed as a wave of longing sweeps through my veins. On its heels, depression and dismay swell and douse the want.
His second boot hits the floor.
I lift the box.
“Where are you going?”
His voice almost hides the sound of his movements, but I know he’s shucked off his socks when a wet slap rings through the air.
“To finish my task.”
“I thought we needed to talk.”
The chair squeaks as he stands.
Retreating into my sorrow, I relax my features and find the home I’ve created for myself and my failures.
“We shall do so once you are less indisposed.”
His belt buckle clicks as he pulls the leather free.
“You don’t want to stay for the show?”
Turning toward the door, I keep my eyes trained on my destination.
I do. I want to stay. Never before have I been presented with the opportunity to see an Alpha in all his glory.
Yet to watch would be foolish.
And futile.
I nearly collide with a mountain of muscle as Shya’s lifemate steps into the doorway.
A spike of adrenaline jerks me backward, a squeak preceding the gut-wrenching slide of my shoe as Jumoke’s trail of water denies me traction, making me slip. As gravity pulls me backward, I toss the food box toward the huge Alpha, trusting he’ll catch it.
Nausea boils in my guts as the world shifts, the apprehension of landing on the floor a keen misery.
Too in tune with the half-clad male darting across the room, I tuck my arms and chin against my chest. Curling away from his intent hands, I narrowly avoid his attempt to catch me.
A blast of agony explodes through my left shoulder and hip, sucking the breath from my lungs.
Despite being aware of both men's lack of want to hurt me, familiar terror seizes my mind as I register masculine forms hovering over me.
Neither have masks or protective gear covering them, a shocking difference from my past experiences.
The change does not lessen my fear. In fact, another tide of horror overwhelms me.
When thick fingers reach closer, I cringe and roll away, choking with pain.
Tightening my abdominals, I force oxygen into my lungs as I settle onto my back, staring up at Jumoke’s shocked face. My bones feel bruised from the hard floor, but the need to separate myself from them overrules the pain.
“No.” My agony vibrates through my voice, the unexpected events uprooting my resolve.
Heaving for a few moments, I realize my gloved hands hover over my shoulders, the palms facing away from my body, an unconscious plea for him to stop.
His bare foot steps closer, making panic prolong my ragged breathing. I scoot further away, my heels propelling my prone body along the smooth floor.
“No closer, Alpha. Stay away,” I croak, still fighting the explosions of pain from hitting the floor. When he leans nearer, I angle the top of my head toward the corner of the room and push away, wincing as more aches make themselves known.
Shya appears beside her mate, large pink eyes flitting between us. Her eyebrows scrunch before her fingers dig into Dirk’s shirt.
When she uses invisible efforts to check my well-being, I clench down on my defenses, protecting her as I always have. Except, for half a second, my usual control eludes me and I shove away her care, my reaction too harsh for such a gentle soul.
Immediately repulsed by my own actions, I caress her heart in apology, even as I shake through my misfortune.
Sensing her Alpha’s presence in her heart, I veer away from the side throbbing with their link. I meet his eyes, repentant for the hurt I’ve caused his mate, the hard edge around his eyes softening. Before I can react to the residual concern residing within his clear blue eyes, a warning growl fills the air.
“You’d ask Dirk for help, but run away from me?”
Jumoke’s livid visage dips closer, his furious movements making petrifying fear burst through my veins. Unrelenting fingers wrap around my covered bicep, crushing the muscle against bone. More agony spears into my shoulder.
Fear rules my instincts. The sole of my shoe embeds itself into his stomach, my unexpected kick knocking the wind out of him. Already pulling me off the ground, he jerks backward, causing my torso to lift and the back of my head to smack the floor. Whiplash pierces my neck and spine, and my vision goes blurry.
Sharp motion hovers just within comprehension as sounds of anger penetrate the buzzing in my ears, but as though miles away.
When the ringing and confusion lessen, I do as I must when dazed.
I hold tight to my memories, paying homage to the wreckage I’ve left in my wake, smoothing theoretical hands over the broken stems protruding from my heart.
Except this time upon awakening, heavy numbness does not block out whatever pain my body holds. The smell of sharp disinfectants and metallic instruments waft only from
