Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
Iclosed my locker in the women’s dressing room at the hospital where I worked. My coworker Cheyenne came in, a smile on her cute face.
“Hey, girl. How are you?” I asked, double-checking I’d locked up.
Cheyenne looked at my ring finger. “Damn, you went and got engaged? Congrats. Who’s the lucky guy?”
Standing, I grabbed my crossbody bag. “He’s a friend I’ve known my entire life.”
“Is that why you never gave Dr. Hottie a chance?” Cheyenne waggled her eyebrows.
There was no use denying the truth, and besides, I’d never led the man on.
In fact, I’d always told him no every single time.
If he didn’t know how to handle rejection, that was his issue, not mine.
It wasn’t up to me to coddle him or anyone else, for that matter.
I’d found a man—or rather, my wolf had—who was more than willing to take care of every need I had.
Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve found out a lot about myself. A blush stole up my neck.
“Now, I want to know what has caused that look on your face.” Cheyenne began stripping out of her scrubs.
I grunted. No way in heck was I sharing the intimate details of my sex life with anyone. “I’ll walk out with you if you’re ready.” I offered instead.
My first night back at the hospital, I was a bit nervous, since the last time I was there, I’d been attacked in the garage. Although Xan and Kellen were sure the man who’d grabbed me was probably dead or captured, I still thought it was safer in numbers.
“Sure, just give me a minute.”
It only took the other woman a few more minutes to gather her belongings, and then we were walking out of the staff locker room together. Exhausted, but glad I was finally back at work, I kept my eyes and ears open when we hit the basement garage. Something like panic tightened in my chest.
“What’s wrong, Breezy?” Cheyenne asked as we neared my car.
A large figure stepped out from beside my recently repaired Mustang Cobra. The sleek-looking Harley beside it made me exhale when I realized it was Xan. “Nothing, I was just thinking about other things.” I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the tall drink of water that was my mate.
“Damn, who is that?” Xan, dressed in a black tank top and jeans, covered in black leather chaps, walked toward us—a sight to behold.
“That’s my fiancé.” I almost slipped and called him my mate.
“Holy, fuck me running.” Cheyenne’s eyes ate him up, making my wolf come to the surface, but I pushed her back. “He does like to chase me down and fuck me in all places. Even in the air.” I couldn’t help but add.
“Hello, gorgeous.” Xan’s expression was intent, lust gleaming in his blue eyes.
I fucking loved this man. “Hi. What are you doing here?”
He pointed to his bike, and that’s when I noticed Shaw leaning against my car. “I thought I’d see if you wanted to ride home with me.”
I looked down at my jeans and T-shirt and wished I’d thought to pack my own set of leather chaps. Xan swept me against him, his lips covered mine, his tongue pushing past my lips, stealing any refusal I might have made.
“I packed your gear in my saddlebags.”
It was crazy how easily he turned me on. Completely insane. “And is Shaw gonna drive my baby home?”
Shaw raised his hand and waved. “He says he’s not riding bitch with me ever again. Something about my speeding and taking turns that no sane person should be doing. I think he’s a pussy, but whatever.” His grin was positively wicked.
Memories of the last time we’d ridden together had me clenching my thighs together, and my head nodding. A throat cleared behind me.
“Oh shit, sorry. Cheyenne, this is Xan. Xan, this is Cheyenne.”
“It’s very nice to meet you. Congratulations on your upcoming nuptials. Now, I’ll only say this once, but if you break my girl’s heart, I’ll cut your nuts off and use them for research. I work in the right place for that, you know.”
I looked at the dark-haired woman I’d worked with in the ER and laughed. My friend was full of surprises, but I scented no lies wafting from her.
“I like this one, Breezy,” Xan stated.
Shaw ambled over. “What’s your name, girl?”
Cheyenne raised her brows. “Well, it’s certainly not girl, boy.”
I stepped between the two, sensing a fight about to brew. “Now, Shaw, this is my friend, Cheyenne. Chey, this is my brother Shaw. I’ve told you about him and his twin, Parker.”
A curious light entered Cheyenne’s dark brown eyes.
The elevator dinging had us all tensing. Xan moved so his body blocked mine, while Shaw put his in front of Cheyenne’s. The doctor they’d dubbed Hottie strolled out, a cellphone to his ear. When he spotted Xan, he paused.
I looked around my mate’s shoulder, finally stepping out and waving. “It’s just one of the physicians on staff here,” I whispered too low for the doctor to hear. “He’s sorta a dick, but a hot one, so we put up with him.”
Cheyenne moved away from Shaw. Shaw growled. “He looks like a dickweed to me.”
Cheyenne shrugged, walking backward toward her small BMW. “I’m not looking for a husband, so I don’t care if he’s a jackass as long as he’s hot and…” she trailed off, raising her brows.
I recognized the anger brewing in my older brother’s features. “Cheyenne, it was great of you to walk with me. I’ll see you in a couple of days.”
“Sure thing. Maybe we can go out again. If your man is there, he will let you. Heck, he can come along. We can do shots off of him next time.” She slid into her car, unaware of the wolf who was barely keeping hold of himself.
I held Shaw’s arm while Xan looked on in amusement. We watched the little silver sports car speed down the narrow parking garage.
“What the hell is wrong with you, Shaw?” I stared after my friend, then looked at my brother.
My brother cracked his neck. “I don’t know. There’s something about her.”
“Get your head on straight. If you want to pursue her, then do it, but don’t get all growly on her, or you’ll screw it up. She’s human, Shaw.” I walked to the bike Xan drove.
“I know she’s fucking human.”
Xan growled. “Don’t talk to my mate like that. I don’t give two fucks that she’s your sister. She’s my mate, and you will respect her. Got me?”
“It’s okay, Xan.” I touched my mate’s chest.
“No, he’s right. I’m sorry, sis. Give me your keys and go ride with Xan. I’ll get your baby home safely. I’ll even keep it under a hundred.” He grinned at me, reminding me of the brother I loved.
A black Lexus drove past. Its dark windows hid the driver, but I knew it was the doctor. I shivered.
“Who’s that?” Xan asked.
I explained about the doctor. All of a sudden, I had two pissed-off wolves growling, making me roll my eyes. “All right, boys, enough. Let’s roll.”
In Xan’s bags, I found the things I needed and had them on in minutes.
We followed behind Shaw as we exited, the red Cobra’s engine purring at the light as Xan pulled beside him.
I saw the gleam in my brother’s gaze and prepared for what was to come.
When the light turned green, my car shot forward, and I watched as he did indeed try to reach the hundred-mile-an-hour mark once we reached the highway.
“Your brother is a crazy wolf. You do realize that, don’t you?” Xan asked through the mic in our helmets.
“Parker is the sane one,” I agreed.
I slammed my fist into the heavy bag. The tape wrapped around my knuckles was dripping crimson, and still I pummeled away. Spinning, I kicked with all my might, sending it soaring across the room.
“What the hell did that thing ever do to you?” Laikyn O’Neil asked.
My balls tightened at the sound of her husky voice, drawing up at the mere slip of a thing. “What’s brought you here, Lake?” I asked.
The brutal punch of awareness I received any time she came within a mile made me angry. I walked over to the black bag lying across the room, picked it up with ease, and set it against the wall. Her breath catching made me glance over my shoulder.
“What?” I growled.
“You’re hurt.” She closed the distance between us, grabbing my hands in hers. The difference in our sizes was startling as I looked down at her pale fingers running over my dark, callused palms. It didn’t make sense why she should care. I was a prick of the first order. Especially to her.
I tried to jerk my hands away, but she held firm.
In order to truly break free, I’d have to hurt her, and I refused to cause any true harm to her.
Hell, I didn’t understand the why of it, only that it was imperative to get her out of my vicinity, without any true damage to her person.
Her heart didn’t count. In the end, I knew I’d destroy that if she allowed me.
She glanced up at me. “Come on, let me tend these before I leave.”
My gut clenched. She was leaving, just as I wanted.
Not wanted—needed. It was all the same to me.
In my mind, I couldn’t have her near me without having her under me, without breaking her.
She deserved better, and I wasn’t better.
She was all things good, while I was all things bad.
If I hadn’t learned that two years ago, then she should have.
“I don’t need you, Laikyn. These will heal on their own. A shift and I’ll be as good as new.”
“What about the other?” She stared down at the visible hard-on straining against my sweats.
“There are a dozen women who know the score inside the club. All I gotta do is snap my finger,” I snapped my bruised fingers before continuing, “and there will be chicks lining up to ease me. Do you want to sign up for one of the positions?”
A light dimmed in her too-gorgeous eyes. “I’m sure you’re right, Kellen. You have a good life, now, you hear.”
Why did that sound so final? My arm shot out to demand answers, but she jumped away from my touch.
“What the hell does that mean?”