15. Taryn
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
TARYN
Ifelt myself lifted gently, then immediately sat down on another bed.
“Go back to sleep.” Warm breath whispered against my ear.
I snuggled into the muscled chest that drew me close, breathing in Adrian’s scent. “Adrian,” I murmured.
“I’ve got you, baby. Now go back to sleep.” He hummed a lullaby from my childhood.
My subconscious thought that was a little fucked up, but I fell back asleep almost instantly.
A few hours later, I woke from the best sleep I’d had in months.
I threw the covers back and stretched languidly, snapping my eyes open when I heard a throat clear.
Lucas sat at the small table, a pen and a spiral notebook in front of him. “You might want to put some panties on. Unless you’re trying to show me your pussy?” His lips curled up in disgust, yet the heat in his eyes told a different story.
I didn’t answer his ridiculous question. Instead, I lowered my feet to the floor and pulled my T-shirt down as I stood. “Where’s Beck?”
For a few seconds, I didn’t think he’d answer. Then he threw his pen on the table and looked up at me. “I’m not his fucking keeper, but if I had to guess, I’d say he was taking a shower.” He raised an eyebrow. “And before you ask, Adrian is getting our housing assignment from Gideon.”
“Thanks for the info, Mr. Rowen.” I knew that would irritate the asshole.
“Why don’t you go f—”
The door opened, and Beck walked in with only a towel wrapped around his waist, interrupting Lucas.
I smirked in his direction, then squealed as Beck picked me up and twirled me around. “I’ve missed seeing that beautiful face first thing in the morning.”
I could feel the air on my ass, so I knew I was flashing Lucas again. “Put me down, crazy man.”
“Yes, please put her down, crazy man,” Lucas drawled sarcastically, picking up his pen again. “I prefer my coffee without a shot of ass.”
Beck snorted. “You’re a fool, then. This ass makes everything better.” He grabbed two handfuls of said ass in his giant hands, pulled me in for a filthy kiss, then slowly lowered me down his mostly naked body. “You need to get dressed. Adrian should be back at any moment.”
I pouted and looked at Lucas out of the corner of my eye. “Are you sure you can’t get rid of Professor Sourpuss and give me a repeat of earlier?”
“No, brat, he really can’t.” Lucas glowered at me. “This isn’t a vacation.” He spat out. “I had to leave everyone at the farmhouse to make sure you were alright.”
I felt my cheeks redden. “Fuck off. I told you several times that something was wrong, but you didn’t want to listen.” I motioned out the window. “Seems I was right.”
“It seems you made the situation worse. Now Gideon has a valuable, enhanced woman in his town. The girl you call a friend is in danger of being forced into a group of men she doesn’t know, and the man you claim to care about had to fight to keep you safe.
” Lucas stood, balling his fists. “I thought maybe after the shit that went down at Ben’s you’d have matured by now, but you’re still the same old selfish little girl you’ve always been. ”
Before I could respond, he left, slamming the door behind him.
Tears began to fill my eyes, and I turned, not wanting Beck to see them.
“Taryn, ignore Lucas.” He eased me around and wrapped me up in his arms. “He’s so jealous he should be the one with the stunning green eyes instead of me.” He fluttered his lashes.
I chuckled softly, though my heart wasn’t in it. Lucas was an ass, but he was likely right this time. As soon as I was caught, I realized I had messed up, but if I had the chance, I wouldn’t change anything.
I refused to lose another person that I cared about.
Beck kissed the top of my head, then pulled on a faded pair of jeans and a black T-shirt. “Go wash up. Adrian should be here any moment.”
I nodded and gathered my clothes.
As I showered quickly in the small stall, I knew the first order of business was to get Lila out of the hotel and into the house with us. Now that we were all together, it was hopefully only a matter of hours before we could get the hell out of here and back to the farmhouse.
Adrian was stuffing his belongings into his backpack when I returned to the room, and Lucas and Beck were sitting at the small table, their bags on the floor at their feet.
“Harper should be here shortly with your things, and then we’ll walk over to the house.” Adrian closed his bag and walked over to me. “Did you sleep well?”
I nodded, feeling shy after he’d carried me to his bed. This was uncharted territory for us.
Adrian shrugged on his bag, then tugged me gently by my braid until we were standing so close I could feel his body heat. “I hate that I only got to hold you for a short time. Sleep with me tonight?”
I glanced at Beck. How was this supposed to work? We’d never defined our relationship, but surely, he couldn’t be all right with this.
“I’ve got guard duty tonight. I’d feel better if you were with Adrian.” Beck stood from the table and stepped so close that I was sandwiched between the two large men. “We can make this work.” He leaned down and bit my neck softly, exactly where he had just hours earlier.
I felt my nipples harden, and when I found the courage to look up at Adrian, the heat in his eyes was obvious.
Maybe this could work. Only time would tell.
A knock sounded before we could finish our conversation.
Beck turned and walked over, pulling the door open.
“Hello.” Harper came in and handed me my pack. “I hoped you were still in one piece after this man dragged you off.” She swatted Beck on the shoulder.
I blushed. “It was a close call, but I survived.”
“I bet you did.” She laughed. “Before you ask, Lila is fine. She’s got the room all to herself, and I’ll keep an eye on her.”
“Do you think it would be possible for her to visit tomorrow?” I hoped Harper could make it happen because Lila needed to be a part of any plan we made to get out of here.
“I don’t think that would be a problem,” Harper shrugged. “Gideon would expect you two to spend time together since you’re close friends.”
I nodded, hope filling my chest.
At that moment, I heard a woof and looked up just as Max entered the room, leaping onto me with his paws on my chest, nearly knocking me off balance.
“Careful, boy,” I said, scratching his scarred head.
“If you'd stayed with me instead of running to Beck, we wouldn't have been separated,” I scolded, smiling happily to see him.
I’d missed him something terrible, even though it had only been a day. Ever since I’d claimed him, we’d been inseparable. He’d saved my life countless times.
Finley walked in, holding Rory’s hand. “Rory wanted to keep him until you were settled, but Max had other plans.”
Max whined as if he could understand him, then trotted to the little girl, his head hanging as if he were apologizing.
“It’s okay, Maxi.” Rory kissed him right between the eyes. “I’ll come visit you at your new house.”
“We’ll definitely be visiting now,” Harper laughed.
“Let’s get out of here and let them get to it.
I’d imagine they’re ready to leave this place.
” She grabbed Rory’s hand. “Oh, I almost forgot…” She ducked into the hallway and grabbed something propped right outside the door. “…never know when you might need it.”
Now it was my turn to smile. “Thanks. I don’t like being without it.” I grabbed GG from her and set it beside my bag.
“For a while, try not to go anywhere without one of your men.” Finley’s face turned grim. “Mace doesn’t like losing.”
Beck put his hands on my shoulders from behind as Adrian laced our fingers together. “We’ll keep a close watch.”
I felt my face flush. This new relationship was going to take some getting used to.
I reminded myself that evil queens didn’t blush, but it didn’t seem to help.
“Ready?” Adrian asked. “We should get settled before dark. Beck and Lucas need to be at the gate shortly after that.”
The street looked like a photograph from another life.
Old live oaks shaded modest brick homes whose porches had weathered decades of Texas summers. Wind chimes swayed lazily in the breeze, forgotten rocking chairs sat empty, and faded American flags still hung from a few porches, bleached almost white in the relentless Texas sun.
Vegetable gardens replaced manicured lawns, rain barrels lined nearly every house, and a rifle leaned against more than one front porch as naturally as a welcome mat.
It was beautiful…and just a little heartbreaking.
A man knelt beside a raised garden bed a few houses down, pulling weeds while another repaired a section of fence with practiced ease. Two teenage boys hauled buckets of water toward a greenhouse someone had built from salvaged windows. Every person I saw was working toward the same goal.
Survive another day.
Max trotted ahead of us with his nose glued to the cracked sidewalk, stopping every few feet to sniff something only he found interesting, then bounding back.
“They’ve really figured things out here,” I admitted quietly.
Adrian glanced toward the tree-line beyond the rooftops. “Don’t.”
“Don’t what?” I glanced up at him in question.
He raised our joined hands and kissed my fingers. “I don’t want you to get too comfortable. Looks are deceiving, and the underbelly of this place is much uglier than the surface.”
“How ugly?” I bent down and grabbed a stick, throwing it for Max.
“I’ve heard rumors even in the short time I’ve been here,” Lucas scowled in my direction. “And even if it were everything it seemed, we need to get back to the farmhouse.”
I ignored the shitty way he aimed that last comment at me. Lucas and I were never going to repair the damage between us. I knew most of it was my fault, but at this point I was at a loss for how to fix it.
He wasn’t wrong about needing to get back. The farmhouse tugged at the back of my mind like a guilty conscience.
Lane.
Avery.
Emery.
And even Ethan.
Every day we spent here was another day they were out there trying to survive without us.
“This is it.” Adrian’s voice broke me out of my thoughts.