Chapter 14
Nessa felt like a hungover zombie as she trudged from her bedroom and toward the kitchen. It was just past eight in the morning, and although she’d taken a shower and gotten ready for the day, she still felt completely drained.
As she neared the kitchen, she heard movement coming from inside.
Her heart skipped a beat when she stepped into the entryway, spotting Murphy at the stove.
His back was toward her, and he was whistling under his breath as he took a pancake from the pan with a spatula, sliding it onto a plate stacked high with at least a dozen more.
“I thought you didn’t cook,” she commented, stifling a yawn as Murphy turned toward her.
“I think it’s impossible to mess up pancakes and eggs.” He smirked, nodding in her direction. “Morning, Loch Ness.”
Nessa squinted at him, hoping her expression looked menacing and not nauseous, like she currently felt. “Call me that again, bear boy, and see what happens.”
Murphy grinned, flashing his perfect white teeth at her. With that one look, she forgot to breathe, the aches in her body forgotten as she studied him. He really was handsome. Perfect, actually, even though he looked tired. “Bear boy? I haven’t been a boy in decades.”
She arched a brow, stepping fully into the kitchen. “Bear man then. Thanks for settling it for me.”
Not waiting for his reply, she beelined to the stove, plucking up her kettle and heading to the sink to fill it with water. Her hand stilled on the faucet handle as she felt Murphy crowd behind her, his hand working through her hair to the base of her neck.
She didn’t freeze up as he invaded her space, which was unusual for her, and as he began massaging the back of her neck, applying the sweetest pressure to her stiff muscles, she relaxed, leaning into his touch.
Tingles exploded across her scalp, working down to her core until her legs felt like jelly.
Before she could stop herself, a small moan slipped out.
“Does that feel good, Nes?” Murphy whispered in her ear, his voice sliding over her skin like a velvet caress.
“Y-Yes,” she answered shakily, biting back another moan as his fingers worked out a small knot she hadn’t even realized was there.
Oh god, it felt so good. Her grip tightened on the handle right as her pussy throbbed, desire clawing through the haze of her hangover to pool low in her belly. A second later, panic encompassed her.
Oh shit, he’s going to smell that I’m turned on!
Murphy dropped his hand, brushing his lips against the side of her head before he moved back to the stove, leaving her horny and confused as she stared down at her kettle.
What the hell was that? Should she ask him about it? She wanted to, but a part of her was afraid if she brought up him touching her, kissing her, that he’d never do it again. What if he thought she didn’t like it? Then she’d feel compelled to tell him she really liked it.
What would happen then? He’d crush her by telling her he wasn’t interested in her that way? Yeah, she’d pass on that.
Sighing softly, Nessa filled her kettle, heading to the stove as Murphy brought the plate full of pancakes and another filled with eggs to the small nook and bench by her floor-to-ceiling window. By the time the water began to boil, he’d set out everything they’d need for breakfast.
She fixed her tea and moved over to the nook, sitting across from him.
“How many pancakes do you want, Nes?” Murphy grabbed her empty plate and her fork, stacking one pancake and then another.
Her mouth watered at the sight of them, her nausea taking a back seat to her hunger. “Two is fine.”
He grunted. “Only two?”
She took a sip of her scalding drink, sending him a small smile over the rim of the cup. “I’m not a shifter, Murphy. Two is plenty.”
He set her plate down, lifting the plate of eggs off the table. “Eggs, though, right?”
“Yes, please.”
Scraping half of the eggs onto her plate, he handed it to her before fixing his own, stacking nearly every remaining pancake onto it followed by the rest of the eggs.
She tried to keep her jaw from dropping as he poured a healthy amount of syrup onto his pancakes before digging in. After seeing him devour a pizza like it was his job, watching him inhale his breakfast shouldn’t have filled her with such fascination.
Maybe it was the way he licked the thick syrup from his lips that held her spellbound, barely capable of finishing her own eggs by the time he was done with his meal.
When he looked up at her, her face heated, and she quickly glanced down at her plate, cutting up a pancake and taking a bite.
Warm and delicious, she soon forgot her embarrassment as she hummed happily, taking another bite.
She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had pancakes—she didn’t even realize she had a box of the mix in her house.
“So,” she said after swallowing another bite, “is now a good time to talk about why you came by so early this morning?”
Murphy pursed his lips, leaning back on the bench and crossing his arms in front of his chest. His biceps bulged under his sweater, drawing her attention before she forced her gaze back to his face.
“There’s a lot about that night you were attacked that you don’t know,” Murphy began, his eyes taking on a hard edge that made her food settle like a heavy weight in her stomach.
She pushed her plate away, no longer hungry as the memories from that night rushed back.
“One member of my bear clan helped Jason and his pack enter my territory. That’s how the wolves got so close to you and Hunny. ”
She stared at him for a handful of seconds, taking in the way his hands clenched, a muscle jumping in his cheek as he waited for her to respond. It was the haunted look in his eyes that she couldn’t tear her gaze away from. “Was it someone you were close to, Murphy?”
He gritted his teeth and nodded. “He was my friend before all of this happened. Now he’s on the run with a death sentence hanging over his head.”
Nessa felt a flare of sympathy for Murphy, her own horrors of that night forgotten.
It seemed like he’d faced more than his fair share of betrayals from those he’d loved.
But where he’d spoken so casually about his ex-girlfriend stabbing him in the back, it was impossible to miss the fury, the hurt, on Murphy’s face now.
She hated seeing him like this; distressed and miserable.
Standing from her seat, she walked around the table, dropping onto the edge of Murphy’s bench.
Her thigh brushed against his as she turned to face him, running a hand over his crossed arm, wishing she was touching his skin instead of his sweater. “What’s his name?”
“Dante,” Murphy spat. “He’s a tracker—those are shifters with better senses than most. They can locate anyone with just a scent and enough time.”
Even better senses than the average shifter? That was mind-boggling, to say the least.
“His twin brother, Marcus, has been looking for him.” Murphy uncrossed his arms, taking her hand in his and entwining their fingers.
When she didn’t pull away from him, his shoulders loosened, some of the anger draining from his features.
“We haven’t been able to find Dante since he took off. He’s masking his scent, lying low.”
“Do you know why he helped Jason?” she asked softly. “There has to be a reason why Dante betrayed you and his brother.”
Although, sometimes people were just evil. They didn’t need a reason to hurt someone else. She was living proof that someone could set out to destroy your life simply because they enjoyed inflicting pain.
Murphy growled under his breath, and despite the seriousness of their conversation and her internal thoughts, Nessa couldn’t help but think the sound was adorable.
Who knew she’d like that so much?
“One of Jason’s wolves, a female named Angela …” Murphy sighed loudly. He slid his thumb over Nessa’s inner wrist, right over her pulse, like he was reassuring himself she actually was right there with him.
She softened at the touch, leaning forward until her chin rested on his shoulder, her breasts pressing against his arm.
Hesitantly, she wrapped her free hand around the front of his waist to hold him. She waited for some kind of panic to kick in at their close proximity. But it didn’t, and she held onto him a little more fiercely, basking in the contentment that washed over her like a gentle wave.
Murphy swallowed thickly, staring down at her with an unreadable expression. “What are you doing, Nes?” he murmured.
“Comforting you, I think,” she joked quietly. “Unless I’ve lost my touch over the years.”
A small smile tugged at his lips. “I like it.”
“So you’re saying I’m still amazing at it,” she replied, waggling her brows suggestively.
Murphy choked out a laugh before shaking his head.
“I might be saying that.” Sobering, he dropped his hand onto her bare arm, the warmth of his touch spreading through her entire body like an inferno.
“Angela is Dante’s true mate. He didn’t tell anyone that he’d found her, or whose pack she belonged to.
Jason threatened to rape and kill her if he didn’t agree to Jason’s terms.”
“That’s awful!” Nessa exclaimed, anxiety for this unknown woman rising to the surface.
She’d only encountered Jason once, but that was enough for her to know he was an evil piece of shit.
If he had threatened to rape and kill one of his own one pack mates, she couldn’t imagine the kind of treatment Angela had received on a daily basis before that.
And then to dangle her life over her mate’s head?
She knew something of daily pain …
“I feel so bad for Dante and Angela,” Nessa stated faintly.
To go through something like that, to betray your family, your friends, all in order to protect your soul mate? What a horrible choice to have to make.