I almost cry, and I hug him to hide the wavering tears.
“I wish they’d stop fucking fighting,” I mumble against his chest, and he starts laughing instantly.
“I really will separate you from them if I have to,” he jokes.
I pull back with a small smile and then I take a breath as I look around the huge room. The couch is a crisp red, and the balcony doors have been opened to allow in the heat of the city.
“I need to get going. I’ve got a pile of paperwork to sift through, and then I’ve got more phone calls to make than I care to think about. This shit with Salan is pretty fucked up,” he sighs out.
“I’m going to shower, change, and then I’m going to bed to try and sleep off this massive headache.”
“I’ll see you in the morning,” he mumbles, and then he heads out to leave me alone.
This is the first time in a while that I’ve actually had my own space, and I know how desperately I need that space. I pour a glass of tequila, and then I head to the balcony to sit and sip as I stare out at the city full of a species that hates me.
I’m part of them, but they only view me as an abomination. A full blood father, and a human mother bore me into this world, neither wanting me. It’s a sad story shared by almost all of us, so I shouldn’t feel as though I have the right to be any more upset than any other hybrid.
A knock at the door almost pisses me off, and I creep quietly to see through the peephole. I almost smile when I see Hale propped up on the wall across from the door, and I creak it open to usher him in.
“I’m sorry,” he smolders while rushing in to kiss me.
The door shuts behind him, and I feel him lifting my legs to be around his waist.
“I’m sorry too,” I murmur against his incredible lips.
Hale. Definitely Hale.
“I love you, baby,” he coos, and then I feel the bed I haven’t even seen yet.
“I love you, but you promised not to fight,” I lightly scold, and he draws back to lie on his side and face me.
“I only promised not to tell him about us or provoke him. I did neither. I refuse to let him attack me without defending myself though, and you shouldn’t ask that much of me. I did everything I fucking could to save you, and he-”
My lips press against his to silence his angry rant. He pulls me into his strong, immaculate body, and I barely draw back to speak.
“I know you did, and I’ve told him that before. I saw you struggling to get to me, and you damn near lost control of your sound mind. I couldn’t tell him the whole story without divulging our secrets. He doesn’t know you went savage and ripped an army of men to shreds,” I soothe, and I caress his soft cheek as I try to calm him.
“The olophine burned through too quick. If I hadn’t already been shot fifty fucking times, Clay wouldn’t have been able to get the meds in before I went invincible. I swear I fucking tried,” he almost whimpers, and my lips console his once more.
“Hale, I know. You don’t have to defend yourself to me. The only thing I ever got mad about was the aftermath,” I murmur softly, and I almost see tears spreading in his eyes.
“I’m so sorry,” he breathes, and his lips now show a need for mine as they attack with a fervent desire.
I feel my pants sliding off, and then I flip over to straddle him while pulling my shirt over my head. His lips find mine before it’s even completely gone, and then he jerks me to be on top of him as the bed creaks beneath us.
A knock at the door halts our wild tumble, and I quickly grab a robe to tie around me.
“Who the fuck is that?” he gripes in a whisper.
“I don’t know. Stay in here,” I huff out, and he pulls me down to kiss him once more.
I smile as I remove myself from his intoxicating clutches, and then I shut the door behind me on my way to investigate the intruder. In my erotic hazy frame of mind, I jerk open the door without looking to see who it is. I’m floored when I see Brazen, and he doesn’t speak before his lips connect with mine.
Holy fucking shit.
“Stop,” I assert while pushing him off me, and my eyes dart toward the bedroom door.
“Araya, please stop fighting me. I know you still love me. I can see how much this has hurt you, and it’s fucking killing me,” he blares
