Puffing out my chest, I utter, “Couldn’t have said it better myself,” in response, even though neither of them can hear me. The jealousy that stirs inside me as I watch Cara’s defences melt away is unwarranted, but the heart-stopping smile her friendpulls from her is steeped in so much carefree levity, I instantly wish I had put it there.
“There’s something about him, Suze, something that both scares me and entices me all at the same time.”
“That isn’t a bad thing; coming from experience, the ones that are a little unhinged make the best soulmates.”
“Well, that might be a bit of a stretch. I met him a couple of hours ago, and you’re already talking soulmates.” The terse titter of her laugh feels awkward even to my ear.
“It’s okay to dream bigger, Cara. Maybe it’s this guy, maybe it’s someone else…”
I know her friend is being supportive, but just the mention of Cara being perfect for some other man has my blood pressure rising as I grip my tense fists around the arms of the chair i’m sitting in until the wood is on the verge of snapping.
“You don’t have to have all the answers right now. That being said, every time you mention him, you have this little flush that creeps across your cheeks. I think that warrants exploring,” Suzy adds, and just like that she’s back on team Ezra. I don’t have long to rejoice in it when she whispers, “Are you wondering?”
To anyone other than them, the question would be confusing, but when Cara pinches her lips between her fingers to stifle a smile as her cheeks heat, I lean in a little closer.
“It’s okay to daydream about being hunted and fucked without mercy, Cara, it’s a kink—we all have them.”
“Remind me never to play twenty questions with you again. You know far too many of my secrets,” Cara snaps back at her friend playfully.
My stiff cock has officially joined the conversation that I’m not meant to be privy to and jumps in my trousers, precious blood flow now redirected from my brain as all sane thought is eclipsed by the image of Cara running naked through the forest in the dead of night while I hunt her like prey.
Cara appears to ponder the next sentence that comes from her mouth as she glances out the window. “Wolfe by name, wolf by nature?” It’s as though she’s asking the universe the question.
I’m ready to play Cara’s game whenever she wants; devouring my little Red is a perfect idea.
“Horny with no way to sate that urge is not what I need right now.” she whines turning back to face her friend.
“What do you need?”
“A lock for starters.” Cara picks up the phone and shows Suzy the chair tucked under the door handle that is her current method of safety.
I make a mental note to rectify the lock issue for her. Being chased down and fucked by me is one thing, allowing others to enter her space, yeah—that’s not happening. I’ll ask my contact to smuggle one in this week. All of the locks around here are bulky and have the intention of keeping people in rather than out. I’ll protect her from here while she sleeps until I get it sorted. I’m taken off guard how the decision to stay put is such an easy one—the lack of a lock just another excuse I’m telling myself so I don’t have to leave her side.
“Thanks for packing the extra gloves. They’re like tissue paper; this is the third pair this month,” she says as she wraps a plaster around her cut finger, pulling on a fresh pair and bundling a pile of the rest into her top drawer neatly.
“You need to invest in something more durable, or you could go without. No shame in being your true self, Cara.”
“It’s a place like this where my robot fingers would probably be considered a weapon. I already had to smuggle in a razor past security.”
“Do I want to know where you hid it?” Suzy grins with a cocked brow.
With her hand raised, Cara notes off each point with an extended finger, “Sellotaped inside a shoe. This isn’t Jail. And no, I wasn’t strip-searched.”
With a mock pouty expression, her friend stifles a giggle. “Sounds like you’ve missed out, sometimes a strip-search is exactly what the doctor ordered.” Before Cara can answer her, Suzy continues, “Although I’m more interested in finding out what this patient/nurse romance is all about. You didn’t tell me in great enough detail. Who is this Ezra Wolfe?”
“He’s off limits is who he is. Broad shouldered, heavily tattooed, and slightly deranged if the rumours are to be believed—sadly, just my type,” she mopes with a pouty lip that I desperately want to sink my teeth into.
“Even the deranged deserve a stab at true love,” her friend adds.
Pulling the phone closer to her face, Cara whispers into the speaker, “God, the things I’d let that man do to me.”
They both giggle at that like they are gossiping on a random Friday night with pizzas and chick flicks. I relax back into my chair, raking my hands through my mussed hair with a cocky smile spread across my face. For the first time in a long time, feeling like a man rather than a beast to be feared. It’s oddly unnerving. I’m used to being feared.
Should I be this fucking turned on to know my girl here has a thing for me? Would she be this forthcoming if she knew I could hear every word out of that beautiful mouth of hers?
“Don’t frown, it will leave lines,” Suzy orders through the phone, and Cara sighs airily.
Slumping across her mattress on her belly, kicking her legs in the air behind her, she stares down at her friend, stroking the screen with her finger. I’d love to crawl inside her head and know what she’s thinking. I’ve never truly had someone I’d calla friend; allowing people in just gave them more chances to fuck you over, so it had never really appealed to me to bother.
