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I’m on my feet in an instant getting in Maxen’s face. “Hey! I said knock it off. There’s no need for you to get involved.”
“No need?”
Maxen cinches an arm around my waist and draws me close. “What the hell kind of man would I be if I let some asshole rough you up without answering?”
My heart thunders in my chest just before falling to the floor. Not at the show of chivalry, but because Maxen has done this with an audience.
A door slams behind me, and Chelsea says, “I… um… it looks like you two have some things to discuss. We’ll go… um… find some coffee.”
Brock, Bash, and Chelsea exit the room, and I shove out of Maxen’s arms. I begin pacing, well, limping back and forth in front of the beds. “Dammit, Maxen! Everybody knows now.”
“Knows about what?” he demands.
“About us! Or at least, they suspect.”
“Sorry? I don’t understand. We’re not breaking any rules. There shouldn’t be a problem unless you plan to keep me your dirty little secret.”
The accusation hits hard, and I immediately deflate. Dropping onto my bed, I’m thankful for the local anesthetic Brock used as I blow out a long breath. “That’s not what I meant.”
Maxen crosses his arms. “Then what’s really going on here? Are you trying to protect someone? Did Grim hurt you?”
“No. God, no. Nothing like that.”
How the hell can I explain this to him if I don’t fully understand it myself? Forcing my eyes to his, I say, “I’m only just wrapping my head around it. You, me. I don’t intend to hide this from the team, but I wouldn’t have wanted them to find out this way.”
Maxen takes a seat next to me on the bed. “I’m sorry. When Zach told us you’d been attacked, I took a walk so I wouldn’t be breathing fire when you got back. I lost it when I saw Brock stitching you up.”
“I wasn’t attacked, just caught off guard. But that’s another thing I’m worried about. You know I can take care of myself. Just because we’re… whatever we are, doesn’t mean I need you to step in and fight for me.”
“I know you don’t, Sadie, but you’re not being fair. You would have felt the same way if it was Chelsea or any of us guys that came back in that condition.”
I lift a hand to the back of my neck and squeeze the muscles there. “Dammit. You’re right.”
Maxen places a hand on my thigh, sending tingles up my spine. “You want me to wrap your knee? Brock kind of split before he got the chance.”
“I’m pretty sure I can handle that myself. I could use a shower first, anyway.”
“Now that sounds like a great idea.”
I lean forward, trying my best to act seductively, and whisper when my lips nearly touch his. “I don’t need any help.”
“That’s too bad,” he breathes.
His tongue swipes out to wet his lips, making me hot in all the right places. My breaths come faster, and I decide to take the leap. “Though I’m sure I could use some help later.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah.”
I finally close the gap, touch my lips to his, and quickly find myself on my back. Maxen invades my mouth and my senses until I’m breathless underneath him. I’ve just about decided he can help me with my shower after all when he sits up, leaving me grossly unfulfilled.
“All you’ve got to do is say the word, and I’m all yours.”
Maxen gets up and walks out of my room, leaving me wet and frustrated for the second time today.
After a cold shower and reapplying the bandage Brock left for me, my thoughts have sobered enough to spend some time thinking about Aaron and the reason he stormed out. I can guess what it is.
Not even two hours before I was banging Maxen, I told my best friend that nothing was going on between us. My words had been true at the time, but Aaron probably now thinks I was lying to him. Aaron hates liars.
