Page 28 of Digital Desire

“Thought I had better get my ass over here and help you out, so Ma didn’t get on the phone and start in at me,” Jace said with a chuckle.

“I called him. We’re a few men short, and I need Reid and Blake to go after Madison now I have intel on where she is.”

“You do?” Aubrey asked surprised. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because you didn’t need to know,” Jack responded with a sigh as he crossed his arms.

“Because you still don’t trust me?” she asked with indignation as she glared at his brother.

Will got a distinct impression that there was more going on here but kept quiet as it played out.

“Trust is hard to come by and easily broken, so no, I don’t trust you, but don’t take it personally. I can count on one hand how many people I truly trust,” Jack answered before he walked outside to talk to Liam and Alex. Drew headed back out to get the laptops he guessed.

“That man is an asshole,” Aubrey spat as she stormed from the room towards the bedroom she was using.

“Still the same drama following you then,” Jace said with a grin as he dropped his bag beside the sofa.

“Yeah, I should probably go find out what all that was about.”

“You think?” said Jace with a shake of his head.

“Yeah,” Will replied absentmindedly. “Hey, has Lucy found out anything?” he asked as he got to the door and turned back towards his cousin.

Jace was already filling up the coffee pot. “She had a lead when I left, but she’s calling me in a few minutes and I’ll ask her then. Don’t worry, Will, we’re going to work this out.”

“I know. Thanks, Jace.”

“It’s what family does man,” he said.

Yeah, they did, thought Will as he passed the room Aubrey was using and stopped for a second. Maybe he should check on her, but as he moved, he caught a whiff of his armpits and thought perhaps a shower first, then he could hold her as he so desperately wanted to.

Grabbing clean jeans and a white polo from the bag that had mysteriously appeared on the bed, he headed for the bathroom. Stripping his clothes, he bunched them up and shoved them in a bin bag ready to burn. The bathroom was tiled entirely in white from floor to ceiling and bright green towels were hung on the silver, heated towel rail.

Stepping under the hot spray, Will let it run over him, feeling the bite as the water hit the cuts on his face. He had been shocked to see Chopper, but as he had never dealt with him in the forces, he didn’t know him that well.

He went over in his mind what had been said to look for a clue. Something was niggling him, and it was just out of his grasp. Chopper hadn’t said a lot, but it was more his mannerisms than what was said. He had referred to Jack and how important family was. Will couldn’t make out if he was trying to ruffle him or if it was just a threat that if he didn’t do as he was told, he would go after Jack.

Will had no worries that Jack could handle himself though. He was the best, probably better than Zack in some ways because he didn’t allow feelings to get in the way. Yet he had come for him, even after the way things had been left.

Deciding that standing in the shower all day would accomplish exactly nothing, Will got out and wrapped a towel around his waist. Looking in the mirror over the sink he saw that his eye looked better already now the dry blood was cleaned away. Opening the bathroom door, he stopped short when he saw Aubrey standing in the middle of his room looking uncertain.

“Aubrey?” he asked as he went closer to her.

She had her hands clasped in front of her. She had changed into a blue tank top and denim shorts, her legs went on for miles, toned muscle and perfectly shaped. He dragged his eyes up and over her curves as he felt his body start to respond and remembered he was in a towel. He closed his eyes and began to recite code in his head to get the picture of her naked and beneath him from his brain. When he felt he had himself under control, he opened them, and she was looking at him with a twitch on her lips.

“I knocked, but you didn’t answer, so I let myself in. I probably shouldn’t have,” she said with a hesitancy he was not used to from her.

“What’s going on, Brey?” he asked, and her eyes flashed to him in surprise at his shortening of her name.

“Nobody calls me that!” she stated.

“Yeah, but I’m not nobody am I?” he replied as he moved closer and her eyes dropped to his body. Will saw desire darken the brown of her eyes to almost black and fought for control, he wanted to hold her, touch her, make her scream his name as he tasted her.

“No, you’re not ‘nobody’, Will.”

He moved a step closer and lifted his hand to stroke the pulse in her neck. Goosebumps rose on her skin, and he saw her shiver, her lips part on a breath. “What are we, Brey?” he asked as he cupped the back of her neck with his hand and ran his nose over the soft shell of her ear, delighting in the sensation of her so close.

He wanted to devour her, worship her but first, he needed her to admit they were something special.