Page 61 of Powerless
“I literally just met the guy! You all kept him prisoner and never bothered to learn his name as you grilled him for information. Where else would he go? Maybe I’m just trying to be fucking nice? You know, like I was when you dragged Mari out here against her will!”
“Whatever. I’m too fucking tired to argue about this.” I scrubbed a hand down my face with a sigh. “Just don’t get involved with him, Noelle. That’s an order from your president, not your older brother being protective.”
“Hah!” she scoffed, raising both of her hands. “You arewayjumping the gun, tiger.”
“I mean it,” I growled. “He’s given us good intel, but we still don’t know if he’s loyal enough to be a Demon. And we—” I stopped myself, before choosing to go on with a sigh. “We’ve had a breach of trust among our own. I’ll fill you in later, but this attack was orchestrated by General Tash. He has, for all intents and purposes, turned against us and declared war on us, based on information someone in the club has been feeding him.”
“What?” Her mouth dropped open, for once speechless. “Who would do that?”
“I’m not sure,” I admitted. “But whoever it is will fucking regret it.”
A hot bathwas just what I needed. Soaking up to my armpits, I puffed on a cigar next to the open window and sipped from a glass of my favorite whiskey. The only thing that would’ve made it better was my sweet little medic snuggled up against me. She was taking her sweet ass time but maybe Shadow’s injuries were more extensive that she originally thought.
I puffed and exhaled, closing my eyes to lean my head back against the cool tile. I couldn’t pussyfoot around it this time. She had to know not only my intentions, but the reasoning behind them. Best case scenario, she’d embrace it and be thrilled. Worst case, it would just be me and her.
And I was honestly fine with that. If she wanted me to be her only man, I’d do everything in my power to be everything she needed. It was all I thought about on my long trek back home.
Just my luck that the first woman I considered worthy of sharing balked at the first mention of it. Most women outside of my family’s culture thought it was some culty brainwashing shit and I didn’t give a fuck. I was fine to fuck them and ride off the next day anyway. They’d never get the irony of a one-night stand between two people, while completely dismissing the intimacy and trust between a woman and her harem.
But I desperately wanted Mariposa to understand. And if she didn’t go for it, then I would try my best to understand where she was coming from.
That’s what people did when they fell in love, right?
“Mari’s here!” Noelle called from downstairs.
“Then get that sweet ass up here!” I returned.
“She’s getting a robe out of my room!” Noelle reported.
“Fuck that, I want her naked!”
I chuckled to myself, puffing on my cigar, then cringed and coughed. I did not want to think about what Noelle was doing with that guy downstairs, nor did I want to give her any ideas.
Ah, whatever. My woman was here.
"There you are." I leaned back in the tub as Mari's bare feet padded over the tiled floor. "Almost thought the water would get cold before you got here."
"Sorry," she mumbled, slipping the robe off her shoulders and letting the fabric pool on the floor.
I didn’t get a chance to enjoy the view. She looked away from me as she climbed in, settling between my legs with her bare back as stiff as a board. Aside from her hips brushing my thighs, she made no move to touch me. She stayed hunched over, knees drawn up and arms against her chest.
That was fucking weird.
I lifted my hand from the water with a small splash, moving her hair from her back to the front of her shoulder. Then I circled my thumb against her upper back, working the stiff muscles until she released a soft sigh. Taking hold of her shoulder, I pulled back gently and she followed until her back rested on my chest.
I moved the massage to her upper arms, letting the water trickle over her skin to aid in her relaxation. Dragging my lips along the back of her neck, I pressed a kiss to the soft spot behind her ear.
"What's wrong, sugar?"
Her heartbeat and her breathing accelerated. I waited, despite the urge of demanding the truth from her. It had been a long time since I comforted a woman who was more than just a casual fuck, but I did my best. My hands ran up and down her arms and I dropped more kisses on her neck and shoulder.
"I had sex with Shadow."
All my movements paused. The words tumbled out of her in a hurried confession, and her heart thumped erratically through her back.
"Okay." That was the last thing I expected to hear come out of her mouth. Shadow hadn't occurred to me as someone to share her with, mainly because he didn't seem interested in most normal things, least of all women.
"I didn't want to at first," she breathed in the same hurried, verging-on-panicked fashion. "I said stop and he did, but...I didn't know what he would do next, so I just…kept going until he finished."
