Page 65 of Powerless
My shoulder was sore as hell from the gunshot wound, but I hadn't broken out in a fever this time. Mari must have done a good job of preventing infection from spreading.
Shadow didn't respond to my comment, but began his next set. Even with me, he chose not to say anything unless he had to. I was stalling and knew it was useless. Reaper would have my balls if I didn't get to the root of the mattertoday.
Time to rip the band-aid off.
"Can I talk to you for a minute, bro?"
"Yes," he grunted out between his hand-clap push-ups.
I drained the rest of my coffee and put it down beside me, knowing he'd want to finish his current set before talking.
He did fifteen more then rose up to standing, breathing with a bit of effort but otherwise not looking at all like he just completed a workout that would kill most men. And that was just his warm-up.
"What would you like to talk about?"
Even though we were friends and I trusted the guy with my life, he looked intimidating as hell walking across the yard toward me. The sun made him squint, adding more tension to his already permanently scowling face. The morning's brightness also turned his pupils to pinpricks, exaggerating the contrast between his brown eye and his white eye.
I blew out a breath. "Have a seat, man."
He cocked his head at me but relented, lowering himself down to sit on the deck next to my chair.
"What happened after Mariposa stitched you up the other night?"
"We fucked."
I groaned and raised a hand. "Okay, back it up a notch.Howdid that happen?"
"She offered and I accepted."
"What do you mean, sheoffered?What exactly did she say?"
"She said, 'let me know if you need anything else.' Ithasbeen over six months since you sent a woman to me, so—“
"Oh my God, Shadow," I groaned, slapping both palms to my face. Fucking fuck sticks, this was my fault. "Dude,thisis why I said you need to spend more time around people."
"I don't like people."
"I know, but ugh..." I rubbed my temples, trying to cool my shit. I should have fucking seen this coming but had so much other shit on my mind at the time, my own feelings for Mari included.
Shadow frowned, now apparently clued in to my reaction. "Did I do something wrong?"
"Yeah, man. You kinda did." I looked at him squarely, knowing that telling him straight was more effective than beating around the bush. "I sent her to youjustto heal you. That is the service she provides, not sex. She's not a whore. She was offering you more medical attention if you needed it."
"Oh."
"Yeah,oh," I sighed. "She didn't expect or want to have sex with you. So she was pretty upset afterward—“
"Why?"
I groaned again, returning my hand to my forehead. Talking to him was like talking to a toddler sometimes.
"Because she barely knows you and had no warning it was coming. On top of that, she's Reaper's woman. At this point, he's the only man she's agreed to fuck. Make sense?"
"I guess so." He still looked puzzled.
"I'm not mad at you, dude. I'm just trying to help you understand," I said. "A lot of these things are implied and not explicitly said. If you spend more time in mixed company, menandwomen, you'll pick up on these things and avoid misunderstandings."
"I'm confused because," he scratched at his beard, "she didn't seem upset. She rode me herself. She was moaning and touching me here," he skimmed a hand across his chest. "No other woman has done that before. It made me come faster."
