Page 68 of Powerless
He sat at the end of a long table similar to the one in the conference room. Papers were strewn out in front of him, a lamp emitting cozy yellow light throughout the room. The president wasn't wearing his cut, but the top three buttons of his henley shirt were undone. His green eyes looked predatory in the warm light and a glass of whiskey completed the ensemble.
"Noelle," I answered, making my way toward him. "She seems so happy."
"Ugh, don't remind me ofthat," he groaned as he stretched his arms above his head. "And here I thought you were happy to see me."
"I am." I leaned over to kiss him, which ended up being futile since he just pulled me into his lap and dominated my mouth. "And what's wrong with your sister being happy?" I asked when I broke away.
"She's going to get her fucking heart broken, that's what's wrong," he grumbled, taking a pull of whiskey. "Noelle is either all in or all out. She doesn't do anything in between. And that guy," he nodded his head toward the door, "I don't trust. Not until he proves himself loyal. And even then, it doesn't mean he's good for her."
"Why not just let her enjoy it?" I pushed his hair back with my fingers before lacing my hands around his neck. "And if it doesn't work out, at least he made her happy for a while."
"Noelle can't just have fun," he sighed. "When she gets her sights on someone, she falls hard and fast. When it ends, she completely breaks down and I have to pick up the pieces." He downed the rest of his whiskey. "She swears she'll never love another man again, then she gets lonely and the cycle repeats."
"She's never had, you know, like your mom and dads?" I'd been thinking of what he told me about his family for most of the day.
"A harem?" He shook his head. "Nah. Unfortunately, her trysts don't really last long enough for multiple relationships to be built, let alone one."
He set his glass down and wrapped both arms around my back, pulling me forward on his lap until his lips met my neck.
"Enough about my sister," he murmured before kissing the spot between my neck and shoulder. "How's my lover?"
I smiled against his ear, squirming a little from his stubble tickling my skin. "Good. No one's injuries got worse, which is a huge relief. I just didn't check Jandro and Shadow, though. I don't know if you..."
"I took care of it," he kissed me again. "Jandro talked to him and reported back to me. It sounds like it was a misunderstanding, which is kind of what I figured."
"A misunderstanding?"
"Yeah." Reaper leaned back, resting his hands on my thighs. "Shadow doesn't interact with people much, as I'm sure you've seen. Even less so with women. Pretty much the only female contact he's had is with service girls Jandro buys for him."
"Really? His whole life?"
Reaper nodded. "From birth until he met Jandro, he was kept very isolated. He didn't really learn social cues and appropriate behavior until after they met."
"He's covered in scars," I recalled the sight of his arms and torso. "Scars that look old."
Reaper nodded slowly. "The few interactions he had with people growing up were not positive, to say the least."
"Damn," I breathed. "Neurology is not my field, but I can only imagine what that does to someone's brain development."
"You're sexy when you talk medic nonsense," he teased, earning a swat on the chest from me. "Anyway, Shadow will make a full apology to you and me soon. I expect sometime before or after church tomorrow."
"You?" I asked. "What's he apologizing to you for?"
Reaper's hands slid up my thighs, reaching around to grab my ass with both hands. Heat and a dangerous possessiveness filled his eyes.
"Because he had what's mine."
Good lord, I didn't want to find that so hot but I did. It was the perfect opportunity to ask more about his whole sharing thing, but the blood rushing from my head to my sex made me stupid.
"Hm?" It was apparently so hot I zoned out on Reaper asking me a question.
His smirk made me even hotter. "I said, is that acceptable to you? An apology from him?"
"Yeah, I think so. It seems a bit," I thought for a moment, "a bit cruel, even. If talking to women in particular makes him so uncomfortable."
"A fitting punishment, then," Reaper said. "He's not afraid of anything else. And maybe he'll learn to socialize like a normal person."
"That's mean," I swatted his chest again. "He's not abnormal, just different."
