Page 29 of Missiletoe
Were we strangers? I didn’t want to be strangers. It certainly didn’t feel like we were. Being around Vix felt like coming home after a long day of good, hard work. Or like lying in a patch of dappled sunlight on a day with absolutely nothing to do but bask in the warmth and beauty of the moment.
I hadn’t been making up the joy I’d felt in his presence. The power of his sweetness was like a decadent dessert I only got to eat at Christmas. The effect was instantaneous, and one bite of it had me addicted. It was no wonder I’d been so anxious to get back to him.
“I’m fine, bunny. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“No reason,” Vix said hastily before glancing around the room. His attention landed on Gareth and held. There was a moment of silent communication between the two before Vix’s attention came back to me. “No one was mean to you?”
I laughed softly, “No, no one was mean to me.”
“I was mean to him,” Vale called from the couch, proving that he hadn’t actually fallen asleep even though his eyes were shut. “It was fun.”
“Vale is mean to everyone; it’s his love language,” Vix said nervously. He was bouncing up and down on his toes and vibrating with energy.
“No it isn’t,” Vale said, with his eyes still closed.
“We aren’t mean people. I mean, we aren’t nice people—no, I didn’t mean that either. We are medium people, so there’s no reason to be scared of us.” Vix looked like he was having a hard time breathing now. “Please…don’t leave.”
“Vix, baby, I need you to slow down and take a breath,” Baz said as he hurried to my bunny’s side. “Take several.”
My hand tingled and I stepped forward to touch Vix’s head. If there was something wrong with him, I needed to fix it. I telegraphed every movement I made, giving Vix a chance to pull away, but he allowed me to rest my hand on top of his head. I gave him gentle head scratches, and his breathing went back to normal.
“I’m not scared.” I took both of his hands into mine and fought the urge to kiss them. We weren’t there yet, and I had no intention of taking liberties that didn’t belong to me. “And I’ll stay here as long as you want me to.” I looked Gareth in the eye as I said it.
It turned out that Gareth wasn’t the one I’d needed to keep an eye on after all, because in the next moment, Vale was a blur of movement as he shot off the couch, appeared at Apple’s side, took him by one arm, and dragged him over to me before I could react.
He grabbed Vix with his free hand and shoved him at Baz, causing them to both fall over into a heap, then he smushed Apple against my chest and began pushing me out the office door using Apple’s body.
I was going to shove back and do my best to avoid the little guy because it wasn’t Apple’s fault he was being used as a battering ram, but suddenly I was struck by the thought that fighting back in any way could hurt Apple.
“Vix is fine,” Vale said as he used a shocking amount of strength to force-walk us all down the hallway toward the front door. “His brother knows how to help him, and having you around is going to make things worse. This is a family matter.”
Deep down, I knew something about Vale’s words was wrong, but most of me got caught up in his logic. He was right. Apple’s family knew Vix longer than me. I would need to prove myself to Apple and his family before I could presume to make any claims on my bunny. Apple was such a decent guy too. I wouldn’t want to do something that would cause problems for him.
“Love, open the door,” Vale called out, and the front door swung open. I didn’t get a chance to wonder who the hell Love was because he gave Apple a hard shove and forced me out onto the porch, knocking me onto my butt. He’d kept a grip on Apple’s shirt, so Apple stayed inside the house, and I hoped the little guy hadn’t gotten hurt in the process.
I had enough time to see an expression of outrage and indignation blooming on Apple’s face before Vale said, “Love, close the door.”
The door closed with a loud bang, leaving me sprawled out on the porch alone.
A metal door slammed down, missing my feet by an inch, and I scrambled backward. There was a hum of energy that came from under the porch.
What the hell?
A loud wail came from inside the house, and I knew it was my bunny. All the warm fuzzy feelings I had about respecting the wishes of Apple’s family were gone. Now I was pissed. That tiny little menace had done something to me again, and I was helpless to stop him.
Though I suppose it was more like Vale had used him against me because Apple seemed ready to tear Vale a new one by the end there. The secrets in Vix’s house were piling up by the minute, and if Vale thought locking me outside was going to stop me, he was painfully mistaken.
I got to my feet and examined the metal door, wondering if I could tear it down with my bare hands, but before I had a chance to find out, Trixie came from out of nowhere, grabbed the hem of my sweater with her teeth, and dragged me off the porch. The second my butt hit the lawn, the entire porch sparked with electricity, and all the windows in the house had metal coverings slam down on them as well.
Trixie was licking my face anxiously, and I realized I was growling.
I took a slow, deep breath and touched the grass in front of me to help center myself. I knew that getting lost in anger never helped solve problems.
“I need to get back in there,” I told Trixie, suddenly wishing she could talk to me.
Trixie is the smartest dog I know. Quite likely smarter than me, and I was going to need help, because the people standing between me and my bunny were definitely smarter than I was.
No, I’m not putting myself down, I just believe it’s good for a person to know their strengths and weaknesses. I’m good at bringing balance to a situation, but problem-solving is a slow process for me.
