Page 85 of After the Burn

Beck snorted. “You’re a fool, then. This ass makes everything better.” He grabbed two handfuls of said ass in his giant hands, pulled me in for a filthy kiss, then slowly lowered me down his mostly naked body. “You need to get dressed. Adrian should be back at any moment.”

I pouted and looked at Lucas out of the corner of my eye. “Are you sure you can’t get rid of Professor Sourpuss and give me a repeat of earlier?”

“No, brat, he really can’t.” Lucas glowered at me. “This isn’t a vacation.” He spat out. “I had to leave everyone at the farmhouse to make sure you were alright.”

I felt my cheeks redden. “Fuck off. I told you several times that something was wrong, but you didn’t want to listen.” I motioned out the window. “Seems I was right.”

“It seems you made the situation worse. Now Gideon has a valuable, enhanced woman in his town. The girl you call a friend is in danger of being forced into a group of men she doesn’t know, and the man you claim to care about had to fight to keep you safe.” Lucas stood, balling his fists. “I thought maybe after the shit that went down at Ben’s you’d have matured by now, but you’re still the same old selfish little girl you’ve always been.”

Before I could respond, he left, slamming the door behind him.

Tears began to fill my eyes, and I turned, not wanting Beck to see them.

“Taryn, ignore Lucas.” He eased me around and wrapped me up in his arms. “He’s so jealous he should be the one with the stunning green eyes instead of me.” He fluttered his lashes.

I chuckled softly, though my heart wasn’t in it. Lucas was an ass, but he was likely right this time. As soon as I was caught, I realized I had messed up, but if I had the chance, I wouldn’t change anything.

I refused to lose another person that I cared about.

Beck kissed the top of my head, then pulled on a faded pair of jeans and a black T-shirt. “Go wash up. Adrian should be here any moment.”

I nodded and gathered my clothes.

As I showered quickly in the small stall, I knew the first order of business was to get Lila out of the hotel and into the house with us. Now that we were all together, it was hopefully only a matter of hours before we could get the hell out of here and back to the farmhouse.

Adrian was stuffing his belongings into his backpack when I returned to the room, and Lucas and Beck were sitting at the small table, their bags on the floor at their feet.

“Harper should be here shortly with your things, and then we’ll walk over to the house.” Adrian closed his bag and walked over to me. “Did you sleep well?”

I nodded, feeling shy after he’d carried me to his bed. This was uncharted territory for us.

Adrian shrugged on his bag, then tugged me gently by my braid until we were standing so close I could feel his body heat. “I hate that I only got to hold you for a short time. Sleep with me tonight?”

I glanced at Beck. How was this supposed to work? We’d never defined our relationship, but surely, he couldn’t be all right with this.

“I’ve got guard duty tonight. I’d feel better if you were with Adrian.” Beck stood from the table and stepped so close that I was sandwiched between the two large men. “We can make this work.” He leaned down and bit my neck softly, exactly where he had just hours earlier.

I felt my nipples harden, and when I found the courage to look up at Adrian, the heat in his eyes was obvious.

Maybe this could work. Only time would tell.

A knock sounded before we could finish our conversation.

Beck turned and walked over, pulling the door open.

“Hello.” Harper came in and handed me my pack. “I hoped you were still in one piece after this man dragged you off.” She swatted Beck on the shoulder.

I blushed. “It was a close call, but I survived.”

“I bet you did.” She laughed. “Before you ask, Lila is fine. She’s got the room all to herself, and I’ll keep an eye on her.”

“Do you think it would be possible for her to visit tomorrow?” I hoped Harper could make it happen because Lila needed to be a part of any plan we made to get out of here.

“I don’t think that would be a problem,” Harper shrugged. “Gideon would expect you two to spend time together since you’re close friends.”

I nodded, hope filling my chest.

At that moment, I heard a woof and looked up just as Max entered the room, leaping onto me with his paws on my chest, nearly knocking me off balance. “Careful, boy,” I said, scratching his scarred head. “If you'd stayed with me instead of running to Beck, we wouldn't have been separated,” I scolded, smiling happily to see him.