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I wanted to earn another ‘good girl’ so badly it took my breath away. Passionfruit flooded my senses as my pheromones responded to him.
I felt, as much as I heard, Dio’s strained chuckle. A split second later, though, a growl filled the air with menace once again, as Sam pushed up against Dave with his pupils blown wide.
Bollocks. It was time for me to go.
twelve
“Bear,staywithDave.”I pointed at Dave and Bear dipped his head, almost in acknowledgement, without taking his eyes off Sam. Bear had stopped growling now that I had taken a step back, but he was still on high alert.
I yanked on Dio, who was still holding my hand, but was now looking over his shoulder at Sam worriedly. Dio followed me though, and as soon as we were back into the shadows of the stairwell, I pulled him into a hug. I wrapped my scent and my body around him and tried to soothe him.
We waited as we listened to Dave give an order to Sam. Firm, direct and to the point as he always was with his cadets.
“Cut the crap, pup. We’re bugging out. Now. Move.”
Dave didn’t have any power behind his voice or his words, the way an alpha did with their bark. There was no dominance or compulsion for Sam to comply. Yet I didn’t hear any angry response or pushback from Sam, just paws and feet shuffling through the leaf litter until they faded.
“Holy crap,” Dio whispered. “How does Dave do that when he’s a beta? Is there something I need to know?”
I shrugged at Dio and pulled him further into the stairwell. Not knowing how to articulate everything that Dave encompassed.
“I just trusted Dave with my best friend, who was in the middle of an epic meltdown, Lex. I need to know I didn’t just make a mistake in leaving that could hurt Sam.”
Dio was tugging at my hand, as if part of him still wanted to turn back.
“There’s nothing specific, Dio. There’s just always been something about Dave that’s hard to define,” I said. I tried to corral my thoughts as we took the steps slowly, the quicksand feeling easing. “All I know is that he was Leif’s commanding officer, and he and his friends respected Dave. Still do. Even Damon. Enough that they trust him with the security here and listen to his advice. It means a lot because they don’t trust easily. Sam’s in capable hands.”
I felt Dio relax slightly at my words, although he was still tense. We reached the top and stepped back out into the moonlight on the deck. Dio was gazing back the way Sam and Dave had gone, but a shooting star on the horizon caught my eye.
One thing to be thankful for with all the electricity gone. The sky was spectacular at night, especially high in the tree canopy. The night sky exploded with stars overhead, with no light pollution to dim its beauty. I would never get accustomed to it, marveling at it every time I stepped outside at night now. It always made me feel humble. Looking up into the endless expanse always seemed to make my problems seem small.
I leaned against the railing to appreciate the view for a moment and center myself amongst the vortex of emotions whirling through me. Sam’s pull had lessened as he moved away, but I could still feel it gently tugging.
“What about you? What’s the story with you and Dave?” Dio asked after a moment’s hesitation.
I blushed as I peeked at him. He was watching me now, as if I outshone the sky. I didn’t sense any jealousy from him, which was odd to me, just curiosity.
Dio reached up and brushed a stray hair behind my ear as he leaned against the railing next to me. I’m sure my hair was a sexed up mess. Dio and I had just shared an intense claiming, and I wasn’t sure what tomorrow was going to bring. Yet, I knew I didn’t want to start out with lies or secrets.
Plus, as weird as it was to talk about another man to him right now, Dio had just trusted Dave with Sam. His question was valid, and he deserved my honesty about him.
“Leif used to write to me about Dave when he was in the military, about how much he respected him. He wasn’t in any of the photos Leif sent me, though, so I didn’t know he rocked that hot dad vibe before I met him.” Dio’s lips twitched at my description of Dave and it lightened my heart. Seeing him so torn up about Sam hurt me.
“When they all retired, and the guys invited him to come and work here, I felt drawn to him from the first moment. Nothing happened between us, though. I’d catch him watching me a lot, but we both always held back and I was never even really sure why. I think, for me, I was unconsciously scared that letting any man I cared about too close could trigger a reaction in me and make that mysterious scent come back.”
I paused, not wanting to be flippant right now or misrepresent what was between Dave and I. Dio just watched me intently while holding my hand. Hand holding had never really been my thing, but it was nice to have some skin contact at the moment, after everything we had just shared. I wasn’t ready to let him go.
“Well, we held back until we kissed a few days ago. We had a community meeting that turned into a kind of party. I needed some air, so I headed outside and stepped under a tree. Suddenly Dave was there. He’d blended into the darkness and I hadn’t noticed him. We kind of fell into each other and kissed without saying a word. It was hot, and intense, yet surreal. It felt like someone had suspended reality for just a moment. Just for us.
“I heard Leif call my name, and Dave quickly stepped back. I yelled at Leif that I was fine, but when I spun back to Dave, he was gone. We’ve never talked about it. Both of us have been pretending it never happened.”
“He’s an idiot, if he’s had you right in front of him and never made a move,” Dio said with an affectionate smile breaking through and a glint stealing into his eye. I wasn’t sure if the smile was for me or Dave, though.
“Did you know him in the military?” I asked.
Dio shook his head as he brought my hand up to kiss it lightly, causing goosebumps to spread down my arm. “Not personally, but I knew of him and his reputation as being tough but fair. There was a lot of respect for him amongst the units he worked with.”
It was Dio’s turn to pause and take a breath, as he glanced out at the darkness surrounding us again.
