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I scramble off him but let out a squeak when I’m pulled back onto his lap.
“Five minutes, and he will forget.” Acton whispers in my ear. “And you can sneak off.”
I nod tightly, mortified, and sit stiffly. The movie starts, but I can’t pay any attention to it. Gradually, I relax and lean back a bit. He shifts his arm, encircling my waist.
I shift my weight, getting comfortable, and realise I don’t feel threatened. No one in the room is challenging me or ordering me to get something. I don’t have to keep my guard up. Acton feels safe. I feel safe in his arms.
My mind is blown.
The movie drones on, and I stay where I am, but out of the corner of my eye, I see Taylor checking his phone. His scent comes in strong and potent a few times before it fades. A frown mars his forehead, and I can tell something is bothering him. I make a mental note to check in with him later.
Acton shifts me, and I end up with my head tucked against his chest, while his fingers gently scratch up and down my thigh.
I curl up, rolling into the warmth. I’m so tired, and he’s so comfortable. In the back of my mind, I hear warning bells, but they’re so far away.
eleven
Scarlet
I wake up with a start, but powerful arms have my waist in a grip that I can’t break. “Let me go!” The bark screams into the surrounding air, full of my unbridled rage. Fury flows through me, and I rip at the arms, too slow to remove themselves, struggling until I’m free. I throw myself off the person and land on my hands and knees, whirling with my teeth bared.
“Oh, my God.”
It’s Gold. I know that voice. I’d know it anywhere. I turn towards him, almost not recognising him. He moves towards me and lowers himself to a crouch beside me.
“Rein it in, Red.”
I crawl backwards in jerky movements, my panic easing, but I’m still confused about where I am.
“Red!” His bark is sharp, cutting through the layers of panic and the heady combination of fear and rage. I see him, all his messy gold hair, those eyes so intently focused on me. His jaw tenses and does that sawing motion that I recognise as when he’s pissed off. But it’s the whiskey scent that really grabs hold of me, sinking into my lungs, bringing back memories of his arms, the feel of him beside me, inside me, around me. Whiskey is home.
Safe. Gold is safe.
Relieved, I look into his face, and I know it doesn’t matter how much he hates me, he would never hurt me like that.
My heart hurts. Safe. I’m safe.
I look up at him, then past him and see Acton leaning forward in his chair, his eyes intent on me. Jet is staring at me with his mouth hanging open. Taylor is still watching the movie with one hand on Bar, who is watching with enormous eyes.
I’m safe. I’m safe.
I know these people.
Shame and guilt fill the air. My hands are shaking, and my body is cold and damp. I feel wrung out and even more tired than I was before.
I glance at Gold again and see the confusion that transforms into understanding, then the shocked rage that explodes into his eyes. I stand up and back away from them. I can’t face him, not like this.
“I’m sorry for ruining your movie.”
I turn and stalk from the room.
Gold catches me halfway out the door. “What was that?”
I shake him off. “What was what?”
“That, you are strong, stronger than…” he cuts himself off and changes tact. “Did someone hurt you? Who? Give me their names, Red.”
I sneer at him, enraged all over again. I can’t tell him who. I don’t even know who they were. Just alphas on the street when I was young and vulnerable. But if he continues to act like this, my shield will break, and I’ll end up broken again. I attack back. It’s the only option. “Why do you care now, Gold?” I even say his name like a curse.
