understand, Harper, she was going feral. And your ass was the first one on her list to rip apart. She can’t be trusted when she’s in her altered state.” Cool, calm and logical, the other man spoke as though the woman whose brain he’d fried wasn’t sitting in front of him and it pissed Brit off even more. Leo’s head cocked to the side, his gaze thoughtful, then his eyes widened. “You’re infatuated with her.”
“Gee, what gave you that idea, Leo? Could it be him banging on his chest, acting like a fucking caveman?” Joe muttered as she threw herself in an armchair. Mr. Dimples nosed open her office door and trotted to her side as though she’d called him. Her hand instantly went to his scruff, holding on, grounding herself. Some of the irritation faded from her eyes the minute she touched the dog and her eyes sparkled with renewed happiness. “Although I’ve been waiting for ever for Brit to fall, I wasn’t expecting it to be with Jill the Ripper here.”
Estelle sat forward, her class evident in the way she carefully arranged herself on the edge of the sofa. “Joe, Leo and I were the ones who rescued her. We brought her to our home and we were making progress with her before she disappeared. Release her back to our custody and let us finish the healing process.” The soft, maternal light in her eyes when she looked at Gyda spoke volumes about the woman’s compassionate heart and something in Brit’s chest eased. “Yes, she acted outside of the O.T.’s rules, but you know what happened to her. Can you say you blame her?”
Brit’s muscles tightened around Gyda as he turned to bury his nose in the soft hair near her temple. She still hadn’t moved, but with Estelle’s words, tension began to gather in her lean body. She didn’t like the conversation. He brushed his lips over the silky skin at the top of her ear, unable to stop himself from instinctively trying to soothe her. Even his powers had eased down to a low-level hum, the kind that acted as background noise in an attempt to ease her without him actively thinking about it. As though everything in him was tuned in to her every need and ready to provide it.
The others kept talking, Estelle trying to convince Joe to let her take Gyda back to Philly while Joe stuck to her guns. She wanted to find out what Gyda knew, how she knew what she knew and she wanted to keep her under wraps. Brit wanted to know all that as well, but mostly so he could protect his girl from further pain. If it were up to him, he’d take her to his home in the Ozarks, shield her from the world and let her heal. Because that was what she needed more than interrogation. She needed food and peace and love.
And if my sisters could hear me now, they’d think the pod people finally invaded. Because he didn’t think like this. When his sisters had their fragile hearts broken, Brit was the one who demanded names and kicked ass, but not before he told them to rub some dirt on it. Each blow to their romantic hearts meant they would grow a callus strong enough to withstand the sharpest pain. Yet here he was wanting to wrap this woman in cotton, to protect her from everything. Even himself.
“Does she…” Estelle’s voice finally registered again but only because of the hesitancy in it. “Has she spoken?” she asked in a low whisper, drawing Brit’s gaze.
He had to think about it, really. He’d seen her, had it only been three times? Yeah, three times and each time he read her body language. Her expressive eyes. But he couldn’t recall ever hearing her voice, only that eerie growl when she got that animal-wild look in her eyes. Not even when she was beating the shit out of him, Murphy and Troy had she made a sound other than a soft grunt or hiss. His heart leapt into his mouth and he turned stunned eyes on Estelle, shaking his head.
Her narrow shoulders slumped. Leo scooped his wife off the edge of the sofa and closer to his body, offering support and comfort in one
“Gee, what gave you that idea, Leo? Could it be him banging on his chest, acting like a fucking caveman?” Joe muttered as she threw herself in an armchair. Mr. Dimples nosed open her office door and trotted to her side as though she’d called him. Her hand instantly went to his scruff, holding on, grounding herself. Some of the irritation faded from her eyes the minute she touched the dog and her eyes sparkled with renewed happiness. “Although I’ve been waiting for ever for Brit to fall, I wasn’t expecting it to be with Jill the Ripper here.”
Estelle sat forward, her class evident in the way she carefully arranged herself on the edge of the sofa. “Joe, Leo and I were the ones who rescued her. We brought her to our home and we were making progress with her before she disappeared. Release her back to our custody and let us finish the healing process.” The soft, maternal light in her eyes when she looked at Gyda spoke volumes about the woman’s compassionate heart and something in Brit’s chest eased. “Yes, she acted outside of the O.T.’s rules, but you know what happened to her. Can you say you blame her?”
Brit’s muscles tightened around Gyda as he turned to bury his nose in the soft hair near her temple. She still hadn’t moved, but with Estelle’s words, tension began to gather in her lean body. She didn’t like the conversation. He brushed his lips over the silky skin at the top of her ear, unable to stop himself from instinctively trying to soothe her. Even his powers had eased down to a low-level hum, the kind that acted as background noise in an attempt to ease her without him actively thinking about it. As though everything in him was tuned in to her every need and ready to provide it.
The others kept talking, Estelle trying to convince Joe to let her take Gyda back to Philly while Joe stuck to her guns. She wanted to find out what Gyda knew, how she knew what she knew and she wanted to keep her under wraps. Brit wanted to know all that as well, but mostly so he could protect his girl from further pain. If it were up to him, he’d take her to his home in the Ozarks, shield her from the world and let her heal. Because that was what she needed more than interrogation. She needed food and peace and love.
And if my sisters could hear me now, they’d think the pod people finally invaded. Because he didn’t think like this. When his sisters had their fragile hearts broken, Brit was the one who demanded names and kicked ass, but not before he told them to rub some dirt on it. Each blow to their romantic hearts meant they would grow a callus strong enough to withstand the sharpest pain. Yet here he was wanting to wrap this woman in cotton, to protect her from everything. Even himself.
“Does she…” Estelle’s voice finally registered again but only because of the hesitancy in it. “Has she spoken?” she asked in a low whisper, drawing Brit’s gaze.
He had to think about it, really. He’d seen her, had it only been three times? Yeah, three times and each time he read her body language. Her expressive eyes. But he couldn’t recall ever hearing her voice, only that eerie growl when she got that animal-wild look in her eyes. Not even when she was beating the shit out of him, Murphy and Troy had she made a sound other than a soft grunt or hiss. His heart leapt into his mouth and he turned stunned eyes on Estelle, shaking his head.
Her narrow shoulders slumped. Leo scooped his wife off the edge of the sofa and closer to his body, offering support and comfort in one
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