Things That Go Hump In The Night (3 page)

“Call me back when you’ve had that conversation. Take care of that girl. And Trevor? Sit tight, we’ll get you out soon.”

“Thank you, sir,” I said before he clicked off. I turned around and looked at the guys. They all looked tired and out of their element. None of us were used to missions not going according to plan, and we certainly weren’t used to sitting around for three days inside a tiny house.

“So what happened in the hallway when I was in the cell with her?” I asked and Michael had just opened his mouth to respond when we heard a scream coming from the bedroom.

I ran in there and flicked on the light, only to see Meredith thrashing around on the bed frantically, screaming in a hoarse voice with her eyes closed. A couple of the other guys stood in the doorway watching while I went to the bed and climbed on my knees next to her.

“Meredith,” I said calmly and she opened her eyes.

Chapter Four: Meredith

I stared up into his golden brown eyes once more, drowning in my fear. I had woken up in a dark room and panic overtook me. I screamed, bruising my already bruised throat and now here he was looking down at me. I couldn’t catch my breath; I was taking very short, desperate gasps of air, none of them filling my lungs. In reflex, I reached out and grabbed his hand tight with both of my own.

“You’re okay, Meredith,” he said in his soft, melodic voice and I continued to stare up at him as if he the only thing that made sense in a sea of madness. I gasped more.

“Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth,” he told me and I tried to listen and comply, as I squeezed his hand harder. I leaned over onto my side so I was facing him as he knelt next to me, ignoring the pain in my body.

“Please try, Meredith. I’m here and I’m not leaving. I promise,” he said and for some reason I believed him. Maybe I needed something to believe in after what I had been through. Memories came flooding back and I whimpered, choking again.

“Meredith, my name is Trevor.” His other hand came up and gently brushed my hair off of my face, his fingers feather light against my skin. It was the first kind touch I had received in what felt like forever and I leaned into his hand.

“Breathe in through your nose, Meredith,” he said and I did, immediately feeling my lungs fill with air and my heartbeat slow down.

“Good. Now out through your mouth.” He gently rubbed my scalp now while he leaned over me and I curled into his body as much as I was able. He seemed to realize what I needed because he stretched out next to me on the bed so our bodies were touching. I shuddered but concentrated on breathing like he was instructing me. His body was huge and felt strong against my own, but his hand in my hair was so gentle that I started to unbend my body from my curled, fetal position just a little bit.

“You’re doing fine, Meredith. I’m going to keep talking to you while we just lay here, okay?” He didn’t wait for me to reply, which was good because I couldn’t speak just yet. “I’m in the Army stationed in Colorado Springs. My buddies and I came to save you. You’re safe now and no one will hurt you again.” I uncurled a little bit more and my knees hit his legs and a pain shot down to my left ankle. I made a sound of pain and he said, “You have a fractured ankle, Meredith. It’ll heal in a few weeks. I’ll immobilize your foot later when we do a full evaluation on you.”

He saved me
.

I slowly straightened out my body so I wasn’t curled anymore. I concentrated on trying to relax one set of muscles at a time as I listened to his voice. I started at my feet and worked my way up slowly.

“I’m from Boston, originally. I heard you’re from Massachusetts, too. I grew up in Southie, in a tough neighborhood. But I got out, joined the Army, and the rest is history,” he said near my ear, and I shuddered again.

“Cold,” I croaked out and he stopped rubbing my hair. He sat up and grabbed a blanket from the bottom of the bed and pulled his hand out of my grasp so that he could cover me with it. When he lay back down I grabbed his hand again immediately with both of my own and pulled him toward me. He moved his body as close as the blanket that was now separating us would allow. My heart started beating hard again and my breath started to hitch.

“What’s wrong?” he whispered, his breath hitting my face.

“Closer,” I managed to whisper back, and he hesitated for a moment. Then he lifted the blanket with one hand and pulled it over himself so it covered both of us. He inched closer to me and our bodies were touching now, from our hands to our chests and bellies and legs. I sagged with relief against him and breathed deep again.

“It’s okay. I’m not leaving,” he promised again, and he put his free hand around me and touched the small of my back. I breathed in his scent, clean male mixed with shampoo and sweat and I knew that I would never forget his smell for the rest of my life.

***

I woke to Trevor sleeping next to me, in the same position we had been in before. His hand was in both of my own and his other arm was around me, our bodies touching from head to toe. I looked at him while he slept, the blanket covering both of us, and the light still on in the room. I had no idea what time it was since we were underground, but I heard some light snoring coming from outside of this room, so I assumed it was night.

He’s gorgeous
.

The thought came into my mind, and as I stared at him I realized how true it was. He had very short light brown hair, tanned skin, a strong jaw, and the most beautiful set of lips I’d ever seen on a man. I noticed all of this almost clinically, in a detached way, because I was still blessedly numb inside. I knew not much of anything right now, except that I needed Trevor near me. The other thing I knew was that my body hurt everywhere. I stretched slightly and moaned at the pain I felt. Trevor immediately woke up.

“You okay?” he asked me in a hoarse voice, our faces very close.

“I hurt. And I have to pee,” I said, not caring about how that sounded. I’d been through enough and I needed a bathroom. He sat up and pulled the blanket off of us, and then he moved to stand up.

“Wait,” I said and grabbed his hand again. He looked back at me with concern on his face and my heart slowed down.

“I’ll come with you,” he said softly and I decided not to worry about why I felt so dependent on him right now. I had other things to worry about, like getting home. He bent down and picked me up. I put my arms around his neck and leaned my head against his chest, with that being basically the extent of my energy. He walked into the living room and I checked the small room out before he walked into the bathroom. He put me down and stepped out, closing the door behind him. Just being enclosed in the small space without windows made me feel panicky again, so I used the last of my energy to pee and then I stood up on one foot and looked in the mirror.

“Oh my God,” I said and Trevor opened the door.

“I don’t recognize myself. I need a shower,” I told him as I looked at the caked on dirt on my face, hands, and neck, not to mention the bruises on my face and the blood in my hair.

“We’ll get you cleaned up,” he said in his gentle way and I pulled my eyes away from the mirror to look at him.

Those golden brown eyes again
.

He came in and turned on the shower, handing me two clean towels and some soap and shampoo.

“The shower has a seat. Think you can handle it?” he asked me, filling up the tiny space in the bathroom with his muscles and graceful, athletic movements.

“Sure,” I said, not at all sure that I could handle it.

“I’ll leave the door open. Just call me if you need help.”

I felt a twinge in the pit of my stomach that I recognized as attraction and if I’d had the energy I would have laughed. I was disgusting and broken. No way would a guy as hot as Trevor want a girl like me.

Chapter Five: Trevor

Fuck
.

When my eyes met Meredith’s in the bathroom I knew I was in some serious shit. A pang of desire ran through me as I looked at her. Even all dirty and messed up, she was so, so beautiful. Her blue eyes looked so deep into me that I knew I’d never be the same again. The need to protect her was so strong that I didn’t question it. She needed me near her, so I would be near her.

I knew I was in for it last night when I felt her body next to mine under the blanket. I couldn’t believe that I could feel twinges of lust for a woman that had been through what Meredith had endured. I was supposed to be helping her, not thinking about how incredible her curves felt against me.

I’m a bastard
.

“Trevor?” she broke into my thoughts a few minutes later with her hoarse voice. I looked into the bathroom to see that her body was wrapped in a towel and she was holding onto the sink with a death grip. I leaned down and picked her up again and she sighed against me, making my dick swell.

And now I’m an asshole
.

I carried her into the bedroom and sat her on the edge of the bed.

“I’ll be right back,” I promised her and quickly went to get the military-equipped first aid kit. I needed to immobilize her ankle and check out her other injuries.

“I’m so tired,” she said softly as I came back into the bedroom.

“I know, and I’m sorry,” I replied as I placed the box on the bed. “But it’s already been about four hours since we arrived here and I don’t want to wait any longer to deal with your ankle. Why don’t you lay down?” She sank back onto the bed and I helped lift her legs up and get her situated with her head on a pillow.

“I want to check out your injuries first, before I fix you up. Okay?”

“Yes,” she whispered, her blue eyes half-closed with fatigue.

“Besides your ankle, where does it hurt the most?”

“On my stomach,” she said softly, her eyes completely closed now. I looked at her in the towel with her wet hair spread out on the pillow around her and my heart stuttered in my chest.

“I’m going to deal with your ankle first, okay Meredith?” I said softly and she hummed in her throat in response without opening her eyes. I checked out her left foot; it was bruised and swollen, and when I touched it she flinched.

“I’m sorry,” I said but got no response from her. I opened the first aid kit and quickly got to work binding and immobilizing her ankle. It would do until we got back to the states.

“Meredith,” I said softly, not wanting to wake her, but also not wanting to continue if she wasn’t awake.

“Yes,” she answered, eyes still closed.

“I’m going to look at your stomach now. Are you…are you wearing anything under your towel?” If she were a man, I wouldn’t even ask. But she most definitely wasn’t a man, and I was out of my element and trying to do the right thing.

“Just my panties,” she responded and I breathed deeply as I wondered what to do. Finally, I moved both of her arms to lie on top of the towel covering her breasts. I gently opened the towel at the bottom and the scent of her skin hit my nostrils like a wave crashing on the shore. Her honeyed smell was overwhelming to my senses, and for the first time since I had learned how to control the werewolf inside me three years ago, I felt him coming to the surface unbidden. I stood up quickly as I started to shift right there in the room.

Holy fucking shit
.

I walked into the living room and took deep breaths of the Meredith-free air. I was halfway turned now, my claws out, fur covering my body, but I forced it back with all the strength I had within me. It took everything I had to gain control again and push the wolf down. Once I finally had, I was sweating and out of breath, so I sat down in a chair and put my head in my hands.

“Trevor?” Meredith’s soft voice hit my ears and I breathed deeply once more. I’d never been more attracted to a woman in my entire life. I looked up finally and saw Michael watching me from the galley kitchen.

“Did you see?” I asked him, knowing I needed to talk to someone.

“Yeah. You okay?” he replied with no censure in his voice, just concern. He walked over and sat down in the chair next to me.

“I don’t know,” I admitted, running my hands through my hair again.

“Think you can control yourself around her now?” he asked calmly, and I looked over at him with surprise.

“Has this happened to you before with a woman?” I asked him, since he seemed to know what I was feeling without my having to voice it.

“No, but I’m not surprised it’s happening to you now. She’s beautiful. And it’s clear that she needs you and only you. It’s only a matter of time that it happens to each of us when we meet the right woman.” I stared at him, shocked now.

“What do you mean, the right woman?” My heart was beating hard and I was dreading his answer.

“It was obvious to me as soon as I saw you get in that bed with her,” he said and I flushed. “No judgment, bro. You did the right thing. But you two are clearly connected and with that connection comes tension with your wolf side. It’s only natural,” he finished, looking at me with sympathy in his eyes.

“Trevor?” Meredith’s voice called me again, louder this time and laced with fear.

“I’m coming, Meredith,” I called to her softly as I stood up. “You’re pretty fucking smart for such pain in the ass, Mikey,” I said to him and he laughed.

“Don’t let any of the guys hear you say that,” he replied as I turned to walk back into the bedroom.

Meredith had pushed herself up on her elbows, fear etched on her face.

“I’m sorry,” I told her, sitting back down on the bed again. I tried not to look at her body but out of the corner of my eyes I saw her skin and blood rushed to my dick again.

“Did you just…did the wolf come out again?” she asked softly and I stared at her face, adrenaline rushing through my system. Of course she saw me change in her cell but she hadn’t mentioned it so I had hoped she had blocked the memory.

“You remember that?”

“Yes. You came in as a wolf and then you changed into…Trevor,” she said, her eyes connecting with mine and holding me tightly with the pull my body felt toward hers.

“Are you afraid?” I held my breath as I waited for her response. I wouldn’t be able to stand it if she was afraid of me.

“No, I just don’t understand,” she said in her soft voice and my back muscles relaxed at her answer. I could see the truth in her gorgeous blue eyes; she wasn’t afraid of me.

“It’s a long story that I promise to tell you after we get you cleaned up, okay?” She smiled and lay back down. She held on to the towel over her breasts and I pulled it open wider so I could see her stomach. I stopped dead at what I saw, anger unlike any I’d ever felt before coursing through my veins.