Damaged Daddy Bear (Shifters of the Aegis) by Leela Ash & Tabitha St. George

Author:Leela Ash & Tabitha St. George [Ash, Leela]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-01-09T16:00:00+00:00

He had to pound on the door for a full minute before Paige answered. The first sight of her face—ashen, drawn, hostile—kicked the feet out from under his ‘righteous’ outrage.

“What do you want?” The screen door stayed closed.

“We need to talk.” He tried to summon back his indignation, while his Bear snuffled wildly, sure something was wrong.

She just stood there. Silent, staring into the distance until he was sure he’d need to push his way in. Then, with a sigh, she unlatched the hook. “Whatever.”

What the hell had happened? Rex followed her to the living room, noting the house’s complete silence. Curtains covered all the windows, filling its rooms with a cool dimness. Dirty dishes littered the coffee table. The only light came from the television. Volume off, it played silent infomercials, endlessly.

Paige collapsed on the couch. “What do you want?”

Uneasy, he circled around the chair rather than taking a seat. “I want to know why you haven’t been at work this week.”

“Your partners,” she spat the word, a helpless rage filling her eyes with tears, “told me to stay home.”

Partners? Did she mean the Donnellys? Or Mrs. Gordon? “What are you talking about?”

The tears welled higher, threatening to spill down her cheeks. “Is this a test? I know I’m not supposed to ‘whine’ to you.”

None of this made sense. His agitated Bear shifted from foot to foot, grumbling. “Did Mrs. Gordon forbid you from speaking to me?”

Now, the first tear did break free, tracing a glittering trail down her face. “Go away. I won’t talk. I’ll pass your damn test,” she hissed.

“What test? What do you mean?”

She didn’t answer. Shivering, she tucked her knees under her chin and wrapped her arms around them, a ball of pure, undistilled misery. Rex longed to pull her close. To force her, with kisses and the heat of his touch, to trust him and confide in him. But she’d made it clear that the passion they’d shared was gone. Long gone.

The quiet weighed on him. It drove his Bear crazy and Rex found himself shifting from foot to foot, waiting for an explanation. The creak of the boards beneath his feet was the only sound to break the stillness.

And suddenly, he realized why that fact was so ominous. “Where’s Jake?”

Paige screamed, a wail of grief that froze him in his tracks. “Screw you!” she howled, over and over again, as she dissolved in tears.

Bear and man acted as one, united in their love for her. Rex bolted to the couch and swept her into his arms. Weeping, she pounded on his chest, pouring her pain into those blows. Silent, stoic, he let her pour her feelings out until, rage spent, she collapsed against him. As sobs shook her body, he held her, gently stroking her hair. In the end, even grief failed her. Paige grew still as despair killed her sobs.

And when she was quiet, he was still there. Waiting patiently.

“Tell me what happened,” he begged her.

“I can’t.” Her tear-stained face turned up to him, brown eyes accusing.

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