Protected by the MC: Bear Shifter Biker Reverse Harem Page 8

  “You like it here?” Zarael asks me again, noticing that I got lost in my own thoughts. His eyes tell me that he might want to be a part of them. But, I’m not willing to make him a confidant. Not yet at least.

  I simply nod. I’ve become a pro at nodding, but I miss talking more and more with each passing day. Theron mentioned taking off the bandages next week and I can’t wait. I don’t think I ever wanted to talk this much and finally stop pointing and nodding.

  “It’s weird, you know,” Zarael suddenly tells me, but he doesn't look at me. When he turns to me, I raise my eyebrows, questioningly. “I’ve never spoken to a girl who can’t talk.”

  I have a great urge to chuckle, but I know I can’t. The desire is just too strong and it takes me a moment or two to focus on something else.

  “I have a few questions to ask you, but you can’t answer any of them with pointing or any kind of mimicry. They require words,” he sighs. “I guess I’ll need to wait.”

  We sit like that for a few more minutes, neither of us talking. The silence feels good. It’s good because it’s not complete silence after all. There is always the sound of my own heart, the presence of a soul dreaming. There is always something. The serenity of the moment grows deeper and I’m not sure if Zarael can hear the steady beating of my heart. In the end, it doesn’t matter. Sometimes, mere presence is enough.

  Chapter 12

  Dex

  This is my favorite place here. Hell, I’d say this is my favorite place in the whole world. This is where I come to let my frustrations out and no matter how hard I hit, no one stops me. It just flows out of me. All the stress. All the frustration. It leaks out in a steady stream of punches I keep delivering one after the other.

  When I enter the small shack, we arranged to resemble a gym, I already feel better. The last few days kept pissing me off. And, as if that wasn’t enough, I’ve got the girl to think about. The problem is I don’t want to think about her and the more I refuse to do so, the more my mind keeps going back to her. A part of me wishes we just brought her to some hospital and left her there. Her family would have picked her up shortly after and we’d be all on our way, doing what we do best. But no. I fucking had to get involved and now I’ve got Leo on my back. Things with him were getting worse with each passing year, but it feels kinda better when you have someone to pin it on, instead of yourself.

  I look around for a place to put my duffle bag. After a second, I just throw it carelessly in the corner. The punching bag is right there, waiting for me. It’s definitely not what it used to be. The red coat of paint is peeling on all sides and a few places give less resistance than others. But it’s the same bag we put up when we first organized this place. The guys have been offering to get a new one, but nah. It’s not that I got emotionally attached to this stupid thing. Fucking emotional attachment. That’s for girls. I know this punching bag. It knows me. My fist recognizes its surface, returning to it over and over again. It’s more of a feeling of home than anything else.

  The rest of the machinery is limited to as much as the shack could accommodate. There’s a stationary rowing machine, the leg press, a barbell bench, dumbbells, kettlebells, T bars, a flat bench, barbells and tires. We all laughed at the idea of a stationary bike or a treadmill. With the forest in our backyard, who the Hell wants to run inside?

  I take a sip from my bottle of water, placing it on the bench next to me. My gloves are already on. The punching bag is calling out to me, like a lover waiting for my touch. She likes it rough. Luckily, so do I. The first blow is relentless. I start off hard, unforgiving. She takes it all in. Still, after all these years, I feel like she has things to teach me. She is my master. She shows me when to be harsh, when to take it slow. She is the only one I come back to, always, no matter what. There is no disrespect here. You show disrespect to anything in this place, your ass is out. So, I bow. I know when to bow and when to master. They often call me arrogant. I’m not arrogant. I just know I’m very, very good. With those thoughts in mind, I deliver one blow after another, until we are both wheezing, our breaths heavy.

  I have no idea how long I’ve been doing this, when I see someone staring at me from the doorway. She is leaning to the side, one leg crossed over the other, both arms in front of her. She is wearing a red checkered shirt, which would look better if she showed some belly. Her jeans legs are folded over her ankles. She is barefoot, with feet of a little child who spent too much time in the dirt. And, loved it.

  “What are you doing here?” I ask her, still trying to catch my breath.

  When I asked Theron how she was doing, he told me that she can talk much more than before. The bandages should be coming off in a day or two. I wonder if she’s a chatterbox or it doesn't matter if she’s jaw-locked or not. Still, hearing her voice might be pleasant.

  “Sorry,” she tells me and it sounds more like howy.

  “Don’t apologize,” I grunt, still feeling the beat of the punching session. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”

  She hesitates and instead of coming in, she turns around to walk out.

  “Hey, where are you going?” I shout after her and she stops, like frozen.

  She turns around and there’s a hint of defiance in her eyes. She’s probably thinking, OK, should I leave or should I stay? Make up your mind. She’s standing there in the sunlight, like some forest goddess who decided to grace a mere mortal with her presence. Only I’m no mere mortal and it’ll probably be fun showing her that.

  “Come,” I gesture at her with my gloves, pulling them off and throwing them in the corner, into my open duffle bag.

  I take out a small towel and wipe my face with it. Dark ringlets on my shirt testify to the intensity of my training. Maybe I should try her out a little. See what she’s made of. Pin her against the wall a little. Make her heart beat faster. See those lips get a little dry and maybe even wet them myself. That should be fun.

  “Ever do any punching?” I ask, hinting at the punching bag, which is now swaying softly to and fro, biding its time to fight me again. She shakes her head, blushing a little. Is it my presence or me asking her to do something she’s never done before? “Wanna try?”

  She lifts her arms up to her face, then shrugs her shoulders helplessly. She seems glad that I can’t make her try. Almost too glad. I grin as I tilt my head to the side a little, giving her the impression that I like what I see. And, why not? It’s true. She’s got a hot little body, even if it’s hiding underneath all that baggy clothing. I bet she’s a total knockout.

  “Yeah, you’re right,” now it’s my turn to nod. “Can’t punch with that unsteady jaw. Might hurt yourself even worse. You escaped it this time, little girl. But, Theron told me the bandages are coming off any day now. Then, I’ll catch you and you won’t have any excuse.”

  She doesn’t say anything. She just stares at me for one single brave moment, then looks away. I’ve noticed she does that. Am I too intimidating? It’s a good thing to be, but not with her.

  “When… home?” she voices her question.

  I can’t prevent myself from frowning. What, you don’t like it here? But, I know that’s not what she’s saying. At least, I hope it’s not. I keep forgetting what it’s like for a girl to be all alone with a bunch of guys in the middle of the woods. This isn’t some low budget porn. She’s got feelings and I know I’m not the best at expressing myself around women like her.

  “We’ll be riding out next week,” I tell her. She points at herself. “Yeah, we’re taking you to the city, of course. You can arrange with your family to pick you up there. I’ll drop you off wherever you need to go, just tell me where.”

  “Hank… you…” she says sweetly and for a brief moment, I wonder what it’d feel like to drop her off and know we’ll never be seeing her again. Will I miss expecting to see her around?

  Stop it. Just stop. I know I’m acting like a fucking girl. I didn’t even bang her and I already sound like a wuss. Just... p
athetic.

  She raises her hand and waves at me. I just lift my head and go for my gloves. When I turn around, she isn’t there any longer. I wonder why she’d come here in the first place. It’s stupid. It’s all stupid. No point even thinking about it, when she’s going back to her life in less than a week.

  My next punch is so hard that it almost breaks the chain which is holding the punching bag up, hanging from the ceiling. Like two machines, my arms keep dealing blow after blow, my fists clenched. I only hear a buzzing sound in my ears and that’s good. At least I can’t focus on my thoughts.

  Chapter 13

  I don’t remember the last time I’ve been this excited. It’s like small surges of electricity are traveling up and down my body, reaching the tips of my fingers, seeking exit. I can barely sit straight, without fidgeting, not out of annoyance, but out of excitement. I’m sitting on Theron’s bed and I can feel a slight prickle in the tips of my fingers and toes. I’ve been waiting for this moment for two weeks and now, I’m a little scared, too. I don’t know if it shows.

  Theron is sitting opposite me; on a chair he’s brought closer to the bed. His hair is pulled back sleekly and there’s a slight whiff of some manly cologne in the air. I don’t think I smelled it before on him and it makes me wonder if he put it on just for me. Our faces are so close to each other, that it’s blasphemously intimate. I can almost feel the heat of his breath and I try to breathe in and out through my nose. That seems less intimate somehow. But, even looking at him in the eyes makes this too much of a romance scene.

  “I’ll try to be very careful,” he tells me and I just nod, feeling his fingers frame my face. “If it becomes painful at any point, just let me know, alright?”

  I can’t wait to smile at this man, so I just nod again quickly.

  “Here we go,” he continues, as his fingers play skillfully with the beginning of the bandage thread.

  I close my eyes as I wait for him to finish. Neither of us says anything. He unwraps the bandage from my face and I can feel the soft fabric coming off, almost like petals of the softest flower. It takes him only a few seconds and I wonder if he’s done this before. My heart is beating loudly and I feel like it’s going to jump out of my chest any minute. I never thought I would be this excited to start talking again, being an introvert and all. All those possibilities that were once closed off, are now open again. Thousands of questions are lining up in my mind, waiting to be asked and those are just the ones I’m conscious of at this moment. I’m sure that there will be more by the time Theron finishes. These questions will lead to challenge, to adventure, but then, a sad thought hits me. I will be returning home in a few days. Maybe even as soon as tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. Dex hasn’t really specified, but two weeks have elapsed and I know that my trip home is nearer than I want it to be.

  “Alright,” I hear Theron add, “we’re done.”

  Upon hearing those words, I open my eyes. Theron has pulled away a little and he’s inspecting every inch of my face. I’m not moving. Not yet. I’m a little scared to open my mouth or make any sudden moves with my jaw. He senses it.

  “Try smiling,” he urges me.

  My lips are slightly parted, but they won’t stretch into a smile. It wouldn’t be a real smile. It would just be a grin. Not even that. I need help.

  “Maybe I could try telling you a joke,” Theron suddenly remembers, as I nod. “I’m not very good at it, but here goes. Do you know why Shakespeare wrote with ink?” I shrug my shoulders at him. I love that he chose Shakespeare. “He couldn’t decide which pencil to use, 2B or not 2B.” I don’t smile at first and he quickly adds. “You know, the 2B pencil…”

  His explanation is actually funnier than the joke and I burst out into loud laughter. He watches me as I instinctively cover my mouth with my hand, something I always do when I laugh, but he doesn’t say anything. Instead, he just lets me have this moment. When the bout of laughter stops, I try opening my mouth a little wider, pronouncing all the vowels in a very theatrical way, trying to see if they all work.

  “Any pain?” Theron asks.

  “I don’t think so,” I reply, shaking my head as I speak. “The gesturing will be a little hard to get rid of.”

  “I bet,” he chuckles and I realize that this is the warmest interaction we’ve had ever since I arrived here. All I needed for it was my voice. “You probably have a lot to say now.”

  I keep smiling, as happiness grows inside of me, inch by inch. I feel like an inner glow is lighting me up from inside and Theron is gazing into my eyes, as if he too can see the light. He pulls a little closer to me and once again, our faces are so close together that we are breathing each other’s air.

  “You took such good care of me,” I start, my voice down to a whisper. “I don’t know how to thank you.”

  “You couldn’t say it before and you don’t need to say it now,” he replies.

  Our hearts speak the same language. I know it. Hearts that beat with love, with joy of each new day that arises caressed by the morning sun. I see so much in his eyes. So many chances, opportunities. I can almost feel the tenderness that is spilling out of those hands, those eyes, those lips. Dex may keep everyone united through his charm and mischievous boyish good looks, but Theron has that unspoken power, the social glue of kindness and care which makes it easy to knit all of us together.

  I can see him leaning towards me. Seconds seem as long as hours, as I gaze back into his eyes, my lips parted, the hot breath inside of me dying to get out. I’m not sure what he will do to the fire that is burning inside of me. Will he extinguish it or will he make it burn even brighter? The answer to that question is unknown and it can remain unknown for all I care, as long as he kisses me right here, right now. It only takes one more second and my eyes are already closed.

  Just as I’m about to feel the soft pressure of someone’s lips on mine, we are both brought back to reality by the sudden opening of the doors. Our attention immediately turns to the distraught Zarael who is now standing before us. He is breathing heavily, as if he’s been running all the way here from far away.

  “Dex needs you,” he tells Theron. “Now.”

  “What is it?” Theron asks, instinctively pulling away from me.

  “Someone killed Thor,” Zarael said with lips pressed tightly together.

  I almost gasp. Is someone dead? Who killed him? And, why? Pain bolts through my jaw once again and a part of me knows it isn’t real. My adrenaline is skyrocketing and my brain remembers that the last time I felt this scared was when my jaw was dislocated. It simply connected the two. I try breathing slowly and a few moments later, the pain subsides. I turn to Zarael and see that he’s already gone. Theron is up, too.

  “Where are you going?” I ask him, as if I haven’t heard what Zarael just said.

  “I need to go see Dex,” he tells me, already heading for the door. “Someone’s killed our watchdog.”

  “I’ll go with you,” I’m also up, trying to follow him, but he turns me away.

  “That’s not a good idea,” he shakes his head. “Just stay here. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

  With those words, he’s gone. He didn’t even let me say anything to that. I return to the bed and take a seat. There’s no point in reading or doing anything trying to kill time before he returns. My mind is miles away and it doesn’t look like it’s about to come back any time soon.

  Chapter 14

  Theron

  As I walk to Dex’s shack, I can feel the dry earth and occasional pebble underneath my feet. I have no idea what just happened, but it’s got me confused in all kinds of ways. Was I planning on kissing her? No. I wasn’t planning it. It would have just happened, like that, out of the blue. My mind is trying to explain it somehow. It’s not nice to take advantage of a girl like that. She’s hurt, she’s confused, she’s away from everything and everyone she knows and I was about to confuse her even more. Luckily, Zarael barged in just in tim
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