Page 34 of My Temptation

I didn’t say anymore. I didn’t want him to know it hurt that he didn’t trust me when I thought he had. Walking back to his truck with him trailing me, I realized I was tired. Tired of trying to prove myself. Tired of being labeled as something I wasn’t. And tired of men.

But more than that, I was disappointed in myself.

I let my guard down and trusted that I was accepted by most of this team, especially Ethan.

Tonight proved I was still on the outside looking in.

10

ETHAN

“How are the stitches?” Nick asked. I glanced in his direction only to see his eyes were on Striker.

I hadn’t realized Striker had walked in, but I grinned when he slid into his seat across from me and Beth sat beside him. I’d been a part of something I’d never done before, and the adrenaline rush was something I wouldn’t soon forget. Not saying I wanted any of our team to be that close to death again, but the idea that I’d helped find Beth before she suffered more than she already had at Skinner’s hands felt damn good. Looking at them now, both with a little more color than when I’d seen them in the hospital, I felt even better. They survived, and it was all because of this team. I’d never been a part of a team before I joined Elite, so this feeling was new to me, and I loved it.

It was only tainted by my reaction to Mila running into that bunker. I was afraid. Not that I’d admit that to anyone else, but I knew exactly what it was, and I took it out on her. She was doing her job, and she did it well. She probably saved Striker’s life, and I yelled at her. I owed her an apology and intended to give it to her, but she’d been ignoring me. Honestly, it was probably for the best. We needed some time apart, and if acting like an ass helped create that, then it was all for the better.

“Not bad,” Striker replied.

Nick snorted. “Having a live-in nurse is probably helping.”

Chuckles sounded throughout the conference room, but then Beth turned her attention to Mila and smiled. “Thank you.”

I didn’t need to shift my attention to Mila. I could hear the smile in her voice when she replied. “No problem.”

“For what?” Striker glanced between them.

Beth gestured toward her. “Mila cleaned up the blood on the floor of the apartment.”

A shadow passed through Striker’s eyes, and I wasn’t surprised. It would be a long time before he let go of the guilt he felt for Beth being in that kind of danger.

“She also saved your ass in the bunker,” Kyle added.

Striker shifted his attention to Kyle. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“Mila got the blood to stop before the EMTs got there.”

Striker’s gaze met Mila’s. “How?”

She smirked and shook her head when Kyle spoke. “She took her shirt off and used it to apply pressure.”

“So did you,” Mila reminded him.

“Yeah, but you and I look a lot different with our shirts off.” He threw his hands behind his head and sat back. “I almost swallowed my damn tongue.”

“Too bad you didn’t,” Jax muttered dryly.

Laughter moved throughout the room, and I glanced at Mila to see her smiling a little more easily than she did only a few months ago. Striker had been hard on her. He wasn’t a man who trusted easily. Combine that with demons that haunted him, and he was sometimes mean to her, but she held on. I had doubts that Mila ever bent to someone else’s will. She’d also earned his trust by helping protect the most important person in his life. Beth.

I shook my head slightly, attempting to clear it, when the memory of Mila walking out of that fucking bunker in jeans and only her sports bra raced through my mind. That combined with the fear I felt when she ran inside had spurred me on to do the one thing I never wanted to do and that was to make her feel like she wasn’t a part of the team. I never wanted to be someone who made her feel the way Striker had, but that was exactly who I was now, and she was proving it by doing her best not to even acknowledge me today.

“Alright, we’re getting off topic.” Jax glared at Kyle. “Like every other fucking time we meet.”

Kyle tipped the chair back on two legs. “Just keepin’ it real, boss.”

“How did you get to us so fast?” Mila once again faced Kyle, but her stare held mine for a moment when she saw mine locked on her. Something that looked a lot like sadness passed through her eyes before she focused on Kyle. “I barely got to Striker before you were behind me.”

“Was already on my way when I got the pic,” Kyle replied.

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