Page 13 of Fourth Wall

“So let's do something about it then…together.” She winked at me as she strode toward me slowly, closing the gap between us.

“It really is the perfect arrangement.” I didn’t dare move from where I stood in the doorway. Her hands explored my chest as they tugged slowly at the bottom of my shirt.

“Why is that, firecracker?” I looked down at her, and when her hooded eyes met mine, I was captivated by the deep blues.

“Because we don’t even like each other. You see, we are both grown adults, so we can go about this the adult way.” Shegiggled, and I could taste the beer on her lips, which was the only turnoff right now.

“We fuck. You leave tomorrow. We go back to tolerating each other in public.” She pressed her nails against my bare skin, and I could feel the electricity between us strengthen.

“While it’s a tempting offer, you’ll have instant regrets tomorrow, firecracker.” I slowly pushed her away as she pouted her lips. “I have to have a conscience. Plus, how will I make sure no one comes in if we are busy fucking?” I leaned down toward her face and pulled a stray piece of hair away.

“I’m trying really fucking hard to be a gentleman here, so please don’t make it harder than it is,” I whispered into her ear, leaning down.

“Ireallydon’t want you to be one right now,” she begged. When have I ever turned down a begging woman?

Never.

The answer was never until today. Today was a day for firsts.

“Go to bed. I’ll be in the living room on the couch.” I took a centering breath and walked out of the room, leaving her standing there in her panties, mouth agape. I guess she also wasn’t used to being told no.

I closed the door, and when I got to the couch, I turned on something mindless on the TV to distract me from what just happened. I have never wanted to turn around and sayfuck itmore in my life.

It was all my fault. I looked down at the crimson-colored liquid pooling at my feet.

“No,” I screamed, but the words caught in my throat.

I needed to find my weapon. Where was my weapon?

“Stephen,” I called out, looking for my partner. My army-green uniform wasn’t holding the liquid, and the color red was everywhere.

There was so much blood. It was all my fault. I was the leader. I brought them here. I didn’t do enough prep. It was all me.

There was so much death around me, and I couldn’t fucking find Stephen. Why were my ears ringing?

“Stephen,” I screamed. “Help!”

Somebody, please help.

“You’re safe, Christian,” a soothing tone responded cooly as I felt the warmth of skin against my own.

I was sweating, and my vision was hazy, but I carefully blinked my eyes open a few times. I didn’t recognize my surroundings.

“Hey, there you are,” the voice responded, and I suddenly realized I was in Maeve’s guesthouse. I looked at the TV and saw the HGTV reruns that were on earlier. I must have dozed off at some point and was plagued by one of my nightmares.

“Okay, we have to let go of that weapon now.” I looked down to see me clutching my gun and pointing it right in Maeve’s direction. She shifted so the barrel wasn’t right in front of her face.

“Shit.” I holstered it. “I’m so sorry.” I felt guilty. No, guilt wasn’t the right word for pointing a gun in her face. This could have been a significantly worse situation if it had escalated.

Her soft hand pressed against my cheek. “Hey, I can practically hear your thoughts. It wasn’t your fault. It was just a nightmare.”

“It could have been so much worse, Maeve. This is why I don’t do this kind of shit, and if I do, I never bring my weapon with me.”

“You were here because I thought Tyler was coming over. You were protectingme,”she iterated.

“Aren’t you scared of…me?” I asked.

“You are the one person I don’t think I could ever be scared of—kind of the opposite actually,” she confessed, and her words hung in the air while I tried to digest them. “Let me go get you a cool washcloth.” She quickly got up and walked into the bathroom.

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