Page 22 of Wolf Fated
My hands were sweaty, and I wiped them off on my pants. This wasn't too bad. I could do this. I just couldn't afford any more mistakes. I grabbed my pole and took my shot, letting out a little sigh when I sank two in a row and caught up to tie with Axel quickly.
"You're pretty good." Axel nodded, leaning at an odd angle to take his next turn. His sleeve rode up over his arm and white scars showed.
I didn't know if it was the beer or nerves or just the excitement of doing this, but I blurted out, "Where did you get those?" When I lightly touched his arm, he flinched, jerking backward.
For a split second, there was a vulnerability there I longed to know more about.
"Just an old Army injury. You gonna step back so I can take my shot, or do you forfeit?"
I shook my head and moved out of his way. The wound didn't look like a battle scar. It looked law claw marks from a dog or something bigger than a dog. The image of the bloody, torn shirt flashed in my mind and a prick of ice skated down my spine.
Axel’s nostrils flared as he stared over at me. “What?”
“Nothing,” I lied. “Just eager to beat your ass.”
He laughed and I found the sound calmed my nerves some. Which didn’t make any sense because I didn’t know these men. They could still be serial killers, but I couldn’t give in that I’d found the bloody shirt.
Axel finished all his balls and only the eight ball was left, and he'd win. I held my breath. If he made this, I lost. When the cue ball lightly tapped the side of the ball, but didn't make it go in, I knew he'd done that on purpose. He didn't want me to think I'd lost by a landslide even though he and I both knew I had.
Still. I was going to do my best with this chance he'd given me and run him through the mud. All my balls made it into pockets and now whoever got the eight ball in, won. And that was going to be me.
"You're enjoying this, aren't you, Brook?" Drake sat at the tall table with Nathan, both of them enjoying their beers.
"How can you tell?" I asked innocently. It was refreshing that I could kid around and tease them back. Where I wasn't judged by what I said or did, just was allowed to be who I was. Now it was time to do my magic. Sink the ball. Win my prizes. Axel stood several feet away, giving me plenty of space. But why then did the room seem smaller. Feel like he was right behind me almost touching me.
I blinked, focusing on the cue ball. On where I wanted it to go, how fast, how hard. My shot was too wide and the eight ball spun in place.
Fuck!
"These things happen." Axel strode forward.
I was so angry with myself for missing, that I grabbed my beer and drank it down. Tomorrow I was so going to regret that. Right now, though, I didn't care.
And of course, Axel won.F-ing peachy.
"You wanna play Foosball or Ping-Pong?" Nathan stood; his smile eager.
"No. I'm sorry." I shook my head. "I think today, and everything is catching up with me. I better grab a sandwich and relax in my room. I-I’m kinda tired." Let them think I was going to take a nap or something.
They didn't stop me as I retraced my steps back to the kitchen and grabbed a bag of chips and water before hustling up to the guest room. There was no way I could let myself get too comfortable around these men. Their mission was to make me fail in the huge bet with Stephen. I needed to shut myself off from them and focus on the end goal. I knew without a doubt this was the only way I was going to make it out of this intact.
12
Early the next morning, I was dragged from sleep by a loud knock on my door.
“Wha—” I sounded like a bullfrog and tried again. “What do you want?”
“Our date is about to start. Get ready.”
I squinted at the digital clock on the nightstand. “At four a.m.?” Who even woke up this early?
“You’ve got twenty minutes to get up and ready or I will come in there and make you. And wear shorts.”
I stuck my tongue out at the door. But I believed he’d come in here and strip me down. Since I was trying to avoid any intimacy with him or the other two, I hauled myself out from under the blankets. After the fastest shower ever and brushing my teeth, I was dressed and met the guys downstairs.
“Tell me what couldn’t wait until after the sun rose?” I asked.
“You and I have a fishing trip planned."
