Page 165 of Covert Mission
Nyx sighs heavily. “When I saw Beast earlier today, I literally could not believe he is the same man I saw a few months ago. You make him feel alive again. I love those men like brothers. They protected me with their lives. They didn’t stop until I was home safely.”
I’m starting to feel even more like an ass for jumping to conclusions about her. But a kernel of pain remains. A deep part of me knows what it is—Lucas’s team is tight. Nyx is part of that team. They’ve been through so much together. Tragedy and pain.
And I feel like an outsider.
She tucks the flower behind her ear. “We should go back to dinner before one of those protective meatheads comes stomping over here.”
As she turns, I call her name. “Nyx. Thank you for speaking with me.”
She smiles softly. “I can see questions in your eyes.”
“It’s just… I just have all these strong feelings for Lucas, I mean, Beast. He’s sort of swept into my life and knocked my feet out from under me.”
She nods. Contemplates something for a second. “I can see the bond already. And when you saw me in the house, I saw your expression.”
A wave of embarrassment courses through me. I feel so bad. “I’m really sorry, I just felt unsure.” I pinch the bridge of my nose. “Can I tell you something?”
She straightens and tilts her head compassionately. “I hope you will feel comfortable talking with me.”
“I saw Beast hugging you earlier. He doesn’t know. But it… it hurt me, and I let myself get in my head. It’s just been a rough time for me. That’s no excuse, but I want to make sure you don’t think you’ve done anything.”
Her brows knit together and then she smiles brightly. “It was you! I saw a glimpse of someone when I was hugging your man. Now I know! You should have said hello.”
I laugh at myself. “I assumed… well, I made something out of nothing.”
She grabs my hand. “Come on, sister. It’s easy for someone like that man to make your head swim. You should try working with the whole team of them. Anyway, we need to get back to the food, before they inhale it all.”
I glance up as she tugs me toward the gathering.
Lucas is standing on the walkway, with his laser focus on me. Guess we were gone too long… my protective Beast came looking for me. Either that or something else is wrong.
ChapterFifty-Six
The small smile Camile offers as she walks up shoots straight to my heart. My voice comes out sounding different. Deeper. Pleased. “Hey, babe.”
“We were just coming to fight for some food before it all disappears.”
I grunt.
Nyx smacks me on the shoulder as she walks by, but I don’t take my eyes off Camile. “Everything okay?”
“More than okay.”
I reach for her, wrapping my hand around to rest at the small of her back. “Are you going to tell me what you talked about?”
She leans against my chest and melts into me. God, how I love the way she fits against me. The way she makes my pulse stutter.
“We were just getting to know each other.”
I can’t resist, I rub my hand up and down Camile’s back. “Nyx is a sweet girl…” My words get choked off before I can finish.
Camile leans back and stares at my face with her brows drawn together. “She told me.”
I press my mouth tight and look away. Fixing my gaze beyond Camile to the jungle, as if some magical cure for the pain inside me lies there in that green foliage.
Two slender, warm arms slide around my waist.
When I can finally talk, I’m raspy. “I fucked up. I let her get hurt. We lost another teammate the night after that when we were looking for Nyx.”