Chapter 278 Chapter 278
Taking a deep breath, he tried to settle some of the chaos in his mind. The taste of jasmine hit his tongue, lifting his head, he watched Gia walk across the yard. His animal settled, which concerned him more than if it had been raging. The last five feet felt like it took an eternity. He debated on jumping the fence, rather than doing something epically stupid and ultimately embarrassing.
She took off her hat and looked up at him. “I just wanted to say thank you.”
Deacon was struck by her eyes; he’d never seen them this close before. From a distance, they were grey but up close, they had golden flecks in them, and he couldn’t look away.
“No one has ever done something like that for me.”
His brain cued him that she was waiting for him to acknowledge that she’d spoken to him. “It wasn’t right for him to get all up in your face.” Was the best he could come up with. His creature was just as stunned as he was right now, her scent, being this close— He backed up a few steps and looked at the shed, he couldn’t get too close to her.
“We’ve met before.”
He cleared his throat, of all the things to talk about, this would have been the last thing he would have picked. “Yeah—I was, I should apologize for being an ass back then.”
Flipping her hair back from her face, she shrugged, “A boy acting like a pompous jerk is something I’m used to.” She motioned to the house, “you’ve met one of my brothers, there’s more like him.”
“I’m sorry about that.” He grinned fleetingly. His eyes were memorizing her face while she stood so close. The trace of freckles across the bridge of her nose made him want to kiss them, taste them. He took a step back so he wouldn’t act on his thoughts.
The smile on her face faded. “This uh, team is quite the mix.”
“The ops,” he could talk about that. It was a safe topic. “It’s long overdue—taking action.”
Gia nodded and wrapped her arms around her waist, “I think so too. I’ve heard of so many being taken; it has to be stopped.”
“We’ll do that.”
“I’ve only been on the coordinator’s team for a few weeks.” She bit her lip.
“You wouldn’t be here if they didn’t think you couldn’t do it.” He motioned to the house, “Calum and Jesse picked everyone here.”
They both watched Evanna come out of the guest house, gone were her jeans, and instead, she was wearing a long skirt. Her hair was down. He frowned, so she was no longer Evanna? He really needed to clarify that with Calum. Looking back down at her, he saw the look in her eyes change, it was harder now. Something had changed in the last few moments. His creature wanted him to move closer, to take her scent into their body. Deacon crossed his arms over his chest so he wouldn't reach out and touch her.
“Are you really going to sleep in the shed?”
Ignoring his animal, he nodded. “Yeah, there’s too many walls and bodies to stay there.” He jerked his chin toward the house.
“It is crowded.” She said in a quiet voice. “I should uh, get back. They’re going to pair everyone up.” She grimaced, “if I know my brother, he’s in there pushing to be with me.”
The anxiety coming off her almost choked him, “I’m sure...”
“Deacon. Gia.” Jesse stood on the deck. “You two are partnering up. From now on you’re her shadow, Deacon.” He opened the door again, “Illias is going over the gear now.” He went back in.
She turned and looked back up at him, something was going through her mind, and he couldn’t catch the expressions flashing through her eyes. “We should, uh,” she motioned to the house.
He lurched, “Yeah, we should get back in there.” He nodded.
Her eyes searched his for a moment then she turned and started walking.
Deacon stood there—froze on the spot, how the hell was he going to stand working closely with her? He couldn’t even breathe around her. Glancing at the fence again, he debated if he should have jumped it and run. He started walking, then spotted Calum standing in the window looking out at him. Blowing out a breath, he looked at the grass ahead of him. If this was some sort of test, he was going to fail. There was no way he could be this close to Giana all the time and not come off as some sort of a jerk. He needed to be though; it was for her own good. She was out to prove to her brother—he frowned, brothers most likely, that she belonged in this type of life. The last thing she needed was some mangy mutt, who happened to be her mate, claiming her.