Chapter 49 — Fagua

It was nearly dawn and I hadn't been able to sleep much at all after my fight with Husk. And I was too freaked out about facing my dad. I needed to get some energy out, something physical, but both Winter and Sky were passed out and sleeping.

I needed to get some fresh air. And I hadn't gone on a run in a long time. The guys would chew me out if I went alone.

Husk.

We both needed to work this out. I needed to spend more time with him. To give him another chance as he would die if I didn't. Having his death on my conscience wasn't something I wanted. I would be the bigger person and hold out the olive leaf. Though it was hard in times like this to do so when I felt like he didn't meet me halfway. Like when we had the magical moment in the woods and made love, it was so open and raw and I couldn't help myself.

Our flight was early tomorrow and this might be the last chance we had to patch things between us before going back to SmallHeath. I couldn't live with myself if I didn't at least try. So I woke him up, which he grumbled the whole time as he dressed and brushed his teeth, then I dragged him outside.

His grumpy frown took out the joy of what we were doing.

"Why do we have to freaking run first thing in the morning?" he said. "The damn sun isn't even awake all the way yet."

"What are you complaining about?" I huffed, stepping up beside him. "You've got longer legs than me. I have to do double whatever you're doing."

He gave a little snort, but I succeeded at making him chuckle. We both looked out over the track that ran around the park, stretching in both directions with wildflowers dotting along the sides in yellows and reds. The sun colored the sky in bright orange and peeked over the horizon.

"I'm so glad I have a mate who likes to run in the morning when we should be sleeping and waking up to coffee and pancakes."

I chuckled. "Of course, you are," I said. "If we weren't running together, it would be harder for you to complain about things."

We kept running, our feet moving quickly along the asphalt. Both of us took deeper breaths now that we had warmed up a bit. Now that we'd found a rhythm together even if it was with him grumbling under his breath.

It felt good to be running and get my mind off my father and since Husk hated it so much, I wanted to have him be my partner. Maybe it was payback for when he locked me up. Yeah, I was stubbornly holding onto a grudge. But this was something I could share with just him. I already know he was upset that I had mated with his brothers. How I had an ease with them that naturally slipped into place. While with Husk, it seemed forced. This was worth a try of getting out of the 'mating zone' and doing something physical together.

"You know if we shifted, we could finish your race in half the time."

"That's for tonight."

He nearly tipped over his feet and caught himself. "What the hell? You run twice a day?"

“I know. It's a crazy idea with everything that’s going on, but I thought we could do the half marathon together, then the full one next year." I breezed past him a few feet, then jogged backward, looking at him. "I know we might not survive facing my father…the town, but I can't think of the negative. I have to believe there will be a future for us, even if I'm wrong." And all the nerves came rushing forward again and my stomach clamped up.

"You're fucking kidding." He huffed. Sweat glistened off his forehead and for a moment the flash of him buried deep within me stole my breath away. "A fucking marathon?"

Why wasn't he getting this? My steps slowed and I spun around, blinking back tears. "I-I just thought it was something you and I could do together. Something the two of us could share. Something to look forward to besides dying in SmallHeath." Guess I should've known better. Husk and I had a contentious relationship even during the best of times. The night we made love must have been a fluke. Something that I gave into in the heat of passion that didn't really mean anything.

More often than not, we often clashed, both over his gruff personality and my stubbornness. But I knew I needed to find a way to connect with him anyway. Why did it have to be so hard?

He grabbed my arm, causing me to slam into his chest. I pushed against him, gritting my teeth to keep from sobbing, my chin quivering. "Fagua, I had no idea."

His words didn't help the dagger that twisted in my heart. I didn't want his pity or his compliance bought by guilt and my tears.

"I'm always fucking things up, aren't I?" He traced my tear with his thumb.

I shake my head, my throat tightening because this was my fault as well. "No," I whispered. "I'm sorry."

"Fagua." He shook his head and his voice softened. "Fagua."

I tried to push away from him but he held on tighter. And then, he ran his hand up under my shirt and traced along the hem of my jogging pants. His touch sent shivers down my spine and I closed my eyes, leaning into his touch, wanting him to stay, wanting to feel him inside of me again.

"I don't want you to feel like you need to run with me just because you mated me." I pushed the words out.

"I'm not," he grunted.

I stared at him and was about to protest that he didn't even like me or at least it felt that way. But no, it was time for me to give in. To compromise. I had to. I bit my lip, trying to will the tears away. His eyes crinkled at the corners and my breath caught in my throat that we might make it. We might connect and bond like we were supposed to.

I nodded and tried to ignore the fact that he really didn't want to do a marathon with me.

"All right. How many marathons together are we talking about? Three--" he managed before my mouth crushed against his.

I gripped his broad shoulders, panting against him before I pulled back, my heart racing as I studied him. For the first time, we were together and on the same page. "Husk, I really want to do this with you." I didn't need to add that we might not be alive. It was something we could look forward to doing.

Husk swallowed, his eyes shining with what I thought might be hope for half a second. Then he spun around, flipping me back and down onto the track, his hips settling between my thighs and he cupped my ass. "We're going to win this fucking marathon, you need to run all out. Leave me in the dust."

"What about you?" I lean against him, his groin pushing into my backside. "We need to make you lighter on your feet." I wasn't serious, just didn't want him to stop touching me.

"Oh, all you have to do is wave this sexy ass in front of me and I'll run everyone over to get to you."

"Stop." I shook my head, wiping at my stupid tears. "You don't have to do this. It was a stupid idea."

His hands gripped my hips tightly. "I was wrong, Fagua." The words sounded like they were hard for him to say. "I didn't know what this meant to you and that's my fault." He sighed, tucking his arms around me in a backward hug, my head fitting beneath his chin as he rested his head on me. "Sometimes I feel like we're strangers. Other times like you get me when no one else outside of Winter and Sky do."

"I want to do this." His admission reassured me. But what did it say about me that I needed him to admit he was wrong? That his apology meant more than all the other times we tried to force this bonding? But I still wasn't ready to give him my heart. He'd burned me too many times and I needed to heal, I needed time. Even if we might not have any.

He groaned and I felt him shift against me. "What about a non-stop sex marathon? Because I have to admit that sounds pretty freaking appealing."

My pulse raced. Husk was sexy and strong and something under the surface about him appealed to me. Besides, I needed to try. I wanted to try and make us work out.

A shiver slipped through me. "That's good."

He laughed and I could feel his heart beating against my back. He ran his hands down over my hips and then up, he lifted my shirt and pressed his hands over my abdomen, his thumbs sliding down and into the waistband of my shorts.

"Hey, this isn't fair." I glanced over my shoulder up at him. His smile was crooked and I could almost forget the past.

He pushed the shirt up over my breasts and cupped them gently in his hands. "Mmmm...that's better."

"Husk..." My voice was hoarse. "W-We can't do this here."

I sighed, shifting my butt, and he shifted his thigh between me.

"What do we need to do?" He cleared his throat. "You know, to prepare for this marathon in bed."

A bolt of adrenaline hit me. One that I knew couldn't be entirely healthy. I guess a super quick run wasn't so uncool after all.

"All right. Last lap."

He groaned, but winked as he pulled up next time. "Let's get this done because I want to take a shower with you."

Finally, we were connected on a level. But was it enough?

****

When we walked back to the Casino, I was already fighting the urge to rip my clothes off and have Husk all to myself. On the stairs, a little girl wept. Her blond hair hung in tangled strands around her face.

Husk knelt in front of her. "What's wrong?"

She looked up at him with tears filling her big blue eyes. "I-I lost the money daddy gave me for an ice cream." She pointed a shaky hand behind me and I glanced back to see a sewer drain.

"Well, I happen to know a place that makes free ice cream. What flavor do you like?” I asked, thinking that Husk’s stern look of concern may frighten her.

I sat on the other side of the girl and she grabbed my hand, squeezing it. "It's okay. I'm Fagua and this is Husk."

"I'm Elizabeth," she said in a quiet voice. "And I like strawberry and also mint but dad says they don't go together."

"Do you like cones?" I asked with a smile, hoping to let her know we were here to help her.

"Sure, but I don't have enough money for that." She looked past Husk to the sewer. "Do you think you can get my coins out of there?"

He strode down the steps to the drain. "I'll be right back."

He gave me a nod and jogged down the street.

Elizabeth blinked up at me. "Are you two married?"

I choked out a cough. "No. No, we're just...it's complicated." I didn't want to lie to the girl. The truth was I didn't know what me and Husk were. We'd been at each other's throats with every little thing setting us off. But now, now I was starting to see a glimmer that there might be more to Husk than I thought.

A few minutes later, Husk returned with four ice cream cones. One had strawberry, another mint, and two vanilla ones.

"Here," he handed the pink and green cones to Elizabeth, "Can you hold these for me?"

Then he gave me one of the vanilla ones.

"Which one is mine?" Elizabeth asked in a soft voice.

Husk nodded. "Both."

"Two ice cream cones?" Her knees bobbed up and down. "But that's too much money."

"Nah." He shrugged.

She took a lick of the mint, then the strawberry, her face practically glowing. "How come?"

“Well, I own this casino."

She giggled and ate her ice cream.

“Do you know your phone number?” I asked. “So we can call your dad and let him know you’re okay?”

She shook her head. “We don’t have a phone.”

“What’s your last name, Elizabeth?” Husk popped the last of his cone in his mouth.

“It’s Sullivan.”

I knew what Husk was doing, he was asking her questions here and there to find out more about her and about her dad. If he threw a ton of questions at her, it might scare her.

After Elizabeth and I finished our ice cream, I wiped my hands on my pants. "Elizabeth, where is your dad? We can call him to come to get you. I'm sure he's worried about you."

I was certain while we were eating that her father would show up, but he hadn't.

"Oh." She snapped back to reality, twisting the pink ice cream cone in her hand. "He's, um, he can't leave work. He needs to work overtime for, um, for the bills."

"Did he say when he was going to be back?" I asked, giving Husk a look.

"He said he'd pick me up at seven. I don't want him to get mad at me." She wiped her nose on her sleeve.

"And your mom?" Husk asked.

"My mom left us." She stood up. "She said she needed to leave us so he could stop drinking."

From the look of the little girl, I could tell she wasn't lying.

She rested her head on Husk's shoulder and his big arms went around her hesitantly, and I could tell that he was worried that he would squeeze her. He was so big and trying to be careful, most likely something in which he wasn’t used to, and something tugged in my chest at seeing him be so gentle with her.

"Aw, kid," he ruffled her blond hair. "Life pretty much sucks sometimes, but you know what?"

She shook her head.

"Let me make some calls. I'll get your dad here in half an hour."

"Really?" She jumped up, hugging him and then me. "Thank you."

He forced a smile and met my eyes. Everything clicked into place. I wouldn't be surprised if Elizabeth's dad was either drunk or passed out from playing the slots all night. It happened too many times to count. But I hoped I was wrong and her dad was indeed at a restaurant or something and working hard to support his little girl.

The thought made my heart hurt thinking of my own father. How I thought he hung the moon and stars until I found out the truth. How he wanted power more than anything. More than seeing me happy. He wanted to be the alpha and have everyone in our town bow to him.

Husk took the stairs two at a time, already talking to someone on his cell phone. "I need you to do me a favor."

"Hey, do you want to come with me to get something else to eat?" I asked.

"No thanks." She gave me a tight-lipped smile. "I have to be here for when dad gets back."

"Smart." I nodded.

While we waited, I gave Elizabeth my phone and downloaded a few kid-friendly games for her.

Half an hour later, a man strode up to us with Husk beside him. He looked freshly washed, his blond hair still damp and leaking onto his shirt collar.

"Hi, honey," he said, but his voice didn't sound drunk at least. "I'm so sorry I'm late." He looked over at Husk like he was expecting him to punch him. "I've gotten a new job."

She launched herself into his arms and he hugged her. "Where?"

"Here, at the casino. A-And we have a room here for us to stay and free food."

"Really, Daddy?"

He kissed her forehead. "Yes. I've got the keys here in my pocket." He fished them out and handed them to her. "Want to go see our new home?"

"It's going to be so fun." She pulled on his hand.

Her father looked over his shoulder at Husk. "I can't pay you back for what you've done."

"Yes, you can." He lifted his chin toward Elizabeth. "You take care of her like she's a precious diamond. If I ever hear that you're slacking, I'll rip your throat out."

The man gulped and ran up the stairs with his daughter.

"Husk," the words clogged my throat and I couldn't get them out.

"We'll have to take a rain check on our marathon." He gave me a crooked smile. "There's still some things I need to get settled for Elizabeth and her dad."

I nodded and he gave me a quick kiss on the cheek before pulling out his cell phone.

For a long time, I stared at him, unbelieving what I had witnessed. I had never seen him this way. So I left him to his phone calls and headed up to the penthouse as I contemplated the day.

I guess I was wrong. Husk had a heart and it wasn't buried as deep as I thought it was.