Air of Seduction (Elemental Enforcers #3)

Chapter 29

Payton

My eyes fly open when I hear the door click shut. Make love. Did he really say that?

My heart speeds up, and a wide smile splits my face. He did. And the way he said it, it sounded an awful lot like he has more feelings for me than he would a casual lover.

I stare at the closed door. Dare I hope? Dare I hope that I’m his… I’m afraid to even think it. Because if I’m not, and he finds the woman who is…

Pain stabs through my heart, and I curl into a ball. Breathing is suddenly difficult. It feels like my ribs have contracted, preventing my lungs from expanding.

“Payton? Oh no, Payton.” Olivia’s voice reaches me through a haze of pain. It’s filled with terror, and I recognize that it’s not for herself but for me.

The vice around my chest slowly releases, and I fill my lungs with much-needed air. The pain fades, and I sigh with relief.

“What did he do to you?” There are tears in her voice. “We shouldn’t have come here. We shouldn’t—”

Rolling over onto my back and pulling my shirt down to cover my nakedness, I open my eyes. Tears are running down Olivia’s cheeks, and the pain in her eyes makes my chest constrict, but not like it did before.

“I’m fine.” I sit up and reach for her hand. “Olivia, I’m fine.”

Gripping onto my hand with both of hers, she shakes her head. “No, you’re—”

A loud bang sounds from the main room, and Noah’s hulking form suddenly fills the doorway, staring at Olivia with eyes glowing. His muscles are bunched, and his whole body is practically vibrating with tension.

She jerks like she just touched a live wire, and her shriek fills the room.

“Get out.” I get off the bed and position myself between my friend and the man who’s supposed to stay away from her.

“You called for me.” His voice is a low growl as he stares right past me. “Your terror, it called to me.”

His eyes quickly scan the room before they land on me and narrow into slits. “What did you do to her?”

I take a step back as my eyes widen. “Me? I didn’t—”

“Stop!” Olivia is suddenly between me and Noah, her fists clenched. “Don’t you dare hurt her, you asshole. We’re leaving. You’re all just depraved”—her voice breaks, and she clears it before she continues—“abusive assholes.”

My brows push together as I stare at the back of Olivia’s head. Why would she say that? I can sort of understand about Noah, although the wording is a bit harsh, but all? That doesn’t make sense.

“Who abused you?” Noah takes a step closer to Olivia. The threat of retaliation in his voice stabs at me like needles, and I automatically take a step back.

Olivia shudders, and her voice is shaky when she says, “Not me. Payton.”

What? Then it dawns on me how it must have looked when she walked in on me struggling to breathe. Damn my sex-addled brain.

Noah’s shoulders fall when some of the tension leaves his body. “Who abused Payton?”

“Ronan.” The venom in her voice when she utters his name makes me gasp.

Noah frowns. “He would never—”

“No.” I grip her arm and swing her toward me. “That’s not why I was wheezing or why I’m not dressed. He would never hurt me…like that.”

She looks unconvinced. “What do you mean like that ?

“Only that…” My gaze swings to Noah. I have no trouble telling Olivia about my fear of losing Ronan, but I don’t want his friends to know.

“Go on.” Noah folds his arms over his chest and glares at me.

I glare right back at him. “I will tell Olivia when you leave.”

“You will tell me .” Noah’s nostrils flare as he takes a step toward me. “You scared my mate, and you will tell me why so I can make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

“No.” Olivia rounds on him. “Get out. You promised to stay away from me after what you did.”

His growl of frustration echoes through the room. “All I did was to protect you. All I’ll ever do is to protect you and care for you. And I’ll never stop. I couldn’t if I tried. It goes against the very nature of our bond.”

“No. Leave me alone.” Olivia steps right up into his face, the fear she had for him earlier clearly replaced by anger.

“I will—” His voice is cut off by a groan, and a shudder runs through him.

Olivia gasps and stumbles back.

I quickly insert myself between them. “Noah, leave. Can’t you see that you’re just making this worse?”

His lips twist, and his mouth opens like he wants to hurl an insult at me, but then he seems to think better of it and takes a step back. “I’ll be right outside if she needs me.”

I barely stop my eye roll. “Just leave.”

He finally backs up, before spinning around and walking out of the suite.

When I turn to Olivia, she’s sitting on the edge of the bed staring at the empty doorway, but her mind seems to be somewhere else.

I take a seat next to her. “What happened?”

She shakes her head slowly, before turning to look at me, her eyes filled with a combination of confusion and fear. “I… I don’t know.”

“Did he touch you?”

She shakes her head a second time. “No, I touched him. Just his arm, and it was like…” Her eyes close, and she tips her head forward. “It was like he rubbed his finger between my legs.”

My eyes become round as I stare at her. Did I hear her correctly? I must have. But how is that possible? Unless…

A lump forms in my throat when it hits me. True mates. They have a special bond. Ronan’s words reverberate through my head.

Noah and Olivia have a special bond, and Ronan and I don’t.

Pain stabs into my heart again, but I quickly push all thoughts of Ronan to the back of my mind. My focus needs to be on Olivia and her recovery. Nothing else is important right now.