Maisie looked down to see what had him so confused, and felt her own face contort into an expression that she wasn’t sure she’d be able to describe, even if she could have seen it.
Military Man was on his hands and knees over Brent, who was lying on the ground. The two of them were frozen in an awkward tableau, eyes locked, and – could Maisie detect a slight tremble in Military Man’s arms?
“Where have you been all my life?” Brent whispered, his eyes never leaving Military Man’s face.
“What?” Maisie exclaimed.
What on earth is going on?!
“I was waiting for you,” Military Man replied, his voice choked with emotion. “I had resigned myself to never finding my mate. I never imagined –” He cut himself off with a shake of his head, clearly overwhelmed for a moment, before continuing on. “But, how rude of me. My name’s Daniel. But you can call me Danny.”
“Brent,” Brent said, staring up into his eyes in awe. “But you probably already knew that.”
“Brent,” repeated Daniel, as if in wonder. “My mate. Brent.”
“You fucking hypocritical sack of shit!” bellowed Rhys. “When it wasmymate you couldn’t say I was compromised by emotions fast enough!”
But it was clear that neither Brent nor Daniel –Danny– was listening to a word he was saying. They were too busy gazing into each other’s eyes, a look of wonderment on their faces.
Oh, that is so typical,Maisie thought.
Rolling his eyes, Rhys turned to Maisie. “Come on – we have to get going right now.”
“Will Brent be okay?” Maisie asked distractedly, though her heart wasn’t really in it. This whole thing was too weird by far. Which she knew was her own hypocrisy, given that she’d just met her mate as well and she knew what effect that could have on a person… but, still. It was Brent and Military Man – Daniel – making goo-goo eyes at each other on the floor. She hoped Military Man’s sense of duty wouldn’t override his heart, and he’d do the right thing by Brent.
“He’ll be fine,” Rhys said, grabbing her wrist and dragging her along.
“Way to go, Brent!” she called out as she left, still reeling a bit at the absurdity of it all. Brent didn’t answer, and she didn’t look back to see why not.
In any case, she had to admit, she was a bit too busy marveling at the way Rhys shouldered open the door to the stairwell as if it wasn’t even there to think or care much about what Brent and Military Man might be doing.
Mainly, she just wanted to get out of here.
“Come on,” Rhys said, once he’d leaned into the stairwell to check the coast was clear. “We have to hurry.”
Maisie followed him at a run down the stairs, but there was no way she could keep up with him – she considered herself pretty fit, since she was often on her feet for hours at a time, but Rhys, aside from being obviously in peak physical condition –and don’t I know it– was using some kind of shifter leaping ability to propel himself down entire flights of stairs with as much effort as if he was strolling across a hillside on a sunny day.
“Rhys!” she gasped out, doing her best to follow him. “Slow down – I can’t keep up!”
“Shit,” Rhys muttered, before he leapt back up the stairs he’d just leapt down. “Come on – don’t worry. I’ll carry you.”
Maisie didn’t have time to get a word out before she was swept up in Rhys’s arms, bridal-style, and carried down the next flight of stairs snuggled safely against his chest.
That is it,she thought, completely unable to resist cuddling a little closer to him.I am never taking the lift again. This is the only way to travel.
Rhys wasn’t even breaking a sweat as he sailed down the stairs four or five at a time, leaping as gracefully as a panther. At this pace, it was only a few more seconds until they were on the ground floor, though Rhys apparently didn’t see any need to put her down.
He ignored the doorhandle –Well, heisholding me in his arms this time, I guess, so he has an excuse– and instead lifted his foot and kicked the doors at the bottom of the stairs down, and carried her out into the brilliant white sunlight.
“Trent! Euan!”
Rhys’s voice was loud in her ears as he carried her at a run. Glancing around, still secure against his chest, Maisie took a moment to get her bearings.
As Rhys rounded a corner of the hotel, she realized she knew where they were – he’d carried her around the back, to where the helicopter had landed and she’d been hustled out of it. She could see a few of the stern-looking men who’d been guarding the doors when she’d arrived – not that she’d been expecting them to go anywhere.
She wondered if they were friends of Rhys’s, and if it was them he was calling to – at least until she saw the two other men who were standing a short distance off, their heads turning as Rhys called what she assumed had to be their names.
One wasverytall and kind of rangy, though she could see he still had muscles underneath his white tank top and kind of loud Hawaiian shirt. The other one was a little shorter, butwaymore powerfully built –like a brick shithouse,her mind helpfully supplied, but it was true.
