“I don’t know what he picked up on honestly,” he said. “It’s not like we’ve been acting any differently.”
She paced the small confines of her accommodations. “You need to understand Forest.”
“What’s there to know?”
Her pacing stopped, leaving her at the opposite end of the room. The space between them yawned with an awkwardness that hadn’t been there before. He should go to her, but he found himself hanging back.
“Did you know he has Asperger’s?”
“What?”
“You know…”
“Yeah, I know what Asperger’s is, but he seems to have things locked down pretty tight.”
“It’s because he’s studied humans,” she said, “and I use that word exactly how it sounds. We’re lab rats to him.”
“You and me?” He was trying to understand.
Individuals with Asperger’s trended along the autism spectrum and had difficulties with social interactions, often seeing people around them more as objects than individuals with feelings and emotions. Forest had no problem interacting, although he didn’t mince words. Perhaps there was something to what Tia had said, but studied people?
“Not just you and me, but everyone. According to Skye, he was an outcast, growing up.” She heaved a heavy sigh, and her eyes clouded with pain.
“What’s wrong?”
“Sorry,” she said. “It’s just the things Skye told me about their childhood. My foster family was bad enough, but their foster father was a true monster.”
A knife stabbed at his gut. He’d fucked this woman until she could barely breathe, but he had much to learn about who she really was. Forest had mentioned rescuing her from a foster home, but Ryker had never asked about it.
“I’m sorry about what happened to you.” He made a mental note to find out exactly what had happened in her past, but now wasn’t the time.
“Thanks,” she said with a soft smile. “It’s in the past. I owe a great deal to Forest and Skye.”
He kicked off from the wall and strode toward her. The space between them had become unbearable. She folded into his arms, tucking her head beneath his chin, and wrapped her arms around his waist. Her hair smelled like lilacs. His eyes closed as he inhaledthe lightness of her scent. This was where he wanted to spend the rest of his life—arms wrapped around the woman he called his own.
A sharp banging startled them both. Tia leaped back as the door flew open. A large silhouette framed the door, and then it moved inside.
“Ever heard of a fucking lock?” Recrimination thundered in Forest’s tone. “This is what I was talking about, lover boy. What if I were one of your team? What if I were Colonel Collins? Or Colonel Vane? What would you have done then?”
“Forest,” Tia said, “what the hell are you doing?”
“Proving a point,” he said with a growl. “Had words with lover boy earlier today. Looks like they rained down on deaf ears.”
“I heard every word you said,” Ryker said.
“So, what? You decided it was time for another fuckfest?”
“Forest!” Tia exclaimed.
“I’ll speak with you later,” he boomed. “Seriously, the two of you need to figure a few things out. All the googly eyes and holding hands end now.” He closed the door and made a show of bolting the latch, locking the three of them inside.
Ryker refused to let the giant intimidate him, but that was difficult when locked inside a closed space where the only exit was past Tia’s friend.
“Look,” Forest continued, “Vane is looking for you. Ash is looking for you. Hell, I’ve been looking for you too.”
“Why?” Tia asked.
“Not you,” Forest said with a dismissive snort. “Everyone is looking for lover boy.” With a turn of his wrist, he glanced at the time. “We’ve got just over an hour to get you ready and prepped for the shows tonight.”
