Rising Storm (Westin Force #2) - Julie Trettel Page 0,51
Micah said. “You can go right back to full duty. I gotta run. I’ve got a full day in the office scheduled. It’s nice to see you again, Emma.”
“Thanks, Micah.”
He saw himself out.
“Yeah, I’ll agree with him. Get your slacker ass back to work pronto.”
We both knew that I could have returned days ago. I also realized that he had taken the opportunity to ensure I had time alone with my mate. I’d need to thank him for that one day, but today was not that day.
“About damn time.”
“See you later, Emma. Make sure he gets a move on it. I’ll excuse him from morning workouts, but there’s a ten o’clock briefing that he better not be late for.”
“I’ll have him ready. He won’t be late,” she assured him.
Grant winked at me as he closed the door behind me. Asshole.
“Will you be coming home for lunch or do I need to pack you something?” Emma asked.
“I’ll be home.”
I smiled. Home. She was starting to think of the apartment as her home too. She had told me honestly once that she didn’t know if she was going to stay because of her gorilla family back home. I had asked Tarron to discreetly try to track them down for me. I wanted her to feel like this was her home. I wanted her to mark me as hers and stay, but that one voice of negativity told me she would eventually leave. It was the only reason I hadn’t sealed our bond already.
Until Bravo team, Silas was the only person in the world I could trust. I wanted to trust Emma even more than that, but that damn voice kept reminding me that I wasn’t good enough for her. My job was dangerous. I could have gotten myself killed on that last mission and left her alone. Or if someone ever found us and came after the team, she could get caught up in the crossfire and I’d lose her. It was a lot of what ifs, but I couldn’t stop them from infiltrating my mind.
“Have some breakfast before you go, though.”
“You don’t have to do that. You should go rest. How’s the head?”
“Dull roar, but better. The coffee helped.”
I groaned. I didn’t even like the smell of coffee.
“Come on, let me show you around the Lodge and where you can find some more if you need it.”
It didn’t matter that I hated the stuff, if it helped Emma’s headache and made her happy then I could deal with it.
“Breakfast,” she insisted.
I tossed some fruits and vegetables into the blender with a little protein powder.
Emma scrunched up her nose. “That’s not breakfast.”
“One of these days you’ll try it before you decide you hate it.”
I could see the fire in her eyes. I’d struck a chord and her temper was flaring. She reached out and took my glass from me and drank. I could see she was determined to hate it, but her features softened. “Huh. It’s not that bad. I’ve had worse.”
“See. Plus, it’s good for you.”
“What’s the powder stuff you put in it? That is not natural.”
“It’s just added protein. It’s in powder form, but it’s just nuts and plants high in protein dried and ground into a powder. Nothing bad. It’s all natural. Most of the guys use whey powder for protein, but mine’s Vegan friendly. Just warning you to not let Taylor or someone else make one for you unless you’re okay with dairy.”
She made her yuck face again and made me laugh.
“I didn’t think so. Come on. I don’t have long, but you don’t have to spend all day in the apartment, so let me show you around a little.”
Emma
Chapter 16
Begrudgingly, I put on clothes. I still wasn’t a huge fan of them. I brushed out my hair to a shine and cleaned my teeth. I felt almost human again. The raging war in my head had finally started to subside. I had the coffee to thank for that, and Taylor for thinking of it.
“Come on or I’m going to be late.”
“Where are we going?”
“You’ll see.”
We took the elevator down to the first floor. And then turned left to walk down a hallway that led to a lobby. In all the weeks I’d been there, it never dawned on me that the Lodge was anything but apartments and Westin Force headquarters. But this place was set up just like a typical hotel that I’d seen on the television.