8.
986 Words
The sensation of being held by Onyx was something else a comfort she didn't want and wanted to deny but Gatlin was tired so she just leaned into the man until he took her into her small bedroom and set her on the bed. He was an interesting young man she thought anyway Onyx could be so firm and hard which suited his look of such a strong stoic young man but underneath there was a softness to him that she couldn't deny weakened her hardened heart and made Gatlin just for a moment wish she did want to claim him as a mate. "Here" Onyx's deep voice caught her off guard and out of thought he was holding out some clothes for her to take "you go clean up, do you need help or can you make it alone?" he asked it was obvious he felt bad of his pushing.
"I can make it" she practically snatched the clothes from his hand before getting up on her shaky legs. Gatlin didn't want to risk any more contact as she hobbled out of the room and down the hallway to the bathroom ready to wash off the dirt and grime of the day.
:::
Her long dark hair was already turning into frizzy curls once she was out of the shower and dried off. Gatlin was too tired to deal with it and simply tied it in a bun on top of her head. She didn't care much about her appearance most of the time anyway as she fixed her glasses back on and made her way back to her bedroom. Gatlin was planning of crashing straight onto the uncomfortable bed, she was so exhausted she knew she could sleep on what felt like a pile of rocks however once the door was opened the curly-haired eyes widened seeing Onyx still there sitting at the edge of the bed. He glanced up silver eyes meeting her sage ones and realising her surprise as he quickly clarified "I was waiting to make sure you were alright" His being nice was starting to frustrate her being nice after all made it much harder to dislike him.
"I'm fine, just tired" Gatlin replied as she walked in and stood awkwardly opposite Onyx. The room was cramped as it was let alone having a large man in the small space.
"Right... Right, I should leave you to it" he seemed almost hesitant getting up from the seated position in one step they were almost chest to chest once again. Carrying her when she was tired and dirty or when he was up in her face barking orders was different from when they stood in one another's space, almost touching but not, heat radiating off of their skin with the sensation of their mate practically making them flustered. Gatlin's cheeks were becoming flushed and Onyx's neck began to grow red it was like the moment in the classroom all over again except there was no Eliza to interrupt. Gatlin's large eyes stared up at Onyx's perfectly chiselled face from where she stood she could see the perfectly lining of his jaw. Shaky breaths came especially when Onyx made the move to reach out brushing some stray hairs behind her ear, Gatlin could almost feel her eyes close at the touch and an inadvertent shiver till he quickly retracted it was obvious on Onyx's face the instant regret of his actions.
"Umm... I will see you in the morning. Five thirty?" he quickly cleared his throat as stepped back attempting to break the tension in the air but that was proving to be difficult.
"Five thirty this time? Wow, such a sleep in" Gatlin couldn't help but tease.
"Haha" he rolled his eyes "I will see you then get some rest" and with that, he quickly left. Gatlin let out a shaky breath she was holding the pull between them was stronger than expected but she knew tomorrow would be different these few days she had worked hard but she had gotten into a rhythm of things and now she would put a distance between them a further one helping them remember their place. Onyx's place as a pack warrior and Eliza and her place that would hopefully soon be far from there and as Gatlin got settled into bed she tried to think of ways to make sure they kept their distance until a sudden knock at the door. All these interruptions were making her lose focus on her true love botany. With another known, she groaned and finally got up to open the door revealing a very large grinning Arro.
"What are you doing here?" she couldn't of looking more unimpressed if she tried with her bored eyes and pouting lips.
"Way to greet your only friend" he huffed like a child "I wanted to speak with you earlier but already noticed you had a visitor" the knowing smirk began to grow but Gatlin refused to be embarrassed and simply shrugged it off.
"he was checking on me is all" she clarified.
"Checking on you?" an eyebrow raised at the question.
"Yes, he acknowledged he was too hard on me that's all" She explained.
"Interesting... But I guess he would realise that and want to be softer with his mate..." Gatlin quickly put her hand to his mouth covering it to keep him from speaking any further.
"We aren't mates so will you stop" she spoke harshly in a whisper but he gave a nod to comply and she pulled her hand away.
"Fine, fine" he rolled his eyes and at that moment she really could tell they were cousins and it almost made her laugh "anyway I came to get you. I wanted to show you something" he turned around and started walking away.
"Hey! Wait where are we going?" she called after him.
"Follow me and find out..."
- Writer
