Davis, Liz - Slivers of Moonlight (Siren Publishing Classic) (23 page)

Rushing out of the bedroom and out toward the living room, she saw Dylan stumbling for the bathroom. His hands were pressed against his stomach, and his face was pale with nausea. She watched as he slammed the bathroom door behind him, and then she heard the sound of water flowing from the tap.

Uttering a sigh of frustration, Maya headed into the kitchen and put the tea kettle on. The last thing she wanted was to have Dylan sticking around her apartment, but she figured it would be best if they both had a hot beverage before getting back on the road. She didn’t want him throwing up in her car again, so hopefully the herbal liquid would settle his stomach.

Maya was just pouring hot water into two large mugs when she heard the sound of the shower running. Halting midpour, she slowly turned her head toward the direction of the bathroom. No, he wasn’t actually taking a shower, was he? He hadn’t even asked her first. She blew out a heavy breath and dunked a tea bag into each cup then brought them into the living room. After taking a seat on the couch she sipped on the tea, enjoying the strong minty flavor.

When the bathroom door finally squeaked open, Maya looked toward the hallway and waited for Dylan to emerge. Wearing a sheepish grin, he walked forth, holding a towel that was wrapped around his waist. He sauntered into the living room and took a seat on the couch next to her, picking up his mug of tea to have a sip. With an expression of utmost amazement, Maya stared at him, her lips parted in disbelief as she watched him casually enjoy his drink.

“Just make yourself right at home. Don’t mind me, Dylan.” Her voice was thick with sarcasm.

“Sorry, I know I should have asked first. I just felt so lousy I figured that a shower might help.”

“Well, has it?”

Setting the mug down, he responded, “Yeah, actually it did. And thanks for the tea. I appreciate it.” Settling back against the futon, he spread his arms along the top of the couch, letting his head rest against an oversized pillow.

“Don’t get too comfortable because we need to get back on the road soon. As soon we finish our tea, we’re leaving.”

Dylan let loose a sigh of disappointment. “Listen, I know this is far-fetched, but do you think I could stay the night? I’m really tired, and my stomach feels awful. Plus my jaw hurts.” He placed his hand against the area where he’d been punched and gave a hiss of pain.

Astounded by his brazen suggestion, Maya cocked her brow in response. “You have
got
to be kidding me. Are you seriously suggesting this? I have a
boyfriend
, remember?”

“Yeah, but he’s obviously not around because why else would you feel comfortable having me here?”

Deciding to remain quiet, all Maya could do was just stare at him. She’d been hoping that Dylan wouldn’t figure out Evan was out of town, but obviously he’d pretty much already knew, so she realized there really wasn’t much to say.

“If you don’t want me here, then fine. I guess I won’t be.”

“Yeah, definitely not happening.” Setting her mug down, Maya took a glance at the clock. “It’s nearly eleven p.m., and I’m exhausted, so let’s get this show on the road, okay?”

Grabbing hold of both the mugs, Maya took them into the kitchen. After setting them in the sink, she slipped into a pair of tennis shoes and grabbed her keys from off the counter.

She jangled them impatiently in her hand. “Dylan, get your butt off the couch and move. It takes nearly an hour to drive out to your place, not to mention the ride back, which means I won’t be getting back to my apartment until nearly one a.m.”

Releasing a sound of exasperation, Dylan rose off the couch and headed for the bathroom. He came back with clothes in hand, and threw them onto the couch. Then he pulled the towel off from around his waist and tossed it onto the floor.

Releasing a sound of displeasure, Maya quickly turned her back to him. “You could have at least warned me!”

“Come on, babe, nothing you haven’t seen before.” He gave a little laugh. “It’s okay to look, you know. I won’t mind.”

“Oh right, because I’m just dying to see it, right? Not that it’s anything special to look at!”

“Ouch! Just for that remark, now I’m really not getting dressed. At least not until you apologize.”

“Just stop fooling around and put your clothes on, okay? I’m really not in the mood for this.”

“Come on, just one peek, and then I’ll leave you alone.”

“You
disgust
me, Dylan. I don’t want to peek at it, and besides, I have a boyfriend. And he really wouldn’t appreciate you trying to come on to me like this.”

“I’m not coming on to you. I just want you to look at it. Just once, and then I’ll get my clothes on and we’ll leave.”

“Okay, you know what? This little game ends here.” She reached out to grab the phone off the wall, then began dialing numbers on the keypad. “I’m calling the cops, and telling them you forced your way in. You can spend the night in jail, for all I care. I’m not playing with you, Dylan.”

“Fine, calm down, Maya. I was just kidding around, you know? You can’t even take a joke.”

Dylan turned around to grab his underwear from the floor, and just as he was pulling them on, there suddenly came the sound of a key sliding into the lock. It seemed as if the moment happened in fast-forward because before Maya knew it, the door had opened, and Evan walked in, holding a bouquet of roses in his hand. He didn’t even have time to shut the door behind him because as soon as his eyes landed on Dylan’s half-naked form, he froze. Evan’s face, which had previously been filled with happiness and excitement, instantly changed into a mask of anger. The two men engaged in a fiery stare down, each willing the other to blink first.

Maya saw Dylan’s lips pull into a smug smirk, but she noticed that the expression on his face swiftly transformed into worry, and this prompted her to turn her attention back on Evan. He threw the flowers to the floor, and then quickly stepped toward Dylan, quickly closing the distance between them. Yet before he could reach her ex-boyfriend, Maya stepped in front of him, placing her palm against his chest so that he would halt his steps.

“Evan, wait. This isn’t what you think it is.”

His fists were balled so tightly that the tendons in his arms were protruding.

Evan gave her a rageful glare. “Then what the hell
is
it?”

She was taken aback by the tone of his voice, and noticed that it sounded much deeper than it normally did.

“I gave him a ride home and—” Her voice suddenly halted as her train of thought was thrown off by the look he was giving her.

Evan’s breath came out heavily through his nose, and his chest rose and fell rapidly with every breath he took.

“Nothing happened, okay? I was taking him home, and he got sick, so we came in for some tea and—”

“And what? He decided to take his clothes off to enhance the taste of the tea? What the hell were the two of you doing?” His voice came out firm and demanding.

“I already told you, nothing happened,”

She glanced directly into his eyes, hoping he would see that she was telling the truth.

“Tell him, Maya. He’s already caught us, so the truth is out,” Dylan interjected.

“Caught us doing what? You are such a liar! I want you out of here
right now
.” Maya walked toward Dylan and gave him a strong push backward. “Get out of here, Dylan. Go!”

“Oh, so
now
you want me to leave? We spent the whole evening together. The only reason you want me gone is because
he’s
here.” Dylan’s eyes turned back toward Evan, and his lips curled into a nasty sneer. “Sorry to break the news to you, but your girl’s been riding my dick ever since you left town.”

A roar of anger burst from Evan’s mouth, and he quickly advanced on Dylan. Grabbing hold of his shoulders, Evan slammed him against a wall, causing the back of his head to collide with a picture frame behind him. Glass shattered from the impact, causing shards of it to rain down around Dylan’s head.

“That’d better be a fucking lie!” Evan growled.

“Is it really so hard to believe she’d cheat on you? You were out of town for the whole weekend. You didn’t really believe she’d stopped seeing me, did you?” Dylan’s eyes were full of fear, and yet the tone of his voice conveyed satisfaction at the terrible lies he was weaving.

Evan’s words slipped through gritted teeth. “If you touched her…if you put one hand on her body…”

His brows drew together, and fury radiated off of him in such strong waves that it ignited a primal surge of fear through his adversary.

“It’s not true, Evan. He’s lying.” Maya called out from behind him.

The muscles of Evan’s jaw flexed as he struggled to compose himself. Grabbing Dylan by the scruff of the neck, Evan roughly pushed him toward the door, and as they reached the threshold, he pushed him outside, propelling him forward with such force that Dylan uttered a cry of pain as his body collided with the ground.

Evan’s face glowered down at him as he firmly stated, “I’m giving you ten seconds to get out of here before I start kicking your ass.”

Then he slammed the door and turned to face Maya, his eyes still lit up with anger as he struggled to control the feelings that were swirling inside of him.

“I need to know what happened here.” His eyes were riddled with pain.

“I was giving him a ride home and—”

His voice interjected before she could even finish the sentence.

“A ride home? Why were you doing that? And what were you even doing hanging around him in the first place?”

“I was just getting off work, and I happened to bump into him.”

“So he was hanging out at the restaurant?”

“No, I had a cocktail waitressing gig for the VIP lounge at the concert arena, and I saw him there. He didn’t have a way home.”

“So you decided to drive him? What, did you feel sorry for him?”

“Well, not exactly. It wasn’t like that, I…” Maya’s voice trailed off as she released a sigh and tried to think of the best way to explain what she’d been going through. “I thought if I got over these negative feelings for him that I’d finally be able to properly heal and move on.”

“And you really thought that driving him home would do that for you?”

“Forgiveness is the first step toward proper healing.”

“He doesn’t deserve your forgiveness, Maya. He’s a lying, cheating rat, and you’d be better off just ignoring him altogether.”

“I know he doesn’t deserve it, but it wasn’t about him. It was about me. I
need
to forgive, because as long as I don’t, it’ll feel as if a part of me is somehow being held hostage.”

Evan’s eyebrows dipped into a frown. “I just want him out of our lives. What’s it going to take to do that, Maya?”

Before Evan could hear her response, a loud knock at the door interrupted their moment, causing him to face the door and open it. As the door swung open, Evan came face-to-face with Dylan.

“I told you to leave,” he gruffly said with a menacing stare.

“I just need my clothes.”

“No.” The tone of voice he used was firm, and he pushed the door to slam it in Dylan’s face.

Yet before it could close, Dylan placed his palm firmly against the wooden barrier, in an attempt to keep Evan from shutting him out. A V-shaped line formed between Evan’s brows, and he narrowed his eyes in a predatory way.

“I wasn’t asking for my clothes. I was
demanding
them,” Dylan said.

“Listen, you little shit, I’m not responding to any of your demands, so you’d better get out of here, and quick. This is the last warning you’ll get from me.”

“I’m not leaving without my clothes.”

“You’d better leave now while you still can.”

“Is that a threat?”

“I think you already know the answer to that question.”

Glancing past Evan’s shoulder, Dylan called out to Maya, “Can you throw me my clothes so that I can get out of here?”

“Don’t you dare talk to her.” His voice came out as a firm warning.

Dylan ignored him, peering around his adversary’s taller form as he tried to make eye contact with his ex-girlfriend. “Maya, please. I need my clothes. I can’t go home naked like this.”

Evan shifted his body to block Dylan’s view of Maya. “I said don’t talk to her! Now get the hell out of here.” Pressing his palm against the other man’s chest, Evan gave Dylan a rough push, causing him to stumble backward.

“Don’t touch me.” Dylan’s body tensed with anger.

“I told you to leave.” Evan took a few steps closer to Dylan.

Glaring up at Evan’s menacing frame, Dylan stood his ground. “This is the last time you’re going to bother us.” Evan stated this without a hint of uncertainty, as if he already had a plan in place and was prepared to enforce it.

“No, I don’t think it is. This is only the beginning, so you’d better get used to it,” Dylan snapped back.

“Listen, you little punk, this ends here, so you better make damn sure I don’t see you anywhere near Maya ever again, you got it?”

Their eyes remained locked in a fierce battle for dominance, each one willing the other to look away first. The moment they spent staring each other down seemed to stretch forever, and then finally Dylan gave in, averting his gaze from Evan’s unyielding stare. He looked at Maya, who was standing at the door, and as he spoke he made sure to keep his eyes firmly planted on her.