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3. Netflix and No Chill

Maeve

Present

The night I fainted with a splitting headache and a vision of a beast was the first and last night I ever came across such a thing, but that doesn’t mean I stopped seeing things.

From coming across a woman who lost her child in violence to a little boy, a victim of domestic abuse, I see things I wish I didn't. I wish they would stop, but they never did.

Also, being a nurse practitioner doesn’t help either. In a big city like Manhattan, there were several cases that come on a daily basis. And when you know the source of wounds, the ones those victims would never speak about, didn’t exactly make me feel.

How do I treat a fourteen-year old who came in with suspicious injuries and won’t let us treat her because she doesn’t want to reveal that her teacher had done those terrible things to her? It was all becoming too much to stomach for me. So when I applied for a job in a hospital at Prescott, Arizona, I didn’t expect a reply so soon.

It was a small town, filled with beautiful lakes and forests and a low population. It was one of those places that truly resonates with your inner peace when you are struggling your whole life to find a balance. Although people come across such a crisis in their fifties, I just happened to stumble in my early twenties.

I stepped onto the elevator, balancing the bag of groceries in my hands, pressing the phone to my ears and pushing the button when a large paw wedged between the closing doors and forced it open.

Three men—three very tall and huge men—appeared and immediately crowded the space of the elevator. An evident frown decorated on one of them, who threw me a nasty glare before straightening himself.

No need to be afraid, I pep-talked myself.

But who was I kidding?

These were three burly guys, with bulging muscles and tattooed skin. With rolled sleeves and leather, it looked like some biker gang visiting the apartment for someone. While the two of them looked ahead as the elevator ascended, the third one on my left had his gaze pinned on me. And somehow it made me nervous.

What if they are thugs? And why the hell do I not keep the pepper spray in my bag? Of course, it wouldn’t do much damage, but at the least I could buy the time to run away or call for help.

I leaned against the steel wall, transferred the heavy bags to one hand and slyly dialled 911 on the keypad, just in case I needed to touch the call button. Sweat beaded on my forehead and heart thumping, I waited until the elevator stopped at my floor.

Thank god!

The moment those doors slid open, I tried to sprint out of the place except I stumbled on the threshold. My legs gave out and I almost crashed on the floor, but a pair of strong hands banded around my waist and held me like I was some five-year-old.

Shit.

It was the same guy, the piercing brown eyes and my first instinct was panic. The second was to scream and hit his head with the phone in my hand until he actually let go of me with a growl.

“What the hell!” he scowled, rubbing the spot on his forehead where I had struck him. For his stature and strength, it was more of a tap.

“You…you scared me!” I accused shakily and immediately coiled back.

“I scared you?” He shook his head and chuckled under his breath. I am definitely going to be murdered today. As I slowly gained balance, propping against the wall, the big guy sauntered forward. Two of his palms slapped against the sides of my head, caging me with his entire body.

For the first time, I actually dared to look at this man and looked directly into his blazing eyes. The brown of his orbs were so powerful, I could swear that I saw them glowing fire. His powerfully arresting face almost looked as if it were carved out of honeyed granite: the perfect high cheekbones, sharp nose, a sculpted mouth and smirking lips, and a square and stubborn jaw.

As a five foot six person, I always considered myself to be a tallish person, but right now, over his six foot four figure, I felt like I have shrunk down to half. Do not show fear!

If I wasn’t breathless before, gaping up to him clearly knocked every last bit of air from my lungs. The heat coming off him in waves almost made my throat dry and constricted.

“Let me go,” I demanded—more like begged. And then tried to tilt up my chin in defiance. “Or else, I will scream!”

A corner of his mouth curved up. “No, you won't.”

“This…I…I know the owner of this building. I swear, I will complain if you don’t let me go this second.” I really needed to work on my threats!

“C’mon, Xan!” One of those guys called out behind him, and I didn’t even notice when they got off the elevator and the doors closed on their own. “We are getting late for the game!”

Xan. What kind of a name was that?

His honey-brown eyes raked all over my face one last time before he actually stepped back. He bent down and gathered up the stuff that had scattered around and handed over. “Hmm…I will see you later, kitten.”

This time, I didn’t look left to right and simply ran back to my place and shut the door.

Why was I so weird, and why do these things keep happening to me?

Post-dinner, I badly needed to take my mind off that good-looking yet very dangerous brown-eyed man I stumbled across, and decided to Netflix and chill.

Later in the night, sleep eluded me. It wasn’t anxiety keeping me awake, but a series of unnerving events piled on top of each other made me restless. So before the first light of dawn touched the earth, I grabbed my iPod and went for a long, peaceful walk.

Two hours flew by as the shimmering sunshine spread all over the small town and I headed back home. Once the elevator door slid open and I fished out the keys to unlock the door, someone cleared his voice behind me.

I immediately whirled around and saw him. The same biker guy from last night.

“What? What are you doing here?” I demanded, my voice rising in panic.

He simply smirked an infectious smile and doubled over to pick up the earphone—my earphones that I didn’t realise I dropped. “You have a bad habit of dropping things, kitten,” he chastised.

I quickly snatched from his hand. “My name is not… Don’t ever call me that.”

“What, kitten? But it suits you.”

Nose flaring, I dared to take a step. "Listen, Mr.—“

“Xander,” he supplied.

“Whatever. Are you stalking me?”

His smirk morphed into an amused smile. “Are you going to complain to the owner, or the police, or the military this time? Listen, kitten…” he actually stopped and waited.

“Maeve.”

“Maeve,” he repeated my name, rolling it off like a wishful thinking before continuing. “Right, Maeve, I think we got on the wrong foot. And even if it is entirely your fault, I am willing to let this off and start over like good neighbours.”

“Neighbours?” I eked out in disbelief and then gaped over his shoulder to the door across from mine. “You live here?”

Oh, no, no, please, god. No!

“Yes,” he said calmly. “So are you willing to make truce?”

Since there was no way to brave out of this situation, I tried to calm my nerves and nodded. “Fine. But stay out of my way.”

A small growl vibrated deep in his voice, sending a tingling of ripples coiling in my stomach. Why did I have funny sensations now?

“You are funny, kitten. Do you always act out in fear?” he asked.

“I am not afraid of you!”

“Is that so?” A faint glint of amber burned in his eyes again! Within a flash, he crowded my space, and this time, reaching up to touch my cheeks. The heat of his skin was enormous, almost like a fierce wildfire but it wasn’t the only thing I was feeling.

All of a sudden, my vision went from blurry to dark and the sound of Xander’s raspy voice faded out as if he was somewhere far away. I could feel the headache approaching and prepared myself for the worst, until someone actually snapped me out of it.

“Maeve! Are you alright?”

I blinked hard, gaping at Xander’s worried gaze. “Yeah, I am…good. I am…okay.”

“Your nose…”

My hand flew up and touched. Blood. Please, not again!

“It’s okay. I am just tired.” Jerking away from his hold, I quickly unlocked the door and closed it to his face.

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