“What do you think?”

He glanced at the clothes.

“They should work,” he said before focusing on the road.

There was definitely something different about this guy.  Very little interpretable body language, succinct verbal responses, and tightly bottled emotions.  I couldn’t say I really minded any of it.

*    *    *    *

The yard and house were lit up when we pulled into the driveway.  Ethan strode from the barn to the car as Carlos parked.

I opened the door and the breath whooshed out of me at the raw passion flooding the immediate area.

“What the hell,” I said, looking at Ethan.  The tips of his ears were pink.  Even if he couldn’t feel it, he knew what was going on.

“It’s Clay and Gabby.  Everyone else is in the barn.”

I glanced at the house.

“They haven’t stopped?”  I’d known when I’d left that the emotion would spike.  But after they’d gotten it out of their systems, it should have mellowed.

“Well, there appears to be a bit of a conflict.  She’s still high and saying yes; he’s saying no.”

“Ah.”  That explained the intensity of the desire.  “Any baddies?”

“No.  The group is planning on staying the night.”

The group in question stood near the barn, talking quietly.  If we stayed the night, there was no way I could sleep in the house with those two.  The barn was mine.  That meant I needed to get the group back into the house.

“Be right back,” I said, moving toward the house.

Carlos quickly stepped in front of me.

“No.”

I stopped and looked up at him.

“You have no idea what I intend to do, so what exactly are you saying no to?”

“Going inside.  It’s too dangerous.”

“Puh-lease,” I said as I rolled my eyes.  “It’s dangerous if I don’t stop this emotional maelstrom.  It will seep into my skin until my insides feel like they’re bleeding.”

He stared down at me for a moment, his jaw clenched.  I found that interesting.  He did have body language, then.  Just very little of it.

Finally, he stepped to the side.

I walked into the house and found Clay and Gabby in the kitchen.  She had Clay backed against the counter.  His hands gripped the ledge of the sink, and his arms shook.  Gabby’s hands were in his hair, and they were tightly lip-locked.  Based on what colored the air, I knew Clay was struggling not to touch her in return.

“Just give in to her already,” I said.

He pulled back to look at me.  Gabby made a small sound of protest and started to kiss his neck.  His tremors got worse, but he shook his head.

“Fine.  Then this is going one of two ways.  I can rip that lust from her, which would keep her high, or you can man up and walk away.”

His eyes narrowed.

“Believe it or not, I’m trying to be helpful.  I just can’t stick around with all this emotion.  And according to grandma, I can’t leave either.  What Gabby’s broadcasting needs to stop.  Now.”

Since opening the car door, I’d been slowly absorbing everything despite my effort to close myself off.  My head was starting to ache with it.  I needed to spar again, and I desperately needed sleep.  This had been the longest day in history.

Clay leaned forward, kissed Gabby on the forehead, and tried to untangle himself.  It wasn’t easy.  She kept clinging.

“Bethi,” I called.

A minute later, the door opened behind me.

“Help Clay,” I said.  “I can’t touch Gabby.”  If I did, I would pull in what I didn’t want and set Gabby back further.

Bethi went to Gabby.

“Come on.  Clay needs to go, and you need to make Sam some coffee.”

As soon as Bethi grabbed Gabby’s hands, Clay quickly fled.  Gabby made a small, upset sound and tried to follow; but Bethi wrapped her arms around Gabby to keep her in place.

“I’ll send the rest in,” I said.  Bethi would need the help.

I walked out the door and saw Clay pacing near the cars.

“Now you can help me,” I said, waving him to follow me.  He only hesitated a second.

As soon as we reached the barn, I looked at Winifred.

“Bethi won’t be able to handle Gabby on her own, and I can’t take anymore emotions.  I need you all to go back inside, help Bethi and Gabby, and stay away from me.”

I didn’t really care that I sounded bossy.  They all needed to go.  Now.  Except Ethan and Clay.  Thankfully, no one protested.  I moved into the barn as the group started back toward the house.  It was then I noticed Carlos had followed me and was staying close.  It didn’t matter since he was still a lovely void.

Someone had rigged a flood light for the barn.  It lit the area in the center.  Perfect.  I turned to the three men.

“Ethan, can you grab our new bags from the car?  Carlos, can you ask around for some blankets?  If we have to stay, I can’t sleep inside the house tonight.”

I looked at Clay and grinned at him.

“You look like you need to burn off some energy.  How are you at fighting?”

*    *    *    *

I woke with a bone-cracking, muscle-pulling stretch.  When I opened my eyes, I wasn’t tense thanks to Clay’s sparring the night before and the lack of people around me.  However, when I sat up, everything hurt.  The blankets Carlos had provided had kept me warm throughout the night, but the hard floor lacked any cushion whatsoever.  I felt like I’d been hit by a truck.

“Morning, sleepyhead,” Ethan said.  He was sitting at the door with his back against the wall, his blanket folded beside him.

“What’d I miss?”  I rubbed my hands over my face, trying to ease the soreness from the spot where Brick had landed a hit.

“Gabby’s sober.  Breakfast is cooking.  And we’re ready to roll again.  Guess there are some baddies headed our way.”

“Figures.  How’s the shoulder?” I asked.

“Stiff.  Sore.”

“I have some muscle cream in your bag.  I’ll rub it in for you.”

He held up the tube with a grin.  I shook my head and stood.

“Should I be worried that you were waiting for me?” I asked as I went to him.

“Yep.  All that making out last night got me worked up for your touch.”

I snorted.

“Off with the shirt.”

He met my eyes.

“You can help.”

I bit my lip and reached for his hem.  Despite how he was trying to play it, he was hurting bad.  When I had the shirt off, the bruising made me cringe.  It wasn’t good.  Not at all.

Squeezing some cream onto my fingertips, I kept my eyes down so he wouldn’t see the threatening tears.  Why did I have to hurt everyone around me?  Even Clay last night had called Uncle before I was fully drained.  He’d been nice enough to say thanks for the distraction, though I figured he was probably still mad about what I’d done to Gabby in the first place.

As gently as possible, I started to rub the cream in.  Ethan sighed, closed his eyes, and tried to relax.  He didn’t let me wallow in silence long.

“Did I mention you bruised the top of my thigh, too?  You should rub me there next.”

“I think that older guy, Grey, might be able to help you with that.  He looked like he had soft hands.”

“I think I just threw up a little in my mouth.”  Ethan opened one eye to glare at me.

“Good.  I call your share of breakfast.”  I rubbed the last of the cream in and helped him back into his shirt.

“No way.  I’m starved,” he said, standing.

I folded my blankets and carried them to the house.  Inside, the kitchen smelled like sausage and eggs.  Saliva pooled in my mouth, and my stomach rumbled.  Charlene and Michelle stood at the sink, washing and drying dishes.  Sam sat sipping coffee at the table.  Clay and Gabby sat, too.  Gabby had her head bent as she played with her orange juice.  Her shame trailed through the air.

I snagged a plate from the counter near the stove and scooped up a healthy portion of eggs and sausage.  Then, I joined the three at the table.  Behind me, Ethan opened the refrigerator.