Trapped in a Tangled Web

I got a shower by myself. Regretfully so. Halfway through trying to scrub my body, I realized that both of those guys might have been a little too rough with me.

My shoulders began to cramp, my hips popping every time I bent or twisted to wash my legs. And heaven forbid if I could get my arms to rotate even a little to try and get my back.

Why did I turn him down again?

It was like he was reading my thoughts. I was just in the process of washing the shampoo out of my hair and beginning to scrub the conditioner in when I heard the lock on the door click open.

"Flame?"

I frowned, letting the water hit me in the face quickly to get the soap out of my eyes. Ducking my head out of the curtain, I came about a foot away from Gage's shocked face.

"Haven't your parents ever taught you that a locked door means your not supposed to enter?"

He shrugged, making my eyes notice how his shirt tightened over his chest.

"Figured you would need some clothes to throw on when you got out," he mumbled.

I nodded as he put a pile of clothes on top of the sink counter before turning back to look at me. "Do you need anything else?"

I bit my lips, wondering if I should really ask what I wanted to. I wound up asking the stupidest question in the word. "A hairbrush?"

He frowned, cocking his head to the side as he stared at me. "You need to use a brush in the shower?"

A laugh escaped me at his confused frown. "I meant for when I get out. If I don't straighten it while it's wet, my hair turns out like an afro."

Gage began to nod very slowely, his eyes beginning to travel a little further south than my eyes. "Uh, blue brush in the cabinet is mine. You can use any of the tooth brushes and then just throw it away. We use disposable ones every day. Anything else?" he asked, his eyes now focused on the shower curtain right where my chest was.

I grinned, reaching my soapy arm out of the curtain and grabbing a handful of his shirt. "Yeah. Get the fuck in here before I scratch your eyes out."

...

All we did was get a shower. Amazingly enough, we had a conversation while getting clean. And, we even managed to laugh our asses off.

Well, he laughed his ass off at my stupidity, and I laughed because it was just too funny.

I wound up falling on my ass after I got out of the slippery shower. Gage picked me up bridal style and sat me on the sink next to the pile of clothes he brought in with him.

Which, by the way, I didn't forget to notice that he brought in a set of clothes for himself too.

Tricky cat.

My heart almost melted as he stood in front of me, completely nude while he worked on drying my body.

"Gage, I can dry myself off," I said with a giggle.

He stopped, looking up at me with hooded eyes. "I want to do it for you, Flame. Please."

Well, how the hell could I deny him when he says please? The answer was, I couldn't. But then again, I couldn't just sit here in dead silence either.

"Gage, why the hell am I even here? Your brother just said that I had to come because you needed to see me. And hey! I thought you were hurt?"

He shrugged yet again, pissing me off since that was pretty much the only movement he ever made. "When I shifted, I healed."

A few minutes ticked by in silence while I waited for him to add onto it. When I realized he wasn't going to, I asked again.

"That's only half an answer. Why did you need to see me?"

He sighed, dropping the towel into the hamper and picking up the shirt he brought in for me. Unfolding it, he motioned for me to lift me arms, which I did. For some reason, I actually let him dress me up like I was some kind of damn doll.

"Gage," I growled out after he was finished. "Answer the question or I'm leaving."

I bit back a yelp as he lept forward again, slamming his hands down ontop of the counter on either side of me. His eyes flashed an odd color before he took a deep breath, growling low in his throat.

"You want to know the real reason why your here? Fine. Your my fucking mate, Flame. And maybe I wanted you to know about it."

I blinked, lost for a reaction as he stared at me. "Uh, huh? How the hell do you know I'm your mate? You haven't even spent time with me before today."

He let another growl trickle out as he leaned even closer, spreading my legs with his body as he pressed up against me.

"I saw you. Everything you did, even when noone else could see you. Your a chameleon, Flame, and I saw you. That only happens with mates."

My entire body began to shake as his words sunk in.

Could it be true? Was he my mate? Oh fuck, what if he's telling the truth?!

I gulped, pressing my hands against his bare chest and pushing him back. "Get away from me, Gage. I..I n-need to leave."

He sighed, standing strong against my hands as he wrapped his own hands around my fingers. "Flame, I'm not making you stay with me," he whispered. "You can stay here, or you can leave and go to your own house. You can even stay and be with kyrian if you want. I..just wanted...no. I needed you to know about this."

My lip began to bleed from biting it so hard. The warm metallic taste stinging my tongue as I stared at him nervously.

He gave me a sad smile, leaning forward and pressing his warm lips to my bloody ones. His tongue darted out and licked the blood away, and begging for entrance at the same time.

Against everything I was thinking, against everything I knew I needed to do...

I opened my mouth and kissed him back.

He groaned against my mouth while pressing his body further against mine. And oddly enough, it wasn't until then that I noticed how fucking tall he was.

I laughed at that thought, pulling back from him and actually taking my first good look at his body.

"Gage, how the fuck tall are you? Your like, half bent over just to kiss me!"

He gave a deep laugh as he stood upright, towering over me even though I was sitting on a counter that was hip high when I was standing by it previously.

"I'm a little below seven foot. Why?"

I blushed, ducking my head before meeting his eyes again. "I'm only 5'6."

He grinned, bending down even further until I had to actually look down at him. "Better?" he asked.

I groaned, pushing him totally backwards until he fell on his ass. "Stop being a smartass," I mumbled, leaping off the sink and strolling out of the bathroom. "Meet me downstairs, kitty. All of us need to have a talk."