“No one raped me, Robbie. If anything, you took advantage of Hale, though I helped,” she tried to tease him.
Robbie blanched. He grabbed his pants and hurriedly put them on. Then he turned to the door, trying to leave.
“McKinley, what's wrong with you?” Hale asked.
“Not McKinley, Robbie,” Paige corrected.
Hale smiled at her, and she saw the beauty of her mate clearly. The startling knowledge didn't bother her. Now she knew why she'd been dreaming of him, her sandy-haired stranger. His eye color settled into an intriguing hazel as she watched, and she warmed at the thought of growing closer to Hale, of learning what he liked and didn't like, and finding a haven in his arms. It would be simple to love this man. Her beast had already fallen hard the first time he'd made love to her.
Now if only Robbie would prove as easy…
“Robbie, man, what's wrong?” Hale asked again.
Robbie flipped out. He raged and threw things, focusing most of his anger on Hale. He punched and shoved Hale, breaking his jaw before Hale could duck.
Thankfully, Hale's jaw realigned itself. Worried, Paige and Hale exchanged a glance.
What the hell? With each instance of fury, Robbie seemed to sink further into despair.
“Not supposed to happen to you, Paige. Never with you.” Robbie was on the verge of a meltdown. He ranted and raved, and Hale had to protect her from the battered furniture flying around the room. “I didn't want you to see this. Hale, let me the fuck out of here! Do it now!” Robbie's eyes were crazed. He trembled, as if high. “I don't want to hurt you again, Hale. But I will! I'll rip you apart until you bleed.”
“No.” Hale shook off his pain and stood with his hands on his hips. “You're not going anywhere until we hash this out.” He walked over to the counter and reached into a drawer for something before turning back to Robbie. Paige wasn't sure what to do for him. Robbie scared her like this, so out of control.
She gave Hale credit for sheer stubbornness and prayed he would live to not regret his decision.
Robbie roared again, in a maddened state. But before he could reach Hale, he faltered. A large dart had pierced his left pectoral, and Paige realized Hale must have thrown it. Robbie took another few steps, then fell into Hale's waiting arms.
He grunted as he caught Robbie's bulk. “Paige, help me put him up on the bed.” She hurried to help him.
“Stay here. There's something I need to get.” Hale typed in a code and opened the door, exited, and returned minutes later with several restraints.
She shook her head. “They won't hold him.”
“They will.” Hale gave her a small smile “These were designed with Circs in mind. As was the bed.”
Hale and Paige fastened Robbie's wrists and ankles to the bed's iron spindles, then stood back.
“He's not going to wake up for a few hours. Why don't we take a shower? I think you're still a bit covered in, ah…” He paused and blushed.
Paige thought it a delightful mix of vulnerability and warrior. “In cum?” She wanted to laugh at his expression, but worry for Robbie stole her humor.
“He'll be okay, Paige. And you know why?”
“Why?” Her eyes filled. She knew Hale and Robbie were her mates. They'd accepted her, or so she'd thought. So why was Robbie so determined to reject her yet again?
“Because Robbie has a mate who loves him more than he knows.” Hale kissed her softly. “And another mate who will grow to love him just as much. This isn't an easy thing for most Circs. It wasn't easy for me, and I'm pretty open to a lot. I'd never anticipated two mates, and certainly not a male. But I'm in tune with my beast, and he knows what he wants—you and Robbie.” He sighed. “We'll make this work, I promise.
I think I might have a few ideas as to why our Robbie is so freaked. Come on, let's clean up. I'll feed you, make love to you a few more times, and then we'll wait for the big lug to wake up.”
Soothed by what Hale had just admitted, she couldn't help the worry for her other, more difficult mate. “Do you think he'll be okay?” She loved Robbie so much. She couldn't let him come to harm because of anything she'd done. Their loving had felt so right. So why was he so upset?
“I know he will.” Hale chucked her chin. “Come on, mate. Let me take care of you, the way Robbie will when he's on his feet again.” She let him pull her into the oversize shower and accepted his embrace. The tears started the minute his hands settled onto her shoulders. But true to his word, Hale cared for her. His gentleness soothed her, his hands and lips aroused her, and his strength of spirit gave her hope. Hale wouldn't let them fall apart. She had to believe.
And for once, she had to be strong. Robbie needed her help. She wouldn't let him down now.
Hours later, Robbie blinked his eyes open. It took him a moment to remember what he'd done, but when he did, he wanted to die of shame.
“Hey now, it's okay.” Hale's voice pleased him. But the guilt that followed brought tears to his eyes. God, Paige had been right. He'd raped Hale.
“I'm so sorry,” he said thickly, knowing words could never make anything right.
He tried to sit up and found himself unable. Pulling at his arms and legs, he glanced around and saw what looked like manacles tying him to the bed frame. And who could blame them for wanting the monster out of commission? “Where's Paige?” he forced himself to ask, feeling even worse at seeing Hale in his smaller, frailer human body.
“She's getting us some food from upstairs. She didn't want to leave you, but I made her show the others we're okay.” Hale paused, the seriousness in his hazel eyes making Robbie want to weep. Hale was his mate. His to protect, to care for. And he'd hurt him, badly. He dimly remembered the snap of bone and the splatter of blood. But Hale looked no worse for wear in his jeans and nothing else. He looked GQ handsome—his chest, face, and arms perfectly formed. Thank God for Circ genetics.
“If you let me go, I swear, I'll never come near you or Paige ever again.” Christ, it hurt to say that. “I don't deserve you, I know that. But I can still be of use. Let me infiltrate Pearson Labs. We have a plan in place, one that's coming to an end—”
“Shut up.” Hale frowned. “What the hell is wrong with you? We had some really hot sex. You were great. I came. Paige came so damned hard, she got me stirred again.
And then you wigged out.”
McKinley opened his mouth but didn't know what to say.
“Tell me why you started trashing the room. What was all that crap about 'not Paige,' 'never Paige,' because she thinks you don't want her.”
“No, no. That's…hell.” McKinley took a deep breath. “I've loved her for so long.” He had to make Hale understand. The male would look out for Paige once he was gone.
“I've never wanted anyone else the way I wanted her. And you,” he added quietly, not sure about the pleasure that seemed to flare in Hale's eyes. Surely, he'd imagined it. “I hurt you, and I hurt her.”
A tear trickled down his cheek, the shame making him feel smaller than he'd ever been in his life. “I took you against your will. I forced Paige to have sex. I thought that by getting it out of my system at the clubs, the ugliness would never touch her. Never dirty her with my perversions,” he whispered and closed his eyes.
“Clubs?”
McKinley opened his eyes, expecting to see Hale's disgust. Instead, he saw curiosity. Maybe Hale didn't understand. “The dark places where I go to relieve the ache. I have sex with men I don't know and don't want to know. We hit each other.
Blood pain. It's the only way I can get off. But it never helps. I didn't want that for Paige. And I didn't want it for you.”