Turbulence (12 page)

He barked out a laugh. “Don’t think I’m welcome. Plus,
sitting around a table with Greyson and Dex is not my idea of a relaxing
dinner.”

Avalon understood why he wouldn’t want to be around Dex with
his feelings for Lily. She wondered whether Ross knew about the baby yet. “Greyson
is your brother. Aren’t you used to spending time with him?”

“We aren’t that close.”

Now that she thought about it, Greyson didn’t mention much
about Ross. She never saw them together unless he was giving his brother some
type of order. “Why?”

He shrugged, a vague gesture in the night. “I don’t really
know. Ask him. So how are your trainings going? I hear you’re not with Amelia
anymore.”

“No. Greyson took over.”

“Of course he did,” Ross mumbled with thinly veiled
bitterness.

“The training is good. I have bigger muscles now.” She
flexed the muscles of her arm and he laughed.

“So you and Greyson are dating, huh?”

Avalon dropped her arm back to her side. Had the news gotten
out without her knowledge? “What do you mean?”

“I know about you two. It’s okay,” he said when she opened
her mouth to make an excuse. “Just be careful. My brother has been known to
break a few hearts in the past.”

“How did you find out?”

“Put two and two together. The man you once described to me,
Greyson freaking out when Amelia hit you—yeah, I heard—and that big hickey on
your neck kind of gave you away.”

Avalon felt her cheeks flame and hoped the darkness
disguised it. When she’d seen what Greyson had done to her neck a couple days
ago, she’d been horrified. The makeup she used to cover the hickey this morning
must have faded away. She would have to find a different way to hide it.

“Well, he’s mad at me right now,” Avalon found herself
divulging. She didn’t want Greyson upset with her and she needed to tell
somebody about it. Why not his brother?

“Why?” Ross asked.

“I don’t want to tell anybody about us, especially not my
grandmother.”

“Is there a reason?”

“I’m scared.”

“I can understand how you would be. But you already know
Greyson has a big ego, a lot of confidence. Not telling your grandmother, the
person you are closest to, about him probably deflates that and hurts his
feelings. It makes him feel sensitive and he doesn’t ever like feeling
vulnerable. The fact that he even wants to publicize your relationships means
he cares an awful lot about you.”

Greyson cared about her? Avalon wasn’t sure about that. At
the same time, she didn’t want to do anything that would make him feel bad all
because she afraid. Never would she purposely hurt him.

When they reached her cabin she thanked Ross and stepped
inside. Veeva was waiting on the couch, tapping her foot on the hardwood floor.
She didn’t look happy. Avalon made sure to flip up her coat collar to hide the
hickey. Veeva certainly wouldn’t be happy about that.

“Hey, Gram.”

“Don’t “Hey, Gram” me,” Veeva snapped. Avalon’s brows rose.
What was the problem? “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Tell you what?”

“That you and Greyson are an item.”

Avalon felt like someone had punched her in the stomach.
“How? Who told you?”

“Greyson just called and told me himself.”

“What? He had no right to do that!” How could he go behind
her back and do this? They just talked about it before he stormed away.

Veeva rose from the couch. “He had every right. My own
granddaughter chose to hide something like this from me.”

Avalon massaged her temples in exasperation. “You don’t like
him.”

Veeva humphed. “He is my leader. I don’t have to like him. I
have to respect him. If he chose you as his mate then he obviously has good
sense. I can’t dislike that. But you can do better.”

She felt tired, so tired. Avalon sank down in an armchair.
“He doesn’t want to bond to me, Gram. He said so.”

Veeva smacked her lips. “Then he must be crazy. You can get
any man you want. A man who will love and adore you. He has to know that.”

“Greyson doesn’t care. I don’t even know why I want to keep
pursuing this.”

“If you like him so much, you must make him feel the same.
He won’t be able to resist you for long. You are beautiful and charming. Use it
to your advantage. Snag him. Or else leave him. The choices are not that hard.”

Avalon was not going to seduce Greyson or leave him. Veeva
wasn’t exactly the best person to get advice from even if she had been on her
best behavior lately. “You’re not as upset as I assumed you would be.”

“I’m plenty upset and disappointed, but I have something I
need to tell you too.” The gleam in her old eyes was disturbing.

“What’s that?” Avalon asked with suspicion.

“I’m going on a date tomorrow.”

“No you’re not.” There were too many emotions swirling
inside of Avalon—the strongest of which was anger at Greyson for overstepping
his boundaries—to get upset at another of Veeva’s antics.

Veeva grinned, wide and proud. “Yes, I am. A nice human
named Leroy asked me to dinner when I went into town the other day. We’ve been
talking on the phone.”

“Is Leroy the motorcycle guy?”

She waved off that question. “I’m over motorcycles. Leroy is
the greeter at Thrift-Market. He has the most delightful smile. I think his
teeth might be fake,” she whispered as if it weren’t just the two of them in
the house.

Avalon blew out a sigh. “Let’s just say I agree to let you
go. You can’t go roaming around by yourself. Remember what happened to Davie
Riddick?”

“Leroy is going to pick me up. I won’t be alone.”

“I don’t know Leroy. I’m not going to let you mosey around
with someone I have never met.” If anything ever happened to Veeva, Avalon
didn’t know what she’d do. Her grandmother was the only family she had left.

Veeva rolled her eyes. “Sweetie, he’s seventy with an
artificial hip. How much evil can he do?”

Greyson told her not to underestimate anybody. For all she
knew, Leroy could be an axe murderer. “Okay, fine. But I have to meet him
first. Then I’ll feel more comfortable with you going out with him.”

Veeva clapped her hands and gave her a mischievous grin.
“Let’s make it a double couple get-together. Invite Greyson over as well.”

“Gram.” That had disaster written all over it.

“What? You’re protective of me and I’m protective of you.”

Chapter 12

The following day didn’t get any better with Avalon and
Greyson. They didn’t train together. In fact, she’d only seen him once and he
walked right past her. That was fine. She was avoiding him too. If he thought
just because he was in charge of the colony that he could control every aspect
of her personal life, then he was wrong.

Avalon wasn’t the timid, afraid girl he met months ago. If
being around him served any purpose, it was learning to be bolder. When she
felt calm enough to face him, she would stand up to him for the stunt he pulled
last night with Veeva.

Avalon had the rest of the afternoon and evening free since
she’d been dismissed early. What should she do with all that free time? Maybe
reread one of her books. The one Greyson gave her was one of her favorites.
Perhaps she could start sewing a new dress. A nice purple one.

Avalon was just grabbing her coat off the coat rack when the
door opened. Greyson marched in, stomping mud off his black combat boots. Water
dripped from his equally wet and muddy black clothes. His soaked blonde locks molded
to his head.

He barely glanced at her before barking, “I need to be
shaved.”

Greyson continued walking, expecting her to follow. Because
he was too inconsiderate to take off his shoes at the door she was going to
have to clean up the muddy footprints he was leaving in his wake.

She rolled her eyes to the top of her head and placed her
coat back on the rack. Why he wanted to shave in the afternoon was beyond her.

By the time she made it upstairs to his room he was stripped
down to his underwear. They were boxer briefs. In black, of course. Greyson
didn’t wear anything other than black. Not even his socks. Avalon would know
since she washed and folded his things. Those boxers that she often folded were
glued to his perfect frame, allowing her a generous look at why women flocked
to him.

He hooked his thumbs into the waistband of his underwear.
“If you don’t want to see what is beneath this then I suggest you close your
eyes.”

Avalon did better than that. She turned around and looked in
the opposite direction. She waited until she heard the cloth land in the pile
of sodden clothes that lay on the floor plus a couple extra minutes before
turning around. She didn’t want any surprises.

Greyson wrapped a towel around his waist. “I’m ready,” he
grumbled as he walked into the bathroom.

Avalon followed him grudgingly. She got out the shaving cream
and razors from the cabinet while he loomed over her. “You’re going to have to
sit down. I can’t reach you.”

He grunted and pushed the toilet seat cover down and sat. “Make
it quick. I have things to do.”

“Then do it yourself,” she snapped.

His brows rose. “Look at that. She bites.”

He was looking for a rise, but he wouldn’t get one. Not in
the way he was looking for. Greyson liked to rile people up and get into their
heads. She watched him do it all the time.

None too gently, Avalon slapped the shaving cream on his
face. Then she proceeded to glide the razor over his skin. A couple times she
might have scrapped deeper than necessary, cutting his skin. He only gritted his
teeth and glared at the space in front of him.

“Why are you so dirty?” she asked.

“I patrolled the woods earlier. It rained and just stopped
not too long ago. Can you hurry up?”

Avalon rinsed off the remaining lather. She barely bit back
a smile at the creative nature of his curse words when the aftershave burned
his skin.

He finished with, “Damn it, woman!”

“You deserved it.”

“Like hell I did,” he griped. “You’re just being spiteful.”

Avalon placed her hands on her hips. “Yes I am. You had no
right to call my grandmother yesterday.”

“Was she upset?”

“Not really, but that’s not the point. It was my
responsibility to do that. Not yours. She has a big mouth. Now everybody
probably knows.”

“Did you ever think that’s why I wanted her to know?” he
remarked.

“Huh?”

Greyson pinched the bridge of his nose, like it was taking
every ounce of his patience to deal with her. “You’re so worried about me
casting you aside like I did those other women that I wanted to prove to you
that you’re different. I want people to know about us. I want to show you off,
Avalon, and let all the other men envy me because I’m with the most gorgeous,
magnificent woman in the world.”

Her heart melted like butter. How could she be mad after
that? Avalon wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. Never one to be
controlled, he took over the kiss and lifted her up. Avalon wrapped her legs
around his waist. His mouth was like fire against hers as he thrust his tongue
inside her mouth, pulled her braid to bring her deeper. Being with him like
this made her feel so alive. She didn’t want anything to bring them apart again.

Greyson broke contact and set her on her feet. “I take it
you forgive me.”

“I do.” Avalon ran her tongue over her lips, tasting him. So
good.

“I forgive you too for cutting my pretty face.” He dragged
his hands down the sides of his face.

“It’s not that pretty.”

“You’ve never complained before.” He winked.

She shook her head in laughter. “Ross was right. You have a
big ego.”

The smile dropped from his lips. “You talked to Ross about
us?”

“Only a little. I was upset yesterday. He helped me see
things from your perspective.” At least until Greyson made that phone call.

A familiar disapproving frown marred his lips. “Ross should
have kept his mouth shut. I told you once before that I didn’t want him in our
business.”

What was the big deal? Ross was his family and her friend. “He
didn’t say anything bad. Ross never means any harm.”

“I need to take a shower.”

That was his way of telling her to leave him alone. She
hadn’t meant to make him upset all over again. “My grandmother wants to have a
double date type thing tonight. I agreed in order to keep her from going into
town with some stranger. Is that okay? Will you been there tonight?”

“Yeah. Whatever.” He turned on the shower; the spray of
water hitting the tile ended the conversation.

Avalon didn’t push the subject further because she didn’t
want to get into an argument again. She walked out of the bathroom and closed
the door.

----

Greyson banged his fist against the wooden door, his anger
apparent in each knock. He wanted a drink and couldn’t have one, which only
heightened his temper. He had exactly fifteen minutes to get his point across
before he met up again with Avalon and he didn’t think saying “eff off” would
take that long.

The door swung open. Ross blinked in surprise. Greyson
didn’t come to his cabin often. Too bad this wasn’t a pleasant visit for either
of them.

Ross dabbed his mouth with a paper towel, obviously caught
eating. “What’s up?”

“You need to mind your business where Avalon and I are
concerned,” Greyson came right out and said.

“I don’t even know what you’re talking about, Grey.”

Greyson glanced behind him. There were a few people milling
about. The last thing he needed was people being nosy and spreading family
business around. He pushed past Ross into the cabin. He paid no attention to
the design or decorations. It could have looked like crap for all he cared.

“What is this nonsense about?” Ross asked, shutting the
door. “You’re interrupting my TV dinner and basketball game.”

“I don’t give a damn. This is about you sticking your nose
where it doesn’t belong.”

Ross held up his hand. “I still don’t know what you’re
talking about.”

“Avalon spoke to you yesterday. Next time, keep your
opinions to yourself.”

Understanding dawned over his golden features. “It bothered
her that you were upset that she hadn’t told her grandmother about you being
together. So I told her it probably damaged your ego. You’re more sensitive
than you act.”

“I’m not sensitive,” Greyson dissented. “Dad made sure of
that. Avalon and I can fix our own problems. Unless you’re trying to break us
up.” Ross could have jumped from Lily to Avalon. He loved women he couldn’t
have.

“Greyson, I’m not interested in Avalon. She’s a catch but
not for me.”

“Why? Because you’re still stuck on Lily? She’s expecting a
child with her mate, you know.”

Ross’s eyes darkened with shock and dejection before they
cooled with infuriation. Guess he didn’t know that tidbit of information.
“You’re looking for a fight and I won’t give it to you. Go find a punching bag
if you want to release anger because you’re not mad at me; you’re mad at
yourself.”

“Shut up.”

“You can’t stand not being in control. You’re falling for
Avalon hard and you hate it because you can’t stop it. It’s making you crazy.
Has she found out you’re an alcoholic yet?”

“I said to shut up, Ross,” Greyson growled.

Ross wouldn’t stop with his dumb rant. “Your ego can’t take
that Avalon talked to me. You want to be everything to her and you can’t be.
You don’t even care that I made sure she knew you cared about her. You’re going
to end up just like dad.”

“Then I’ll be a good man,” Greyson retorted through clinched
teeth.

Ross snorted. “We knew two different people. He was a liar,
a swindler, a wife beater.”

“Stop telling lies.”

“It’s true! He beat up on mom all the time. Why do you think
she was sick so often? It was because she was too bruised to get out of bed.”

Their mother, though frail, was the epitome of elegance and
poise. That’s what Greyson remembered. “I never saw a bruise on her body.”

“Exactly,” Ross said with disgust. “Our
father
was an
evil man, but he wasn’t stupid. He never beat her where it showed beyond her
clothes. She had to be the perfect trophy wife in public. You were too busy
being the star child to notice anything. Not even my own bruises when I tried
to step in and help her. He cheated on her too, you know. Just like you’ll do
to Avalon.”

“Shut the hell up, Ross. The man that raised me wasn’t like
that. You’re a liar. You’re jealous of me. Always have been.” Everyone knew
Greyson was better. Their father always told Greyson that Ross was the weak
one.

“Of what, Greyson?” Ross flailed his arms. “You have nothing
I want. You’re too busy worshiping that good for nothing scoundrel to see clearly.
Use your head. Everything he raised you to be has only hurt you. If you have an
ounce of goodness left in you, Grey, you’d let Avalon go before you turn her
into a walking shell just like mom. Because of dad, mom wanted to die. She told
me so. That’s why she wouldn’t follow us to Earth.”

Greyson punched him in the mouth, knocking Ross’s head back.

Their father was a good man. Everything he said and did was
for good reasons. He taught Greyson so much about life as well as warned him
not to make the same mistake he did and get bonded. Leaders had to be focused
and solid, not worried about a mate. Their father only had his best interests
at heart.

Ross spat out blood on the floor. “I won’t fight you,
Greyson. Dad is dead. You’re the only person mourning him. Why is that? Now get
the hell out of my house. Don’t ever come back.”

Greyson should have felt bad about punching his brother, but
nothing Ross said was the truth. Not about how Greyson felt about Avalon and
definitely not about their father.

Ross might not appreciate him, but Greyson did. He died an
honorable death on Jheta. He raised them both. He provided for their family. He
was one of the greatest Jhetan council members in history. He was revered.
Greyson knew that man, not the monster Ross tried to paint and turn his own
brother into.

----

“Is everything okay?” Avalon leaned over to whisper to
Greyson. His dinner was barely touched. He hadn’t even touched the wine. That
really wasn’t like him.

“Yeah. Fine,” he muttered.

Everything wasn’t fine, but she wouldn’t force him to tell
her right now. Was he still upset about her talking to Ross?

“This food is delicious, Avalon. You have a gift.” Leroy,
Veeva’s date, wagged a piece of baked chicken on his fork.

“Thank you. Glad you like it.”

Leroy did seem pretty harmless from the short time she’d
been around him. He was an older man with gray hair and glasses that hung on a
string around his neck. Veeva appeared to like him.

Veeva looked at Avalon, a smirk on her lips. “Leroy has
grandchildren around your age, sweetie. Isn’t that right, Leroy?”

“That’s right. If you were single, I would have introduced
you to my grandson Dylan. He’s in medical school right now.”

That woke Greyson up. “Well, she’s not single, gramps. Get
over it.”

“Don’t be rude,” Avalon admonished.

Veeva narrowed her eyes at Greyson. “Are you planning to
marry my granddaughter?”

“Gram!” They’d been over this before the men showed up. Her
grandmother was not supposed to mention anything about Greyson committing to
her—or his lack thereof. She promised. Avalon couldn’t even be proud that Veeva
used the human expression of
marry
instead of
bond
around Leroy.

Greyson leaned back in his chair, his face stern. “No, I’m
not,” he answered. “Avalon knows I have no intention of doing so.”

Leroy took a large sip of his water. He looked ready to bolt
and Avalon couldn’t blame him. She wanted to run away too. Preferably to
another planet.

“Is she not good enough for you?” Veeva continued with the
interrogation.

“She’s more than good enough. I’m just not into
marriage
.
This isn’t a relationship headed toward love or marriage.”

“Does Avalon want those things?”