Arrow Inferno
Chapter 74: Jeremy Stanton vs. Ryan Hicks ~ Feral attraction in the midst of hatred… Friend goals!

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Since Jeremy left, everyone who came to the suite to see Ryan made it a point to announce themselves first. Even after Clara alerted him, they would still announce themselves by pressing the bell at the entrance of the suite before they actually entered. When a surprised Ryan had asked them why the change, Philip had told him how Jeremy had left a strong warning the day he'd left, that no one was to barge into that suite without alerting him first. And that was the exact moment Ryan knew without a doubt that he'd lost his heart to his mate. That night he'd cried himself to sleep. He wished he'd been able to tell Jeremy that he loved him too when he'd told him the day he left. Maybe knowing that he loved him too would have made Jeremy's pain more endurable. But he'd been so shocked at the words, he'd literally gone speechless. To know he was madly in love with his mate and his mate didn't even know... How fucked up was that? With a sigh, Ryan left the bed and went to open the door. By the time the elevator opened on his floor, he was leaning against the door, waiting for Paige. She stepped out with her arms full with breakfast. Ryan couldn't help the grin that brightened his face when he saw the name on the paper bags. His favourite breakfast joint.

"Somebody likes what he sees." Paige drawled, landing a loud smack on Ryan's cheek. "Just woke up huh?"

"Uh-huh. Why didn't you call me to go with you?" Ryan asked, closing the door behind them.

"Because I knew you would be sleeping and didn't want to disturb you," Paige answered, depositing her goodies on the dining table. "Tell you what, why don't you go take a shower whilst I set this up?" "Alright, let me just fix the bed..."

"I'll do it." Paige cut Ryan off. "Paige..."

"Go on, go on." She waved him away with her hands. "Get out of here before I drag you in there myself and give you that bath."

That got Ryan rushing towards the bathroom. But before he got to the bathroom door, he turned back and went to give Paige a fierce hug. Then he ran to the bathroom to do as he'd been told. He and Paige had gotten very close since Jeremy's departure. He'd woken up the morning after Jeremy's incarceration to find Paige, busily arranging his stuff in Jeremy's suite. By noon, she'd converted his room into a state-of-the-art study. Ryan had been pleasantly shocked. When he'd expressed his gratitude, she'd only shrugged and told him she'd needed something to occupy her so she wouldn't drown herself in the misery that was threatening to swallow her up. They'd become fast friends. Maybe it was because she'd started lecturing in his school but they virtually did everything together and he'd grown to love her so much. Though she was like his best friend, she acted like a mother hen around him. She would sometimes call him in the middle of the night just to check up on him. And if he told her that he couldn't sleep, she would come over and sit with him till he slept.

Paige had become even fussier over him since Ryan told her, about two weeks after Jeremy left that he had a niggling feeling he was being watched. Paige never left his side for more than an hour after that. The only times she felt comfortable enough to leave him for long hours was when they were within the safety of the pack house. Ryan hadn't been surprised when she'd actually moved onto his floor, claiming she just wanted to keep him company till Jeremy got back. He knew better. He didn't have to be a genius to know that the feisty beauty was only watching out for him. Ryan didn't mind at all since he loved being in her company. He adored Paige Harrington.

When Ryan went back into the room, the bed looked temptingly immaculate and Paige was sitting at the dining table with a glass of juice in her hand. He quickly went to the closet, got dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, and then went back to the bathroom to hang his towel.

"Couldn't wait, could you?" Ryan gave a mock growl as he took a seat beside Paige.

"Damn, this croissant is just sinful, Ryan." Paige moaned as she bit into the buttery, flaky, pastry.

"I can see that." Ryan chuckled, reaching for a custard-filled doughnut with maple glazing...his favourite. "I almost don't want to bite into this." He moaned. "It's so beautiful it should be hanging on a wall." Paige laughed as she poured some hot chocolate for Ryan. "Blow on it before you drink it." She warned. "It's hot."

"Oh, this is so good." Ryan closed his eyes as he savored the yummy sweetened dough in his hand."

"I know right." Paige chuckled. "Ate one whilst you were in the shower. It's better than sex."

"No, it's not." Ryan countered, taking a sip of his hot chocolate. "Two totally different feelings. Both pleasurable I admit. But whilst one gives tasty pleasure, the other gives a mind-boggling, explosive pleasure."

"I see he redeemed himself," Paige smirked, looking at Ryan teasingly from beneath her lashes.

"He sure did," Ryan murmured, feeling a delicious shiver run through him at the thought of how Jeremy had felt inside him. His blush gave away what he was thinking.

"Ohh someone's mind is in the gutter this very instant." Paige purred teasingly. "That good huh?"

"You have no idea." Ryan breathed, completely lost in some erotic trip down memory lane. "When I think of the way he takes me... The way he would suddenly slow down, right in the middle of a hard fuck, look deeply into my eyes with those beautiful blue eyes, and then slowly close the distance between our mouths and then start kissing me passionately. It literally makes my toes curl." He whispered.

"Oh shit!" Paige gasped, making Ryan's head shoot up. He'd obviously forgotten he wasn't alone.

"Oh my god, I'm sorry." He blushed even harder, making Paige laugh.

"Hey don't be." She leaned back in her seat and looked at Ryan with a wide grin. "I must admit you're making me crave cock though." She rasped.

"Oh, so you've..."

"Been there, done that." She said dryly. "Good to know you got it good."

"He's amazing," Ryan murmured. "God, I miss him."

"I can see that." Paige grinned. "I don't know about you but thinking along those lines would be way better than...you know..."

"I know," Ryan said softly. It sure did feel nicer thinking about his steamy sessions with Jeremy than dwelling on the pain he knew his mate was going through.

Surprisingly, he hadn't had his usual sexual urges since Jeremy's departure. Yes, he did grow hard whenever he thought about their final day, but it never pushed him to seek relief as he normally would. That was rather strange, taking into consideration the fact that he was naturally highly sexed and needed frequent release.

"Do you love him?" Paige asked quietly. She lowered her cup of tea and watched as beautiful green eyes rose to meet hers. The unguarded look in those eyes literally stole her breath.

"I'm madly in love with him Paige," Ryan whispered. "And I fall harder and deeper with each passing day."

"You should have told him that day," Paige said, lowering her eyes to stare into her cup. "It would have been good for him to hear that."

"I didn't know then, Paige." Ryan's voice was quiet and filled with regret. "Even if I had, I don't think I could have uttered a word after that bombshell he dropped. You see, no one has ever told me they loved me before. Not even my mother, though I knew she did. You have no idea how it felt like to hear those words from him." He sighed and took a sip of his hot chocolate.

"He's crazy about you." She grinned. "But then, you already know that so..."

"The feeling is mutual," Ryan responded shyly. For some reason, he was feeling tingly all over just talking about his mate.

"Do you ever dream of him?"

"Wish I could say yes but since he left, never." Ryan took a sip of his hot chocolate. "I'm sure that whatever they did to me has taken that possibility of dreaming about him away." He muttered. "If only I could see him in my dreams...touch him...talk to him..." He gave a deep sigh. "On the other hand, it might be too painful to bear. I don't think I can handle seeing him and then waking up to nothing. Maybe it's for the best." He sighed. "But you want to."

"God, yes." Ryan groaned. "But..."

"Are you..." Paige started to speak but trailed off when her cell phone began to ring. "Lip?" She reached for another croissant. "Yes, I'm with him." She listened for a moment, frowning at a point. "We'll be there." She hung up and got to her

feet.