Captivated (Deep in Your Veins 6)

He’d recently traded his military haircut for a classic short back and sides … and damn if I didn’t have the occasional urge to run my fingers through the rich brown strands he’d allowed to grow. I also wouldn’t mind doing a personal inspection of his rock-hard abs, or maybe giving that epic ass of his a little squeeze.

At Ava’s expectant look, I sniffed and said, “He scrubs up well.”

She gave me a look that said she was not buying my apparent disinterest. And so she shouldn’t. It wasn’t my fault that he was so alarmingly seductive. He possessed the kind of appeal that any woman would be susceptible to. Especially with that air of complete control that held just a hint of wildness—it was totally bad boy.

More, he walked with the smooth stride and undauntable composure of any apex predator, like a jungle cat prowling through the underbrush. My hormones honestly didn’t know what to do with themselves around him.

“He’s not sleeping with Ursula anymore,” said Ava.

Yes, I’d heard. The female had apparently thought he intended to commit to her. It seemed that she was wrong. And I’d be lying if I said a part of me wasn’t relieved about it. Which was a little unfair of me, but there was no changing it. “Hmm.”

“Ooh, are we pretending you’re totally unaffected by the news and, more, that you don’t want to jump his bones?”

“Yes, that’s exactly what we’re doing. So glad you’re on board.”

She sighed. “Fine. Just know you’re not fooling me. I see how much you like him, and I’m thinking it’s a two-way street.”

Okay, now she was just confusing me. “Perhaps you haven’t noticed that he actively avoids me.”

Ava’s brow creased. “No, I have. While he never really sought you out in the past, he also never went out of his way to not be around you … until recently. There’s this weird, thick, crackly tension between you now.”

There was. It felt unstable and precarious and filled with things left unsaid. I had the feeling that was why Sam and Jared—a couple who were not only the Grand High Pair, but also the commanders of our squads—had forced Max and me to train together several times. They were probably worried that the aforementioned tension would somehow translate into something bad on a battlefield.

“I thought you guys had a disagreement or something,” Ava added.

“That would require us to actually talk to each other, and we don’t do that outside of legion situations. He might occasionally say hi to me in passing, but I usually just get a nod or half-smile.” He was uber social with everyone else, though.

All charm and confidence, Max was the kind of guy who could walk into a room and talk to anyone about anything. He had a way of sucking people in, putting them at ease, and making them feel good about themselves.

“He’s not rude to me,” I went on. “Just indifferent.” Which kind of hurt.

“I’m not so sure he is truly indifferent to you.”

“Give me one good reason why he’d fake aloofness towards me. He doesn’t play mind games with women. If he’s interested in a woman, he has no problems letting her know. But he’s never once flirted with me. Not even when drunk off his ass.”

“But he did defend you when Stuart badmouthed you.”

“If Max hadn’t, one of his other squad members would have. They look out for our squad, just as we look out for theirs.”

“Stuart accused him of having a thing for you. Max didn’t deny it.”

“He also didn’t confirm it, and he’s never done anything that would suggest Stuart was right.”

Ava’s shoulders drooped, and her face set into a mask of disappointment. “I can’t deny that. But don’t be so sure Max isn’t interested or that you have him all figured out. He isn’t quite as one-dimensional as he seems.”

Oh, I already knew that. He came across as so open and outgoing that it was easy to miss that he held back parts of himself and never fully let down his guard. “Did you know he never feeds from his bedpartners? I’m not just talking during sex, I’m talking at all. He doesn’t let them drink from him either.” I wondered if it felt too intimate to him; if he felt that he needed to keep something of himself back and, in turn, wouldn’t take too much from them.

“It’s unusual, but some vampires are like that. Ursula didn’t seem pleased that Max is one of them. Speaking of Ursula, she keeps casting you very unfriendly looks.”

I tracked Ava’s gaze and sighed inwardly. Ursula stood with a few of her friends, muttering to them angrily. I’d caught her glaring at me a few times, but I’d ignored it. I was not going to start shit at my friend’s party. “Before you ask, I have no clue what her problem is. She’s never been all that nice to me, but she’s never been uncivil or downright hostile either.”