Taivon: Book Three of the Cantrell Brothers Series

Chapter Five

Keeping her hand on the back of Taivon's sweaty neck, Alix leaned back against the bench. The very ends of his hair tickled her fingers, adjusting as he breathed in and out. With his head in between his legs, this huge bear of a man looked prone – defeated, compared to how strong he'd been only moments before while giving the tour.

He'd been spewing out all sorts of facts in rapid fire action. His steps had been so self-assured and so strong that Alix had had to take a step back to just admire him. He'd looked almost beautiful – if that could be said about a man as simply huge as this. It'd been so amazing, just to see him talking without becoming flustered, but then it'd all changed.

Taivon had freaked the hell out, and she'd forced him to sit down.

“Hey?” She resisted the urge to poke him. “Taivon? You feelin' better now? Ya wanna drink of water or somethin'?”

His head shook. The hands on his head tightened until it looked like he was trying to crush his skull. He didn't look at her.

“Should I go get someone?”

As expected, he didn't say a word. He just shook his head, took extremely loud breaths, and kept his hands right next to where hers rested on his neck. The skin there felt damp but warm – sort of a pleasurable feeling but sort of not. Just like their first date. Not the worst, but not the best, either.

It wasn't that Alix wouldn't do it again. She'd gladly be with him here, but the now was a little odd. She'd never been on a first date where the guy'd had a panic attack and needed some consoling. No, her first dates had usually been of the different kind. The guy would ask to come in for some coffee or whatever lame excuse it was, kiss her in the kitchen, and then take things to the bedroom.

At least, that was how it had been. Ever since she'd had that pregnancy scare back when she'd been in college, Alix considered herself to be a new woman. It was hard work, this new woman thing, waking up early on Sunday mornings to go to church with Leon, focusing her attention on her writing career, and getting dumped by impatient men, but there were a few perks.

Meeting Taivon was one of them. She never would have met him if she'd stayed in Denver. Her career was what had brought her here, and she thanked the writer's block for doing so. There was just something about the man that made Alix imagine bigger things.

Except now, he was now this mess in her hands, and she knew practically nothing about him. The way his face was practically beet red, that could be a daily occurrence. These panic attacks, they could be an every other day sort of thing at work. He could be anything in the world – either good or bad – and Alix had no idea, as of right now.

“Yeah,” she said, steeling her resolve as she removed her hand. “I'm gonna go get somebody. I'll be right back, okay?”

Nothing. Not even a head nod.

When she stood, Alix made sure to keep her water bottle there and that the guy was actually breathing before turning on her heel in the direction of the visitor center. She had about one step forward when long, thick fingers grabbed onto her wrist, effectively stopping her in her tracks.

“Wuh-wait,” that soft voice said from behind. “Puh-puh-puh-please.”

The stutter was really bad this time, but the pleading in his voice was even worse. It pulled at her insides with the quiet tone and all but forced her to turn around. When she did, the first thing she saw was his face. His eyes were downcast, and he was running trembling hands through his thick hair.

Alix took that trembling hand in hers, removed the other one on her wrist, and put them together, holding them together as she stroked the rough knuckles. Within the span of a day, she'd just put them in the holding hands stage. Holding hands had been the last thing on the minds of the guys that she'd deemed as her type.