23. Danny

Chapter 23

Danny

I 'd been irritated at Riley before. Annoyed. Frustrated. Once or twice, I'd even upgraded it to angry.

But I'd never felt as fucking furious as I had when he'd suggested I hook up with someone else.

It went around and around in my head as we packed up his things in silence. I just couldn't believe he thought this was a good idea. He knew I had feelings for him, that I wanted more.

And his solution was for me to go and have sex with someone else?

No fucking way.

I wasn't upset about him not wanting to be with me. I meant it when I said I wasn't going to force anything with him. And if he asked me to stop flirting, I'd do that too.

No, I was upset that he was trying to push me away when he damned well didn't want to.

He couldn't hide anything from me, especially not with our bond. He wanted me to fuck someone else just about as much as I wanted to do it.

He'd regretted it the moment he'd said it. All afternoon and even that evening as we got dressed, I could feel how torn he was. Most of him was dreading going out and seeing me follow through on his request.

But there was a small part of him that genuinely still thought it was a good idea. That part of him was fully fuelled by his fears. The fear that maybe I'd see someone else and realise Riley wasn't what I wanted for the rest of eternity after all. That maybe I'd regret making him my mate when I realised there were other people out there who were better for me.

Which was insane, really. Who could be better for me than Riley?

Honestly, I kind of wanted to throttle him until he saw sense. But I knew Riley better than I knew myself. He got these ideas and wouldn't admit how ridiculous they were until they'd played out.

You didn't need to look beyond our recent ‘hookups' to know that was true.

Still, I wanted to give him an out. When we got to the entrance of The Closet, I stopped him. "This is really what you want?"

Riley bit his lip. They were coated in a red gloss, making them look extra full and kissable. It wasn't the only part of him that was testing my restraint. His tight booty shorts and cropped pink top had had me drooling since the second I'd first seen him in them. "Yes."

"This is a disaster. You know that, right?"

"It's not." Riley sniffed. "You just need to dance with someone, maybe hook up, then you'll realise you're overthinking your feelings for me."

I grabbed his chin none too gently. "Make no fucking mistake, Ry, that's not going to happen. I won't be hooking up with anyone else. Not tonight. Not ever. I'll go in there and find someone to dance with because you've asked me to. But the whole time, I'll be pretending it's you. That it's your arse I'm pressed up against. Your ear I'm whispering into. Your hips my hands are wrapped around. Because I can't see anyone but you, Ry."

He swallowed, but he didn't back down. "I think you're wrong."

I let him go with a bitter laugh. "No, you're the one who's wrong, and I can't wait to prove it to you."

He went to walk past, but I stopped him with a hand on his chest. "If you're going to hook up though, don't do it in front of me."

Riley stepped back as if I'd slapped him. "I would never ."

"Good," I said roughly. "I know I said I'll do whatever you want, but I can't pretend I'd be okay with seeing or hearing it. As far as my wolf's concerned, you're mine. I can't change that."

I spun on my heel and walked away before he could respond, before he could realise the lie I'd fed him.

Or, not a lie, but a half-truth.

It wasn't only my wolf who thought Riley belonged to him.

It was all of me. Every atom in my body and particle of my soul. All of him belonged to all of me.

Knowing he was with someone else would destroy me. And probably the person he was with, if I was being honest.

A better man wouldn't think this way.

I wasn't a man though, and I was done trying to fight my true nature where Riley was concerned.

He wouldn't do that, I told myself as I strode past the bouncer with an up-nod. The horror and revulsion he'd felt when I'd mentioned it was reassurance enough.

I had to remember what was driving all of this. Riley was scared. He was traumatised by what had happened when he was a child. That wasn't something he'd get over instantly. I might've got over the obstacles that stood in our path, but in a way, Riley's were much bigger. Mine were practical obstacles, his were mental, hard wired into his brain. I needed to give him time and help to rewrite them.

There was no getting around the fact that this was an idiotic idea, but hey, that was us all over. Maybe this would be the wake-up call Riley needed. Maybe seeing me touching someone else would bring out the same primal fury I'd feel if it were the other way around.

If it didn't…well, I'd meant what I'd said. I wouldn't be hooking up with anyone else tonight. The only man I'd be going home with was the one I shared a mating bond with.

Various supes and humans from our group waved down at me from the VIP area. I ignored them all. From the corner of my eye, I saw Riley perch on a stool at the bar, Lucky pouring him his preferred cocktail. With it in hand, he swivelled back around to face me. He saluted me with his glass, the challenge clear in the bond—get on with it then.

You asked for it , I mouthed at him, giving him a final chance to put a stop to this madness.

The fucker just sipped his cocktail coolly, raising an eyebrow at me.

The bond was buzzing with anticipation and unease. It felt like we were playing a game, one where neither of us knew the rules.

Just that one of us would lose.

Well, it certainly wasn't going to be me. Five minutes on this dance floor and I'd have Riley eating his fucking words.

Whipping my shirt off, I tucked it into the back of my tight jeans. I smoothed my hands along my chest and down my abdomen as my hips started to move to the beat.

Riley's eyes widened, his hand shaking slightly as he lifted the glass to his lips.

All it would take for this to stop was one word from him. I was praying he'd say it.

But he didn't.

It didn't take long before some twink was sliding in front of me, batting his eyelashes. I could barely see him, my mind filled with my mate.

This, however, was exactly what my mate had asked for.

Now I just needed to hope he'd see it for what it was.

Another idiotic idea.

Spinning the twink around so his back was to me, I wrapped my hands around his hips and began to dance. Keeping several inches between us, I kept my eyes on my mate, trying to communicate everything I'd told him earlier.

It's you I'm picturing.

It's you I'm dancing with.

It's you I'm touching.

It would only ever be Riley. He could come up with any number of schemes and charades between us while he tried to figure out his feelings, but there was one thing he wasn't counting on. One thing he was refusing to acknowledge.

My feelings were figured out. They wouldn't change. Nothing he could throw my way would stop them.

The twink tried to grind back on me, but my strong grip held him in place. Through the bond I felt Riley's jealousy burn through like poison.

But still, he didn't move to stop it.

Fucking claim me, I wanted to roar. I'm yours, princess. Come and stop this now.

Someone did stop it, but it wasn't Riley.

A sharp stake bit into my neck as my entire body froze. The man in front of me did too, no doubt thanks to someone else compelling him. I couldn't be compelled though, which meant…

"River's holding you still," Sebastian said in my ear unnecessarily. "If you don't have a good fucking reason as to why you're hitting on another guy in front of your mate, I'll stake you before River drains the rest of your blood."

How Sebastian expected me to explain myself when I couldn't even move my tongue was beyond me. Fortunately, my vision was locked on Riley who was now having a whispered argument with Matty. After a few rapid exchanges, Matty flung his hands into the air before turning to Sebastian and waving him over.

River's power released me immediately. I whipped my head around to find him smirking at me over the balcony. The little shit winked before wandering out of sight.

Sebastian grumbled as he lowered his stake. "Well that's ruined my fun. Who knew taking a human mate would make me as whipped as the rest of us?"

"Tell me about it."

The vampire raised a brow. "Wait, is that what this is all about?"

I dragged my hands through my hair in exasperation. "You really think I'd be dancing with another man when the one I want is over there watching?"

Realisation dawned on Sebastian's face, mingled with something that could almost have been mistaken for sympathy. "Ah. Stubborn, I see."

"Fucking tell me about it." Matty had vanished and Riley had settled himself back onto the stool, clearly waiting for me to continue. "I was hoping he'd be over here by now, but no such luck."

"Hmm." Sebastian shrugged. "I may as well remove the compulsion then."

He darted off into the crowd just as my dance partner started moving again. He spun to face me, his arms going around my neck. For a wild second I wondered if Sebastian had compelled him to be flirtier, but I dismissed it. Even he wouldn't cross that boundary.

"I've seen you in here before," the twink shouted in my ear. I hid my wince at the volume—with my supe hearing, I would have been able to hear him even if he'd whispered. But, naturally, he wasn't to know that.

I felt uncomfortable, but it was polite to answer him. Knowing he didn't share my elevated senses, I brought my mouth level with his ear. "Yeah, I come here quite often. I have to be honest with you though, I'm here with someone tonight."

The twink pouted, resting a hand against my cheek. My skin crawled, hating that someone other than my mate was touching me like this. "Then why are you here with me?"

I sighed, but before I could even try to explain the clusterfuck I'd found myself in, white-hot jealousy and fury ripped through the bond. My head snapped up to see Riley marching towards us, fire in his eyes.

See? I'd known it would end badly.

Not wanting anything or anyone in his way, I quickly compelled the twink to leave. I didn't even watch him go, unable to take my eyes off my mate.

My beautiful, furious mate.

He was majestic.

Riley didn't stop when he got to me, instead flinging his arms around my neck. Everything in me settled as I felt every inch of him line up against me. One of my hands went to his hip, while the other cupped his arse, hauling him ever closer.

"Point proven," Riley hissed, practically vibrating with anger. "No one touches you but me."

"Same goes," I said roughly, more wolf than human as I made my claim. "You let another man touch you and I'll peel the skin from his bones. Consensual or not."

He pushed his hips forward pointedly, rubbing his hard cock against mine. "Who is this for? Me? Or him?"

The bond was pulsing with lust. I didn't need that to tell me how Riley was feeling, the hungry look in his eyes was doing it for me. He looked like he wanted to eat me alive. Like seeing me with another man had finally awoken something in him. Not necessarily something healthy, but I didn't give a fuck.

If it helped us take a step forward together then I'd fucking take it.

He ground against me again, and the temptation to get him off here was humming through me. But compulsion nets only worked against humans…and we currently had an audience who were very much not human, watching all of this play out from the VIP area.

"Well?" Riley demanded.

Now it was my time to issue a challenge. "You want to find out? Then come with me."