Chapter 7 - Violet

The drive home was quiet as Nile and I simmered from our fight at the carnival. Our unspoken agreement was that we would never fight in front of Penny, but since neither of us could think of anything respectful to say, we chose to remain silent.

I was relieved when we finally pulled up to the house. Although the drive had been less than ten minutes, Penny had managed to fall asleep in the backseat of Nile's car. He unbuckled her gently, trying not to disturb her as he lifted the sleeping girl out of the car and carried her into the house.

Even in the dim light of the moon, I could see Nile's arm muscles bulging as he carried the small child. He was strong and powerful, and I briefly wondered what it might feel like to be carried by him.

I reached around him to turn on the light so that he wouldn't stumble over the rugs in the hallway, but the sudden illumination caused Penny to begin waking up.

"Shh, baby," Nile soothed her. "We're home. I'm just going to take you upstairs and tuck you in."

"No, I want Violet to do it," Penny argued.

"Violet doesn't—" Nile began.

"It's okay," I assured him quietly. "I'll come with your dad to tuck you in, sweetheart."

Penny nestled into his arms, and I imagined that she must feel incredibly safe and protected with him. I admired his dedication to his daughter, even if I'd been let down by him in the past. It was clear to anyone who had met Nile that he loved and cared for his daughter, but seeing how tenderly he treated her made it even more obvious.

He walked up to Penny's room on the top floor with me a few steps behind him. When we got to her room, he laid her gently on the bed while I removed her shoes and socks. Together, we pulled the blanket up to her chin.

"Goodnight, Daddy. Goodnight, Violet," she said sleepily.

"Sleep well, Penny," Nile said as he kissed her on the head.

"We'll see you in the morning, sweetheart," I told her, squeezing her little hand.

We snuck out of the room, careful not to trip over any of the dolls, books, and other toys that lay littered about the room.

When we reached the landing, I put my hand out to open my bedroom door when Nile suddenly thrust his arm in front of me and leaned against the door frame.

"I'm not done with our discussion," he said in a low growl.

"You mean where you think that just because I agreed to be your fake mate, you get ownership of my body whenever we're out in public?" I shot back. "Yeah, I'm done with that conversation."

I grabbed his arm to push it out of the way, but instead of allowing me to pass, he pressed me up against the closed door. His body towered over me, and I felt heat roll off his skin, enveloping me in his scent.

A tingle went up my spine at his proximity, and my anger faltered. It seemed that no matter what I did, I couldn't escape my attraction to him. The longer we lived together, the more intense it became. I had tried being aloof and unconcerned, and now I had attempted to cover it up with anger. Nothing seemed to work.

"We agreed," he whispered quietly, "that we would pretend to be mates for the good of the packs. We can't do that if you're pushing me away."

"I wouldn't be pushing you away if you weren't so… so…" My words seemed to fail me as I tried to rebut his claim.

"So what?"

He trailed the back of his hand down my cheek as he looked into my eyes. The green seemed to flash, and then his eyes darkened, pupils widening as he looked at me hungrily.

"You know why I'm pushing you away, Nile," I said simply.

"I do," he said. "And I'm telling you to stop."

"You think you can order me around?" I asked, anger flashing through me once more. I couldn't deny that the way he spoke to me with such authority had my knees weakening. Anger seemed to be my only defense.

Nile's lips crashed into mine as the tension between us reached a breaking point. His hands were rough as they tangled in my hair, pulling me into him. His lips covered mine possessively, insistent but still tender.

"I've been waiting for this all night," he murmured against my mouth. "You have no idea how much being near you has driven me crazy, Vi."

I moaned as he called me by my nickname, feeling his hands move down the length of my spine and settle on the small of my back. My lips found his again as I pressed my entire body into his. I longed to melt into his frame and feel the familiarity of his touch.

But the memory of our bodies entwined reminded me of why this couldn't happen—what had happened when I had allowed myself to fall for him before. I pushed him away, needing to get space to breathe before I lost myself in the feeling of his affection. The way he had kissed me without warning was evidence of how hot and bothered our interaction had made him, and I couldn't risk him getting the impression that I welcomed his advances. No matter how true it was.

"I guess neither of us can deny that there's still an attraction here," Nile said, awkwardly running his hand through his close-cropped hair. "Stronger than ever, I'd argue."

His comment cut me to the quick, making me even more sure I had done the right thing in pushing him away.

"Attraction is meaningless," I told him bluntly. "You said it yourself—you were attracted to me before, and you still threw me away like garbage when you got what you wanted from me."

"Vi, you have to know that I didn't mean to hurt you," he said.

It was true that I could see regret and hurt in the way he looked at me, but it didn't change anything. I had told him I didn't want to hear his excuses for his behavior, and I meant it. Nothing he could tell me would make it okay.

"What's done is done. But being attracted to each other won't change our past or make up for how you treated me. Let's just pretend this didn't happen," I said.

"I don't want to pretend like this didn't happen," Nile said, attempting to pull me into a comforting hug.

"It's over, Nile," I said in a harsh whisper as I put my hand up to stop his advance. "Just leave it alone."

I whirled around and opened my bedroom door, shutting it behind me firmly. For the first time since moving in, I turned the lock on the bedroom door, unsure if I was closing him out of the room or shutting myself in.