CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER EIGHT

Settled at the eating bar near the front window of the deli, Elle gawked at Bree. “You’re not messing with me? You guys really did the horizontal rodeo?” Her eyes lit up. “Yee-fucking-ha.”

“It’s really nothing to celebrate. He made his exit in the middle of the night.” Bree had heard him leave the bed—there was no way of sneaking out without waking a pallas cat, for God’s sake. But she’d pretended to be asleep, and he’d pretended not to know that she was awake. It had just seemed easier that way. Less awkward.

Elle’s shoulders lowered. “That’s disappointing.”

Well, yeah. Bree bit into her soft, crusty baguette. The tastes of roast beef, lettuce, hot peppers, and mayo exploded on her tongue. She and Elle sometimes went to the deli for their lunch break. It was always busy. A long line of customers stood glancing through the glass case as they told the deli workers what meat, fixings, and condiments they wanted on their baguettes.

Bree’s cat never liked being there during lunch hour due to how hectic it could be. The feline didn’t like crammed spaces period. But Bree was used to it; used to the air being filled with the sounds of voices chatting, the microwave dinging, and the oven alarm beeping. Plus, being surrounded by the delicious scents of fresh bread, peppers, mayo, cured meats, and coffee was a bonus.

“It can’t have been pleasant for you to hear him creeping out,” said Elle.

“It stung, I won’t lie.” Her cat was mightily miffed—it was a kick to the ego that the feline would not forgive easily. “And I can’t say I like that he clearly only wanted one night with me, but I’m not surprised that he left. He’s not ready for anything more. I didn’t expect him to stay. All I’d hoped for was rough, intense, slam-me-onto-every-available-surface-and-fuck-me-until-I-screamed sex.” He’d certainly delivered on that score. Over and over, in fact.

After he’d taken her on the kitchen floor, they’d moved to the bedroom for round two. Well, they’d tried to. He’d ended up fucking her on the stairs. They’d then taken a shower during which he’d eaten her out before pinning her against the tiled wall while he pounded into her. Dry and sated, they’d tumbled into bed and fallen asleep. But it hadn’t been more than two hours later that she’d woken to the feel of his tongue swiping through her slit; then he’d propped himself against her headboard while she rode his cock.

“Have you heard from him at all today?” asked Elle.

“I saw him from afar this morning when I was on my way to work. He stared at me pretty hard, but that was all.” She bit into her sandwich again. “My guess is he’ll avoid me for a while like he did after that kiss six years ago—as if to underline that it didn’t mean anything.”

“If he is avoiding you, it’s a good sign.”

Bree blinked. “It is?”

“Yeah. It suggests he doesn’t trust that he won’t say something inappropriate. Like ‘Can you still feel my cock inside you?’”

Chuckling, Bree almost choked on her food. “Why would he ever say that?”

“I don’t know. I read it in a romance novel once. Made me tingle for just a second.” Elle unscrewed the cap from her bottle and took a sip of her soda. “Honestly, I’m not entirely surprised that you two ended up in bed together. Have you never noticed that his moods sort of …bounce off yours?”

“I don’t even know what that means.”

Elle shifted on her stool. “It’s hard to explain. But when you’re unhappy, he gets all broody and wants to fix whatever’s wrong. When you’re happy, it mellows him out somehow. When you’re excited about something, it puts him in an upbeat mood—or as upbeat as Alex is ever capable of being. You’ve really never noticed?”

Chewing yet more of her baguette, Bree shook her head.

“Well, I have. I wasn’t sure he’d give into whatever he’s feeling, but I suspected that he’d want to. And I was right. Yay! You know how I love to be right.”

“You can’t tell anyone about this, Elle. The Cages would freak—handing me drama I just don’t need right now.”

“I won’t tell a soul. It’s no one else’s business anyway. Think he’ll come back for more?”

“Nu-uh. He’ll be set on pretending last night didn’t happen.” Using her thumb, Bree swiped at the blob of mayo that had stuck to the corner of her mouth. “He’s no doubt mad at himself for not having the control to walk out the door. Control is important to Alex.”

“Do you wish he had walked out?”

Sighing, Bree shook her head. “I should, though, considering he obviously just hoped to burn out our chemistry.” But how could she ever wish last night hadn’t happened? It had been freaking amazing. Her body ached in some very interesting places.

He hadn’t bitten or scratched her, but he’d certainly left plenty of bruises. Fingerprint bruises. There were so many that she had to wonder if he’d done it on purpose …

Nah.

“Is the chemistry gone?” asked Elle.

“No. Not on my end, anyway. My body lit up like a freaking Christmas tree when I spotted him earlier.”

Swiping a napkin from the metal holder, Elle cleaned the crumbs and mustard from her fingers. “Is he strutting around like a guy who got himself some last night?”

“He seemed quite tense. Stiff.”

Elle grinned. “Then I’d say he isn’t free of all that chemistry either, or he’d be relaxed and smug. This is good.” She crumpled up her napkin. “But you don’t look like you agree. You really don’t have any hope that he’ll ever offer you more, do you?”

Bree shrugged. “I’m all out of hope when it comes to Alex.” Done with her lunch, she gathered her rubbish together and cleaned her fingers. The bell over the door behind her chimed and—

“Oh no,” whispered Elle.

Bree’s head snapped up. “What?” But then a familiar scent whispered over her just as someone behind her cleared their throat. And her feline just about lost her mind—hissing, clawing at air, shoving so hard against Bree’s skin to warn him off that her eyes flashed cat.

“Um, Bree?” said Mateo.

Anger burned in her gut. She had to breathe away the urge to spin and slam her fist into his jaw. Again. Because just hearing his voice—so soft and uncertain now—reminded her of the last time they spoke; reminded her how he’d sounded so bitter, spiteful, and cruel.

Conscious that the noise level had lowered as their pride mates strained to eavesdrop, Bree slowly turned her head and met his eyes, unmoved by the sorrow she saw there. “Go,” she bit out.

She wasn’t ready for this yet. She didn’t want to talk with him until she was sure she could do it without ranting and raving. And it seriously pissed her off that he’d approached her here, counting on her hatred of public scenes to make her sit there nice and quiet while he said his piece.

She’d already heard his apology—an apology he’d made immediately after doing something that was taboo to their kind. She hadn’t been interested in hearing his apology that night, and she wasn’t interesting in hearing one now either.

Mateo rubbed at his nape. “Can we please talk? I just want to—”

“If you don’t leave right now, I won’t be held responsible for what my cat does.”

He held up his hands. “Okay. Just … please pick up the phone next time I call, yeah?” He left before she could respond, but her cat’s hackles didn’t lower—she was far too on edge.

Bree turned back to face Elle, who stared at her, her perceptive eyes watching her closely.

“Your cat is mightily pissed at him,” said Elle. She leaned forward. “What did he do, Bree? He didn’t, like, hit you, did he?”

Bree snorted. “He’d be breathing through a goddamn tube if he had.”

“I thought you were keeping it to yourself because you weren’t ready to talk about it. But it’s not that, is it? You’re protecting him. Whatever he did … he’d be punished for it.”

“He made the same mistake that I did, Elle. He fell for someone who doesn’t want him back.”

“He made a move on you?”

“Yeah. And when I made it clear that I wasn’t interested in taking our friendship to a whole other level, he didn’t take it so well. He even seemed shocked.”

“Bree, tell me what he did.” Elle squeezed her hand. “Look, I promise not to repeat it to anyone, act on it in any way, or do anything to hurt him—I’m pretty sure your cat would kill me if I robbed her of the latter privilege anyway. Just tell me.”

So Bree did, and Elle almost freaking exploded.

“Yes, I’m very aware that you don’t like shopping, Fenris. If you hadn’t dropped my brand-new e-reader in the bath—”

“That was an accident.”

“—you wouldn’t be in a jewelry store buying me new earrings to make up for your stupidity, so suck it up and take it like a man.”

Considering Mateo had all but spoiled her afternoon, Bree wouldn’t have thought she’d find herself smiling a few hours later. But as she stood behind the counter listening to the female raven and her wolf-mate argue, Bree had to bite back a chuckle.

She’d met the couple before at various celebrations, since Riley and Tao were Mila’s pack mates. The Phoenix Pack were often invited to pride events, just as the pride was often welcomed at pack events.

The poor guy looked like he’d love to be anywhere in the world but there. Riley was totally unmoved by Tao’s discomfort, far too distracted by all the pretty, sparkly things around her—typical of a raven, really.

Riley tapped her nail on the glass surface of the counter, pointing at a set of white-gold earrings. “I know these are expensive, but they match my necklace perfectly.” She fingered the locket around her neck. “See?”

To be fair, the pieces really did match. “Would you like a better look at them?”

“Yes, please.”

The keys in Bree’s hand jingled as she unlocked the case and pulled out the tray.

Riley immediately scooped up the earrings and cooed over them. “I really do love these. What do you think, Tao? They suit me, right?”

He rubbed at his nape. “They’re pretty, sure, but there are much more beautiful earrings in the store. Hey, what about these over here?” He pointed at a pair on a different tray, smudging the glass case with his fingertip. “They would suit you so much better. They complement your skin tone and bone structure and stuff,” he babbled.

Riley’s mouth thinned. She lifted her chin. “You want me to pick those because they’re cheaper.”

“It’s not that,” he hurriedly assured her.

“Tight-ass motherfucker.”

Bree sucked in her lips, trying to hide her smile.

“It’s not about the price, it’s—” Tao cut off as something behind Bree caught his attention. He nodded. “Alex.”

Her stomach fluttered. The wolverine had turned up at the store half an hour ago. Busy with a customer, she’d given Alex only a quick, impersonal smile. He’d disappeared into his office, and she hadn’t seen or heard anything from him. Until now.

She didn’t hear him move, but she sensed him slip behind the counter. His dark familiar scent washed over her just before a hand settled on the counter either side of her body, caging her in from behind. Her heart slammed in her chest.

“Everything okay here?” Alex rumbled, his body heat radiating against her back.

Bree froze. “Everything’s fine,” she told him, somehow managing to keep her voice perfectly even. She turned her attention back to Riley, who was still cooing over the earrings.

Alex and Tao fell into a conversation about sports. Every now and then, Alex would idly rub his lightly stubbled jaw along her shoulder. Her frantic hormones didn’t know what to do with themselves.

Her cat, on the other hand, snarled at him. The feline was still mightily miffed that he’d snuck out of her bed—hell, so was Bree. That didn’t dowse the sexual buzz humming in her blood.

“Fenris, I’m taking these,” Riley eventually declared, gently flicking one of the earrings.

Tao didn’t argue—just pulled out his credit card. Wise wolf.

The bell above the door rang. One of their pride mates, Farrell, stepped inside. “Bree, Fritz asked me to come get you. We got a situation. An omega-necessary situation.”

Oh, her role was such a blessed thing.

“I’ll serve Riley and Tao,” James told her, slipping behind the desk. “You go. We can hold the fort.”

Hiding her reluctance, she skirted the desk and faked a smile for Farrell. “Lead the way.”

Alex, the nosy bastard, stayed at her side as she followed Farrell down the street. She didn’t even bother to give the wolverine shit for tagging along. She was more concerned about what could be happening that warranted her intervention.

Farrell led her to the parking lot outside one of their pride’s apartment buildings. The large crowd there parted to allow them to pass. Fritz and his sour-faced teenage son were standing by a vandalized car, yelling at Fritz’s sister-in-law and her teenage son.

Dani was doing her best to get the situation under the control. All softness and reassurance, she said, “Please let me help with this, Fritz—”

“No, you’ll say whatever will make everyone calm down.” Fritz’s hard gaze flicked to Bree. “She’ll tell the truth.”

Conscious that Alex had planted himself behind her like a sentry, Bree folded her arms. “What’s the issue here?”

“Fritz is accusing my boy of vandalizing Junior’s car,” said Harriet, Fritz’s sister-in-law. “Parker is not a vandal.”

“Touch him,” Fritz told Bree. “Touch Parker. Read his emotions.”

Parker’s shoulders went stiff. “Omegas can’t sense lies.”

“But we can detect the emotions associated with lying, like guilt and shame,” said Bree. “Or I could just infuse a little guilt into your system; make it so that it bloats you into needing to confess. Of course, that could lead you to make a number of confessions for various things.”

Dani gasped. “Bree!”

Parker shook his head. “You wouldn’t do anything like that without a person’s permission.”

“Very true,” said Bree. “But why wouldn’t you give me permission? I mean, I could help prove your innocence. Wouldn’t you want that?”

The kid’s eyes fell closed. Seconds of tense silence went by. “Okay, I-I did it.”

Harriet whirled on him. “What?”

“I did it. But only because he spray-painted my Harley.” Parker jabbed a finger at Junior.

Fritz’s gaze slammed on his son. “Did you do that?”

Junior’s eyes widened. “Why are you turning on me?”

“I know my own son,” said Fritz. “You’ve been caught spray-painting people’s stuff a few times, and you did it to one of his possessions before—I saw it with my own eyes. So, I’d say I’m justified in asking you this question. Did you do it?”

Junior didn’t answer. He just stubbornly stared at his father.

“Bree, read him,” said Fritz.

Shrugging, Bree made her way toward the teenager. In truth, she wouldn’t read him against his will—she did have some morals—but he didn’t need to know that, did he?

Junior backed up. “No! No way!”

“Bree, don’t you dare!” warned Dani.

Ignoring her, Bree tilted her head at Junior. “You don’t want to prove your innocence?”

“Of course he does,” said Fritz. “Because he knows that if he makes this any worse for himself, his punishment will go on for a while.”

Junior’s shoulders drooped. His mouth bobbed open and closed a few times. “Parker’s telling the truth,” he muttered.

Fritz growled. “I figured that out five minutes ago, idiot.” He looked at his nephew. “Why didn’t you come to me with this?”

Parker’s face scrunched up. “I’m no snitch.”

God, it was amazing that a kid would rather get in trouble for vandalizing a vehicle than earn a reputation as a snitch. “Okay, I’d say the solution here is simple: You each pay for the damage to the other’s property. Not your parents, you. Or the only lesson to be learned here is that someone will always bail you out. Well, they won’t. Can we agree on that?”

Harriet righted her sweater. “Sounds fair to me.”

“He’ll pay,” stated Fritz. “There’s no way I’m doing it.”

“Super,” said Bree. “The mechanics can look at both vehicles and give you an estimate for the damages. Boys, let’s end the shithead behavior, if for no other reason than it pisses me off to have to haul my lazy ass down here to deal with it.”

Farrell snickered. “Thanks for the help, Bree.”

She nodded and then walked away.

Alex fell into step beside her. “You did—”

“What the hell did you think you were doing, Bree?” Dani demanded, hurrying after them, her heels click-clacking on the concrete pavement.

Without breaking stride, Bree shrugged and replied, “Solving the problem.”

Dani planted herself in front of her, forcing her to come to a halt. “You threatened to force an emotion into that boy.”

“I know.”

“And you don’t find that wrong?”

“It’s not like I actually did it.”

Dani’s mouth fell open. “Have you no ethics at all?”

“I have some. They sleep a lot.”

Dani shook her head. “Why fate would gift someone like you with omega powers is beyond me. The crap you pulled back there could have had your status stripped from you.”

Alex rumbled a curse in Russian. “Instead of bitching at Bree, maybe you could go do some primary-related tasks. You might as well enjoy the role while it’s still yours to enjoy. We all know you won’t manage to hold it for much longer.”

Dani glared at him, her eyes hard as diamonds.

Bree had to hide a smile. He could be such an asshole, but she had no complaints about that right now. Like at all.

“Move.” He fairly barked the order at Dani, who very wisely stepped aside. And then he and Bree were walking again.

The smile that Bree had been hiding broke free. “Dude, that was pretty mean.”

“I don’t care.”

Bitchy though it might be, neither did Bree.

Alex didn’t speak again until they’d crossed the street. “You know the real reason she has a bug up her ass isn’t that you took an unorthodox approach to dealing with Parker and Junior. She didn’t like that your approach worked, or that Fritz wanted your help rather than hers.”

Bree shrugged. “I can never do any right in Dani’s eyes, so I don’t bother trying to please her. It would be pointless.” Finally reaching the store, she forced a smile for Greg as he opened the door for them to enter. “Thanks,” she said.

The familiar scents of gentle perfume, lemon glass cleaner, and fresh-cotton air freshener washed over her as she stepped inside, comforting her cat and soothing her nerves. Alex returned to his office and she retook her position behind the counter.

Of course, Elle, Valentina, and James all made their way over to ask why Farrell had come for her. Bree told them what happened.

“Did Dani give you shit afterward, all bitter that you helped?” Elle asked. “She did, didn’t she? God, she is one heinous bitch.”

Bree sighed. “It’s not that, it’s just … Ever since she was little, people told her she’d be primary one day. She was a strong omega right from the start. It became her goal, her purpose. Most primaries don’t step down until they’ve been in power for at least four decades—it’s usually not until then that a stronger omega surfaces. She’s only been in power a single decade. It’s not surprising that she doesn’t feel ready to step down yet.”

Valentina made a haughty sound. “That is no excuse for her behavior. Some people become attached to power. They let it define them. They cannot be satisfied with reflection in mirror unless they have that power. It is weak. You know I despise weakness.”

James nodded. “We do, yes. So it confuses me that you want to go visit Skeletor and her man-slave.”

Valentina’s eyes blazed. “James Devereaux, you will cease calling my mother that! And my father is no slave!”

“A puppet, then,” said James. “Seriously, you don’t find them both weak? She needs to bully her mate to feel good, and he allows himself to be bullied. It’s messed up.”

“They are happy.”

“They are dysfunctional.”

“And yet happy. That is good, no?”

“When she does weird stuff like knock him out with chloroform occasionally because she thinks he breathes too loud, no.”

Bree exchanged a smile with Elle as the couple continued to argue. Seriously, there was no better place to work.

Over the next few hours, people came and went. Bree answered questions, pulled out trays, measured fingers, took payments, and wiped smudges from the glass display cases.

Shortly before the store was due to close, she rung up a purchase for a human and was just tucking the receipt into his bag when the front door swung open. Vinnie breezed inside with Tate and Luke close behind him. They briefly greeted Elle, James, and Valentina and then headed straight to the counter.

Only once the human customer had walked away did Vinnie speak. “How are you doing, sweetheart?”

Bree wasn’t put at ease by his casual tone. Her stomach was twisting itself into knots. “Someone saw the hyenas?”

“No, I’m not here about them,” said Vinnie. He glanced around, noticing a few customers lingering here and there. “Can we speak in private?”

“Sure,” agreed Bree. She led him into the break room and closed the door behind them. “What’s up?”

“Nothing’s up,” said Vinnie. “I just didn’t want to speak of pride business in front of outsiders. I had a little talk with Farrell. He told me about the Fritz-Harriet mess; said that Dani wasn’t having much luck resolving the dispute and that you handled it very well. I also heard she wasn’t very happy with you.”

“To be fair, I did threaten to force an emotion into Parker.”

“But she should have known better than to think you’d truly do it. Tell me, how is your cat dealing with receiving orders from a less powerful omega?”

Bree narrowed her eyes. “Fine,” she lied.

“You’re going to have to take on the position of primary eventually.”

“I don’t want it,” she said, enunciating every word because, yeah, nobody seemed to be hearing her. “Besides, I’m a crap omega. I’d make an even worse primary.”

“You’re very good at what you do,” he said.

“I’m a social nightmare with a tolerance threshold that is shorter than your hair.”

“Being warm and fuzzy isn’t necessary to be primary. Some people don’t want to be fussed over and they respond better to you.”

“Still, being the primary omega requires diplomacy—I lack that. Dani is better suited to the position. She’s, like, the perfect omega.”

“That doesn’t automatically make her the best choice of primary. Plus, you have an ability that she and the other omegas in our pride don’t.”

That counted against her, though, in some eyes. “The pride wouldn’t accept me as primary. Not enough people trust me. And not just because some of them whisper that I must share Paxton’s ‘darkness.’ It weirds them out that I can hear thoughts and feed them emotional energy. They think I’m bound to fall like my mother or ‘go bad.’”

The latter did happen sometimes, if an omega became overwhelmed by their gift. They retreated inside their shields, leaving them close to apathetic. Just to feel something, they extracted healthy feelings from people instead of negative ones.

They didn’t always do it merely to get that good ole emotional “expresso shot.” Sometimes they wanted others to be as miserable as they were, or to avenge a slight. In that state, they often misused their ability to amplify a person’s emotions as well—sending an irritated person into a rage, or a sad person into a state of complete depression.

“You will not fall or go bad, I’m very sure of that. Anyone who knows you will say that very same thing.” Vinnie sighed. “I know this isn’t easy for you. As Alpha, I could of course order her to step down and then promote you, but that would mean nothing to the pride. They need to see that you want the role; need to see that you’re strong enough to take it by force if that’s what’s necessary.”

“I won’t duel with someone for a position I don’t want.” Her cat wasn’t so opposed to the idea, because she was mightily exasperated with Dani at this point.

“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. But ask yourself one thing: If Dani is such a perfect omega, why did she come to me claiming to be concerned that you’re not handling your duties correctly and suggesting that some things should be left to her and the other omegas?”

Bree’s cat sliced out her claws. This underhanded shit was totally out of line.

“I disagree with her assessment, which I told her. The real issue is that she and her cat feel threatened by you; their instinct is to try to keep you down. Don’t let them.” Vinnie turned and headed for the door. “Take care, sweetheart. And thank you.”

Her nose wrinkled. “For what?”

Opening the door, Vinnie glanced at her over his shoulder. “For playing a part in the fact that another day has passed that my daughter has spent out of jail. I’m sure going to struggle with that once you’ve left the pride.”

“What did you just say?” rumbled a new voice from outside the room.

Ah, shit.

Vinnie’s head whipped around. “Alex—”

“Repeat what you just said.”

Instead, Vinnie let the door open a little wider and said, “I think this is a conversation you need to have with Bree.” Coward.

“You know what? I think I will.” Alex prowled into the room, slammed the door shut, and flicked the lock.

“Look, Alex—” And then he was there, crowding her against the wall and slamming a palm either side of her head.

“You’re leaving?”

Bree swallowed at the lethal whisper, shocked right done to the bone by the fury emanating from him. “Um, well—”

“You’re leaving?”

“It seems like the best option.”

His dark eyes glittered with something wild and dangerous as he growled deep in his throat. She froze—an instinctive reaction she couldn’t control. Jesus, his anger was so hot and intense, it seemed to clog and thicken the air. She’d seen him mad before, but never like this. Never on the verge of losing his shit.

Not a lot unnerved Bree—she prided herself on that. But as he towered over her, every inch the barely controlled predator that glared at her as a feral panther would while crouched to pounce, a ribbon of fear twined around her lungs.

Her feline unsheathed her claws, ready to swipe at him if he made a wrong move. Maybe that was why his own beast stirred, reaching close enough to the surface for Bree to sense him—he was just as infuriated as his human half.

Shit. She really didn’t feel like dealing with a pissed off wolverine right now. Or ever.

“Just when were you going to tell me?” Alex rumbled, his jaw tight.

“I didn’t see the point in making it well-known until I had a place somewhere. Vinnie put out some feelers to see if any prides have room for an omega. It’s taking time, though, because the primary omega needs to be stronger than I am, or I’ll just be in the exact same position I am now with Dani.”

“That’s what this is about, isn’t it? You’re going to let that bitch push you out of the pride.”

“She’s not pushing me anywhere, I’m choosing to leave. There are a lot of factors behind my decision. She was one of them.”

“And what about the people you’ll be leaving behind?”

“My parents and extended family members are dead. There are people here who I care for and who’d probably miss me, but none of them need me here. They have their own lives—I’m just hanging on the periphery of theirs. Look, this isn’t some spur of the moment decision. I gave it a lot of thought.”

“All the redecorating you’re doing … You’re freshening up the house for whoever moves in after you’re gone.” He swore in Russian. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

She frowned. “Well, quite frankly, it’s simply not your business.”

The deep growl that rattled in his chest and sawed at his throat was a feral thing. A chill swept over her skin and, honest to God, every hair on her body stood on end. That animalistic sound hadn’t just come from him, it had come from his beast.

Her wary cat hissed and arched her spine, her hackles rising.

“Wrong, Bree. Every fucking inch of you is my business,” he said, his voice low and thick. “Every. Inch.”

As stunned as her cat, Bree stared at him. “Are you high?”

“You’re not leaving.”

“Alex—”

“You’re not. Going. Anywhere.” His eyes changed as his beast pushed close to the surface. The animal stared out at her—bold, unflinching, enraged. There was a warning there to back down. There was something else in those eyes, too. Something that made her skin prickle and her breath catch: Territorialism, pure and primitive.

He blinked, and his eyes returned to normal. “You’re going to tell me what all these factors are that spurred you into making this decision. I will then fix them, and you will stay here. Understand? Tell me you understand, Bree.”

“No. I don’t understand. I don’t get why this bothers you so much. I expected you to be at least partly glad that I’m going. Once there’s some distance between us, this attraction you don’t want will fade, and the next time you see me I could even be mate—”

Alex snapped his hand tight around her throat before he could stop himself. His beast flexed his claws, snarling. Because the thought of her bound to another male … it was too much.

It felt like his entire being thrummed with rage. He’d had to lock his muscles tight to stop his furious beast from forcing the shift. The animal wanted to bite her, mark her, demand her submission.

“Careful, Bree,” Alex whispered. “Be very, very careful.”

She didn’t cower, didn’t show any fear. She just stared him right in the eye—sure and confident. Yeah, that was his girl.

“Why?” she asked. “Why is this such a big deal for you?”

“Have you so quickly forgotten last night?”

“You say that like it was more than sex.”

“Jesus, do you think I’d fuck the woman who’s the predestined mate of my cousin unless that woman meant something to me?”

Her lips parted. She shook her head, as if struggling to absorb his words. “You were just fucking me out of your system.”

“I might not have admitted it to myself until I was balls-deep inside you, but I went to your home last night with the intention of finally having you.” He’d just been so fucking tired of fighting the relentless hunger; so fucking tired of being around her, knowing he had no right to touch her. “I knew it wouldn’t be a one-time thing. Knew I’d want more. I took you anyway. And I’m going to do it again.”

He wanted more of that taste that had lived in his system for six, long years. Wanted everything he could get. He was done fighting her pull—it had been an exercise in futility. He’d made the official decision to embrace this thing between them … only to discover that she’d secretly made plans to leave.

A fresh wave of anger washed through him and his beast. Gritting his teeth, Alex drew in a long breath through his nose and dug deep for calm.

“Again?” she echoed, curling her fingers around his wrist and giving it a hard tug.

He didn’t free her. He flexed his grip on her slim throat. “I held you like this while you rode my dick last night, didn’t I? I collared you the entire time. I squeezed just a little when I sensed you were close to coming. Just like that, you fucking exploded.” He gave her throat a light squeeze; her pupils swallowed the color of her eyes. “My baby likes it a little rough, don’t you?”

She narrowed her eyes, clearly going for “agitated,” but a hint of need spiced her scent. It made his beast rumble in satisfaction.

Alex slid his hand around to cup the side of her neck. “You’re going to stay, and we’re going to let this play out.”

“Play out? As in, what, you want to keep fucking me until the chemistry is all but gone? That’s all I am to you, isn’t it? Something you want out of your system. Like a splinter.”

“Splinter?” He pursed his lips. “Yeah, I guess you’re like a splinter. Under my skin. Hard to remove. The more I try to draw you out, the deeper you seem to go.”

Bree swallowed, cursing inwardly as those words snuck through her defenses and burrowed deep inside her. “Then why ask for more?”

“I’ve decided I like having you under my skin. You feel good there. You always have.” He smoothed his thumb over her jawline—the gentle touch was so much at odds with the barely restrained violence that was coiled in his muscles. “Maybe this thing we have will go somewhere, maybe it won’t. We’ll find out. Won’t we, hmm?”

She rubbed at her temple. “Look, I’m not sure if—”

“Don’t fight this, Bree,” he whispered, breezing his thumb up and down the column of her throat. “There’s no point.”

“I need some time to think about it. Some space.”

A glitter of amusement crept into his eyes. “Oh, you do?” His voice was soft, quiet … and rang with pity. As if she was an idiot that he couldn’t but feel sorry for.

“Yeah, I do,” she clipped.

His eyes smiling, he rubbed his nose against hers. “Baby girl, if you wanted a guy you could manage, you should have picked one of your own kind. You didn’t; that was your mistake. Now you need to learn to deal with me.”

“Wait a—”

“I tried keeping my distance from you. It didn’t work. It was never going to work. I don’t see the point in trying it again. I don’t want to waste more time. That’s all I was doing, Bree—wasting time out of my life and yours. I’m done with that. All we can do is give this a shot. It’s all any couple can do. Can you look me in the eye and honestly tell me you don’t want to?”

She chewed on the inside of her cheek. It wouldn’t be so hard to agree to give this a try if he didn’t have the power to hurt her. If she took a chance on him, if it ended badly, she’d be a mess. But if she didn’t take a chance, if she walked away out of fear, she’d forever regret it.

Was there really any harm in taking that chance? If it didn’t work, she could just leave as planned. She could start a new life elsewhere, free of him and any memories of him. That sounded better than walking through life, always wondering what could have been.

“Stop hesitating, Bree. Just agree to give it a shot.”

She licked her lower lip. “All right, we’ll go with the flow and see what happens. But quick warning: if you ever again creep out of my bedroom in the middle of the night like I’m just some girl you met in a bar, you’ll be doing it with broken kneecaps and at least one dislocated femur. That understood?”

There was a brief gleam of something in those dark eyes. “It’s understood.”

He took her mouth. Sipped. Licked. Delved. Turned her knees to rubber and made her crave more. But it wasn’t until much later, after he’d walked her home and then eaten dinner at her house, that he took her to bed and gave her more.

He slept beside her all night long.