CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER TEN

Carving her hands into her hair, Havana glared at Bailey. “There are times I really want to hurt you.”

Spooning some of her cereal, Bailey frowned. “Why?”

“Because you do things like share the bed of a guy you’ve been circling for ages and you don’t say shit about it to me.”

Hmm, see, it turned out that Deke was wrong. Someone else had noticed the bite on Bailey’s shoulder. Vera, in fact. And that woman was the worst gossiper in the entire pride, so you could bet your ass the news had traveled through the pride’s grapevine at top speed. Something Bailey had learned when she woke to countless missed calls and messages from people wanting to know if she cared to confirm or deny the rumor.

Bailey had ignored all of the aforementioned calls and texts, which resulted in Havana and Aspen turning up at her apartment before she’d even had the chance to finish her breakfast. Normally, all three of them would be at the center right now. But it was their day off work.

No sooner had Bailey opened the front door than they’d shoved their way inside and closed it behind them.

“It was Deke, wasn’t it?” had been Havana’s first words. “He’s the one who marked you.”

Sighing, Bailey had gestured for them to follow her into the kitchen as she’d admitted that, yes, Deke had bitten her. She’d also let it slip that they’d been sleeping together for the past five nights, at which point both her friends had turned red in the face. And now they stood at the opposite side of the island from her while she finished what was left of her cereal.

Havana released her hair and lowered her arms to her sides. “Didn’t we discuss that people don’t hide newsworthy stuff from their BFFs?”

“I wasn’t hiding it. I just didn’t mention it. And I wouldn’t call my sleeping with Deke ‘newsworthy.’” Bailey gave an aloof shrug, adding, “It’s no big deal.”

“It’s a huge deal,” Aspen insisted.

Bailey arched a brow at the bearcat. “That so? You didn’t seem to feel that way when you were oh so casually urging me to give him a helping hand with the touch-hunger.”

Aspen spluttered. “I didn’t think it would actually happen. You generally ignore my advice.”

Of course she did. “Because your advice usually includes suggestions that will spoil my fun. You’re always trying to sabotage my happiness.”

“Now you’re deflecting.”

“I know.”

Havana folded her arms, interjecting, “So is this thing between you and Deke a fling?”

“No.” Bailey scooped up more cereal with her spoon. “We’re just gonna be fuck-buddies until he’s no longer a walking hard-on.”

The devil shot her an incredulous look. “Fuck-buddies? Really?”

“Really.” Bailey shoved her spoon into her mouth and chewed the soggy flakes.

“Since when do fuck-buddies mark each other?” Havana challenged, still dubious.

“We haven’t been marking each other. He bit me, yes, but it was an accident.” She saw no need to elaborate on how he’d had to keep renewing the bite in order for his cat to allow him to touch her. That the feline was having “issues” was for Deke to share or not to share. “Things got out of hand.”

“Bullshit,” Aspen blurted out. “He staked a temporary claim on you.”

If her snake could have snorted in disbelief, she would have. “Deke is not possessive of me.”

“The brand you wear says differently,” said Havana.

Bailey felt her lips thin. “I told you, it was an accident.”

Havana’s face scrunched up. “Guys as ruthlessly controlled as Deke don’t do stuff like that by accident, Bailey. He might tell both himself and you that he didn’t mean to bite you, but that’s a load of cock and bull.”

Nu-uh. “Touch-hunger tends to send ‘ruthlessly controlled’ sailing out the window. Another guy I helped through it bit me as well. They get seriously primitive and animalistic.”

“Granted.” Havana lifted one finger. “But that doesn’t necessarily translate to biting, does it? For Deke to brand you—”

“It didn’t mean anything.” Jeez.

“Yeah? Then why hide it? Why, if it’s no big deal, did you keep it to yourself?”

“Because I knew you’d do exactly what you’re doing: make it into a big deal, even though you know perfectly well that it’s not always possessiveness that drives a person to mark someone.”

“No,” Havana scoffed, “you hid it from us because you knew we’d make you facethat it is not whatsoever insignificant. You’d prefer to pretend that’s not the case, because then you could keep on sleeping with him rather than get the urge to break things off due to your discomfort with territorialism.”

Bailey inwardly groaned in exasperation. “He’s not possessive of me. He’d have bitten me somewhere highly visible if that were truly the situation, and I wouldn’t be sporting only one mark.”

Aspen turned to their Alpha female. “Actually, she does make a good point. Dudes as dominant as Deke don’t play around when they lay a claim.”

“And let’s not forget that he wants to keep our arrangement on the downlow,” Bailey added, spooning more cereal. “He wouldn’t want that if he really felt compelled to ensure the world knew I was off the market.”

Aspen dipped her chin. “Deke’s not a guy who advertises what’s going on with his personal life, but he also doesn’t take pains to hide it. This he hasn’t been open about. Which doesn’t gel with the idea that he essentially laid a claim on Bailey when he bit her.”

Havana swatted at the air, apparently intending to disregard all that—likely on the basis that it didn’t suit her argument. “Who specified that this would be a short-term arrangement?”

Bailey finished chewing her cereal before replying, “We both did.”

The devil narrowed her eyes. “And that’s all it is?”

“That’s all it is.”

With a sigh, Havana cut her gaze to Aspen. “Well, I suppose it’s a start.”

The bearcat nodded. “Yup.”

Bailey frowned. “It’s not a start to anything. It’s temporary.”

Havana gave a slight shrug. “If you say so. But I think more will come of this.”

“Are you forgetting about Dayna? He’s all entangled with her.” And there went Bailey’s stomach cramping again.

“He is.” Havana grinned, adding, “But I don’t think he will be for much longer. I believe there’s a very high chance he’s reconsidering keeping his promise to her.”

Bailey felt her frown deepen. “Why?”

“Well, something you said last week got me thinking.” The devil planted her palms on the island. “You pointed out that, despite the touch-hunger giving Deke an excuse to make a move on you, he actually kept his distance from you instead. So I asked myself … why would he do that? Why did he also do it the last time he was lumbered with touch-hunger? And then it hit me.”

“What?”

“He didn’t seek out an arrangement with you because he needs it to be something he can walk away from. He didn’t want to find himself tempted to scrap his vow.”

Aspen pointed at Havana. “That makes sense.”

“But now here you two are sharing a bed,” Havana went on. “That tells me that his vow isn’t so important to him now. I’m not saying I think he has plans to break it for you specifically—I don’t know what he feels for you—just that she doesn’t have the same hold on him that she once did.”

Given that, as far as Bailey was concerned, Deke was sticking to his word for the wrong reason, it wouldn’t surprise her if he one day backed out. She wouldn’t even be surprised if he was genuinely considering it now, though he’d given her no indication of it. But if he did shake Dayna off, Bailey doubted it would have anything to do with her. Or that it would change the fact that their arrangement had an expiry date.

“You know, it’s kind of sad that it took for him to be riddled with touch-hunger before you two stopped circling each other and just got down to business,” Havana continued. “But I’m glad he’s stopped fighting the touch-hunger. Why did he finally stop?”

“He’s helpless against my raw animal magnetism.”

Havana rolled her eyes. “You know, I probably should have guessed that you two were shaking the sheets. I noticed he was doing better, so I suspected he was fucking someone. But I didn’t assume it was you, because I figured you would have told us if you were bonking him. Which you didn’t.”

“Are we still on that?” Boring.

“I should have suspected it was you, though, since he’s not being subtle about eye-fucking you these days.”

“I picked up on that as well,” Aspen interjected. “So did several males in our pride.” Her brows slowly slid together as her expression turned thoughtful. “And now I’m asking myself if it was his way of warning them off. After all, none would dare come on to Bailey if they thought Deke would freak about it.”

“I’m having the same thought,” said Havana. “He might not have openly claimed you, Bailey, but he made it clear in his own way that you weren’t to be touched.”

Aspen absently fiddled with her necklace. “You know, I’m not so certain he’ll walk away once the touch-hunger subsides.”

“Then you’re moronic,” said Bailey.

Aspen narrowed her eyes. “You’re deflecting again.”

“Can’t help it.”

Havana cut in, “I happen to agree with Aspen on this. What are you going to do if we’re right and he does suggest that you two keep things going?”

“He won’t.” Bailey dumped her spoon in her empty bowl. “I was clear on where I stand, and so was he.”

Aspen shot her a tired look. “Oh, please tell me you didn’t give him the ‘ground rules’ talk.”

Bailey’s back straightened. “There’s nothing wrong with having firm boundaries.”

“No, there isn’t,” the bearcat allowed. “But it guts me that you’re so set on keeping everyone at a distance.”

“Just so you know, Bailey,” began Havana, “I don’t think you’ll find it easy to do that with Deke.”

Bailey felt her brow furrow. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You’ve slept with dominant shifters in the past, but never one as dominant as he is,” Havana explained. “Dudes like him respect boundaries. Until they don’t. Until they decide that it doesn’t suit them anymore and so they start being pushy and bossy. If he wants to plant himself in your life, he will—you won’t be able to keep him out no matter what you do.”

“He’d never want to do something like that.” But even as Bailey said that, she recalled his warning …

You can’t keep a wall up between us forever.

Bailey hadn’t yet decided how she felt about him wanting to “know” her. Nor did her mamba. It made them slightly uneasy. They weren’t used to people showing such interest in them.

In any case, she wasn’t taking his words as an indication that he was looking for more than casual sex. Bed-buddies generally did like to “know” each other. And if Deke wanted more, he’d have just said so.

A cell began to ring, and Havana fished her phone out of her pocket. “Gotta take this. I’ll be right back.” She went into Bailey’s bathroom to take the call in private.

Grinning like an idiot, Aspen said, “I think Vana’s right. I think you won’t manage to hold Deke at bay.”

Bailey gave her a blasé shrug. “If you want to be wrong, that’s fine. Not everyone can be brilliant like me.”

The bearcat snorted. “I don’t know if I’d use the word ‘brilliant.’”

“Of course you’re unsure. You’re not brilliant.”

“I’m freaking fabulous.” Aspen splayed her hands on the island. “Whereas you’re a pain in the ass.”

“You say the latter as if I should be … you know … sorry or something.”

Aspen let out a pfft sound. “Oh, don’t worry, I’m well-aware that repentance is not your—”

“Don’t start making up words again.”

“Repentance is a word.”

“Not in my mental dictionary.”

“Tell me you two aren’t arguing!” Havana bellowed from inside the bathroom.

“We’re not arguing!” Aspen called out. “We’re just talking about Deke!” She refocused on Bailey. “And you’re doing your best to change the subject, because it’s making you uncomfortable. You know I’m right, you know there’s a chance Deke will cleave himself to you, and it’s freaking you out. Ha.”

Actually, Bailey had absolutely none of those worries. She knew where she stood with Deke and, what’s more, where she’d never stand with him. “You’re genuinely not bored of this conversation yet?”

“No. I find it fascinating.”

“Well, that’s just sad. No wonder Camden always looks like he’s zoning out when you two talk. Your conversations are probably boring him to tears.” Poor guy.

Aspen’s mouth tightened. “I far from bore him.”

“Oh yeah? Then where is he?” Bailey pushed her bowl aside. “Needs a break from your whiny-ass personality, does he? Ah, bless.”

Aspen’s nostrils flared. “You want me to knock you the fuck out, don’t you? That’s what this is.”

“Oh, please. Like you could get the drop on me. You and your bearcat are—”

“Don’t bring her into this. Unless you want her to kick your snake’s butt.”

“She couldn’t kick her own ass, let alone my mamba’s.”

Aspen shifted.

So did Bailey.

Their animals clashed.

The bearcat stomped on the snake, who struck fast in retaliation—biting her face three times. They tussled. Hissed. Snapped their teeth.

“I do not believe you two.”

The animals paused—the snake wrapped tight around the bearcat’s waist while said bearcat held the mamba’s mouth closed.

Havana stormed over to them and perched her hands on her hips. “Do you not get tired of being a pair of idiots?”

They only stared at her.

“Back away from each other. God, if bearcats didn’t have a peptide in their blood that made them immune to snake venom, Aspen would be dead a billion times over.”

The bearcat slowly let go of the mamba’s mouth.

Disappointed it was over, the snake reluctantly loosened her hold on her prey. Then sharp claws raked over her head. The snake hissed, displaying the inky black coloration inside her mouth, and then lunged—biting the bearcat’s ear.

“Both of you stop now!”

Hearing his phone chime in a rhythm that told him it was a video call, Deke crossed to the nightstand and peered down at his cell. He wasn’t all that surprised to see that the caller was Dayna. Lowering the basket of freshly laundered clothes on his bed, he rubbed his nape with a sigh.

He’d suspected he’d hear from her today. So far, he’d received several messages from gossipers, relaying that Bailey had been marked. Nobody had outright asked if he’d been the one to brand her, but some had hinted at it.

Deke hadn’t replied to any of the texts, just as he never responded to gossip. Still, he’d known his failure to confirm people’s suspicions wouldn’t prevent either Therese or Gerard from rushing into contacting Dayna about it—they wouldn’t want someone else to beat them to it.

Deke grabbed his cell and swiped his thumb over the screen to accept the call. Dayna’s face appeared, her forehead slightly wrinkled, her eyes wary. Yeah, she’d received news of Bailey’s mark all right. He’d put money on it.

“Morning,” he said, sitting on the edge of his bed.

She gave him a quick flash of a smile—it was hesitant, strained, forced. “Good morning.” The words were stiff and formal. “How are you?”

“Good. You?”

“I’m not sure yet.” She sat on what appeared to be a chair and then carefully leaned her cell against something to prop it up. “It will depend on a few things.” She pushed her curls out of her face. “When Therese told me a couple of days ago that your touch-hunger seemed less intense, it was more than obvious that you were sleeping with someone on the regular. I didn’t ask you about it because I knew you’d say nothing. You never do.”

Pausing, she leaned forward slightly. “But I need to know something, Deke. I need you to be straight with me on this.”

“On what?”

Absently, she cracked her knuckles. “Is it the mamba shifter you’ve been sleeping with? Don’t blow me off. Therese told me the snake’s been marked. I have to know if it was you.”

Deke inwardly sighed. He knew the truth would hurt her, but he wasn’t going to feed her a line of bullshit. Nor would he claim to regret what he’d done, because he didn’t—to lie would insult them both. The reality was that he’d brand Bailey again if needed. “It was me.”

Hurt flashed in her eyes, and her throat bobbed. She cleared it with a cough. “Was it something you did on purpose, or did things just get a little wild?”

“The latter. The first time.”

Her eyes went wide. “You branded her more than once?”

Although he could see she was misinterpreting the whys of his actions, he wasn’t going to explain his situation. She’d probably be understanding. Maybe. But he didn’t trust her enough to share his cat’s issues with her. So, instead, Deke merely nodded.

Her eyes closed, and she dropped her head.

“Look, I’m sorry—” He stopped talking as her head snapped up, and she shot him a cold stare that made his cat bare a fang.

“You’re sorry?” she scoffed. “I can’t believe you did this to me! I feel like I don’t know you right now.”

Deke narrowed his eyes. He got that she was upset. He did. But there was no need for her to act as though he’d committed some huge betrayal.

They weren’t in a relationship. Dayna had laid no claim to him. And none of what had happened had involved him breaking his promise.

She’d also once accidentally branded someone herself. He hadn’t given her a hard time over it, despite the fact that back then it hadn’t felt good. Nowadays, he wouldn’t have cared at all.

She placed a hand on her breastbone. “Were you ever going to tell me?”

“Yes.” Though he hadn’t planned to do so until he came round to proposing they go their separate ways. He’d intended to do that once he’d given her another couple of weeks to mourn her recent losses.

A derisive snort popped out of her. “I’m not sure I believe that.” She pressed her lips tight together, her expression stony and unforgiving.

His cat snarled, not liking that she’d expected Deke’sforgiveness when the situation was the other way around. And she really had expected it—there’d been no real apology, only a confession followed by, “I got a little carried away, I’ll try not to let it happen again.” Yeah. She’d try.

No fonder of double-standards than his cat, Deke found himself gritting his teeth.

“God, I feel so humiliated right now. How could you do this to me? Dammit, Deke, I waited for you.”

“Like I waited for you,” he clipped. “You said you’d be back in a year. You’ve been gone for over two and a half.”

“Oh, so it’s my fault you did this?”

“I never said that.”

“Then what are you saying?”

“That I don’t see that you have any right to act so fucking possessive and demand so much goddamn loyalty.” His cat growled, backing him up on that. “If I meant that much to you, you’d have either come home or freed me from my promise at some point. You’ve done neither.”

“I told you I’d come home!”

“You’ve been saying it for running up to three years. In all that time, you never made any concrete plans to back that up. You also fully expected me to let it go when you marked someone.”

The corners of her eyes tightened. “So you decided to punish me? Is that what this is?”

He frowned, affronted. “You know me better than to ask that question.” Deke didn’t operate that way.

“I thought I did. But then I found out you marked another woman. You never branded me. Not once.”

And that was why she was so pissed and upset, he realized. It was more a matter of jealousy and resentment.

Looking at him in disgust, she gave a disparaging shake of the head. “I don’t see how I can trust you after this. Maybe we should just scrap the vow.”

He shrugged, happy with that. “Seems like the best option to me.” His cat couldn’t agree more.

Her jaw went slack, and she blinked rapidly. Apparently she’d thought he’d beg her to reconsider and plea for forgiveness or some shit.

She licked her lips. “Deke, I—”

“There’s no point in sticking to it anymore. We’re just holding each other back.”

Her mouth pinched as a sour expression slipped over her face. “In other words, you want the freedom to go fuck your slut whenever you want?”

His muscles stiffened, and his cat got to his feet with a growl. “Don’t call her that again,” Deke warned, his voice low and soft but lethal.

“So she matters to you?” Dayna asked, bitterness coating every word.

“All my pride mates matter to me one way or the other to some extent, including you. Whatever you might think, I want you to be happy. You wouldn’t be happy with me, because it would mean leaving Evan. I get why you’re finding it incredibly painful to do that. Well, now you don’t have to.”

“You could really walk away from this, us, so easily?”

“There hasn’t been an ‘us’ in a long time.”

She opened her mouth to argue, but then she took a long breath. “That much you’re right about,” she admitted, crossing her arms and gripping her elbows. “We stopped making an effort. But like you pointed out, it’s been over two and a half years. We both kept our word all this time. We couldn’t have done that unless what we were trying to build is worth exploring. To just give up on it seems wrong.”

He felt his forehead wrinkle. “You just suggested we scrap the vow. You said you don’t trust me anymore.”

“You could earn my trust back. It might take a little time, and it would mean you’d have to get rid of this Bailey person. But you could do it.”

“You talk like I owe this to you. Like by hurting you I now have no right to walk away.” His mother was correct; Dayna used his sense of honor against him. “I’m done here.”

She scooted forward on her seat. “Deke—”

“Take care, Dayna.” With that, he ended the call.

He scrubbed a hand down his face. Much as that conversation pissed him off, he felt better. Lighter. Like he could breathe easier.

Pulling out of the vow had been best for them both. He did regret that he’d had to bring his plan forward, considering she was still in mourning, but he didn’t lament that he was finally free of their promise.

So though she tried calling him again, he ignored it. And when she kept calling, he eventually switched off the ringer.

Well-aware that she’d soon call her friends to spill everything, he texted Bailey: Just so you’re aware, the entire pride will soon know that it was me who marked you.

Her response came relatively fast: Why?

I admitted it to Dayna. She won’t keep it to herself. And then Therese would eagerly share it with everyone else. If she didn’t, Gerard would.

Three little dots danced on his screen. You really told her? asked Bailey.

It was the right thing to do.

Dude, you’re so damn ethical. Don’t you find it exhausting?

He frowned. No.

Huh. Weird.

Feeling his jaw tighten, he typed: No, Bailey, it’s not. Most people have ethics.

I pity every one of you.

Snorting, he tossed his phone on the bed. He’d said it before and he’d say it again—the woman was a goddamn nut.