Chapter 13 #2
“He said I can’t go out because of how I look.” I put a hand on his chest again, trying again to push him away. “I’m sorry, but you may have to kill your own brother.”
Her eyes lit up with anger as she looked at Ryder. “You said she looked bad?”
“What?” he asked, pure confusion flooding his face.
“Aanya said that men who insult a woman’s looks have small dicks, so I guess you have one of those,” I said promptly, crossing my arms as Ryder’s eyes went impossibly wider and Aanya broke into a cackle of laughter that had me confused.
“Kitten,” Ryder groaned, “I don’t want you going out because you look good, not because you look bad. Gods, that is the last thought that ever enters my head when it comes to you. And my sister isn’t wrong about those men, I just happen to not be one of them.”
“You think I look good?” I frowned in suspicion.
“Fuck yes, and it’s horrible, which is why you aren’t allowed to go.”
“Okay, I take back the small dick comment.” I offered a small smile as his eyes flared and he looked up to the ceiling, seeming to try to gather himself.
“Ew, I do not want to talk about his dick,” Aanya cringed.
“You guys shouldn’t even be going out in the first place. It’s going to snow, which means everyone turns into a shitty driver,” Ryder finally said.
“But we were going dancing,” I pointed out softly as he looked away from his sister and back down at me.
“Then you can dance here.” Ryder cupped my jaw. “I heard what happened at the hockey game today, and I don’t like that the other university is still in town. They will be going out for sure.”
I slumped slightly as Ryder spoke honestly. “As possessive as I am, Effie—which I very much am over you—if you really wanted to go out and it was safe to do so, I would make it happen. But tonight I think it would put you in serious danger.”
Examining his face, I could see the truth there, so I nodded.
Aanya groaned. “That’s so lame, Ryder. But fine, fine, fine. Effie, want to tell the boys to come over? We can do a big movie night. I’ll invite the twins and we can order food. But I am staying in this dress for at least an hour. You also.”
“Okay.” I smiled as she disappeared and I looked back at Ryder, who was watching me with confusion.
“What?” I asked softly.
“There is something wrong. You are mad at me.”
I opened my mouth and then closed it. “Because of the dress thing.”
“No, I saw it when you first came into the room. What did I do wrong?”
I couldn’t help but feel a bit bad that he said ‘what did I do wrong,’ because I was almost positive the woman from the bathroom was lying. At the same time, I could truly see that he was asking, his attention solely on me, the warmth in his gaze something I could easily become addicted to.
“I’m not mad…not exactly.” I nibbled my lip. “It’s just that I didn’t see you all day, and this morning I was in the bathroom over at the other end of campus, and that woman from the office came in there.”
His face immediately hardened. “What?”
“Yeah, she told me that you and her were a thing and that you told every girl that you couldn’t be with them because it was part of some game… Apparently I need to stay in my own lane,” I whispered.
“Did you believe her?” Ryder asked quietly.
“No,” I breathed out. “Not really.”
Ryder cupped my jaw with both hands while holding my gaze. “The fact that you even considered it for a minute means I need to do better.”
“But I thought we couldn’t be together,” I murmured, looking at his lips.
He chuckled softly, his body filled with tension that didn’t match the amused sound.
“I fear it’s not an option anymore, Effie.
I spent all day researching, buried in information about lykos because I was up all night thinking about you…
There could never be another woman, kitten, because you occupy every corner of my mind.
I realized today that I don’t want that to change.
I love that I wake up thinking about you, wanting to see you smile and hear your voice.
I want to give this a chance, and I want—no, need—to apologize to you. ”
“Apologize to me?” I felt a bit dazed by the sincerity in his voice.
Ryder inhaled, almost looking a bit nervous, before taking the flowers from the counter and handing them to me, my hands tightening around the delicate paper they were wrapped in as he stepped closer.
“Apologize for my indecision. Apologize for making you ever think that I could be anything less than goddamn thrilled you were my mate. I know that you don’t trust me, and I don’t blame you, but I want you, Effie.
I’ve wanted you since you walked into my damn classroom, and I have a feeling I will only want you more every single damn day. ”
My mouth popped open. “Wow.”
His ears heated slightly as he swallowed. “Yeah, I have no idea what I’m doing, honestly, I’m just hoping you will forgive me for being a dick. It’s either that or I follow you around for the rest of your life like a stalker.
I nibbled on my bottom lip. “What about your family?” I was resisting the urge to jump in excitement and throw my arms around him, but I had to make sure that we were finally on the same page instead of the confusion that had weighed so heavily in my heart.
Ryder’s face turned serious. “I may have to fucking hide you away from the world, but we can cross that bridge when we get there. What I can’t handle is knowing that you’ve been doubting the connection between us that is stronger than anything I’ve ever experienced before.”
I couldn’t help but smile. “Okay.”
“Okay?” His eyes filled with relief.
“I forgive you,” I responded softly and looked down at the gorgeous purple bouquet I was now holding. “Thank you for the flowers, they are beautiful.”
Ryder chuckled. “I’m glad. I spent about a half an hour trying to decide which ones and another ten sitting in the car, wondering if I need to go back and get more.”
“I love them,” I promised.
His hand slid down to my throat as he smoothed a thumb over my pulse. “You really do look gorgeous, which is another reason why you can’t go to that cesspool, because if I kill a student I will get my ass locked up. ”
“Aanya goes a lot,” I pointed out.
Ryder chuckled. “No. No, she does not. She just thought she could go tonight because her mates are supposed to be busy until later…”
The door opened, and in walked the two men that had been with her earlier, her two mates.
“I stand corrected,” Ryder murmured.
“Where is she?” one of them asked, the intensity radiating off of him far different than I expected.
“Room.” Ryder nodded down the hall.
They were both gone then, and I looked at Ryder, who seemed amused as hell.
“They are different than I expected.”
“They are different from how my sister describes them.” He shook his head. “Which is why she is going to need to face reality very soon.”
“Reality?”
“The reality that the two of them are certifiable stalkers and nearly as bad as your other four mates, who are waiting downstairs as we speak.”
“You said ‘other,”” I said softly as affection infused his gaze. “Wait, why are they waiting? And downstairs? Like where they dropped me off?”
“Yeah, they never left.” Ryder chuckled. “I think they knew you guys would try to go out, which reminds me…” His eyes ran over my outfit. “Make sure to stay in that. I’ll call them up. If I have to suffer, so do they.”
“I am going to burn it.”
Tore’s low, rumbling voice had me smiling as I searched through Aanya’s closet for where she had put my clothing from before. Honestly, the woman was organized to the point of losing things.
This was not the first time that he’d said those exact words, along with a million other things he was going to do with it. I had thought at first he was serious until Ryder assured me that he wasn’t going to actually ruin Aanya’s clothing.
Just in case, though, I was changing back into my own clothes.
“I don’t think that’s even enough,” Julian called from the bedroom. “We need to drown it in the lake.”
“It’s a pretty dress,” I countered.
Dakota sounded amused as I grabbed a hoodie and sweatpants, Tore following me with his gaze and a grumpy expression.
“I agree, little wolf. I think it’s very pretty.”
“Dakota.” Caedmon shot him a look, his entire body tense.
“What?” He grinned. “It would look even prettier on the ground.”
I frowned. “I mean, I’m about to take it off… We could see what it would look like on the ground, but I don’t think it would be that much of a difference.”
Julian muttered a small curse in what I think may have been Spanish before falling back on the carpet from where he’d been sitting. Aanya had let me use her room for changing, and considering she was arguing with her mates in the office as Ryder went to pick up Chinese food…
I was hoping we could stay in here a bit. I didn’t want them to argue, and I knew it wasn’t my place to step in and try to resolve whatever was wrong.
“Go get comfy.” Dakota nodded towards the bathroom, and I slipped inside. I smiled slightly, loving just how much of a reaction they’d had to the dress.
Dakota had almost immediately been in my space, running his hands over my hips and kissing me hard against the lips, causing my knees to feel weak.
Tore had brought over a blanket from the couch and tried to wrap me in it, insisting I was cold even though I wasn’t.
His body had told me just how turned on he was, and I had felt both overwhelmed and absolutely thrilled being surrounded by the two of them.
Caedmon hadn’t said anything yet, but he continued to stare at me, and whenever I did meet his gaze, I could see something brewing there, right under the surface.
I think he had something to say, but whatever it was, he didn’t feel comfortable voicing it in such a big group.