Chapter 13 #2
“That’s a truly horrible idea,” I finally said. “My family will hate you more when they meet you. You’re…” I gestured to all of him with my half-eaten croissant. “You.”
“I’m going to pretend that wasn’t an insult,” Maverick drawled.
Harper nodded. “Probably for the best.”
“Then it’s settled. I’ll bring blood and lunch at 10, and we’ll leave after you’ve fed,” the Alpha said.
Shit.
That wasn’t the plan.
I scrambled for a way to ask him to freeze the blood instead. “I’d rather drink it throughout the week, if you don’t mind.”
He didn’t bat an eye. “I’ll take care of it.”
“Thanks.”
Maverick nodded. “You should run home to pack a bag, and take a nap while you’re at it. You need more sleep than you’ve been getting.”
“I’m trying to fix your company, remember?”
“My company isn’t more important than your health.”
“Is your company more important than Harper’s health?” I countered.
“Yes.”
I rolled my eyes. “I know fate wants us to get it on, but you and I aren’t together, Maverick.”
“I’m aware.
“Are you really?”
“I wouldn’t be fighting my nature constantly if we were together. The status of our relationship just doesn’t matter. You’re mine.”
Harper asked a question I hadn’t considered. “Does that mean you’re hers?”
“It does. And her claim will undoubtedly be challenged during our visit with the Erren Pack.”
“I’ll happily withdraw my claim,” I said.
“Unfortunately for you, your fated mate is allowed to fight in your place. And I don’t lose.” Maverick stood up, eyeing my croissant stack. He clearly wanted one.
One of his werewolves had brought them to us, so it would’ve been rude not to share. It wasn’t like I’d finish them all anyway.
I offered him two, and he took them from my hand without a beat of hesitation before striding away.
“Feeding your mate is a significant part of werewolf culture,” he called over his shoulder as he reached the door. “Don’t give your personal food to any other wolves at any point in the future.”
So that was why his enforcers always made it extremely clear that Maverick had asked them to bring me the meals they showed up with.
“I only offered you food you had already fed me,” I called back quickly.
“Still counts.” The door shut behind him, effectively ending the conversation.
“He is such a dick,” I grumbled to Harper.
“He’s got one hell of an ass, though,” she mused.
Truer words had never been spoken.
We both watched it flex as he walked away.
My phone vibrated with a text a minute later. I picked it up and scanned it.
Maverick
Go home, Bloom
I dropped the device back on the couch. “You don’t think he was serious about the fighting thing, right?”
“I think you’re a better judge on whether or not that man is being serious than I am.”
Picking up another croissant, I took another bite while I considered it.
My phone vibrated again two minutes later. I sighed when I saw the message.
Maverick
Go home or I’ll carry you there myself
I held it out to Harper so she could read it.
“I’m glad you’re the one dealing with that constant intensity. I’d lose my mind.” She paused. “But considering my days are numbered, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad for a week or two.”
“Your days aren’t numbered. Somehow, Velour is going to pull through.”
“That fucker ghosted us, and you know it.”
“I don’t.”
“Bloom.” Harper patted my knee lightly. “I love you, but you need to start trying to wrap your mind around the fact that the end is coming for me.”
“I’m never going to—”
The door to my office opened again. When the scent of fresh vanilla met my nose, I was on my feet in a heartbeat. “Fine, I’m leaving.”
Maverick held the door open for me and Harper while we shuffled out.
I forgot my shoes, but I didn’t tell him that.
“There’s a car waiting for you out front. Same driver as before. Don’t try to walk home,” Maverick ordered.
“Has anyone ever told you you’re bossy?” I countered.
“They have. My ego actually grows every time I hear it.”
I bit back a grin.
He walked us to the elevator, plucking a chunk of croissant off the shoulder of the gigantic sweater he’d left me yesterday morning as I pressed the button to call it.
“If you eat that, I swear—” I began.
He tossed it into a trash can nearby. “Your clean laundry is in a basket in the car. The only scent on it should be mine. If you smell anyone else, don’t touch it.”
“Why would that be concerning?”
“It would be tampered with.”
“Why would someone tamper with my laundry, and what could they do to it?” I wondered.
“You’re adorably innocent.”
He had no idea that I was using him for blood and other attempted (though mostly failing) badassery.
I wasn’t going to keep questioning him. Not only was it a little risky for me, but I was going to be trapped alone in a car with the Alpha for a four-hour drive soon. I needed to save my stubbornness for the trip.
It would really help if I could feed, but that obviously wasn’t happening. Thursday nights were the only gathering nights every week, and we were leaving.
I reached a hand up to my bun, wincing as I felt the stiff strands that may as well have been made of dry shampoo at that point. “I should’ve gone home to wash this sooner.”
“You have questionable hygiene,” Harper agreed.
“That’s rude.”
“Just blame it on the paperwork,” she said.
“I would never insult paperwork that way.”
“You smell fucking delicious.” Maverick leaned closer and took a deep breath of the same disgusting hair I had just touched.
“I think that translates to you really need a shower,” Harper whispered.
“Of course it does,” I agreed.
The world’s slowest elevator finally opened.
“Don’t forget that nap, Sugar. I’m going to keep you up late tonight.”
“Is he making sex jokes, or am I hallucinating?” I asked Harper.
“He is indeed.”
The elevator door closed, finally hiding his stupidly attractive face.
Was I ever going to adjust to being in close proximity to the Alpha?
It was starting to seem very, very unlikely.
After a nice long shower—and a vow never to go that long without one again—I packed a bag and crashed on the couch. Harper woke me up a few hours later, when Maverick was at the door, and I stumbled to meet him.
He had the leather messenger bag he’d given me with blood last time hanging off his shoulder again. Something told me he’d stolen it from the apartment at some point when I was gone that week.
I wasn’t going to ask.
He’d fed me enough times that I didn’t particularly care if he broke in. It wasn’t like I had anything he would want to steal, other than my clothes. Which he had cleaned and folded.
Hard to complain about a free doorstep laundry service.
“Hey,” I said blearily.
He was already putting blood bags in our freezer.
“Don’t try to ration,” he warned. “I have no problem providing what you need.”
I gaped when I saw his face. “What the fuck happened to you?”
His skin was tinted gray.
“Nothing.”
I stormed past him, opening the freezer he’d just closed to count the bags of blood.
Four. At once. That was a shitload of—
“Drink this before we go. Just in case. I want you at full strength.” He shoved another bag of blood toward me with none of his usual grace. Thanks to my vampire speed, I managed to catch it before it hit the ground. The man looked like he had one foot in the fucking grave.
“Five bags? You can’t do that. That’s at least a third of the blood in your ridiculously large body. You shouldn’t even be walking right now.”
“I’m a werewolf, Bloom. I can take it.” His voice was lower than usual. Rougher, too.
“You look like a corpse. Whatever this is, it’s not handling it. Sit down.” I waved him toward the couch.
“I’m not sitting down. We’re leaving.”
“Sit down.” I pointed to the couch, raising my voice.
He scowled, and still didn’t move. I noticed him leaning heavily against the cabinets, too. The man was going to pass out.
“I’m not going anywhere with you like this. Sit your ass on my couch or I will sit it there myself,” I ordered.
His eyes glowed for a moment. “Go ahead. Sit my ass down.”
“I’m going to leave you to this.” Harper gestured around the kitchen. Her voice was muffled, so I was pretty sure her fangs had made an appearance. The thawed bag of blood I was holding probably didn’t make her bloodlust any easier to deal with.
A strangled breath escaped me.
Maverick’s condition was my fault. He didn’t realize that I would never have needed so much blood at one time myself. He was suffering to keep my best friend alive, and he didn’t even realize it.
Fuck.
I was an asshole. A bigger one than him.
In any other situation, I would never have done this.
But it wasn’t any other situation.
I pulled one of his arms over my shoulders and grabbed his waist, dragging him away from the cabinets. Maverick didn’t let me take much of his weight, but he did let me pull him across the apartment and shove him to the couch.
He also yanked me to the cushions with him. A sound of surprise escaped me when I ended up on his lap, with my face over his crotch.
He blinked down at me.
I stared as a tent slowly appeared in front of my eyes, and a blush slowly spread over my cheeks.
Holy shit, he was huge.
“How do you have enough blood in your body to be hard right now?” My voice came out breathier than expected.
“Guess my cock still knows what matters.”
I couldn’t stop my snort.
He dragged me up onto his lap. It was significantly more of a struggle for him than it had been before. My guilt flared again.
It faded a bit when he sat me over his erection.
“For the record, that wasn’t intentional.” He gestured toward both of our crotches before putting both his hands on my waist.
“I noticed. Your muscles failed you.”
“My muscles never fail me. They just… took a break.”
“They tend to do that when you let someone drain five pints of blood from your body. What were you thinking?”
“My Omega bet me that I couldn’t give you more than three bags.”
“Is that the other guy who was with you and Rhone when I was in the cage?”
“Yeah. Nolan.”
My forehead creased. “His side of the bet must’ve been pretty appealing.”
“It was.”
I waited.
He leaned in.