Chapter 11
Monte
She seemed surprised by my omission. I sure hoped she didn’t expect me to sleep in some other room. She deserved the master bedroom, though I really did feel like the bed was too big for us. I’d take a full size or even a twin over this beast of a bed anytime.
When we went to check out the bathroom it was just as enormous, but then so was the jetted tub that was easily big enough for the both of us.
Ideas started forming in my mind as a slow smile crept across my face.
“I don’t even want to know what you’re thinking,” Zoey said.
I knew enough about women to understand she definitely wanted to know, but I didn’t give her the satisfaction.
Instead, I shrugged and made my way back to the living room.
It felt like safer, more neutral territory.
I’d promised to take Bucky’s lesson at one and if I stayed in that bedroom even a second longer with my mate, there was little chance I’d make it.
“Hey, are you okay if I order room service or would you rather go down to the dining room?”
“I’m starving. Food sounds great.”
She rummaged around until she found the room service menu.
“Yum. A cheeseburger and fries sounds perfect.”
“Yeah, it does for me too,” I agreed. “I’ll call it in.”
When I reached to take the menu from her and find the number to call, our hands brushed. All conscious thought left my mind. Was it any wonder I couldn’t remember?
This woman did things to me that I couldn’t even describe to myself. All I knew for sure was that she made me feel comfortable and confident enough to just be me.
Freshman year I’d tried to keep up and play the fraternity game.
Remy, Brax, Caleb, and I had all decided to rush together.
Then there was Kellen and Jax, too. We’d had a lot of fun that year, but outside the house I felt like I had to be this person I wasn’t and hated it.
The whole pretense thing just wasn’t me.
As I thought about it, I knew that’s why I had keyed in so quickly to the way Zoey spoke and acted around Karla. It was all an act. She wasn’t being herself. But I genuinely felt like when it was just the two of us that she let her guard down. It felt like she was just being herself.
I just hoped that it wasn’t me imagining things or making them up.
Her world wasn’t exactly filled with authentic people.
I knew how Theta girls acted. It was often all about appearances.
So how the hell was Zoey their president?
Combine that with her role as a social media influencer, which also wasn’t known for authenticity, and I had to believe that she was being real and honest with me.
Because if not, true mate or not, I knew I couldn’t be with her.
After making the call to room service, I kicked off my shoes and settled onto the couch. I still had an hour before I needed to go, and it wasn’t like I had much of anything to unpack.
Zoey sat across from me with her feet tucked under her. It was strange how much I hated the distance between us even though it was only a few feet.
“So, that was weird,” I blurted out.
“What was?”
“You. It was like you were an entirely different person when you were speaking with Karla.”
There was panic in her eyes. She looked like a scared little doe, frozen but ready to bolt at the sign of danger. I wanted to kick my own ass for putting her in that position. But I sat there watching her as she transformed before my eyes.
That fake, plastic look replaced with the woman I thought I was getting to know.
She smiled at me and I shuddered.
“Don’t do that,” I said before she even opened her mouth.
“Do what?”
“Put on the mask when we’re talking.”
This time there was real fear there. I could smell it on her as she curled herself into a ball, hugging her legs to her chest.
I sighed. “You don’t have to do that with me, you know.”
“Do what?” she snapped, but her whole demeanor changed and I could see she was having some sort of internal battle going on.
“You know what,” I challenged.
An uncomfortable silence fell between us that was interrupted with a knock at the door.
I could feel her anxiety heighten and a part of me felt bad for it, but we were in our mating period.
This was the time for me to get to know her and vice versa.
That meant knowing and understanding it all—the good and the bad, the highs and the lows—before it was too late to sever the bond between us, before I was in too deep.
The door was nothing but our food arriving.
As he rolled the tray into the room, Zoey began to relax a little.
I wasn’t sure if it was because there was now a buffer with this guy in the room or that she was just really relieved for food.
Or maybe she was just happy for the distraction that could steer us away from this conversation.
I really didn’t peg her for a chicken though.
I didn’t recognize the guy delivering our food, so there was no need for small talk. I fished out a few bills from my wallet and handed them to him as I led him back to the door.
The way he was craning his neck to catch a last-minute glimpse of my mate set my wolf on edge. Somehow, I managed to keep the growl inside, at least until the door was shut. If Zoey heard me, she didn’t acknowledge it. She was already diving into the food he’d brought.
Instead of pressing for more, I kept my mouth shut this time and concentrated on my food as well. I was too busy trying to calm my wolf back down to talk anyway.
We ate in silence and then it was time for me to leave. I needed some time before the session to get ready for it. Plus, I hated the awkward distance that was now between us.
I found my gear bag and mumbled a goodbye without making things right with her. This did not sit well with my wolf. If I were being honest with myself, it didn’t sit well with me either. She was my mate, and I knew I owed it to myself and to her to do better. But now wasn’t the time for that.
Down the elevator and around the lobby, I stopped by the front desk, surprised to see Karla was still working.
“Why haven’t you left yet? You’ve been going at it for hours.”
She looked exhausted as she gave me a weak smile. “No such thing in a storm like this.”
I scowled and craned my neck to see outside. “Still snowing?”
“Yup.”
“So no class today?”
“It’s been moved inside.”
My nose scrunched up in disdain. “You want me to teach on the rock climbing wall?”
“For today? Yes. We’re already making arrangements for something more.
This one’s important, Monte. Bucky was bummed to have to sit this one out.
It’s someone very important. I’m just not sure who.
If I didn’t know better, I’d say it was Zoey.
But why the hell would your girlfriend seek out lessons from anyone else? She’s already got access to the best.”
Zoey? Yeah, she had some sort of appointment at one also. It was all starting to make sense. And I wasn’t about to admit to Karla that Zoey didn’t really know much about that side of me and never would have asked. But I was willing to bet money that’s who I was about to teach.
“How bad is it out there?”
“Bad enough, so don’t even think about what I think you’re thinking about. We could lose our insurance if anything happened out there.”
I knew she was right.
“Fine. Rock wall it is.” I rolled my eyes.
“It’s closed to the public. Bucky said he had to sign a NDA and you should expect to as well.
And that this lesson needed to remain private.
He even had us black out all the windows and temporarily suspend the keycard device on the door.
Here. You’ll need this to get in.” She handed me a new key card.
“This is kind of insane, you know.”
She shrugged. “Boss’s rules. So don’t screw this one up.”
“Just another job. It’s fine. I’ll be on my best behavior.”
She shook her head but was grinning. “Lay on that charm of yours and everything will be great. I swear you could charm a mouse out of a cheese factory.”
I laughed. “If you say so.”
Giving her a little wave, I left to grab some gear and head to the rock wall room.
It didn’t change things a ton, but some.
I was better at teaching out in nature. The idea of being cooped up in that room with all natural light blocked out felt suffocating.
But I was stuck now. And if I was right, at least I’d be in good company.
Flinching, I remembered how I’d left things with Zoey. Then again, maybe being trapped in here with her wasn’t such a bad idea.
My mind drifted to all the various ways I could make it up to her. The fall mats could provide a great bed. No one could come in for the next three hours.
I imagined her naked on the stack of mats, spread wide for me.
My mouth watered and my erection came on quickly at the thought.
I’d always heard how wonderful makeup sex could be. I didn’t think we were actually fighting about anything, just going through a temporary awkward phase. Already the whys and what not were starting to fade, and I was desperate to make things right with her again.
Or maybe things were worse than I imagined and she was going to freak out when she saw me here. Would this make things even worse between us?
Maybe this wasn’t such a great idea after all. Or maybe I was wrong and this lesson had nothing to do with her.
No sooner than I thought it, the door opened and she walked in.
I was not wrong.
The look on her face told me she was definitely not expecting me.
“Monte? What are you doing here?”
“I assumed you were going to be my one o’clock high-profile client. I’m filling in for Bucky. Snowstorm and all. But don’t worry. You’re in good hands.”
She blushed as five more people walked in behind her.
I scowled. “Excuse me. This is a closed lesson.”
“No, it’s okay,” Zoey said. “They’re with me.”
“Oh.”
What the hell was going on? Who were these people?
If I were thinking logically, I would have noticed the lights and cameras they were carrying with them, but it wasn’t until Zoey gave instructions for them to start setting up that I realized she had an entire crew there to record us.
“This isn’t exactly ideal, but we’ll have to make it work,” she told them. And as she orchestrated them for setup, I saw my mate in a new light. It was mesmerizing. All I could do was stand there and stare.