Chapter 9 - Klaus
I slid the pile of papers toward Cal. “You can get started on these. I’ve approved all of them. I know there will be some pushback, but hopefully not too much.”
Cal took the pages and raised an eyebrow at me. “You good? You seem a little grumpier than normal.”
I sighed. “I’m fine. I just didn’t sleep well.” Correction. I haven’t slept well since the new arrival moved into my house.
How was I supposed to sleep after Aubrey stated that we should have sex? And she said it so calmly, like that wouldn’t be a line in the sand we could ignore. She and I couldn’t even stand in the same room comfortably, and she was just offering sex up so easily.
It was really starting to make me wonder what the hell was in her past. No one would just offer that up without having a past. She kept telling me that she wasn’t a sex worker or a whore, but Jesus. How was I supposed to take that?
“Maybe you need to go home early and catch a nap.”
Or maybe you should go home and get some. If she’s willing, why not accept her offer? Might help put you in a better mood.
God damn it. Enough. I’m not crossing that line. I brought her here, and that was enough. It had to be. We could live our separate lives. There was no need to get to know her or try to be friends. It wasn’t like she was going to be here long.
“I’m fine. You can go.” I waved Cal off and allowed the silence to stretch as I sat alone. I tried to keep my head focused, but she filled every thought.
My mind thought of her walking around the house.
I tracked every step, taking in her dainty little feet.
She painted her toenails recently, a light pink.
She had long legs, the type that looked good in heels, not that she wore those types of clothes.
She always wore baggy clothes, but at night she had pajamas that hugged her tightly, so I knew she had an ass and a pair of breasts that were substantial.
She was a thin person, but part of that came from malnutrition. She had longer fingers and a thin face.
Imagine them wrapped around your cock. How soft they must feel, how rough she could handle it.
Fuck!
I shook my head, trying not to get a hard-on. I didn’t understand where these dirty thoughts were coming from. I blamed the bond that we shared now.
I pushed myself out of my chair and swung up. I needed air. A change of scenery should help. I grabbed my jacket, and I headed out. I wasn’t even sure where I was going to go. Maybe just a walk around the block.
I turned the corner and froze because the universe had different plans.
Aubrey sat across the street in the park. She had a book propped open in her lap with a notebook on her other leg. She was chewing one end of her pen, and she stared intently at whatever she was reading.
She looked peaceful on the bench with no one around her. I watched the way her lips pursed and the way she shifted. Her thighs moved wider, and my eyes stared lower.
You want her. She’s willing; why are you fighting it? You can’t deny that she’s attractive.
I looked around and turned on my heels. I had to have some self-control. Just because she looked nice didn’t mean anything. I started down the sidewalk, planning to turn at the next corner. I made it a couple of feet before a voice spoke up.
“Well, well, well. Look what we have here.”
My legs stopped, and I glanced over my shoulder. A group of guys stood near her now. I couldn’t tell who it was since their backs were toward me. One snatched the book and read the covers. “So, it is true. The Alpha married a witch.”
Aubrey reached for the book, but another grabbed her arm, yanking it back, stopping her from grabbing it. My eyes watched the way his fingers wrapped around her shoulder. Anger hit me, and I started walking toward them.
Aubrey tried to pull herself up but was shoved back down. Her eyes widened, and I could see worry fill them. “I was just reading. Can I please have the book back?”
I moved faster, curling my hands into tight fists.
“Word is going around that you were hanging with witches. Even busted a convent. Don’t you have any self-respect? Don’t you understand that you’re married to an Alpha? Have some decency to act like a proper wife.”
Aubrey looked baffled, unsure of what to even say.
I growled, feeling a strong urge to protect Aubrey. I knew it was the connection, the mating bond that we shared. But another part was because she didn’t deserve the third degree. Aubrey didn’t even know what shifters were a few weeks ago. “That’s enough.”
All of the guys straightened, and her book fell to the ground.
They turned, and I quickly recognized their faces.
It was Philip, Harvey, and Dustin. They had all tried out for the Beta position and lost. Ever since then, they have always acted like they were an extension of Cal.
I was pretty sure they were trying to climb the ladder, which I didn’t have time for.
Philip straightened his shoulders. “Klaus, we were just…”
“Just what?” I asked, not in the mood. “Bothering my wife? As I recall, I gave a firm warning to the entire pack to treat her as you would me.”
“She’s practicing magic,” Harvey added. “We were just warning her that she shouldn’t be doing so in a public area.”
“Warning her about what?” I growled, losing the calm that I was holding onto. “Did I ask any of you to get into her space? To corner her like animals or take her stuff? Have I ever stated that witches were not welcome in the pack, that people weren’t allowed to read about them?”
They stammered now, taking a step back. “We were…”
I pulled a hand up, stopping them. I didn’t want to hear any of the excuses they would come up with. “Get out of my face before I decide to let you walk away with all your appendages.”
They stumbled away, and I turned to Aubrey. She reached down and grabbed the book, wiping the grass off it. She held it close to her, and I could see the way the book pressed against her breast.
Fuck me.
I grabbed her arm, pulling her with me. “Hey!”
“Walk,” I snapped, looking around. I could see that several people were watching us now, having watched the entire dispute unfold. “And why the hell are you sitting out here like this?”
She threw me a glare. “I didn’t think it was going to be a problem! I was just reading a book, for God’s sake. It wasn’t like I was walking bare ass around the town.”
I stopped and turned to her. “I’m not talking about the book, Aubrey! I’m talking about your attire!”
Her face went red, and she glanced down at her clothes. “What is wrong with my clothes? It’s hot outside.”
There was nothing wrong with her clothes, but if I couldn’t keep my eyes off her, that meant others couldn’t as well. I pulled her along straight for the SUV. “Get in. I’m taking you home.”
The drive was quiet, and Aubrey didn’t say a single word through it. She just held the books tightly, her fingers tight around them. Her lips were pressed in a thin line, and she wouldn’t look at me.
We arrived home, and Aubrey turned as soon as we stepped inside. She looked at me, pissed now, as she crossed her arms. “You know what, Klaus. You owe me an apology.”
“Excuse me?” I watched the way she set the books aside, placing her hands on her hips.
“You had no right to speak to me that way. To drag me around and make it seem like I did something wrong. And I don’t need you to meddle in things. You came in like a bull in a china shop.”
“I was protecting you.”
“I don’t need you to. How am I supposed to earn everyone’s respect when you come around before I can even earn it?”
“You don’t! You’re my wife. They will respect you.”
“You can’t just expect them to respect me when they don’t even know me. You don’t even know me.”
“It’s part of the agreement,” I stated. “And you don’t need to be lounging around the pack looking like you’re asking for it. You wear baggy clothes around me, and yet you wear shorts and a tank top outside in front of them?”
She shook her head. “I’m going to try and ignore the insult because it’s clear you’re just an asshole in general. And no, it wasn’t in the agreement. I’m not some fragile little child. I am more than capable of taking care of things myself.”
“Part of our agreement was me protecting you, and I was doing that. And do you really wanna go down that road? Because, as I recall, you were the one being sold at an auction. Didn’t look like you were taking care of yourself. Look at yourself. You are skin and bones.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Are you going to always go back to that? You bought me, so I can’t protect myself at all?”
“It proves my point.”
“No, it doesn’t. I was put in a shitty position, but I would have gotten myself out of it just like I have with other situations.”
I sighed. “You’re just proving my point even more. Why are you getting yourself into bad situations, Aubrey? Do you not know how to make smart decisions?”
“Knock it off!” she yelled. “Pick a side, Klaus. I can’t handle your bipolar ass.
” She rubbed at her face and sighed, frustrated.
“Make this make sense, Klaus. You and I can’t get along, yet you want to protect me?
You argue with me about everything. Nothing I seem to do is good enough, or it’s too dangerous, yet you refuse to help me figure anything out.
I want to learn magic, and you get angry.
I ask questions about what happened in the past, and it puts you in a mood.
What exactly do you want from me here, Klaus?
How exactly do you expect us to help your pack if you won’t do anything? ”
I ground my teeth together. “I need time to think.”
“You don’t have time!” she snapped. “I’m at least trying. You haven’t given this any of your time.”
I laughed. “Oh yeah, considering your last idea was sex. You’re really trying.”
“I already told you that was what helped the others! I wasn’t just throwing it out there. Elize said that the connection and closeness of sex helps.”
“You know what, I’m tired of this conversation.” I turned to head up the stairs, but something hit me in the back. I turned and noticed she’d thrown her book at me. Her hands were in a tight fist, her face red with anger.
“I’m so sick and tired of you just throwing your arms up and walking away. God damn, do you want me stuck here forever!”
I turned back to her. “Tread carefully, Aubrey.”
“Or what?” she pressed. “You going to hurt me? Trust me, I can handle plenty.”
That hit me in the gut. But what hurt was the thought that she actually thought I’d hurt her. I took a couple of calm steps toward her. She held her head high as I crowded her space.
“First, I would never hurt you unless you asked. I know better than to hurt a woman. And second, I’m not walking away. I’m calming down.”
“Do I irritate you that much?” she pressed. “Does the idea of fucking me just disgust you that much?”
I growled at her. “I will put you over my knee and slap your ass so hard you won’t sit for a week.”
“I thought you said you wouldn’t put your hands on a woman?” she asked, stepping into my space now. “If sex is just a terrible idea, how about a kiss?”
My eyes went to her lips, and I suddenly wondered what that would feel like. “I’m not kissing you.”
She raised an eyebrow at me. “Why not? It’s just a kiss.”
I could smell her perfume, and it twisted my gut up. God, I wanted nothing more than to put her over my knee. I wanted to listen to her whimper in pleasure and maybe, for once, get her to be quiet. Though I doubted she was quiet in the sack.
“I’m going to start thinking you’re the one who wants to bed me. Trying to make it your payment back?”
Her eyes narrowed. “Oh yes. I can hardly control myself, Klaus. I’m just soaking my panties when I see you.”
I ground my teeth together, watching her smirk as she spoke in that sarcastic tone. “I just moan your name at night. Waiting to see what you can do.”
I grabbed the back of her neck, pulling her against me. She looked shocked as I moved my hand, grabbing at her chin. I leaned closer and inhaled her. She smelled so fucking sweet, and I could even get a hint of coffee on her breath. “You asked for it. Just remember that.”
I kissed her, and not softly. I kissed her like the brat she was. I could hear her moan, and I slid my tongue into her mouth, tasting her like I’d never get a chance again.