31. Chapter 31
Chapter 31
Abby
I didn’t have a TV.
Considering that just days ago I was living out of my car, that shouldn’t be high on my priority list. I had a bed, a couch, a kitchen, and a roof over my head. I also had a heater, which I kept cranking up only to lower it as a fever played games with my body temperature.
Normally I enjoyed being sick. I could take a few days on the couch to watch my favorite movies. Except I didn’t have a TV.
And that was a problem because every time I tried to watch something on my phone, squinting at the small screen, I thought about getting a projector like the one Gage had at his place even though my walls really weren’t big enough. Which made me think about Gage.
I wasn’t doing that, so now I had to reboot my brain— again— and come up with a new thought to distract me.
Yesterday I thought about nothing but finding a new job. Filling out applications and attaching copies of my resume to every listing within sixty miles was a solid distraction. In between I flopped onto the couch, rubbing irritably at my skin.
It felt too tight, the way it cinched uncomfortably after a sunburn. The fever wasn’t helping, sending waves of pinprick goosebumps up my arms. My joints were stiff, and I felt achy but otherwise I couldn’t figure out what I had. There was no coughing, sore throat, stomach pain.
Every once in a while that weird ping went off in my chest, echoing oddly, and I felt a surge of panic. What if this was a heart condition? Some kind of lethal infection? What if I ignored it out of fear and I was dying?
I wasn’t dying. I had the flu and bad taste in men and another year of recovery for my stupid, stupid heart.
That sent me down another bitter thought spiral. I was about to reboot my brain when my phone chimed with a notification from the security system. Seconds later there was a loud knock on the front door.
My heart hammered. With shaking hands, I approached the door, tapping in the code for the security app on my phone. I stood inches from the door, fingers already poised to twist the deadbolt.
Wait, did I want to let him in?
Should I let him in, even if I wanted to?
It took him two days to come and talk to me. Two days of mentally torturing myself. Shouldn’t I torture him at least that long? Twice as long?
I inhaled, forcing myself to glance at the screen where I had live feed from the door camera.
Ping? My heart murmur seemed to go limp inside me, settling sadly between my ribs when I saw who was standing on the other side of my apartment door.
I shouldn’t have been surprised to see Levi. He was Gage’s damage control, always running behind his brother with apologies and excuses.
There was officially a zero-tolerance policy for excuses around here.
I swung the door open. “What are you doing here?”
He fixed me with one of those clean-cut, charming smiles. “Thought we should talk. Can I come in?”
I crossed my arms over my chest and scowled. “If you’re here to throw some kind of early Christmas bonus at me to convince me to come back to work, you can leave.”
Levi sauntered past me, giving an excellent impression of his boorish brother. “Nice place.”
“Sure, come on in,” I grunted, slamming the door shut behind him and punching in the security code. The last thing I needed was to set the alarm off and send a notification directly to Gage’s phone. He would come if he had a reason to come that wasn’t apologizing and genuinely feeling remorse for his behavior.
Levi positioned himself with the coffee table between us. He wore his usual smile, but I could see by the lines around his eyes that it was forced. “How are you, Abby?”
“I don’t want to answer that.”
“That’s fair.” Levi fiddled with the band of his watch. It was a Saturday morning, and he was dressed to the nines. Did he sleep in a suit too? “I wouldn’t want to talk to me either.”
“Then why are you here?”
“To let you know that no matter how you feel about my brother, and how things work out between you two, you’re still part of my pack. However this goes down, you have all my resources at your disposal. We’ll keep you safe and we’ll keep your bills paid until you decide what you want to do about work.”
“ Keep my bills paid ? Why?”
“Because you’re my brother’s mate.”
I wasn’t sure if it was how easily he admitted the truth—the truth that he’d known for nearly three months —or his casual tone that sent me over the edge.
“Because I’m Gage’s mate ?” I bit out. “Not because I’ve been an impeccable employee for three months or because I’ve proven my loyalty to you countless times or even because you consider us friends?”
Levi paled, his mouth fishing open. “Of course, I consider you a friend Abby, but—”
“You should know I’m looking for a new job,” I said coolly. “I already have two interviews scheduled next week.”
“You have to understand what it means to be fated—”
“I don’t care what it means! If it meant anything, he wouldn’t have kept it from me.” Was I yelling or crying? Some embarrassing combination of both. “And if we were friends, you would have told me.”
“It wasn’t my place to tell you,” he pressed again.
“But it was fine for you to trick me into staying with him? To make me think I was in danger so your brother could—what? Are you my boss or my pimp?”
Levi’s eyes hardened. “That wasn’t a manipulation. I was—I am— concerned for your safety. Did I hope it would give you both a shove in the right direction? Of course.”
What direction was that? I was running in circles thinking I was crazy for developing feelings for him. Meanwhile, he quietly hated me because apparently we were fated to be together, and he didn’t want me .
I tugged on the hem of my shirt, straightening to say, “Thank you for the opportunity to work at your firm. I hope that our professional relationship can continue while I transition into a new job.”
“Abby, I meant what I said. You’re pack and if you require protection—”
There was a sudden explosion at the front door, so violent it tore the door right off its hinges. Wood chips and drywall flew across the room. I was on my toes, but not as fast as Levi. He moved so quickly it could have been teleportation, zipping around the coffee table to shield me with his body.
That turned out to be the wrong move because a vicious and familiar voice growled, “Get your fucking hands off of her.”
Levi glared over his shoulder, ignoring the command.
Gage moved like liquid across the room, melding into the space around his brother and demanding, “Stop touching my mate, or I will gut you, alpha or not.”
Without turning his back to Gage, Levi unwound himself from me, taking a healthy step back. “I hope you can forgive me for this someday, Abby.”
My head jerked up, a snap of betrayal smarting in my chest. Was this just another manipulation?
Should have stayed away from them. After what happened with David, I should have avoided shifters like the plague.
I tried to skirt around the couch and put some space between me and the raging shifter in front of me, but his hand snapped around my wrist, yanking me against him. “You reek of him.”
“Of who?” I looked helplessly to Levi only to find him gone. He abandoned me with a half-mad shifter that literally tore my door down and was now holding me hostage.
Gage dropped his nose to my throat and inhaled with a disgusted snort. “My brother.”
I shoved him off with all my strength and surprisingly he let me go. “Screw you, Gage! I don’t owe you loyalty.”
If that comment hurt him, his words didn’t reflect the pain. “Typical human.”
“Typical shifter.” I pointed my finger at his face. “Selfishly doing whatever you want to whoever you want without considering their feelings.”
Gage’s jaw flexed, and he crossed his thick arms over his chest. “I do care about your feelings.”
“You literally told me you didn’t want me.”
“That’s not what I meant!”
“There’s no way for that to be misinterpreted!”
“You didn’t let me finish!” He swatted my angry finger away. “What I was trying to tell you was that I didn’t want you to be human.”
“Oh, that’s so much better.” I stared at him, the breath building in my chest until I felt like I was gasping. To experience two rejections so close together was painful in a way I couldn’t stomach. It hurt so bad to be unwanted.
And it made me angry as hell, too.
“If me being human was such a problem, why bother telling me at all? Why do any of this?” I gestured to the couch and the apartment. “Why not just continue ignoring me?”
“Because I was trying to make you happy! I was trying to show you I could be a good mate.”
“That doesn’t make any sense.”
“I don’t care that you’re human anymore.”
I paced away from him, gaining space before I allowed my intrusive thoughts to win, and I did something crazy like bite him. “Oh, I’m so glad you could overcome that hurdle.”
“Dammit, Abigail! Would you calm down so I can explain myself?”
“Calm down?” I shouted. “ You want me to calm down? Look at my freaking door! I am not the one that needs to calm down.”
Gage winced at the gaping hole where my front door used to be. “I overreacted.”
“You think?”
“It’s the bond. I waited too long to tell you and now it’s making me crazy, and I can’t let you be alone with another male or I might kill someone.”
Why did I like that? Holy shit, what was wrong with me that hearing him say he wanted to kill out of jealousy gave me tingles?
I schooled my face. “That’s not my problem.”
“I wanted to tell you. I was going to tell you.”
“I don’t believe you.” There was a tickle on my cheek. I swiped at it, realizing too late that it was a tear. A lot of tears.
I slapped a hand over my eyes, but it wasn’t enough. My heart was still so, so tender and I couldn’t be this vulnerable in front of Gage. Another heartbreak might kill me.
I turned my back to him, eyes still closed.
“Turn around, Abby.”
“Please,” I sobbed. “Just leave.”
“I can’t.”
“Yes, you can. I want to be alone.”
He shifted closer. “No, I can’t. Your door is busted. I’m not leaving you in an unsecured apartment.”
I whirled, poking his chest. “And whose fault is that? Why are you even here?”
Gage caught my hand and wrapped it in his. Such a big, menacing hand and yet his hold was so gentle. “You’re more than I deserve.”
My lip trembled, but I forced myself not to look away. “That’s not what you said on Thursday.”
“You didn’t let me finish.”
I yanked my hand away from him. “You could have tried to stop me! You could have come after me, but you didn’t.”
“Yes, I did!”
“What do you mean?” I crossed my arms, taking a half step back.
He took a half step forward. “I followed you out of the office and all the way home. I’ve been sitting outside your apartment since you left work.”
“You’ve been outside my apartment for two days ?”
“Of course,” he said softly, like it hurt him that I expected different.
I hated how much the thought of hurting him hurt me too. He was the one causing me pain.
“Why?”
“To explain!” His fingers stabbed trails through his hair, making a tangle of brown curls flop to one side. “I know it’s unfair that I kept this from you and when you were done cooling off, I was going to come up here and explain.”
Another tear tracked down my face, despite my attempts to blink it back, and Gage rubbed it into his fingertips. “I should have told you. I know, I should have. But what were you going to say if I told you the day we met? The first week? Anyway, I was furious because you were human.”
“Furious over something I can’t control. I was born this way, same as you were born a shifter.”
“I let my past cloud my judgment. When I realized how wrong I was about you…We were in the thick of investigating Cargill and I found out Dallas was alive. Trying to navigate a new bond on top of that was too much. I didn’t know how to handle it.”
“So, you just avoided it. Lied to my face every day for almost three months. Literally ran away when I kissed you!” I backpedaled again. “Do you have any idea how that felt? Being glued to your side—at your request—only for you to act like you hated me?”
“It felt like shit. For both of us. I just—I don’t have a good excuse, okay? I panicked. I panicked when I realized we were mates, and then again when I realized this was inevitable. And when you kissed me, I panicked even more because I knew if I didn’t stop, I was going to mark you without giving you a choice.”
I ducked around him, circling the coffee table and using it as a shield. “Do I have a choice?”
“What would you choose if you did?”
“You don’t—” I took a gasping breath, suddenly feeling too hot. That familiar uptick in my pulse started, and sweat was gathering in the lines of my palms. “You don’t get to ask me that right now.”
He ignored the obvious distance I wanted between us, coming around the table and running his thumb across my slick forehead. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I’ve got this weird flu or something. Don’t worry, you can’t catch it.”
“What are your symptoms?”
“Does it matter? I’ll call a doctor.” I gestured at my busted door, where mist was collecting on the entry mat. “Right after I call my landlord and try to explain this.”
“Do you have a fever? Pain? Where does it hurt?”
The note of alarm in his voice had me on edge. I’d heard shifters could scent certain diseases. What if I had some kind of terminal illness? “Yeah, I’ve had a fever on and off for a few weeks. Since I started staying at your place. They get worse at night. Is there something wrong with me?”
“No.” His jaw went slack, eyes wide. “There’s something wrong with me.”
“I’m not going to disagree with you.”
“You really do feel it.” He was awestruck by whatever revelation he was having.
“Feel what , Gage?” He was still touching my face, and I could barely think of anything else.
His hands.
Those rough fingertips.
The way they would feel inside me.
Good lord, where did that come from?
“The bond.”
Ping . The thing in my chest lit up at that word. “Isn’t that the whole point of fated mates?”
“It’s not supposed to be the same for humans. When I was engaged, the elders told me—”
I scowled. “Told you what?”
“That the bond would be one-sided. She wouldn’t feel it.”
“Because she was human or because she wasn’t really your mate?” I didn’t understand it, but I felt more than a little smug saying that out loud.
“It doesn’t matter,” he said firmly, cupping the sides of my face and bending so our eyes were level. “I’ve already made up my mind that it doesn’t matter how the bond behaves between us. If you’re my mate, then I want you exactly as you are.”
My bottom lip quivered. My nipples tightened. I was getting hormonal and emotional signals crossed.
“Do you want me ?” I asked, once again removing myself from his grasp. “Or do you want a mate?”
“I’ve always wanted you,” he whispered.
“You’re such a liar, Gage! You lie all the time. To me, to your brother, to your friends. You’re even lying to yourself.” I threw my hands up. “I can’t be with a liar. Not ever again. What’s the truth? For once just tell me the full truth. Tell me all of it.”
Gage settled onto the arm of the couch. “Remember that tone I told you about? When you’re with me, it stops. The anger, the numbness, all of it just stops. I didn’t want it at first. I didn’t want to hear and feel what I was hiding under all that anger.”
“So, you don’t want me. You just want what I can do for you.”
“In the beginning? Yes.” Gage stood from his perch, prowling toward me. I tried to escape him, but my back hit the wall. He had me cornered. “You want the truth? The truth is that I want you because you’re nice to everyone, even people that don’t deserve it. I want you because you never give up on anything. You’re optimistic to a fault and you have the weirdest sense of humor, and I feel lucky every time I get to be in the same room as you.
“The truth, Abigail, is that you scare the shit out of me.” His hand came around the side of my neck to cradle it. “I’m obsessed with you. I would sell my soul just to breathe the same air as you. If you told me to lie outside your front door like a doormat, I would.”
“Gage—”
“No, Abby, listen,” he shushed me. “That kiss was the single most satisfying experience of my life. I’ve been crawling out of my skin ever since. All I think about is the taste of your lips. I sat outside your apartment for two days because I couldn’t stand to be away from you.
“I’m a stupid fucking asshole. I always put my foot in my mouth, and I get pissed over dumb shit and I have the social skills of a rock. But I won’t stop working at myself until I’m a good man for you. I’ll give you everything I have if you’ll just give me another chance. Give me a chance to do this right.”
I swallowed. He said it all. Everything I wanted to hear, all the right words, and I desperately wanted to fall into his arms and tell him that yes, he could have another chance. He could have a thousand because I knew that I would always forgive him. That I couldn’t help but see the very best in him.
And that terrified me because I learned the hard way that even someone you love can do something unforgiveable.
“You never answered my question,” I whispered. “Do I actually get a choice?”
Gage hesitated. Would it bother me if I didn’t? Some human part of me that was innately skeptical of all things magic and unknown might always feel a sliver of doubt. Did he want me, or was this just instinct?
“No. Neither of us do. The moment I walked into that conference room with you, our fates were sealed. I can’t undo it even if I want to.” The last few words were growled, like his wolf was angry he would even consider that.
“What you’re feeling right now is the bond. It’s called a mating frenzy. The longer you resist the bond, the worse it gets.” He clenched his teeth, his hands tightening at the sides of my neck. “I feel it too. The longer I’m near you the harder it is to resist. Soon it’ll push us both past the point of control, and I’m worried that might be dangerous for you.”
Heat rushed between my legs, and I rubbed my thighs together. I wanted to see him past the point of control. “What happens if you lose control?”
“I fuck you like an animal, and I don’t stop until every male within a hundred miles knows who you belong to,” he growled, pushing me harder against the nearest wall and pressing his body into mine.
His lips came down on mine, rough and hungry. He wasn’t cautiously exploring, he was dominating.
I let him take, softening for him, opening my lips, and inviting him in. He was a good mate, strong and protective. He would take care of me. Everything would be easier now that he was here.
I pulled away suddenly, ducking underneath his arms and rushing to the other side of the room. I needed a distraction. I needed to—to—to what? To steel myself against the pounding need between my legs. To stop staring at those watery blue eyes and the raw sincerity I saw there.
This wasn’t the first time he’d been vulnerable. For a man that was so guarded, he shared a lot of himself with me.
Gage didn’t stop me when I fled the office two days ago.
But he did leave an orange on my desk every day for weeks. He paid for my new apartment and everything in it—there was no way all this furniture was free. When he was worried about my safety, he found a way to get me out of town so he could assess the threat.
Gage wasn’t perfect. He was infuriating and antisocial, and bad at communicating.
And yeah, maybe he was a coward for not telling me sooner.
But what if… what if…
What if there was a reason he was everything I wasn’t? What if there was a reason we found each other when we were at our lowest?
I started this job believing I couldn’t trust again. That part of me was broken beyond repair.
I was wrong.
I trusted Gage.
I trusted that even if he didn’t show up the way I fantasized about, a white knight who had it all put together, he did show up. He gave me what he knew how to give.
There were broken parts of him too. I tried to bury my compassion, but how could I? There was this winged creature beating in my chest that bound me to him. Tendrils of magic stretched between us, fuzzy emotions making their way to and from me like whispered words.
It wasn’t perfect. He wasn’t perfect.
I didn’t want perfect.
I wanted to know that no matter how hard it got, he was never going to leave in search of greener pastures. That my heart would be protected in his hands.
“Does it really not matter that I’m human?” I inhaled as the staticky tension dissipated with added space.
He walked away from me, gripping the cracked door, and leaning it haphazardly in its frame. “I’m surprised your neighbors haven’t called the cops yet.”
“Well, it’s probably because they don’t want to get busted.”
His eyes narrowed. “You can’t live here anymore.”
“Does it matter that we’re different?” I prodded. He had a knack for avoiding uncomfortable conversations.
He brushed drywall from the arm of the couch and rested there. “It doesn’t matter what you are—or aren’t.” He sighed. “It never should have mattered.”
I let out a gusty breath, settling on the couch beside him and jolting when a piece of wood poked through my leggings. “I’ve been lied to before. It hurts, and it keeps hurting. I know you know that.” I dislodged the giant splinter from beneath my thigh and picked at it as I whispered, “I chose to trust you, anyway.”
“I know. I know I didn’t do this right.” he murmured, unclenching his hand to slide it up my forearm. “Give me another chance. A chance to show you what kind of mate I can be.”
“You don’t need another chance.”
His eyes rounded. “Abigail—”
“Because you are a good man, Gage. You don’t need to change for me. You just need to accept me the way I accept you.”
“I do.”
There was a surge inside me, what was once like a gently ringing bell turning into a roaring wave. I staggered back to my feet, clapping a hand over my chest in alarm as nearly tangible energy flowed out of me. I followed the flow, mentally grasping it and tracing it to the man taking up all the space in my living room.
Gage grabbed me the way he did that first day, cupping my nape, tilting my head back. I softened for him on instinct, baring my throat. His purring satisfaction sent scorching heat down my body to collect between my legs. Teeth grazed the column of my throat, and I froze.
He was going to bite me.
He was going to bite me, and we would be mates forever and it was everything I wanted, and yet, it wasn’t. I understood Gage. I understood his motivations, his fear, but that didn’t mean I forgave him. Not yet.
What if I let him bite me now and by tomorrow, he was back to his stand-offish self?
To him, this mate bond was a guarantee of happiness. I wasn’t sure I could trust it. The bond was already there, alive and thriving, satisfied with his apology and eager to be completed.
Our bond would be complete once I let him in. This messy, complicated thing between us would magically get easier and I would be happy.
Safe. Provided for.
Nope . I was too trigger shy for that.
It took a few prods to get his attention and withdraw his lengthening teeth from their perch on my skin. Gage resisted as I extricated myself from his arms, crossing mine over my stomach and trying to ignore the fever rekindling in my middle.
“This is moving too fast.”
“Fast?” His eyebrows shot up. “It’s been three months.”
“Yeah, most people wait a couple of years before they get married.”
“Mated and married aren’t the same. Some shifters complete their bond the moment they meet their mate.”
My mind conjured an image of him hiking my skirt up on the conference room table the day we met and completing the bond , teeth, and all. I pressed my thighs together involuntarily, stifling a moan.
This attraction between us had been steadily growing from day one, and I understood why now. Until this point, it wasn’t this intense. I struggled to refocus on my original plan and not suggest that he bend me over the couch and complete this bond immediately.
“Is it hot in here?” I fanned my face, stepping around the couch to physically separate us for a third time.
Except, it was a very small apartment and Gage had this crazy dominant energy about him that was vibrating the air. I could feel it pulsing in my bones, summoning me, promising me such delicious satisfaction.
“It’s the bond.” His smile had a wicked edge. “It wants to be completed.”
“Completed,” I nearly moaned the word. “Wait. No. Not completed. That’s not—” I rubbed my forehead. “I’m not ready for that.”
Gage opened his mouth, dumbfounded. Nothing came out.
“You—you just busted into my apartment like a battering ram! Look at this. My nice couch is all dusty, and people could come in here and steal my stuff. Not to mention,” I flung my hands up, letting the heat fuel my anger rather than my lust, “You hurt me!”
“I didn’t mean to.”
“But you did. More than once. How do I know you won’t do it again?”
“I won’t.”
“Why should I believe that?”
“The bond,” he answered simply.
“Look, I get this bond is very important to you but—”
There was a sharp tug, another surge crashing into me. I gasped, feeling for what I was sure would be movement beneath my sternum. Panic temporarily overwhelmed me as I imagined my chest ripping open from the force of the bond like a scene from the movie Alien.
“Don’t be scared,” he murmured. “Close your eyes.”
I did as he said. Gage had this way of making me want to obey him.
“Oh my god,” I whispered with wonder, reaching out into the space in front of me.
With my eyes closed I could see what I was feeling. It was like staring at the sun. Beautiful golden threads wavered between us, shifting and shimmering. I couldn’t see Gage, but I knew exactly where he was because there was a gilded knot tied up in his chest, the same as the one in mine.
“Listen to the bond.”
Listen to the bond…? I started to tell him I didn’t hear anything, except maybe the ocean, when I understood what he meant. There was no sound, no words, nothing coherent, and somehow, I knew what he was feeling.
I sifted through the bond, peeling back layers and layers of emotion. There was sorrow, anxiety, guilt. Deeper I found joy, awe, reverence. Beneath that was solid, unmovable devotion. It was heavy and stonelike.
Then I found his desire and my focus vanished.
It coursed through me, pebbling my skin, warming my already heated body to the point of discomfort. An ache bloomed between my legs, throbbing, and I knew that nothing would soothe it but him. He knew it too, the knowledge fueling his own lust, making him smug and cocky.
Fuck that.
No, fuck him, the brand-new devil on my shoulder murmured seductively.
Okay, the bond was mind controlling me. Whispering sexy words in my ear. Broadcasting a porno featuring yours truly and the jerk that broke my heart literally two days ago.
“We should do what normal people do and start with coffee. Invite me on a date sometime.” I rushed to my destroyed door and gripped the sides, heaving the two-thirds that was left and leaning it on the wall so that the doorway was open wide. “In the meantime, it’s getting late, and I need to, uh, to—to cook! Dinner time!”
I was waving my hands around like a mad woman, sweating so much my shirt was sticking to my shoulders. Confusion and desire and more confusion swirled around my head. It was making me dizzy. One minute I was sobbing, the next I was so freaking horny I had to resist slipping my hand down my pants and shamelessly taking care of business in full view of Gage.
And my neighbors because I didn’t have a door! What was I going to do about the door?
“Abigail.” Gage prowled toward me, eyes like blue fire. He caught my flailing hands midair, tucking them behind me as he pressed me into the empty door frame. “You can pack your things and come home with me now, or you can come back for them next week when we’re done completing our bond.”
I was panting, my nipples so pointed they were like daggers trying to cut through my shirt and bra. Every cell inside me was screaming to obey him, to do whatever it took to get to the completing the bond part.
The fraying edges of my logical mind found the brakes and slammed them hard.
“Or, plan C, which is my personal favorite,” I said breathlessly. “You can sleep on the floor in front of my busted door like a good little watchdog because we are not completing this bond until I’m sure about what I want.”
“You already know what you want.”
I swallowed. “Did you apologize just to get to the ‘completing the bond’ part?”
Some of the fire died in his eyes. “Of course, not. I apologized because I’ll do and say whatever I can to make this right. Because I’m genuinely sorry I hurt you.”
Gage pushed off the wall, walking to my bedroom in three quick strides. “And because someone will definitely call the cops if they see me forcing you into my truck.”
I stalked after him. “Is kidnapping me your solution to every problem? Because that’s not going to work for me.”
“I’m not kidnapping you,” he assured me, even as he rifled through the pile of clothes on my mattress and began stuffing them into an empty shopping bag.
“Gage!” I tried to snatch the clothes from his arms, but he was too quick, holding them over my head and continuing. “Put that back!”
“No.”
“Put it back you alpha asshole, or so help me God I will—”
“You’ll what?” He tossed the bag over my shoulder, the plastic landing in the hallway with a crinkling thunk.
“Well, I definitely won’t come home with you.”
“It’s not optional.”
“Okay, see, this is the problem. You can’t just boss me around. That’s not how this works.”
“That’s the problem? I thought the problem was that I didn’t tell you we were mates. So, I’m telling you. You’re my mate. Keeping you safe is my number one priority. Bonding you to me so you can never leave is my second priority.” He reached for a stray pair of panties on the floor, and I dove at him, grabbing his arm and accidentally tumbling us both onto the mattress.
Now we were tangled in my sheets, his weight crushing me as he rolled to pin me beneath him. “I think you like it when I boss you around.”
I blushed, pretending to be paralyzed so I didn’t start rubbing myself against him like a cat in heat. “I like it when you give me a choice. I want you to tell me what you want, not tell me what to do.”
Gage heaved an exasperated sigh, rolling onto his side. He took his hands off me, giving me the freedom to leave. At the same time, he lowered his lips to my collar bone, leaving the softest kisses on my skin.
I physically couldn’t stop myself from rubbing my legs together. It was like being drunk on desire and I had very few inhibitions left.
“What I want is to take you back to my apartment, strip you down, and claim you. I want to bury my teeth in your neck and mark you as mine. ” His lips travelled further down my chest, skirting along the collar of my shirt. “What I want is to know that you’re safe and I don’t trust anyone to keep you safe but me.”
“Just…like that?” I asked, mind fuzzy, fingers trailing through his hair. “You admit that we’re mates and now you expect me to make things official today ?”
He removed his mouth from me, propping his head up on his hand. “I’ve backed myself into a corner,” he admitted. “Being away from you has become physically painful. I’m also becoming extremely possessive over you. If it hadn’t been my own blood at your door this morning, I might have killed him. Even if it was Kai or Ezra, I don’t know if I could have controlled myself.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re mine , and until you’re wearing my mark and we have a bond like forged steel, I can’t let anyone else touch you. My wolf doesn’t like competition.”
“You don’t have any competition,” I said without thinking.
He smirked, resuming his trail of kisses on the other collar bone. “Then come home with me. I’ll make sure your door gets fixed and all five of your belongings are untouched.”
“There’s no way to slow this down?” It wasn’t that I didn’t want him.
I did. Goddamn did I want him.
But I worked my ass off this year trying to rebuild my life. Trying to be strong on my own. How could I just agree to let a man step in and take over?
Gage disentangled from me, standing beside the mattress, and scanning the room with his gaze. He didn’t look at me when he said, “If that’s what you want, I’ll find a way. But until then, I need you to come with me. I literally can’t leave without you, and you can’t stay here without a door.”
“Fine. But if someone steals my couch, you’ll be sorry.”