“You going to be able to fall back asleep?” she asked.
“I’ll have you lying with me, won’t I?”
“Yeah.”
“Then yes.”
Standing in the long-ass line for the deli the following day, Camden watched as Aspen rubbed her temples while Havana whispered something he had no chance of hearing. The two females had claimed a table at the other end of the shop while he and Bailey joined the slow-moving queue. And now the Alpha female appeared to be giving his bearcat a lecture of some sort.
He kept trying to tune into their conversation, but there was simply too much noise—the hissing of a frying pan, people placing orders, music playing low, the ding of the cash register.
There was a chance Havana wasn’t pleased that Camden had permanently marked Aspen and, as such, was trying to convince her to end things. His entire system revolted at the idea, and his tiger unsheathed his claws—the beast would happily lash out at anyone who tried interfering or coming between him and Aspen on any level.
She still didn’t appear angry about the brand, so Camden didn’t believe she’d see it as a reason for things to change—or, more to the point, for things to go back to the way they were. But could Havana alter Aspen’s point of view? Maybe. She listened to her girls. Which was why a knot formed in his gut.
Honestly, he wasn’t sure how he was going to let Aspen go. He’d need to eventually—he knew that. He’d always known that. But there would be nothing simple about it.
Was he wrong to have permanently branded her? In theory, yes. But it hadn’t felt wrong. To be fair, though, his own personal sense of right and wrong wasn’t quite as black and white as most people’s appeared to be. And he didn’t always heed it anyway.
He hadn’t apologized for leaving the brand, because it would have been a lie. He didn’t at all regret what he’d done. On the contrary, he was glad he’d marked her. He’d needed it. His cat had needed it. There’d been a strange sort of … relief to the moment.
Beside him, Bailey nudged his arm. “Hey, have you ever wondered …” She let her sentence trail off.
“Wondered, what?”
She gave her head a little shake. “Nothing.”
Camden went back to watching Aspen, who shot Havana a look of pure exasperation and waved a dismissive hand.
Bailey sighed. “You’re supposed to push me to tell you what I was going to say.”
He slid her a frown as they took one step forward within the line. “Why?” he asked, his eyes once more on Aspen.
“You have no interest at all in what I’m thinking?”
“Not particularly, no.”
“Not even if it’s related to Aspen?”
He cut his gaze back to the mamba. “If it’s something worth saying, say it.”
“Okay, first of all, everything I say is worth saying. I’m fucking brilliant. Second of all—”
“Bailey, spit it out.”
She huffed. “Fine. I was just wondering when you’re going to finally claim Aspen.”
Camden did a double-take, feeling like he’d taken a punch to the solar plexus. “What?”
“Well it’s obvious that you want to. Why else would you permanently brand her—particularly in the exact spot a shifter typically leaves their claiming bite?”
He turned away, refusing to try to explain, excuse, or justify what he’d done. It was no one else’s business anyway.
“You know, I’ve often wondered if you guys are true mates.”
Another punch to the solar plexus.
“You’re thinking you’d know if that was the case and that the mating bond would have made itself known by now.”
Yes, that was exactly what he thought.
“But that’s not necessarily true. You two are riddled with issues. Issues block the bond’s frequency. Really, though, does it matter if she’s your predestined mate or not? Are you so set on finding your fated partner that you’d choose them over Aspen? Because, honestly, I can’t actually picture you being mated to anyone other than her. You two are already connected in a way I can’t even explain. And recent developments have proven that that connection isn’t purely platonic.
“Face it, Camden, the whole ‘friends’ thing doesn’t cut it for you anymore. Hell, maybe it never did. The way I see it, there’s no going back for either of you. Buck up, admit it to yourself, and do something about it.”
Taking another step forward with the queue, Camden drew in a breath through his nose. “Let it go, Bailey.” Because he was too tempted to take her advice, and that could potentially blow up in his face.
She groaned. “Oh, please tell me you’re not planning to pull an Aspen.”
“Pull an Aspen?”
“Blind yourself to something rather than acting on what you want.”
He wasn’t blinding himself to anything. He knew exactly what drove him to brand Aspen last night. The truth was, he wanted to own that girl. Body. Mind. Soul. Everything. So that there’d be no part of her left for anyone else to claim.