When He's Sinful (The Olympus Pride 3)

Aspen splayed a hand over her face. “Can you please drop it?”

“You can’t expect me to overlook that he permanently branded you and, more, that you’re not pissed about it,” said Havana.

Yes, Aspen absolutely could expect it. And she did. Just because. But there was no such luck.

God, she’d been starving when she first walked through the door. But her appetite had vanished. Not even the scents of warm bread, cured meat, and hot peppers was rekindling it.

Aspen dropped her hand. “You’re reading too much into this, Vana.”

“Bullshit. I’m seeing what’s there. He wants you. You want him. Not as fuck buddies, as more. Much more.”

Sighing, Aspen slid Camden a quick look. He was now standing at the glass case placing his order. “I know a normal male shifter wouldn’t brand me this way, but Camden could never be described as normal—and I say that with affection. What he did doesn’t carry the same weight for him as it would for the average guy.”

Havana gave her a “bitch, please” look. “If that were the case, he’d make a habit out of leaving permanent brands on people.”

Well … yeah. And he hadn’t. Which Aspen was trying not to read anything into, but it was hard when Havana was practically berating her to do the opposite. “Do you really have to push me on this?”

“Yes, because I can see it hurts you that your claim to him isn’t that of a mate. The thing is … your claim could run that deep. But you have to push past your fears and reach for what you want. If any two people have a chance at making a mating work, it’s you and Camden. You already fill a lot of each other’s emotional needs. Around you, he’s an unguarded version of himself.”

“I know he’s different with me than he is with others, but I came along at a very crucial time in his life.”

“And formed a bond with him that’s fucking indestructible. If that bond was merely about friendship, you guys wouldn’t be sleeping together, and you wouldn’t be wearing his brand. Trust me, he wants more. And if you take a chance here, you might find that there’s a true-mate bond waiting to snap into place.”

A dull ache throbbed in Aspen’s chest—a longing for her friend to be right. But realistically … “I’d know if he was my mate.”

“I’m not so sure of that. We already established that the thought of finding your mate freaks you out a little. But the fact is that it doesn’t need to matter if you two are predestined. Plenty of shifters go down the imprinting route. Maybe Camden’s fated to be yours, maybe he’s not. But either way, he could be yours if you’d only pull your head out of your ass.”

“You can’t be so sure he’d want us to be mates. Yes, he branded me. But Camden is uber possessive, and I know he likes the idea of flaunting to my true mate that he got there first.”

Havana blinked. “He said that?”

“During a little dirty talk. He also talked about wanting to permanently brand me. I didn’t take him seriously at the time. But now, well, it seems he meant it.”

“Hmm, then maybe you should pay more attention to what he says during the heat of the moment when his defenses are down.”

“He’s never once said he wants to claim me.” She would have taken that seriously.

“Well I think he does. I think he loves you. I think he doesn’t recognize the emotion for what it is; that there’s just so much possessiveness tangled up in what he feels for you that he doesn’t see it’s part of loving you.”

Oh, how Aspen wished that were true. “He’d be the first person to disagree with you. He doesn’t think he can feel love.”

“If he can’t feel it for you—the one person he’s so intensely connected to—then I’d say he sadly isn’t capable of that emotion. Would you hold that against him? Would you choose another male over him because of it?”

“No. No, not at all. His childhood made him the way he is. And though he might not be the most sensitive of people, he’s never once hurt me or let me down.”

“Because he’s all about you. He puts you before himself. That’s no small thing for someone like Camden. When I first met him, I was like hello, sociopath. But I realized I was wrong. He has some sociopathic traits for sure but, considering what he went through, it’s pretty understandable. As a kid, he threw up wall after wall after wall so he wouldn’t have to feel; so that the things happening to him couldn’t hurt him anymore. You got behind those walls, which makes you the one person who could hurt him. But he’s never pushed you away, has he?”