“No, it isn’t. I don’t think he was clinically mad, Camden. I think he was just plain cruel. I think he believed the rules of society didn’t apply to him. I think he craved the power that came with hurting and terrifying others. Maybe because, as a kid, his parents had that exact power over him. He needed to take it back. That is not you.”
“It might have been if I hadn’t met you. You saved me. My sanity’s always been in your hands.”
“Can I play with it?”
He blinked, his mouth quirking. “What?”
“I’ll be gentle, and I’ll only play with it a little.”
He shook his head, as if she was hopeless, and then glanced around the room. “Are we going to move into this place and make it our home, or did Wayland taint it for you?”
She made a thoughtful sound in the back of her throat. “He didn’t taint it exactly, but I’d prefer we started afresh in a place that doesn’t hold any unhappy memories for us. You and your cat okay with that?”
“We’re okay with whatever you’d prefer. All we want is for us to share a home together. Just like we could have done the second we first moved into the building, but you fought me on it. Pointlessly.”
“Do you have to bring up old shit?”
“I told you I’d get my way in this, didn’t I?” he said, a self-satisfied note to his voice. “You should have listened to me.”
Aspen flicked the tip of his ear. “No one likes a smug asshole.”
“Of course I’m smug. I have everything I want right here.” He curled his hand around her nape and pulled her head closer to his. “Kiss me.”
“Will you watch Resident Evil with me if I do?”
“No, baby. No, I won’t. But I’ll lick your pussy until you scream for me.”
She pursed her lips. “That’ll do.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Three weeks later
Having finished eating her roasted marshmallows, Aspen set the stick on the ground beside the others. She looked up from her cell phone as Camden stepped out of the trees and into the small clearing where they’d set up camp. “More messages are coming through from people asking where we are.”
Camden only grunted.
“Do you not feel a little bit bad about us sneaking off rather than attending the afterparty?”
“No. It’s our day, we can do whatever we want to celebrate it.” Camden dropped a pile of dry wood near the man-made fire pit. “I could give less of a fuck if the pride’s offended.” Not an unkind comment, merely a statement.
“They put a lot of time and effort into organizing the event.”
“An event that doesn’t suit us as a couple.” He tossed a few pieces of wood in the pit and then dusted his hands together, getting rid of the dirt and bark. “They chose to throw a regular ‘congrats on your mating’ party at the Tavern even though we’d have preferred something smaller.”
“I think they’re simply hoping to bring you fully into the fold. They like you. They like that you’re as vicious and ruthless as they are. But they don’t like that you let so few people into your immediate circle.” She lifted her insulated mug from the ground and sipped at her liqueur-laced coffee. “They seem to figure that if you spend more time with the pride and get to know them better, you’ll let them ‘in.’”
He joined her on the hard log. “Well I won’t.”
“Yeah, I know.” Her mate didn’t have one inner circle, he had three. The only person in his immediate circle was her. Havana, Bailey, and Corbin were in the second circle. Some others sat in the third circle, meaning they had a sort of abstract relevance to him, such as Tate and Luke. No one else was a “ping” on his radar. It was just the way he was. The way he’d always been. Their pride mates appeared to sense it, but they weren’t giving up on—at the very least—making him feel a true part of the pride.
“Anyway, they were all able to attend the mating ceremony, which is the important part.” Camden grabbed his open can of beer from the ground and slipped his arm around her waist. “They can party without us.”
“I’m sure they will. The pride loves a good party.”
“They won’t be surprised that I wanted you and me to spend the evening alone.” Camden dipped his head and swiped his tongue along her lower lip. “They know I don’t like to share you.”
Still, they’d no doubt initially thought that she and Camden had simply slipped away for a quickie. In fact, she’d thought that was exactly what he’d hoped for when he subtly dragged her away after the ceremony. Then he’d informed her that he’d loaded their camping gear into his vehicle earlier and that he wanted them to head off somewhere alone.