Lie (Betrothed 8)

I already knew what conversation we were about to have. Her mood was completely opposite of what it had been when she first woke up. Now she was melancholy, her rambunctious personality long gone. She possessed the energy of someone about to dump somebody else.

I’d like to see her try.

I cleared the plates and left them in the sink. “I should go.” I had shit to do and I should’ve left last night, but I’d purposely stayed because I needed to set the tone for this relationship. If I departed quickly, it would make it seem like a one-night stand. But if I stayed until breakfast, that implied a lot more.

She rose from the chair and walked me to the door, the door I had installed to keep her safe, at least keep her safe from her fears. With her arms across her chest, she would hardly look at me, like she dreaded whatever she was about to say, not dreaded me leaving.

I wouldn’t put up with that shit. “We aren’t doing this.”

Her gaze finally lifted to mine, her body a little less tense because my words caught her off guard.

“You’re going to tell me this is over, that it was just one night, but we both know this is going to happen again…and again. So, let’s just skip that part.” I didn’t say those words because I wanted to keep her; it was just what I believed. The sex was too good to ignore, to downplay, and I was a man who was blunt like a hammer. “We don’t need to label this relationship or even talk about it. That’s what I prefer, actually.” We just had to keep fucking.

Her eyes tilted to the floor for a moment as she considered what I said, and then she moved her hands to her hips and took a deep breath and straightened. “I just need to think this over…”

My eyes narrowed with displeasure. “Think what over?”

“Everything.” Her gaze was guarded, and she refused to let me in. Last night, she was all over me at the bar like there was no other man she wanted to be with. And when the sex was over, she still wanted to be near me, still wanted to cuddle with me. She could tell herself this was all sex, but it was obvious there was an emotional connection she couldn’t deny. Her stubbornness infuriated me the way my confidence irked her. I wasn’t a patient man, not for bullshit, so I lost my temper. “While you figure it out, don’t expect me to keep my dick in my pants.” I opened the front door and walked out.

Truth be told, I wasn’t interested in other women right now. I hadn’t even been with anyone in a long time because I was chasing that little brunette. I could pay for sex, but I continued to wait, continued to wait for the woman I really wanted. It was an idle threat, but I was pissed off, just wanted to say something to get under her skin.

She came after me in the hallway and grabbed my arm. Her ass was hanging out of her shorts and her tits were basically on display, but she came after me anyway because those words dug deep—just as I’d intended. She turned me to face her, a different expression in her eyes. “Wait.”

I pulled my arm away from her grasp.

She looked into my face a long time, emotional the way I preferred. I liked it when she was spontaneous, when she lived in the moment, showed who she really was, and I liked exactly who she was. “That dick is mine.” She cupped my cheek and rose on her tiptoes to kiss me, to give me a hot kiss that left her mark on me so no one else would take me away. She breathed deep into my lungs, her nails scratching me like she wanted to give me a permanent scar so everyone would assume I was taken, or as she put it, my dick was spoken for.

My arms wrapped around her body, and I pulled her hard into me, giving her a bear hug like I could crush her if I squeezed too hard. One hand covered both of her ass cheeks, and I squeezed, loving that strong ass. When I pulled away, I shot her a victorious look. “That’s what I thought.”

Balto was in the same place he’d been for years, a multistory building that looked more like a military complex. I used to live with him a while ago, right after I was released from prison. He had armed guards on duty twenty-four hours a day, even though no one was coming for him anymore. He’d officially retired and didn’t intervene in any events from the underground world.

Well, except for that one time with Damien.