“They feel sorry for you.”
“Maybe they feel sorry for me because of you.”
Noah advanced so fast I never saw it coming.
He gripped my throat. “Do you see what hanging aroundthose wolves has done? It’s contaminated your mind. Since when do you talk back to me?”
I knocked his arm away and stepped back. Perhaps survival instinct had been the only thing keeping me quiet, but something was surfacing that I could no longer contain—my voice.
“All you do iswant, want, want,” he said. “You wantthisand you wantthat. I leave you alone for one day with money, and you squander it on junk like cookie jars and expensive electronics I didn’t ask for.”
“And what do you spendyourmoney on? Huh? Strippers? What are you really working so hard for? A life with me? Because it looks like debauchery is onyourvision board. You’re buying women’s bodies,” I said, utterly disgusted by the look of anger on his face rather than surprise or confusion.
Noah’s scowl evaporated. “Who the hell told you that?” Then he stroked his whiskers as if in deep thought. “It was that tripod, wasn’t it?” He studied the ripped vision board and picked up the half with the wolf. “Did you fuck him?”
I backed up a step.
“You did, didn’t you? You fucked a wolf. Athree-leggedwolf. No wonder that asshole shifted when I brought you up.”
I rubbed my temple. “I can’t do this anymore. Neither of us is happy. We were once, remember? Was that only an act?”
“Jesus. You’re the most sheltered person I’ve ever met. I knew I had my work cut out for me, but I had no fucking idea. I figured if I brought you out to the country, I wouldn’t have to worry about you running off and doing stupid shit.” He flicked the cardboard at me. “You couldn’t even give me your loyalty. On top of that, you’re a shitty lay, baby. If you want to know why I spend money on women, it’s because a man has needs. I only like sex two ways: rough and kinky or a submissive bitch. You know what I’m figuring out?” He drew closer. “I prefer it rough. Maybe you and I need to change things up.”
“You’re drunk, Noah. Go home and sleep it off.”
He scoffed. “Do you think you’re going to sleep here for the night? I’m the one paying the fucking lease!”
“Then I’ll find somewhere else to sleep.”
When I turned away, he gripped my arm.
“You do that and I’ll put every last book in a pile and set it on fire.”
“Don’t you dare!” I wrenched my arm away.
Noah was more intoxicated than I’d ever seen. Though his reflexes were slow, his hot temper made him unpredictable and dangerous.
As he advanced toward me, I walked backward.
Noah casually flicked a book onto the floor. “I’ll do whatever I want,” he said coolly, letting another drop, the pages bent and splayed. “It’s time you finally understand who’s the boss here. You need me. What do you think people would do if they found out your little secret?”
My blood ran cold.
“They would be all over you.” He flipped another book onto the floor, still walking toward me. “Is that what you want? All these hungry wolves and bears clawing at your door? Do you know what happens to girls like you?”
When I reached the front, I stole a glance at the door. “We’re not compatible anymore,” I said, hoping he would back off.
“You have no money, no home, no car, and no books. Even if you had money, how long do you think it would last? You don’t have a fucking clue how to be thrifty. Do you think you’re a catch?” He laughed haughtily.
Every word hurt like a punch.
“You’re a burden. You’re barely tolerable to look at, you’re insufferably boring, and you have nothing to offer anyone. It’s time you learned what your value is. Do you want to know?Do you?Guess.”
“Stop.”
His head bobbed to the side, and in his drunken stupor, he replied, “Zero. You’re good for fucking in heat, and that’s it. You get bonus points because nobody has to worry about knocking you up.”
I slapped him so hard that the sting radiated down my fingers like an electric jolt. The second slap was even harder.
