"I said no." She crossed her arms, blocking the doorway. "Whatever you're here to say, say it from there."
His jaw tightened. "Fine. I'm checking on you. Making sure you're okay after last night."
"I'm fine."
"You don't look fine and your tavern’s still closed."
"Thanks for that." She started to close the door. His hand caught it, holding it open with effortless strength.
"Don't do this," he said quietly. "Don't shut me out."
"I'm not shutting you out. I'm asking for space."
"Same thing when you do it." He stepped close enough that she caught his scent stronger now. Close enough to remember how he'd tasted. "Talk to me."
"About what? About how I used you last night to forget my uncle's bullshit? About how we had sex against a wall and it was great but it doesn't change anything?" Her voice came out sharp, giving away her anger and guilt. "There's nothing to talk about."
"It changes everything."
"It was sex, Dante. Physical release. Don't make it into something it wasn't."
His eyes flashed gold. "You're lying."
"I'm being honest." She forced herself to meet his gaze. "I needed to forget. You were there. It happened. Now it's done."
"Done." He repeated the word like it offended him. "That's what you're going with?"
"That's the truth."
"The truth is you're scared." He set the coffee cups on the floor, freeing his hands. "Scared of what you felt last night. Scared of admitting there's something between us that goes beyond physical."
"There's nothing between us."
"Liar." He stepped into her doorway, forcing her back into her apartment. "You felt the bond snap tighter. Felt your lioness recognize mine. Don't tell me it was just sex when we both know better."
"Get out of my apartment."
"Not until you stop lying to yourself." His voice dropped lower, intimate in a way that made her skin prickle. "You wanted me. Not because you needed to forget. Because you wantedme. Specifically. The way I've wanted you for ten years."
"This is manipulation." She backed up another step. "You're twisting what happened into something it wasn't."
"I'm stating facts." He followed her into the kitchen, all predator grace and determined focus. "You kissed me first. Pulled me down. Told me not to stop. Those weren't the actions of someone using me as a distraction."
"They were exactly that."
His eyes held hers, seeing too much. "Then why did your lioness purr against mine? Why did you hold on like you were afraid I'd disappear?"
Heat flooded her cheeks. "Stop."
"Why? Because I'm right?" He moved closer, backing her against the counter. "Because admitting you wanted it, wanted me, wantedus, terrifies you more than Hector's threats?"
"You don't know what terrifies me."
"I know you." His voice gentled. "Know you've built walls so high you can't see over them anymore. Know you'd rather be alone than risk getting hurt again. Know you're using anger right now to push me away because it's easier than admitting what last night meant."
"Last night meant nothing." The lie tasted like ash. "It was a mistake."
"The only mistake was you walking away after." He braced his hands on the counter behind her, caging her in without touching. "Walking away instead of staying. Instead of acknowledging that something shifted between us."
