At the sound of annoyance in his voice, Bethany finally looked up from her book and met his eyes. His jaw was clenched as though he was biting back words he knew he wouldn’t be able to take back. Over the past few months as they adjusted to living together, many things had become apparent to Bethany. Two thing of those things were that Drake did not like her being away from him for extended periods of time, and he wouldn’t sleep without her in the bed beside him. Basically, an hour was about all he could handle before he would come looking for her. It was cute in the beginning. And most of the time she didn’t want to be away from him either, but the longer he withheld himself from her, the more she wanted to put distance between them. She loved him and that love grew every day, but his bullheadedness made her want to bangherhead against a rock until she knocked herself unconscious.
“Yes, Drake. That means I won’t be back until two or possibly three. Is that a problem?” Bethany asked as she continued to meet his stern stare. Her emotions felt out of control at times, and she found herself being a little harsher than normal. But in this situation, she wouldn’t back down.
“And if it is?” he asked.
She could feel his frustration through their bond. She also sensed his desire for her, which only ticked her off. She was almost indignant about his desire. How dare he want her so desperately but refuse his wolfandher. Bethany knew he was aware of her need of him, but he didn’t acknowledge it. “Then you will simply have to get over it,” she finally answered. Her tone was curt. Bethany raised her brow at him, silently challenging him. When he didn’t respond, she returned her attention to the book … not that she was actually reading. Her eyes had run over the same sentence at least twenty times, and she still didn’t know what it said. His nearness, his scent, and the heat coming from his body were too distracting.
Drake surged to his feet as he snarled and stomped to the kitchen. Bethany heard the loud banging of cabinets coming from the other room.
She smelled a delicious aroma and realized he was cooking dinner. Her mouth watered. She was starving, which was too bad, because she really wanted to refuse to eat with him.Super mature, Bethany. But food had become something she constantly craved. This worked out okay because Drake had a thing about feeding her. He even liked to literally feed her the food he prepared for them. She humored him … sometimes.
After twenty minutes, he returned and set down a plate containing a grilled cheese sandwich, accompanied by a bowl of tomato soup. It was one of her favorites. He was thoroughly annoyed with her and yet he still cooked for her, thinking about what she would want instead of what he would prefer. His thoughtfulness warmed her, but it also made her want to growl at him. She didn’t want him to be sweet when they were having a tiff.
“Thank you,” she told him as she set the book aside and moved to the floor in front of the coffee table. The only noise was the sound of their spoons clanking against the bowls. She forced herself to eat slowly, instead of like a ravenous beast like she wanted. When they were done, Bethany stood up and took their dishes. She placed them in the sink and turned. Her face was met with a broad, naked chest. She hadn’t heard him move. For a brief second, she considered leaning forward and sinking her teeth into his flesh. Drake sucked in a quick breath, and Bethany knew he’d picked up on her thought. What did he expect when he walked around looking perfect and bitable?
She tilted her head up to look at him and tried to back up to put a little space between them, but only air was able to fit between their bodies.
Drake placed his hands on the counter on either side of her, effectively caging her in. He leaned down so his mouth was next to her ear. His warm breath on her skin, just over his bite mark, was enough to make her shudder and her skin flush with heat. Maybe if she thought about doing laundry she’d be able to shut down her desire. Nope. That just made her think about removing clothing. Not helpful. Rabbits. Yes, rabbits would distract her. Fluffy, cute, fury, and hunted by wolves. Like the way her mate hunted her, slowly, with unending patience. Mother of pearl, would anything not drag her thoughts back to him? Jell-O. No. No way. Moths. They’re drawn to light. Just like she’s drawn to the heat from Drake’s body.
She let out a frustrated growl and was rewarded with a deep chuckle next to her ear. He was listening to her thoughts.Fur butt,she thought, knowing he’d hear that too.
Bethany felt his teeth scrape against her neck.I will not groan. I will not groan. I will not … shut the front door, I groaned.Her thoughts were swirling through her mind as her mate continued to kiss, bite, and suck on her neck over his mark. Her skin was especially sensitive lately, and she attempted to chalk it up to the fact that she was sexually frustrated.
When Drake’s mouth finally left her skin, he whispered in her ear, “If you stay with me tonight, there’s more of that in store.”
Bethany felt as if cold water had been poured over her body and through her veins. She reacted so fast he wasn’t prepared when she shoved him as hard as she could. It gave her enough space to slip out from between his arms, and she made a break for the living room where it would be harder for him to corner her.
“You’re trying to get your way by seducing me?” she asked, the speed of her breathing increasing even as her blood began to heat. She growled, baring her teeth at him as her hands fisted at her side. Maybe if she kept them locked at her side, she wouldn’t act on the desire to choke him.
“My advances make you want to choke me?” he asked, he eyebrows drawn together as he folded his arms across his chest. The pose made his impressive size seem to occupy even more of the space, like a peacock puffing up his feathers to appear larger.
Bethany didn’t retreat from what she felt was an intimidating stance. Instead, she placed her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes at him. “No, you overgrown puppy. I want to choke you because you think you have the right to seduce me.”
“You’re my mate!” he snapped back, cutting her off.
She ignored his statement and kept going. “Especially when you have no intention of taking it any further than a teenage make-out session. How would you like it if I teased you?” She pictured her suggestion in her mind, letting those thoughts filter through the bond and into his brain. She was very thorough about how she would drive him crazy only to then walk away, leaving him breathless and wanting.
“I’m nottryingto leave you frustrated like that. I don’t mean to. But we need to touch even if we do nothing else. Especially in this early part of our relationship. It will build a strong bond between us and our wolves. There’s no way I can be around you and not touch you.”
He took a step toward her as if he was going to act on his words, but Bethany held up a hand to stop him. “Then maybe you don’t need to be around me until you get things under control. You keep saying that you won’t make love to me because you’re afraid of losing control and hurting me.”
“Again,” he added through clenched teeth.
“You say it’s hard for you not to touch me. Well, did you stop to think about how hard it is for me to feel your touch and desire and not be allowed to act on those wants and needs? I’m mated to you. I tied our souls together with you for all eternity. You’ve spouted off about rights we have to one another because we belong to one another, and yet you deny me my rights.” Bethany paused and closed her eyes, forcing a halt to the tears that threatened to fall. Once again, she was losing control of herself and felt as if she’d implode or explode, not sure which, at any moment. “Look, we knew being together would be difficult. We both have traumatic backgrounds, and they fuel our insecurities. I honestly don’t know how to deal with this. We’ve talked but we are at an impasse. I just need some space.” She knew her words were going to anger him, and his wolf would probably throw a fit worthy of a two-year-old. She wasn’ttryingto make him angry. She was trying to figure out how to work through this obstacle that Drake was unwilling to remove.
“No,” he said, and though he sounded calm, his body was shaking, and his eyes were glowing with his wolf.
“Excuse me?” Bethany said, her forehead raising so much she felt as if her eyebrows were touching her hairline.
“I said no. I will not give you space.”
Bethany was at a complete loss. She could turn around and simply walk out, but he would just follow her and bring her back.
“You’re damn right I would.” He growled, agreeing with her thoughts. “As many times as I have to.”
An idea struck her like a bolt of lightning, and she shut the bond down in a heartbeat to keep Drake from hearing it. “Fine. I’ll stay. And as petty as it is, I am going to have to return the favor of the frustration you have put me through.” Bethany grabbed the bottom of her shirt, pulled it over her head, and tossed it on the back of the nearest chair.
“Bethany, what are you doing?” His words sounded as if they were being pulled out of him against his will.
