I sighed. “You don’t have to do that with me, you know.”
“Do what?” she snapped, but her whole demeanor changed and I could see she was having some sort of internal battle going on.
“You know what,” I challenged.
An uncomfortable silence fell between us that was interrupted with a knock at the door.
I could feel her anxiety heighten and a part of me felt bad for it, but we were in our mating period. This was the time for me to get to know her and vice versa. That meant knowing and understanding it all—the good and the bad, the highs and the lows—before it was too late to sever the bond between us, before I was in too deep.
The door was nothing but our food arriving. As he rolled the tray into the room, Zoey began to relax a little. I wasn’t sure if it was because there was now a buffer with this guy in the room or that she was just really relieved for food. Or maybe she was just happy for the distraction that could steer us away from this conversation. I really didn’t peg her for a chicken though.
I didn’t recognize the guy delivering our food, so there was no need for small talk. I fished out a few bills from my wallet and handed them to him as I led him back to the door.
The way he was craning his neck to catch a last-minute glimpse of my mate set my wolf on edge. Somehow, I managed to keep the growl inside, at least until the door was shut. If Zoey heard me, she didn’t acknowledge it. She was already diving into the food he’d brought.
Instead of pressing for more, I kept my mouth shut this time and concentrated on my food as well. I was too busy trying to calm my wolf back down to talk anyway.
We ate in silence and then it was time for me to leave. I needed some time before the session to get ready for it. Plus, I hated the awkward distance that was now between us.
I found my gear bag and mumbled a goodbye without making things right with her. This did not sit well with my wolf. If I were being honest with myself, it didn’t sit well with meeither. She was my mate, and I knew I owed it to myself and to her to do better. But now wasn’t the time for that.
Down the elevator and around the lobby, I stopped by the front desk, surprised to see Karla was still working.
“Why haven’t you left yet? You’ve been going at it for hours.”
She looked exhausted as she gave me a weak smile. “No such thing in a storm like this.”
I scowled and craned my neck to see outside. “Still snowing?”
“Yup.”
“So no class today?”
“It’s been moved inside.”
My nose scrunched up in disdain. “You want me to teach on the rock climbing wall?”
“For today? Yes. We’re already making arrangements for something more. This one’s important, Monte. Bucky was bummed to have to sit this one out. It’s someone very important. I’m just not sure who. If I didn’t know better, I’d say it was Zoey. But why the hell would your girlfriend seek out lessons from anyone else? She’s already got access to the best.”
Zoey? Yeah, she had some sort of appointment at one also. It was all starting to make sense. And I wasn’t about to admit to Karla that Zoey didn’t really know much about that side of me and never would have asked. But I was willing to bet money that’s who I was about to teach.
“How bad is it out there?”
“Bad enough, so don’t even think about what I think you’re thinking about. We could lose our insurance if anything happened out there.”
I knew she was right.
“Fine. Rock wall it is.” I rolled my eyes.
“It’s closed to the public. Bucky said he had to sign a NDA and you should expect to as well. And that this lesson needed to remain private. He even had us black out all the windows and temporarily suspend the keycard device on the door. Here. You’ll need this to get in.” She handed me a new key card.
“This is kind of insane, you know.”
She shrugged. “Boss’s rules. So don’t screw this one up.”
“Just another job. It’s fine. I’ll be on my best behavior.”
She shook her head but was grinning. “Lay on that charm of yours and everything will be great. I swear you could charm a mouse out of a cheese factory.”
