“You wanted to snuggle,” I offered, pulling my second favorite coffee cup from the cupboard. “We didn’t do anything more than that.”
Shelly waved my words off. “Of course, we didn’t. I wasn’t worried about that.”
Sitting down across from him, I waited until Shelly met my eyes. “Because you know I wouldn’t take advantage of you when you’d been drinking? Or because you think I don’t want you?”
Shelly groaned. “I was being talkative, huh?”
I shrugged. “You said a few things I didn’t understand. I was hoping you’d explain them to me.”
“Do I have to?”
“No. You never have to do anything you don’t want to,” I said softly, “but I can’t help but feel like this is part of the distance between us lately.”
“Fine,” Shelly huffed. “What did I say?”
“That I don’t want you. That I gave you away.”
“Which part of that was confusing?” There was a bitter undercurrent to Shelly’s voice.
“All of it,” I said promptly.
Shelly rolled his eyes and took a fortifying swallow of coffee. “Fine. I’ve been in love with you for years and I know you don’t return it,” he said quietly. “That’s not your fault, but striking a deal to pass me on to Kravets during my heat cycles instead of just telling me you didn’t want to take care of me anymore hurt, okay? Can we move past it now?”
“You..I…what?” Even though he’d been speaking slowly and concisely I couldn’t quite untangle his words. “I’m lost.”
“Someone overheard you at The Lair,” Shelly retorted, the bitter edge back in his voice. “Supposedly he was even taking fucking notes on how to get my attention and convince me he was in it for more than just my ass, the whole bit.”
“Oh, shit.” I ran back over the past few weeks in my mind and realized that that was a night or two before things had gone to shit between us.
“Yeah. The worst part is that I defended you,” Shelly said with a hollow laugh. “Insisted you would never do that and then what did I find when I came home to ask you? Mike Fucking Kravets babbling on about fucking books.”
“Oh, this is so bad.” I stared at Shelly in appalled horror. “Oh, baby, I promise this isnotwhat it seems like!”
Shelly raised a skeptical brow and took another slug of his coffee.
“Shelly, baby, I swear on my life that that is not what happened.” I paused to try and calm the bear that was becoming increasingly anxious. “Will you please let me explain?”
Shelly waved at me to continue but the mulish look didn’t leave his face.
“Myke did come to me to ask about our relationship,” I admitted, “but not because he’s interested in you. He’s never been in a relationship that involved an Omega’s heats and he wanted me to give him what he called Omega 101, just tell him the things he should know in case he ends up with one.” I took a sip of coffee and then spilled the one secret that I was keeping. “I actually think he might be hoping to take things to the next level with someone he’s seeing, but I can’t be sure. I can be positive it isn’t you.”
Shelly looked skeptical and I rushed on.
“I didn’t tell him anything about you specifically, I even told him before I agreed to it that I wouldn’t do that, that most of the basics were things I learned back when I was married. He said that was fine. I swear, we never discussed you at all.” I shook my head. “And I’m doing something very wrong if you think I don’t love our time together during your heats.”
The damn bear was continuing to get riled up and I honestly wasn’t sure that the three warded bands I was wearing were going to keep him in check if Shelly didn’t speak soon.
“Shelly, can I ask you for a favor?”
He nodded and I pushed my chair back, making room for him on my lap. “Would you come sit with me? Bear is, well, stressed and I’m not sure I can keep him back.”
That got me a strange look, but Shelly walked around the table and let me pull him into my lap, whispering silly baby talk to Bear as he snuggled into my arms, his closeness washing over me like a balm.
“What is going on with that?” Shelly asked when the bear was clearly rumbling in my chest.
“Oh, um,” I stumbled as I tried to think of a reasonable excuse, but then Shelly stiffened in my arms.
“I see. My truths are fair game but yours aren’t.”
