“Also, he’s scamming you,” Rowan chuckles. “He usually doesn’t get fed until at least two hours from now. I don’t think any of us expected you to run out so quickly.”
His voice trails off, and I flick my eyes down at the food bag. I place it on the island, and Rowan takes it then heads to the food bowl that’s placed next to the pantry door.
The food bowl which happens to be part of our Furs and Purrs merch line.
Is there anything from the rescue’s store they don’t own?
I stand there awkwardly, taking in Rowan’s lean frame as he feeds Ash.
I should leave, now.
But something about what he said bothers me.
“I wasn’t running out,” I say evenly.
“Yeah,” Rowan replies, standing to face me. “I don’t think that’s true. You’ve barely slept three hours.”
“Well, neither have you.”
“I’m a light sleeper.” He crosses his arms, and I purposely don’t look at his strong, pale forearms. “Ryland and Travis? They sleep like the dead.” His gaze turns to my duffel bag, poised andready to go. “At least eat something before you go. I don’t know when we’re going to see you again.”
Shame races through my system, quickly replaced by fury.
“You do a great job of making a woman feel guilty,” I snap. An irrational sense of anger flares in me.
I don’t owe the three of them anything. Yes, we’re scent matches, but so what?
I was doing fine before them. Iwas.
I only stayed here because of the storm.
“And you do a good job of running away from shit you don’t want to deal with,” Rowan says.
My mouth falls open.
The nerve, thegallto say this to me…
“You don’t know me as well as you think,” I whisper. I round the corner and reach for my duffel bag, but Rowan tugs it out of my reach. He cocks his head slightly and watches me carefully, his eyes narrowed to slits.
“Why did you avoid my brother after you met him?”
My mouth twists into an ugly shape. “I?—”
“Why did you stop talking to Travis? Why are yourunning?”
I grab for the duffel again, but he yanks it away from me, gripping the handle tightly.
“I’m notrunning,” I hiss.
“You are. If it wasn’t for the storm, you would have been long gone by now.”
“Give me my bag.” I round the island and reach for it, but he simply pulls away again, and I almost stumble into his stupid, chiseled chest.
“Tell me why you’re running.”
“Is this how you get what you want? Doing something like this?” I whisper-yell. Rowan’s packmates still haven’t woken up, but I’m starting to wonder if that’s the better option.
“Well, I can’t physically restrain you, now can I?” he smirks.
