I stood, stretching out the muscles that had cramped from how I was sitting. “No, actually, you weren’t. You didn’t even tell mewhy.”
“Does it matter?” His voice broke and he took a step back, as if distance between us would help him keep his resolve.
“Yes.” I laughed, not because I was amused, but because I was confused more than anything. “I deserve to know. We were doing fine.”
Mark shivered and waved his hand at the door to his house. “Let’s take this inside.” He moved, keeping a wide berth between us as he slid past and unlocked the door.
I followed him, stepping in onto a square of tiles. The living room was… tidy but had no personality. No art hung on the walls the way I’d expected. It almost looked like a showpiece waiting for someone to move in. This wasn’t the Mark I’d gotten to know. He nearly bubbled over with life. Closing the door behind me, I took off my boots while he toed off his shoes. No, this space wasn’t anything special, with only spotless soft blue carpets and a couple of beige couches.
“Sit down.” Mark sat on the closest couch, watching me carefully as I sat on the same one as him. Not too close, but not too far, either. I didn’t want to push him, but I wanted him to know I wasn’t going anywhere.
“So?” I leaned forward slightly, my hands cupping my knees. “Tell me, little rabbit, why did you run again?”
He trembled at his nickname and tried to glare, but there was no heat to it. He brushed his hair off his forehead. “Rabbits hide from predators, you know?”
I laughed, and he quirked a small smile at me. “And wolves chase them.”
He sighed and glanced away for a moment before his attention returned to me. “Madam Winters is your mother’s friend.”
It took a few seconds before his words filtered through my brain, and I frowned. “Yes, I told you that when we got together.”
“I forgot. Or maybe blocked it out?” He curled his arms around himself and pressed his mouth together in a thin line. “It just didn’t mean much until I saw her there yesterday.”
Realization dawned, and anger at the madam stirred inside me. I should have thought about her being there, but I hadn’t.Fuck, no wonder Mark is mad at me. He’d made a point of saying he never wanted to see her again.
I sighed, pressing my elbows into my knees and rubbing my palms across my face. When I glanced at him again, he had a gentle smile caressing his beautiful cherry-red lips. “I’m sorry. I forgot she’d be there. She often is on the weekends. I should have…. Fuck.”
“I don’t like seeing her.”
“And that’s why you said you needed a break?” I stared at him, my gut churning that I’d nearly lost him again because of her. Sure, she was the reason we’d met, but she’d made the entire thing more difficult than it needed to be.
He flushed, ducking his head. “I panicked.”
“You panicked?” I echoed. Shaking my head, I reached for him, and I was relieved when he let me take his hands in mine. I raised them to my mouth, kissing each palm and finger until I was satisfied I hadn’t left an inch of skin untouched by my lips. “Little rabbit, you can run to the moon and I would follow you. All you had to do was tell me instead of hiding, though. This was something we could have fixed.”
“I’m sorry. I… reacted impulsively. I’ve never really been in a relationship.” He slid closer, and I curled my arms around him, kissing his forehead. “It hurt to send you that text message. After I did it, I thought I’d ruined my chances with you for good, and I was so embarrassed by what I’d done. How I’d reacted. I told Maggie not to let you up to see me because I didn’t know how to explain what I’d done.”
I chuckled and kissed his mouth this time, listening to the delightful moan that escaped his lips. “Do I have to teach my little rabbit how to communicate with me?”
“I… no?” He sounded so unsure, and my heart ached. I petted my finger across his cheekbone.
“I will take care of you, Mark. I will protect you because you are my mate. If you ever really want to leave me, I will accept that, but you need to talk to me. That’s how relationships work. We do this together, not alone. I don’t know what the problem is until you tell me. Do you understand?”
“Yes,” he whispered, burrowing his face against my neck. He inhaled my scent, and there was something incredibly sexy and primal about it. “I’m sorry.”
“You’re lucky I like you.” I grinned and rubbed my hand down the length of his back. “Now, about the madam.”
He stiffened. “I don’t want to see her ever again.”
“Yes, you do.”
He leaned back, staring at me.
“We will go see her together, and you will tell her exactly how you feel.”
His eyes widened. “She’ll kidnap me again.”
Stroking along his jaw, I smiled. “I won’t let that happen. You’re mine now. My mate.”
