I wrinkled my nose. “Eww . . . not him.”
“The only other Simon in the pack is eight. I’m guessing it isn’t him either.”
Liam’s eye stopped twitching, but his mouth took over. Probably because he felt like he’d trapped me in a lie. Except I wasn’t lying. I really was about to have a date with Simon. A virtual one.
“MySimon’s not in the pack.”
His mouth flattened. “Humans aren’t allowed on the compound.”
“Since when?”
“Since I got here.”
“Well, whatever. He isn’t human.”
Snowflakes steamed off Liam’s corded forearms and razor-sharp cheekbones. “Which pack is thisSimonfrom then?”
“He’s not a shifter either.”
“What. Is. He. Then?” Liam’s lips barely moved as he spoke. “A sex toy?”
The man had one heck of a temper. I probably shouldn’t have found it appealing, yet I did. Go figure.
I snorted. “Ha. I never named my vibrator, but Simon would suit it well.”
Liam growled low and long. “Can we please have this conversation inside?”
The smile warped off my lips. “You’d be breaking your own commandment.”
“Fuck my commandment, and fuck your Simon, whoever the hell he is.” He climbed the front step and brushed past me.
“Hey . . . I didn’t say you could come in.”
“Good thing I’m not a vampire.”
“Or a gentleman,” I said under my breath.
He smiled darkly. “Or that.”
Sighing, I pressed away from the door and closed it, because it was damn cold out.
He flipped around, and although the living room was large, the space suddenly felt cramped. “You promised me a do-over.”
“That was before you barked at me.”
His jaw ticked as he took in my closed stance. “I’m sorry, Nicole.” He stepped forward and coasted his palms over my biceps. Tentatively, at first. When I didn’t swat his hands away, they settled. “Give me another chance?”
“No longer worried about my safety?”
He dipped his chin. “I’ll always worry—I worry about all my shifters—but staying away . . . it’s fucking with my concentration.”
My pride at getting lobbed in with theentirepack hurt. “Get a stress ball. Heard those work well.”
“I don’t want a fucking stress ball.”
“If you need to get your rocks off, I’m sure one of those many other shifters you worry about could accommodate you.” I nodded to the door, and he released my arms.
I thought he’d leave and try his luck elsewhere. Instead, he clicked his fingers in front of my face.
