I frowned. “What the hell’s wrong with you?”
“You said I could click my fingers and get any female. I was testing your theory.”
I snorted. “Go knock on May’s door. You won’t even need to click your fingers.”
“You really want me to go knock on May’s door?”
I tightened the arms still crossed in front of my chest. “If I said yes, would you?”
“No.” He set his hands back on my arms and dragged his callused fingers down to my elbows, then back up. Down and up. Although it softened me on the outside, my insides stayed armored. “There’s only one shifter I want, and she’s standing right here.” He dropped his palms to my hips.
“Why me? Because I’m easy?”
His head jerked back. “Easy? You’re the exact opposite of easy.”
We’d had sex. He’d snapped at me. And now, he was standing inside my home with his hands on my body. Sure, I still had my clothes on, but still . . .
“You may only have had one other partner, but I’ve had many, and I’ve neverclickedwith someone like I did with you. That’swhy you.”
I wanted to take that compliment and store it, but doubt crept into my mind. “I’m the first shifter you’ve slept with. Maybe that’s why weclicked.”
His pupils shrank. “Was it the same with Grant as it was with me?”
“No, but like you said, I only have one point of reference, so unlike you, I’m no expert. I’d need a few more partners to verify your claim.”
His gaze turned positively murderous.
I sighed. “Liam, I don’t want one more night. I’m not cut out for”—I uncrossed my arms and made a vague gesture, trying to parse my thoughts—“detachedsex.”
His eyebrows hung so low over his eyes that the chocolate hue of his irises appeared black. “I’m not relationship-material.”
“I know. You made that abundantly clear. You don’t have space in your life, I get it. I really do. Which is why, even though wedidclick, even though your smell alone makes me dizzy, I’m going to say no and save us both future aggravation.”
His fingers stopped trying to grind my hipbones to dust. “My smell makes you dizzy?”
I bit the inside of my cheek. Had I really needed to be that candid? Oh well. The hole was dug. “To the point where I thought you might be my mate.” I tipped my face toward his abdomen. “But you’re not. Which is a relief all things considered since you don’t want a true mate, and had you been mine and refused to consummate the bond, I’d have beenreallyticked off.”
He crooked my chin up on a bent finger. “You know what your smell does to me?” He pressed his nose into my hair and inhaled deeply. “It makes me painfully, blindingly hard.” He erased the space between our bodies, probably to prove his point, because he was certainly providing adequate proof. “I could come from your smell alone, which hasneverhappened to me.”
Push him away, Nikki. Be heart-smart for once.
Instead of putting distance between us, I turned my head and pressed my cheek against his rapidly pounding chest, letting myself be held hostage by this intoxicating male.
“Be mine, baby. Tonight. As many nights as you want. Until you find your perfect mate, be mine.”
My eyes filled with heat. My stomach, too. Because his proposal was equal amounts sweet and sad. “What exactly are you offering? Casual, on-demand sex?”
“Yes.”
“Would this be exclusive?”
“Yes.” He caressed the nape of my neck, coaxing out thousands of little bumps.
“Until I find my true mate?” I had a WWAT—What Would Adalyn Think—moment. Would she encourage me to accept an exclusive friends-with-benefits offer or would she tell me to run? “What if I don’t get one?”
His heart stuttered. “Then until you grow tired of my ornery ass.”
I smiled against the black cotton that smelled of him, of his life, of his sweat and strife and wild. “It’s a really terrible idea.”
