He didn’t want that brat.
She was going to be his gift to Jared.
And you’re just doing that out of the goodness of your heart?
Ha! Like you have a heart.
Yeah, he definitely wasn’t doing this because of that . . . it was because he wanted Jared to have whatever he desired.
So you’re being selfless.
“I feel like I’ve lost you,” Jared murmured, tightening his hold on North’s jaw. “That just won’t do, will it, boy?”
No. It wouldn’t.
His breath caught in his throat at the look on Jared’s face.
“I don’t like secrets between us, North.”
That was a bad thing since there were so many secrets that North didn’t know where to start with them all.
“I don’t mean about the past. We’ve all got them. But I don’t like you disappearing and not telling me where you are.”
“I’m only your sub in the bedroom, Jared,” North pointed out.
“Yes, I don’t like that either.”
North understood that. He knew that Jared would prefer that he was submissive to him all the time.
Angie could be. Hmm, how would she feel about that?
Who cared? She’d do what was necessary to keep Jared happy.
“I will tell you what’s going on soon,” North promised. “Just not yet.”
Jared ran his thumb gently over North’s jaw. That was almost worse than him grabbing him harshly.
It was like he was buttering him up for the next strike. Lulling him into a false sense of security.
“You know I’m going to make you pay for that. I’ll make you pay every day until you tell me.”
North sucked in a quiet, stealthy breath.
Part of him, it seemed, might have been hoping for that.
“If you’ve been cheating on me . . .” Jared said in a low voice.
Shit. Fuck.
He hadn’t thought that part through, had he? He never thought that Jared would believe that of him.
“I haven’t. I wouldn’t. I’m loyal to you. You know that I can’t just . . . that I don’t give myself to just anyone. Only you. There’s only ever been you, Jared.”
“That’s the most that I think I’ve ever heard you say about our relationship, boy.”
Relationship?
Shit.
