I followed him slowly. “Aren’t you going to put some clothes on?”
“Why should I?” Reid said challengingly, spreading his legs a little wider. I had to practically manhandle my eyes into staying on his face. “I’m the last person you’d ever hit on, remember? Besides, you shifters are used to a bit of nudity. Mine shouldn’t make you uncomfortable.”
Uncomfortable wasn’t what I was feeling, and that right there was the problem. Not when we couldn’t go there. When Reid didn’twantus to go there.
I sat on the sofa too, twisting so I was facing him. It wasn’t a big piece of furniture and I wasn’t a small bloke. My knee brushed against his, the contact making me suck in a sharp breath.
“It’s not that I don’t want you,” I said. “It’s that I can’t, Reid.”
“Guess I was confused after you almost kissed me at theclub. My mistake.” A muscle jumped in his jaw. “Tell me what you need to so I can get on with the rest of my life.”
My wolf wanted me to inform him that he wasn’t mistaken. To tell him how many times over the past few months Ihadconsidered it. About the nights when I’d stroked myself to the memory of his body against mine in the club. How often it had been his name on my lips as I came.
But that wasn’t what Reid wanted or needed. I had a purpose for being here tonight. It was the only reason Reid was tolerating my presence.
I debated for a minute how to tell him, before deciding to just rip the plaster off. “Clyde crossed the borders today and threatened Chester. He had him by the throat when we arrived.”
Reid paled, grabbing my forearm automatically. My wolf calmed the instant his skin made contact with mine. “Is he okay?”
I knew he wasn’t asking about his father. “Aye. Chester’s safe and unharmed.”
He visibly sagged, the hand not on my arm covering his eyes. “Thank god. Thankgod.If he’d killed Chester, Ev…I couldn’t…”
I put my arm around his shoulders, pulling him into my side. My lips found their way to his temple like it was a path they’d walked a thousand times before. “I know, sweetheart. I know.”
I was dimly aware that I shouldn’t be touching Reid like this. Probably shouldn’t be calling him sweetheart either. But how could I not? Comforting Reid felt as natural as breathing.
“Is he—Clyde—Did you…?”
I held him a little tighter. “Aye, sweetheart. Clyde’s dead. Eternally so.”
He suddenly pulled out of my hold, his eyes fixed straight ahead. “Who killed him?”
The alarm bells I’d ignored when comforting him were blaring now. “What?”
He looked at me then, and my wolf cowered at the blankness in his eyes. “Did you kill my father, Evan?
Chapter 15
Reid
Usually, I didn’t have an issue keeping up with several different threads at once. You could say it was my not-so-secret special skill. I was good at adapting with a split second’s notice.
But the past ten minutes had seen my emotions go up and down more times than a rollercoaster. I was pissed off that Evan had shown up. Turned on by how his gaze seemed to devour me. Irritated that that was the effect his perusal had.
Then there was the hurt at how he’d rejected me, which was stupid, honestly. I had a million reasons why I shouldn’t want Evan either. I’d demonstrated as much by not letting him kiss me at the club.
But that hadn’t stopped his words cutting deep. And I hated that. I hated that I’d let a shifter make me feel less than.
That right there was why I wanted to keep my distance from the lot of them. Being around shifters never led to anything good. Not for me, anyway.
But all of that’d paled in comparison to why Evan was there.
I’d been horrified to discover Clyde had finally made his move. Terrified that Chester had been hurt. Relieved to hear he was safe.
The complete shock at learning Clyde was…that he was…
“Aye, Reid,” Evan said softly, his eyes shining. “It was a combined effort, but I was the one who delivered the killing blow.”
