Stupid, so fucking stupid. Kiss her. Don’t let her change in front of you thinking you have no interest in her; that’s skeevy. Tell her she’s your mate and spend the afternoon cementing the bond.
Smiling at me, Scarlett takes my hand, leading me to the couch. As she grabs the remote, starting the movie, she sinks into the plush leather mere inches away from me. I’m torn, desperately wanting to clarify everything, but appreciating the time with her that she’s treating it as easy as breathing, and I know that’ll implode the second that I open my mouth. And after days of mentally torturing myself, I’m a glutton for punishment, her proximity a balm for my soul.
“Scarlett.” She turns to me with a raised eyebrow, and my courage plummets to my gut as she squeezes my hand, like she’ll support me through anything without question.
Because she thinks you’re fucking her packmate. She looks at you like an unthreatening best friend instead of someone that wants to strip her down, sink his teeth into her, and fuck her until she’s begging for release.
Kill. Me. Now.
“Kasen, seriously, it’s okay. We don’t need to talk about it. If you’re happy, I’m happy. So let’s-” she sighs, curling her feet beneath her as she turns to face me on the couch. “Let’s just be happy together, okay? I could use something easy right about now; it’s been a pretty shitty year and a half.”
And with those simple words, all of my confessions dry up in my throat, not wanting to burst her bubble. It’s fucked up, and I have no doubt it’s going to blow up in my face, but I can’t bring myself to confess everything to makemefeel better at her expense. She needs easy, and I need her to be happy. Things have already worked out better than I thought they would, and now, I’m able to spend every day one on one by her side, with her comfortable around me instead of looking at me as simply guard detail.
She accepts that I’m part of her pack, even if she’s connected the pieces wrong. The rest can get figured out with time.
“Easy sounds good.”
I wrap my arm around her shoulders and she leans into me with a small puff of breath, relaxing within seconds. Her scent surrounds me and my mouth waters with the desire to taste her, to kiss her breathless. To have her spread out beneath me with my face buried between her legs, hear her screaming my name as she cums on my tongue. Instead, I settle for her nestled into my side, knowing that she’s safe.
Soft snores drift my way before long, Scarlett falling asleep like she warned. I take a moment to study my gorgeous mate and carefully brush a lock of hair out of her face with a featherlight touch. If it wasn’t for the brief flash of fangs that I saw before she retracted them and the red ringed irises, I’d have no idea she had any connection to the vampires wreaking havoc across the country; she’s too sweet and considerate. Even her scent is more muted, all of the grime and filth associated with vampires gone now that she isn’t stuck living underground like the rest of them. It’s still notable, and any shifter worth his salt would pick it up and know what she is despite the change if she wasn’t coated in my scent to mask it, but I’m admittedly biased where she’s concerned. Her nails are shorter than the last time I saw her, too, so she must be filing away her claws. While I’m thrilled with everything she’s attempting to ensure she doesn’t hurt someone, it sacrifices her defenses in the name of other people’s comfort.
Carefully, I draw my phone out of my pocket. There’s already a dozen texts from Becks, up to date on the conversation I had with Malcolm, but then I went radio silent. All of his messages circle back to ‘Did you bite her yet? Did she biteyou? Are you dead? Can I have your stuff if you’re dead?’
Single handedly, I tap out a lengthy reply, lamenting how everything went down this morning. Within seconds a message pops up, a slew of laughter before it’s followed by,You took my advice too literally. You weren’t really supposed to sleep your way to the top.
Sending him the virtual middle finger, I turn back to the movie, switching to a game on my phone when it ends, since the remote is on Scarlett’s other side. She stiffens against me and I pause, scanning the room, but it’d be damn obvious from here since the elevator is the only way in or out. She squirms and releases the softest whimper that instantly makes my hackles raise, the distressed sound calling to every instinct andscreamingfor me to fix it.
She shifts again, restless in her sleep, and I gently shake her shoulders. “Hey, it’s just a nightmare.” I’m vaguely aware of my phone ringing as she twitches with an indecipherable mumble, and I speak louder, trying again. “Scarlett, wake up.” Her eyes fly open, wild and unseeing as she flinches back, her dulled nails raking across my arm as she scrambles backward on the couch, teeth bared. “Shh, hey, you’re alright. You’re safe now.”
Gradually, the glassy haze retreats from her vision as clarity settles into her features, her heart still hammering away, but no longer sprinting. The scent of terror clogs my nostrils, but I force myself to give her space when all I want to do is huddle her against me.
“Kase-” her eyes flit to my arm before tears instantly spring to life as she starts shaking her head. “No, no, no, not again. I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean-” tears start flowing down her face, the ringing of my phone a constant soundtrack that must be Malcolm sensing her panic.
“This?” I lift the arm with a snort. “Hate to break it to you, sweetheart, but I’ve gotten worse scratches from the edge of a table. Trust me, they’ll be gone before dusk, no stress. Hell, you barely even drew blood.”
She brings her knees up to her chest, starting to shrink in on herself. “I didn’t mean to hurt you. I never wanted to hurtanyone.”
“Look at me.” Her gaze jerks up with the stern command. “I’m perfectly fine. It’ll take a hell of a lot more than a tiny thing like you to bring me down; why do you think I was hired in the first place? My good looks?” Her lip twitches and I take the encouragement to slide closer, keeping my movements slow and predictable. “Besides, you think I’ve never had a bad dream and woke up swinging? Honestly, I’m impressed.”
At that, her eyebrows reach her hairline. “Impressed that I was so out of control I’m a danger to everyone around me and have to stay locked away from society?”
“Impressed that you had somuchcontrol that even though you were terrified, your instinct was all bark and barely any bite. Like when you back a kitten into a corner; warning scratch and hiss, but the goal is to get the thing scaring them to go away, not maul it to death.”
She looks at me like I have three heads. “A kitten. You’re comparing a vampire that murdered hundreds of people to akitten.”
My heart aches for her at the admission, but it helps to confirm my suspicions about her behavior and mindset, that claiming her would be something cruel instead of a gift. “I’m comparingyouto a kitten,” I emphasize. “You’re more than just a vampire, aren’t you? The same way there’s more to me than being a shifter.”
She mulls over my words, and I use the opportunity to close the distance between us, wrapping an arm around her again. Tensing up, she remains rigid at first, but as the seconds turn into minutes, she relaxes her muscles.
With a sigh of defeat, she drops her head onto my shoulder. “You’re too understanding. I keep giving you new reasons to resent me and here you are, comforting me when it should be the other way around.”
What the heck?
“Why would you think I’d resent you?”
She opens her mouth to reply, but is cut off by my phone ringing again and I groan, knowing Malcolm is likely marching back up here. Releasing her, I lean back to snatch up my phone, slipping into business mode out of habit.
“Nightmare, scratch, head pats, now everything’s good.”
