“I don’t need to.” Expression haughty, she flicked over to the next page. “I already know what you’re going to say. Don’t waste your breath. I’m staying.”
Like hell she was. “Sawyer was shot, Riley.”
“Yeah, I remember.”
“Good, so you must also remember that we’re back to not having a fucking clue what’s going on here.” She didn’t respond. Just kept on pretending to read. “Look at me.” But of course she didn’t. He snatched the book and slung it behind him.
Folding her arms, she glared up at him. “Problem, Fenris?”
“Being bitchy won’t push me away, Riley. Annoy me, provoke me, piss me off—it’ll do all of those things. But I’m not going anywhere. We’re going to talk this out. Tell me why it’s so important to you to stay. You won’t be abandoning the flock, if that’s what this is about. And you can bet your sweet ass that if they were on pack territory and shit started happening, they’d be gone in a fucking blink.”
“Not Ethan and Max.”
“No, not them,” he agreed. “They’re also the last people who would ever blame you for going home where you’re safe. Hell, they can come with us if you want.” But he knew they wouldn’t leave. Like Riley, they wanted to see someone pay.
“You’re wasting your time with this, Tao. I won’t change my mind.”
Jaw tight, Tao growled. He reminded himself once again to stay calm. He tried to come up with something sensitive and diplomatic that might make her think and see things his way, but he wasn’t good with words. It didn’t help that he couldn’t stop growling at her. “Don’t forget that someone is claiming you have one of our wolves doing all this shit, that it was you who pulled Wade’s strings and you’re finishing what he started. If others buy into that, you’re going to have a riot on your hands. Do you want your uncles to have to go through that?”
She narrowed her eyes. “This argument will get you nowhere. The motherfucker behind all this is not getting away with it. No way. Like I told the others just now, I appreciate all that you’ve done. If you want to leave, I understand and—”
“Like you told the others?” he echoed. Like he was nothing more than a pack mate to her, just like them? Anger sparked through him like a fever in his blood.
Standing, she put her hands on her hips. “You leave if you want to, but I’m staying right here. And if you weren’t so overprotective of your pack, you’d see that this is the right thing to do.”
Patience gone, he loomed over her, his neck corded. “I’m not interested in right and wrong, I’m interested in you. You’re not safe here.”
“Are we still on that? Boring.”
He went nose to nose with her. “Don’t fucking test me right now, Riley. You’re going.”
“I’m. Not. Leaving. You don’t get to tell me what to do just because we fuck.” Riley froze as something not wholly on the side of the angels flashed in his eyes.
“Fuck?” It was a whisper. “We fuck? That’s it?”
“Of course that’s it.”
“Bullshit,” he spat.
“Excuse me?”
“We have something here, Riley. It’s fragile and easily fucked up, but it’s there. And there’s no point in us pretending any different, so don’t fucking bother.”
Looking at the stubborn set to his jaw, she marveled, “You’re serious.”
“I’m serious. Don’t even think about playing dumb right now. You’re not stupid. I’m not stupid. This thing crept up on us when we weren’t looking and now we have to face it.”
Her hands slid from her hips. “You said you didn’t want a relationship.”
“Because I’m not good at them. Making people happy is not my specialty, and most people annoy the shit out of me anyway. But you . . . I want you more than I’ve ever wanted any damn thing in my life. You got right under my skin and it should piss me off but you feel good there.”
“Tao—”
“We’re not going to ignore what’s between us. No way. It would be pointless and tiring, just as it was pointless and tiring when I fought how much I wanted you. All that brought me was sexual frustration and a pissed-off wolf. I’ve learned my lesson.”
Yeah, Tao knew that bulldozing her wasn’t the smartest move, but he refused to go easy on her. For him there was no budging on this. There was no going back for either of them. He wanted the very thing he’d thought of when he was dying on a battlefield not so long ago while providing backup for the Mercury wolves: he wanted Riley Porter. He’d accept nothing less.
Closing her eyes, she waved her hands. “I can’t have this conversation right now.”
“You can and you will.” He wasn’t going to let her “process” him later. “Look at me.” He cupped her jaw tight and repeated, “Look at me.” Finally those eyelids lifted; there was a whole lot of confusion there. “We have something. Something I have every intention of keeping. It makes me happy. I’m never happy.” He’d been passably content before, but not happy. The fact that she’d cheapened that and what was building between them by implying it was no more than sex pissed him off on too many levels to count. “Lie to me again and tell me all we do is fuck,” he dared, anger pulsing through every word. “Lie to me, baby, go ahead.”
Riley swallowed. On the outside she was composed. Inside she was fumbling. She’d never expected any kind of declaration from Tao. He was just too . . . well, Tao. Distrustful of others. Cynical about relationships. A guy who, even amid his pack, seemed to walk alone. She’d expected him to eventually get bored with her and, as much as it would have hurt, she’d been prepared for that. But this . . . she hadn’t been prepared for this.
Riley wasn’t good at handling being taken off guard. Right then, she didn’t know what to do. She didn’t really have the right words to say to him—not even the words to apologize for hurting him by lying that this was just sex for her. So she did the next best thing and lowered her gaze.
Feeling the anger drain from him, Tao closed his eyes. She’d completely disarmed him and his wolf by submitting. It was no easy thing for a dominant female, and it was the last thing he’d expected her to do. Sliding his hands into her hair, Tao rubbed his cheek against hers, accepting the silent apology.
“Eyes back to mine,” he said. Her gaze returned to his, soft and confused. “I can see your mind is racing and you’re not quite sure if I’m really serious. I’m deadly serious. This is no fling, Riley. I’m not sure if it ever was. The situation is actually very simple. You’re mine now. I’m yours. This is exclusive. Permanent. And it’s what we both want, isn’t it?”
She hesitated. “If I said no?”
“You’d be lying and I’d ignore it, because the answer simply doesn’t work for me. You want this, don’t you?” After a moment she nodded, but it wasn’t enough for him. Tao tightened his hold on her hair. “Say it.”