it any more than you can. All that’s left is the claiming. I will give you some time to get used to the idea and get to know me, but I won’t let you go. I want to protect you, and to do that I need to keep you close.” He rested his chin on top of her head. She could hear in his tone that he had resigned himself to being with her, whether he liked her or not. She wasn’t sure why, but that bothered her immensely.
Jerking away from him, she stepped back a few feet and glared at him. “Listen to me! I won’t be forced into any relationship, and I don’t need protecting. I am going to keep saying it until you get it through your thick head, hotshot. I don’t want a relationship. Period.”
Instead of responding to her tantrum, he rolled his eyes and walked across the room to the dresser. He pulled a T-shirt out and tossed it to her. “Get in bed, sweetheart. Some sleep should help brighten your mood. We can talk about it in the morning when you’re being reasonable.”
With that he haughtily walked into the bathroom and shut the door behind him. She glared at the closed door with its broken lock, stunned that he didn’t even acknowledge what she said. She had never dealt with anyone so obnoxious in her life. He made her blood boil in more ways than one, and she hated that she lost control of herself around him. Jerking on the T-shirt, she dug through the dresser to find a pair of sweat pants that had a drawstring waist. At least this way she was wearing clean clothes. She scooped up her bloody ones and slid her feet into her discarded sandals. She was almost to the front door when she realized that she didn’t have her cell phone with her to call a cab. It was still back at her house where she should have been.
“For fuck’s sake, can this night get any worse?” she said out loud as she looked around for a phone. Finding a cordless phone on the kitchen counter she called information. She stumbled when the cab company asked for her address until she found a stack of unopened mail on the kitchen table. She was sitting on the front porch waiting when the cab pulled up twenty minutes later.
She had to admit she was a little surprised that Liam hadn’t come looking for her yet. Surely he was out of the shower by now? As the cab pulled away, she looked back and met his eyes through the living room window. She could see the hurt and anger that burned brightly in his icy stare, and she hurriedly looked away. He hadn’t tried to stop her, so she must not be as important to him as he thought. Settling sadly back into the seat for the half-hour ride back to her house she let the tears slip silently down her cheeks. She wasn’t sure if she was disappointed that he didn’t come for her or ashamed that she wanted him to.
Chapter 5
Several days later….
Liam sat shirtless on a rock at the meeting place, listening to Devin fill the rest of the pack in on what had occurred between Barton Diego and Caroline. Having resulted in Barton’s death, the fight left the Diego pack temporarily without a leader. For now Devin was going to have to lead their pack, too, until a new Alpha was selected. The leaderless pack would stage a competition battle between eligible wolves that showed Alpha tendencies, and whoever won the battle would take over. It sounded like Barton’s son Cadence Diego was a sure thing. Liam sighed heavily. He really didn’t care what happened to the other pack. He was just relieved that the threat to his own pack was eliminated. Now maybe they would all be able to move on with their lives.
As the meeting broke up and everyone headed their separate ways, he stayed seated, lost in his own thoughts. He had felt like a fish out of water ever since he watched the cab holding Tina pull away from his home the other night. It was like he couldn’t breathe right without her close. He was holding his breath that night while he stood under the hot water in the shower listening to her call the cab. His
Jerking away from him, she stepped back a few feet and glared at him. “Listen to me! I won’t be forced into any relationship, and I don’t need protecting. I am going to keep saying it until you get it through your thick head, hotshot. I don’t want a relationship. Period.”
Instead of responding to her tantrum, he rolled his eyes and walked across the room to the dresser. He pulled a T-shirt out and tossed it to her. “Get in bed, sweetheart. Some sleep should help brighten your mood. We can talk about it in the morning when you’re being reasonable.”
With that he haughtily walked into the bathroom and shut the door behind him. She glared at the closed door with its broken lock, stunned that he didn’t even acknowledge what she said. She had never dealt with anyone so obnoxious in her life. He made her blood boil in more ways than one, and she hated that she lost control of herself around him. Jerking on the T-shirt, she dug through the dresser to find a pair of sweat pants that had a drawstring waist. At least this way she was wearing clean clothes. She scooped up her bloody ones and slid her feet into her discarded sandals. She was almost to the front door when she realized that she didn’t have her cell phone with her to call a cab. It was still back at her house where she should have been.
“For fuck’s sake, can this night get any worse?” she said out loud as she looked around for a phone. Finding a cordless phone on the kitchen counter she called information. She stumbled when the cab company asked for her address until she found a stack of unopened mail on the kitchen table. She was sitting on the front porch waiting when the cab pulled up twenty minutes later.
She had to admit she was a little surprised that Liam hadn’t come looking for her yet. Surely he was out of the shower by now? As the cab pulled away, she looked back and met his eyes through the living room window. She could see the hurt and anger that burned brightly in his icy stare, and she hurriedly looked away. He hadn’t tried to stop her, so she must not be as important to him as he thought. Settling sadly back into the seat for the half-hour ride back to her house she let the tears slip silently down her cheeks. She wasn’t sure if she was disappointed that he didn’t come for her or ashamed that she wanted him to.
Chapter 5
Several days later….
Liam sat shirtless on a rock at the meeting place, listening to Devin fill the rest of the pack in on what had occurred between Barton Diego and Caroline. Having resulted in Barton’s death, the fight left the Diego pack temporarily without a leader. For now Devin was going to have to lead their pack, too, until a new Alpha was selected. The leaderless pack would stage a competition battle between eligible wolves that showed Alpha tendencies, and whoever won the battle would take over. It sounded like Barton’s son Cadence Diego was a sure thing. Liam sighed heavily. He really didn’t care what happened to the other pack. He was just relieved that the threat to his own pack was eliminated. Now maybe they would all be able to move on with their lives.
As the meeting broke up and everyone headed their separate ways, he stayed seated, lost in his own thoughts. He had felt like a fish out of water ever since he watched the cab holding Tina pull away from his home the other night. It was like he couldn’t breathe right without her close. He was holding his breath that night while he stood under the hot water in the shower listening to her call the cab. His
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