“You fool!” She cursed, “I don’t know what you think you saw, but the only man who’s been in my thoughts has been you!” She bit the words off in chunks, writhing to free herself beneath me. Her eyes flashed, furious in the firelight.
“Is that so?” I barked, “So you’re telling me there’s no other man’s scent on you right now?”
She raised her chin to stare at me defiantly, “The only man on me right now is you!”
Her audacity enraged me. I knew what I had seen, and heard! The embrace, and those words, “This is my chance to steal you away for good!’
I couldn’t believe that she dared to lay here and gaslight me! I bent my neck down and inhaled her deeply, letting my wolf senses take over. I smelled the sweetness of her skin, heard the whoosh of air in her lungs as she inhaled beneath me. I could smell the herbs of her garden, and the sunshine in her hair.
I inhaled again, looking for the scent of the man I knew had been here, had touched her, touched what was mine!
There was no scent of any such man. Only her. She smelled like fresh spring rain, with a touch of adrenaline, and … arousal.
The delicate scent of the latter threw me off totally and I pulled away quickly.
“Well?” Avery asked dryly, “Did you find a scarlet letter on my chest while you were rooting around in there?” She tugged up the neckline of her top, where I had accidentally pulled it a bit too far down, revealing the lacy edge of her bra.
My brain was short circuiting. I could have sworn… I stared at her in confusion.
“Oh, you handsome, stupid Alpha.” Avery said, her tone biting. “I suppose I should be touched that you care.
“Explain.” I growled.
“Explain why you’re an idiot? It might take a while.” She mocked, though a touch of humor snuck in at the end, and her mouth twitched slightly.
I leaned lower over her, breathing in deeply again. She filled my senses in delightful ways.
Her breath caught as she wiggled under me once more, but she tried to explain.
“Ian found his true mate.” She said, simply.
I started to feel the rage rising again, thinking she was telling me that she was his mate, but she placed one hand on my chest and touched one finger to my lips.
Cheeky minx.
“She rejected him.” Avery continued, “I saw him approaching the house and thought he was you. He was upset and we spoke a little while, and then he left.”
“So he wasn’t… you weren’t…?”
“No! That’s what I’m trying to tell you, but you were too busy doing your best imitation of a caveman to listen!” She huffed underneath me, staring up at me with an open, honest gaze. “I thought you weren’t even coming!”
“What?” I brushed the ridiculous idea away. I had left the operation in the capable hands of Quinn and Tegan just to be here for this. “Of course I wasn’t going to miss my own apology dinner.”
Avery blushed slightly, and I realized that she was pleased.
Which reminded me of the scent I had picked up. Surely she wasn’t attracted to… me?
“So what did you think was happening?” She demanded.
“I thought Ryan had showed up to steal you back!” I admitted.
She laughed loudly, peal after peal of genuine mirth.
“Oh you ridiculous men and your egos.” She tried to shove me away and sit up.
Hmph.
“So you deny that you still have feelings for him?” I growled, keeping her pinned.
“I do deny it!” She glared at me. “He used me and threw me away! How could I love anyone who treated me like that?” A wounded look crept into her eyes that I hated to see.
“Zara thinks that she stole a prize from me, but really, I was the one who dodged a bullet.” Avery’s lips twisted in a grimace, “And one day she is going to realize the sort of man she really married.”
“I hope you know that I would never behave like he did.” I frowned.
Avery froze into stillness beneath me, as though those words had touched her in some way the rest of our argument up to this point hadn’t.
“I don’t know what to believe about you.” She breathed softly. Her fingertips rose to my face, almost touching, but pulling away.
A spark flickered from the tip of her finger to my cheekbone, shocking me. Literal energy flying between us.
Her pupils flared, and I found myself lost in the depths of her eyes, ocean-deep and just as mysterious.
The doubts rose in me again, but each time, I inhaled her scent and reminded myself that she didn’t smell like deceit. She was telling the truth. She had been waiting here just for me.
“Will you believe that I’m sorry?” I said back.
Her eyebrows shot up, “You’re… apologizing?”
“I understand it’s the thing to do when one is wrong.” I said, gruffly. “I overreacted.”
She huffed out a small laugh.
“I don’t understand you at all, Gideon Nightwolf. But I accept your apology. Now…” She squirmed beneath me once more, “will you please let me up?”
Despite her polite request, and the fact that I didn’t have any reason to continue to restrain her, I hesitated.
She felt… right beneath me. The way we fit together… There was a familiarity to it.
I wanted to do the exact opposite from letting her up. I wanted to fit my body to hers. I wanted to flip her over the back of this couch and slide my hands up her thighs.
I wanted to trail my fingertips along the front of her neckline and feel the lace that barely restrained the curve of her breasts give way to my hands.
Above all, I wanted to sink my teeth into the curve of her shoulder and bite.
The scent of her arousal grew stronger, as though she could sense the bent of my thoughts. And truthfully, she probably could feel them, as my own desire became more evident between us.
Her request hung in the air as I struggled to reassert my control over my own body. Her hips moved slightly, knees parting just a little further, and it was all I could do not to bury my face in her perfume and let her juices coat my tongue.
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