“Nate?” Cooper put a hand on his shoulder, and Nate wanted to shrug it off, but he couldn’t quite bring himself to—and that was the problem right there, wasn’t it? Cooper was like a drug, and Nate was addicted. Even now, the heat of his hand on Nate’s skin calmed him down, easing the pressure in his chest and making it a little easier to breathe. “Baby, what’s wrong? Are you okay?”
Nate breathed in and out, slow and steady, before answering. Heintendedto say he was fine, but instead what came out of his mouth was, “I don’t want this week to end.”
What the fuck, brain?
He waited for Cooper to raise those sexy eyebrows in judgement and make some comment about ‘all good things must come to an end’ or wherever the hell else shifters said to placate their too-clingy companions, but instead Cooper smiled, slow and easy. Nate could have sworn he lookedpleasedat Nate’s confession.
His impression was confirmed when Cooper said, “I’m glad, baby. Because I was going to ask if you wanted to extend your contract?” He cupped Nate’s face in one palm. “I’d appreciate it if I could keep you, at least a little longer.”
Nate’s heart pounded and his mind whirled. He was torn between celebrating and running for the hills. He wanted to say yes, to stay and delay their parting, but like any addiction, he could just imagine that the longer he put off quitting, the worse his withdrawals would be. The thought of being apart from Cooper already made him feel physically sick.
Cooper’s eyes were wide and hopeful, and his hand was warm and reassuring. Nate couldn’t help but shake the feeling that he was right where he was meant to be—which must have been his body pulling some sort of post-coital emotional bullshit.
This was a short-term gig by design.
Staying longer, however tempting, was just putting off the inevitable. He took a deep breath. “I don’t think I can.”
Cooper furrowed his brow. “Nate?” He withdrew his hand and clasped both in his lap, looking down. “There’s no obligation if you don’t want to extend. I just…” Cooper fell silent.
“Just what?”
Cooper stood, walking over to the windows. “Nothing. It’s fine. We see out the week, no hard feelings.”
Even with his back turned to Nate, the slump in his shoulders was obvious, and Nate hated seeing it with every fibre of his being.
He slid out of bed and went to stand next to Cooper, drawn like iron filings to a magnet, overcome with an inexplicable need to comfort his wolf.
Hiswolf?
No. Cooper wasn’thisanything, no matter how much Nate wanted it—and hedidwant it. And wasn’t that a punch to the gut?
He tried to imagine spending the next three days pretending he was fine, pushing down this growing, incessant need to beg Cooper to stay, while waiting to say goodbye—and he couldn’t.
If he wanted any chance of getting over Cooper, he needed to walk away now.
That didn’t stop him slipping his arms around Cooper’s waist and plastering himself against his back, allowing himself to feel the comfort and security that seemed to emanate from him and seep into Nate’s very core.
Cooper let out a soft sigh andGod, Nate wanted to stay right here, to take Cooper up on his offer of extra time, and soak up enough of him to last a lifetime.
But he didn’t. Instead, telling himself it was better this way, he pulled away and, eyes stinging, forced the words out. “I need to leave.”
Cooper froze before turning on his heel.“What?”
Nate blinked back tears and, his voice shaking, said, “I said, I need to leave.” He stepped back from Cooper, ignoring the way all of his senses were screaming that this was a mistake. “Am I calling an Uber, or can Liz collect me?”
Cooper’s mouth dropped open, and Nate’s chest tightened at the devastation that was written across his face. Cooper swallowed, throat working, before he whispered, “What did I do?”
And what the hell was Nate supposed to say to that?
Chapter Eight
Time stood still.
Cooper stared at Nate, heart pounding, as he tried to make sense of what he was hearing. In the space of a heartbeat, they’d gone from Nate not wanting the week to end to Nate demanding to leave. Cooper didn’t have the faintest idea what had happened to change his mind.
When Cooper had taken a chance and bought the pendant for Nate, he’d known that the exchange of jewellery or trinkets was the first tentative step in a werewolf courtship, butNatehadn’t—yet he’d returned the gesture anyway, with the ring he’d purchased.
Then, when he’d made that comment about not wanting the week to end, Cooper had been convinced that Nate was feeling the bond. So he’d offered to extend the contract, thinking Nate would leap at the chance. But now Nate was—Nate wasleaving, and Cooper didn’t understandwhyhe was leaving.
