He wasCooper’s.
His wolf prowled, restless and angry just beneath the surface, ready to pounce, to pin Nate down and make him stay, to insist that they belonged together and claim him there and then. Cooper was keeping it reined in—just—but his control was hanging by a thread. He closed his eyes and breathed deep, balling his hands into fists at his sides and ignoring the sting of emerging claws as he asked again, “What did Ido, Nate?”
Nate half-stepped, half-stumbled backward, his emotions rolling off him in a wild, roiling cloud, and Cooper almost choked on the stench of his sorrow.
Wait.
Hissorrow?
Why was Nate upset when he was the one asking to leave? It didn’t make sense—but it was enough to stop Cooper’s burgeoning panic in its tracks. If Nate didn’t really want to leave, maybe Cooper could still turn this around—and God, he hoped he could, because looking at Nate with his face pale, his eyes shining with tears, naked and vulnerable and coming apart at the seams, Cooper wanted nothing more than to protect him, to cherish him and yes, to love him.
He took a breath and retracted his claws before taking a careful step forward, extending a hand, palm up. “Baby? Talk to me.”
Nate turned his back and started pulling on his clothes in quick, jerky movements. “The contract says I can walk away. I’m walking away.” Despite the bravado in his voice, despair tinged his scent.
“I’m not trying to stop you, baby,” Cooper said, ignoring the voice in his head that called him a dirty liar. “I just want to understand. Was it something I said, something I did?”
“You—” Nate’s voice was low as he grabbed his duffel and tossed it on the bed, yanking his clothing from the drawers and stuffing it in. “You can’t just say shit like that, not when you don’t mean it.”
“Shit like what?”
Nate turned to face him, chest heaving. “Romanticshit. Calling me ‘baby’. Saying that you want tokeepme. It’s not fair, not when I—” His mouth snapped shut, and Cooper could hear his heart thundering in the sudden silence.
An idea started to form, a possible reason for Nate’s about-face, but he pushed it aside, unwilling to take a chance on hope just yet. “Nate,” he tried again. “I just want to make you happy.”
All the fight left Nate at once. He sat down next to his bag and buried his face in his hands. He reeked of misery and confusion, and Cooper wanted nothing more than to scoop Nate up in his arms and comfort him, heedless of the ache in his own chest.
He settled for crouching in front of him and brushing the hair out of his eyes before resting his palm against Nate’s heart, eyes closed as he memorised the steady thump-thump-thump against his palm through the thin fabric of Nate’s shirt—because if Natewasleaving, Cooper needed to touch him this one last time.
After all, the memory would have to last him a lifetime.
Nate raised his head and sighed. “Why do you have to be so fuckingnice?” He clasped his hand over Cooper’s, and it rested there, the touch a balm to Cooper’s soul—until Nate stiffened and pulled his hand away like he’d been burnt. “See? I can’t help—you’re too—”
“Toowhat, Nate?” If Nate wanted to leave, Cooper sure as hell wouldn’t keep him against his will. But he needed some answers, for the sake of his own sanity, and he wasn’t sure he could wait for Nate to figure out how to tell him. He sat on the bed next to him. “Let me hold you, baby, and then you can tell me what thehellis going on.”
He lifted Nate with no effort, hauling him into place so that he was straddling Cooper’s lap, and Nate didn’t object. Instead he buried his head against Cooper’s shoulder with a sigh, which Cooper took as a good sign.
He let a hint of the wolf creep into his tone when he said, “Now, talk.”
Nate’s breath was warm against the curve of his throat as he inhaled, nuzzling Cooper’s throat. Cooper let out a soft moan, and Nate stiffened before pulling back, his whole body a tense line.“Fuck.”
He scrambled out of Cooper’s lap, stumbling backward, chest heaving, and pointed at Cooper with a trembling finger. “This. This is why I can’t stay.”
Cooper tilted his head to one side, considering what he wanted to say next. He had his suspicions, and fuck, he hoped he was right, but sometimes it was all about asking the right questions. “Nate,” he said, voice soft, “tell me why you want to leave.”
Nate stared at him wide-eyed. His breathing hitched, and it looked like he was struggling with himself before he mumbled. “The contract says I can go. It doesn’t matter why.”
Cooper caught his gaze. “It matters to me.Youmatter to me.”
“Yeah, right,” Nate muttered. “For this week.”
Oh.Oh.
“This doesn’t make any sense, Nate.” But it was beginning to, if Cooper was choosing to be optimistic—and he’d always been optimistic. His earlier suspicion returned, stronger this time, and with it came a burst of hope that refused to be denied. “Do youwantto leave?”
Nate bit his lip. “I think I need to.”
His heartbeat skipped.
