To which Rynn probably would have responded, “Get fucked.”
That would have resulted in the two of them trying to kill each other, or maybe more accurately, severely injure the other into submission.
Rynn had been denied her space, which meant she would desperately be seeking it now. She’d head straight to her room and lock Ryker out. I needed to get there first.
If Ryker truly wanted to, he could break down the door, but we’d put some rules in place when he’d come to live with us, and one of them was not breaking through doors unless it was an absolute emergency.
We’d enacted that after we’d gotten tired of waking up to a teenage Ryker breaking into our rooms to make sure we were okay. Seeing your entire pack get slaughtered could leave you a little paranoid.
That was over ten years ago, and he was less concerned about us randomly dying now, but that rule was still etched in his mind.
I crossed the main landing and glanced down the stairs. No sign of Rynn or Ryker, but I could hear claws clicking against the stone floor. Wolves were a lot less silent indoors. I broke into a jog and made it to Rynn’s room. She’d no doubt smell me, but with Ryker chasing after her, I was confident she’d still come in.
Then she’d lock and barricade the door, trapping me with her. Technically, I could climb down from the balcony, but I wasn’t going to volunteer that information. I took a seat on the foot of her bed and waited.
“Eat shit and die!” Rynn screamed less than a minute later.
Guess she’d shifted back then.
A second later, she burst through the door. Chest heaving . . . and completely naked.
For a long moment, all I did was stare as every thought seemed to freeze in my head. I was used to people being naked. I was a shifter after all. I’d even seen Rynn naked before, but that had been months ago before I’d really known her.
Now I was acutely aware of her lean, toned body. Those pert breasts that would fit nicely in my mouth, and her neck was just begging for me to wrap a hand around it while I?—
“What the fuck are you doing here, Bastian?” Rynn growled as she stalked over to the armoire and shoved it in front of her door. I thought about telling her the lock she’d flipped was more than sufficient, but I was being treated to an excellent view right now, so I kept my mouth shut while I filtered through possible responses.
Cade was confident I wouldn’t win this bet. I knew him well enough to realize he thought his victory was a sure thing, but Rynn would hardly be the first person who hated me that I’d charmed into my bed. I honestly enjoyed the challenge.
I just had to be careful, because unlike the others, Rynn would still be here when I was done. This meant I had to keep things from getting too serious. Steer her towards a mutually beneficial arrangement.
Not too difficult. Thanks to being friends with all the nosy bartenders in the local outposts, I knew nobody had reciprocated her advances. I smirked. Rynn was no doubt desperate for a good fuck. I just needed to keep her out of hate-fuck territory so she’d stay afterwards and snuggle and I could win the bet.
And honestly, having a bed buddy around here was appealing.
It would also really annoy Warrick. Double win.
Wood screeched against stone as Rynn heaved one last time. Then she straightened and stepped away from the armoire.
“Well?” She planted both hands on her hips, not the least bit shy about giving me a full view of her body. “Why the fuck are you in my room, Bastian?”
This time, I was ready.
“Today was a lot . . . and unexpected. I wanted to check on you.” I leaned back on her bed, my palms resting against her silky comforter, and gave her a concerned look.
“Oh fuck off, Bastian,” she growled before stomping towards her washroom. The sound of running water kicked on a second later. “You think I’m a spy. I think you’re an asshole. Nothing else to say.”
I frowned. I’d expected her to demand I leave immediately.
Instead, she’d just . . . dismissed my presence. She hadn’t even tried to cover herself up as she’d paraded naked in front of me. Like me, she was probably used to nudity, but still. Normally, when people found me in their rooms—their beds no less—they had a very different reaction.
And I’d definitely caught Rynn’s heart racing when she’d been trapped between me and Cade. Exactly how pissed was she?
I thought about following her into the washroom but nixed that idea. Clearly she was still mad at me—us in general—and was likely trying to build an emotional defense. Rynn was good at that, putting up a cold exterior wall. It’d been breaking down the last few months, but after today, I wasn’t surprised she was rapidly throwing it up again.
This would require playing the long game. Excitement coursed through me. I loved a good, long hunt. It made the end all that more satisfying.
Rising to my feet, I walked over to the dresser near the window and pulled open the second drawer. Choices, choices.
