She took a breath to rip into him. Part of her knew that he was right, but she was still smarting from the way he’d dismissed her before. From the fact that he was taking the poser’s side instead of hers. From any lack of softness from him at all when she’d been tied in knots waiting to see him again. But before she could let any of it fly, he held up his hand.
“This is your choice. You will do with it what you will. I am tired, though. May I rest on your couch?”
He was tired? She was practically falling over from the work she’d done in the last two days. And good God, what was wrong with her? She’d turned into a screeching adolescent shrew. Except she wasn’t screeching, thank God. She was holding her words and her thoughts inside. And when he stared at her calmly, clearly waiting for an answer, she had the wherewithal to nod once. Then she dug her house keys out of her pocket and tossed them to him.
It wasn’t until he had left the room for her apartment that she realized Nanook’s apartment was furnished again. She’d gotten the basics in there—all new—and he’d said yesterday that he would stay there. As alpha, that was his home and he needed to stay there until his position was established.
So why was he here?
The teenage girl inside her was spouting all sorts of romantic nonsense as an answer, but she was an adult woman. She knew that if she’d been more than a hot screw, then there’d be more of a connection between them. More tenderness or communication or something that wasn’t issuing orders and a polite request to sleep on her couch.
And yet, she didn’t want to believe she was nothing to him. She couldn’t.
So she abruptly walked to her desk and wrote up a sign that she taped to the door.
Closed until further notice.
Don’t drink the water. It’s tainted.
It likely wouldn’t help, but at least she’d made an effort. Then she locked the door and turned to her brother.
“Can you finish in here?”
Vic nodded, but he sighed as he looked at her. “Don’t push Simon. He doesn’t work like normal people.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means that he hates drama. And girlfriend drama is the worst kind.”
“Didn’t you hear him? I’m not his girlfriend.”
“I heard.” Vic started pushing the mop again. “But I don’t think you did.”
She wanted to curse her brother out for that. She wanted to tell him that he didn’t know shit about what was happening between her and Simon. But she held back her words. Because obviously she didn’t know shit, either. And it was past time for her to find out.
