His mind spinning, he set the water bottles on the stairs and walked over to her. “How did you get into my house?”
“I still know the code,” she said with a small smile.
“What are you doing here?” He glanced back at the stairway.
“I’ve missed you,” she said. She took a step toward Briggs, pausing when his bear made a warning growl.
She gave him that pout, the one that, all too often, had bent him to her will. “Don’t let him growl at me, BB.”
He grimaced at the nickname as Lucille gave him a soft smile. At six foot five, she was one of the bigger females in Wellington, and her body was thick with muscle. Her dark hair was shorter now, just brushing her shoulders, but she still wore her signature magenta lipstick, and her ankle-length thin coat looked like it cost more than his entire wardrobe. His ex had expensive tastes.
“You can’t just walk into my house,” Briggs said. “I have a mate, Lucille.”
The smile dropped from her face, and the familiar annoyance took its place for a second or two before it flickered out of existence and the smile returned. “I know. I’ve heard lots about her this past week. She’s been the talk of the town.”
His bear growled again, and Lucille sighed. “I don’t mean that in a bad way. Just that, for a human, she’s doing an okay job of fitting in. For now.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked.
She shrugged. “You know exactly what that means, BB. I know you hate living in the city and want to return here. You brought your girlfriend -”
“Mate,” he said.
She waved her hand dismissively, her matching magenta nails gleaming in the light. “You brought her here in the hopes that she would fall in love with Wellington and want to stay. But you and I both know that’s a fool’s dream. Humans aren’t meant to live in Wellington.”
“I’m sure Imani and Barbara will be surprised to hear that,” he said.
She shrugged. “Both of them are terribly unhappy, and no one will be shocked when they divorce their mates and leave.”
“You’re making a lot of assumptions,” Briggs said. “You don’t even know Imani and Barbara. You’ve always been dismissive and cold to them.”
She gave him a frustrated look. “This isn’t about them, Briggs. This is about you and me.”
“There is no you and me. My mate is Cecelia, and I love her,” Briggs said.
She took another step toward him. “I know you think you love her, but living in the city, being apart from me, it’s messed with your head, BB. This human has taken advantage of your loneliness, that’s all.”
“You’re wrong,” Briggs said.
“I’m not,” she said softly. “You and me… we’re meant to be together. I see that now, okay? I’m sorry for what I did.”
“Sorry for cheating on me?” he said. “Sorry for fucking Louis when you were my mate?”
She winced. “Yes, all that.”
“All that,” he scoffed. “Do you know what your cheating did to me? To my bear? He wanted me to kill Louis for fuck’s sake. I had to leave Wellington, so I wouldn’t go to prison for killing your lover.”
“Stop being so dramatic,” she said.
“You’ve lost the right to tell me what to do,” he snarled.
“I’m not telling you…” she took a deep breath. “Look, can we please just put the past behind us? I’m willing to forgive you for your mistakes. All I ask is that you do the same for me.”
“My mistakes,” he said.
That flicker of annoyance crossed her face again. “Yes, Briggs. You weren’t perfect either. How many nights did we sit in silence because you wouldn’t even make an effort not to be so closed off?”
Guilt rolled through him, and he shook it off like an ill-fitting coat. “Don’t, Lucille. Don’t equate me being an introvert to you cheating on me.”
