Page 31 of His Sold Fated Mate

There was nothing wrong with her clothes, but if I couldn’t keep my eyes off her, that meant others couldn’t as well. I pulled her along straight for the SUV. “Get in. I’m taking you home.”

The drive was quiet, and Aubrey didn’t say a single word through it. She just held the books tightly, her fingers tight around them. Her lips were pressed in a thin line, and she wouldn’t look at me.

We arrived home, and Aubrey turned as soon as we stepped inside. She looked at me, pissed now, as she crossed her arms. “You know what, Klaus. You owe me an apology.”

“Excuse me?” I watched the way she set the books aside, placing her hands on her hips.

“You had no right to speak to me that way. To drag me around and make it seem like I did something wrong. And I don’t need you to meddle in things. You came in like a bull in a china shop.”

“I was protecting you.”

“I don’t need you to. How am I supposed to earn everyone’s respect when you come around before I can even earn it?”

“You don’t! You’re my wife. They will respect you.”

“You can’t just expect them to respect me when they don’t even know me. You don’t even know me.”

“It’s part of the agreement,” I stated. “And you don’t need to be lounging around the pack looking like you’re asking for it. You wear baggy clothes around me, and yet you wear shorts and a tank top outside in front of them?”

She shook her head. “I’m going to try and ignore the insult because it’s clear you’re just an asshole in general. And no, it wasn’t in the agreement. I’m not some fragile little child. I am more than capable of taking care of things myself.”

“Part of our agreement was me protecting you, and I was doing that. And do you really wanna go down that road? Because, as I recall, you were the one being sold at an auction. Didn’t look like you were taking care of yourself. Look at yourself. You are skin and bones.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Are you going to always go back to that? You bought me, so I can’t protect myself at all?”

“It proves my point.”

“No, it doesn’t. I was put in a shitty position, but I would have gotten myself out of it just like I have with other situations.”

I sighed. “You’re just proving my point even more. Why are you getting yourself into bad situations, Aubrey? Do you not know how to make smart decisions?”

“Knock it off!” she yelled. “Pick a side, Klaus. I can’t handle your bipolar ass.” She rubbed at her face and sighed, frustrated. “Make this make sense, Klaus. You and I can’t get along, yet you want to protect me? You argue with me about everything. Nothing I seem to do is good enough, or it’s too dangerous, yet you refuse to help me figure anything out. I want to learn magic, and you get angry. I ask questions about what happened in the past, and it puts you in a mood. What exactly do you want from me here, Klaus? How exactly do you expect us to help your pack if you won’t do anything?”

I ground my teeth together. “I need time to think.”

“You don’t have time!” she snapped. “I’m at least trying. You haven’t given this any of your time.”

I laughed. “Oh yeah, considering your last idea was sex. You’re really trying.”

“I already told you that was what helped the others! I wasn’t just throwing it out there. Elize said that the connection and closeness of sex helps.”

“You know what, I’m tired of this conversation.” I turned to head up the stairs, but something hit me in the back. I turned and noticed she’d thrown her book at me. Her hands were in a tight fist, her face red with anger.

“I’m so sick and tired of you just throwing your arms up and walking away. God damn, do you want me stuck here forever!”

I turned back to her. “Tread carefully, Aubrey.”

“Or what?” she pressed. “You going to hurt me? Trust me, I can handle plenty.”

That hit me in the gut. But what hurt was the thought that she actually thought I’d hurt her. I took a couple of calm steps toward her. She held her head high as I crowded her space.

“First, I would never hurt you unless you asked. I know better than to hurt a woman. And second, I’m not walking away. I’m calming down.”

“Do I irritate you that much?” she pressed. “Does the idea of fucking me just disgust you that much?”

I growled at her. “I will put you over my knee and slap your ass so hard you won’t sit for a week.”

“I thought you said you wouldn’t put your hands on a woman?” she asked, stepping into my space now. “If sex is just a terrible idea, how about a kiss?”