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“Sorry,” I said unapologetically.
“I should be used to it by now. ” He put his empty mug on the back of the couch, resting it against the wall, and ran his now-free hand over my bare arm. We were wrapped in a lightweight blanket, and all of a sudden even the thin weave was too hot.
“What are you doing here, Desmond?” My voice was little more than a quiver because his other hand had started to move upwards as well.
“Oh, yeah. About that. ” His thumb traced my lower lip, and my eyes closed. I took the di
git into my mouth, exploring the rough surface with my tongue. I didn’t think anything he said next could matter.
Boy was I wrong.
As he shifted his weight to move closer to me, he spoke against my lips. “I’m moving in. ”
I was wrapped in the blanket, up and off the couch, having pushed him away from me, and was standing next to my fireplace before he had a chance to complete the sentence. It should have made the situation funny, somehow, that Desmond was left naked on my couch, still in the midst of making his move.
I wasn’t laughing.
“Jesus, how did you move that fast?” he asked.
“You’re going to want to be answering questions rather than asking them. ” I hugged the blanket closer to me as he righted himself on the couch and looked for all the world like he couldn’t be less uncomfortable. In fact, he already seemed right at home with his arms outstretched across the back of my loveseat.
“Well, then. Ask a question. ”
“What do you mean you’re moving in?” The pitch of my voice bordered on hysterical. It felt like arguing with Lucas all over again. If I thought vampires were frustrating, I had a thing or two to learn about how annoying werewolves could be.
“I don’t see how that can be misunderstood. ” He pointed at the bag by the front door. “You and I will be cohabitating. ”
“No. ” I shook my head firmly and stamped my foot in frustration. “Hell no. ”
“Secret…”
I was fed up. I threw the blanket at him and stormed into my bedroom, but it was impossible to properly express my irritation when my carpet wouldn’t allow me to slam my door and I was stomping around butt naked.
Desmond stood outside my half-closed bedroom door, and I slumped into my armchair so I didn’t have to face him. He had the good sense not to come in, but that didn’t mean he went away.
“Even if I say no, you’re staying, aren’t you?” I didn’t want to sound so defeated, but I already knew this battle was lost. When the wolves got it in their mind that something was going to happen, there was no arguing. They were a lot like the Tribunal in that sense. I hated how little control over some aspects of my life I had. I’d expected more respect from Desmond.
“Trust me, I wish this had happened differently. I wish you’d asked. I wish it had been my choice. ”
Of course. Of course this had Lucas’s name written all over it.
“He thinks I’m going to leave again. ”
“He says it’s because he worries your work with the council puts you at risk. But, it’s more than that. ” He measured the look on my face and answered my question with, “Yes. He thinks you’re a flight risk. ”
I turned and looked at him over my shoulder. His face was impassive, and trying to read his eyes was like trying to find a right angle in a Pollock painting.
“And what do you think?”
His cheek was against the frame of the door. “Lucas wants—”
“I don’t care what Lucas wants right now. I asked what you thought. ”
Desmond’s jaw tightened. This was hard for him. He was being torn between the duty he was bound to do for his king and yielding to my will.
“You won’t leave again. ”
“Why not?” I was all the way around in the chair now, watching him.
