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Where had an hour of my night gone?
Chapter Fifteen
I was afraid to go into my own apartment.
In the small foyer between the street-level door a
nd my front entrance, I shifted my weight from one foot to the other and twisted my keys around on their little metal hoop. Losing an hour of my night without explanation had made me uneasy. Standing outside my door knowing an angry werewolf was inside wanting to talk was the icing on the cake.
Now would be a brilliant time for Sig to call and tell me he needed me on some pressing council business.
Anytime now.
I pulled out my phone and checked the screen.
The front door jerked open, and Desmond stood inside the frame. He leaned against one side, looking from me to the phone.
“How long were you planning to stand out here? I’ve been listening to you breathe for the last ten minutes.”
“I…” I didn’t have an answer for him.
He stepped out of the doorway and crossed the room to sit on the loveseat. I tried not to take it as a positive sign he’d chosen to sit there instead of on the armchair. I shucked off my Converses and sat next to him. Just a normal, average couple sitting down in front of the TV after a long night. Only our TV was off, and we were so far removed from normal it wasn’t even funny.
“Did you talk to Lucas?” I asked, hesitant to mention the L-word after Desmond’s outburst the other night.
He ground his teeth together and wouldn’t meet my gaze. “Before or after I punched him?”
My mouth gaped. Desmond was Lucas’s second-in-command, his right-hand man, the Chewie to his Han Solo. I don’t think I’d ever heard of a time when they’d come to blows over something. Now something had, and it was my fault.
Desmond shifted in his seat and looked me in the eyes. His expression was drawn and tired, none of the sweet, cheery man I loved so much.
“I didn’t know,” I told him.
He sighed. “He explained that much to me. It’s the only reason I’m here right now. But this is a big deal. You understand that, don’t you?”
“Can we talk about it?” I took his hand in mine, and he didn’t pull away. “I know you’re upset. Dominick told me the mark…well, he said it made it look like I was picking Lucas over you.”
“It’s a mate mark. It shows everyone you picked him over me.”
“And you thought I would do that without talking to you first?”
“Let’s be honest here, Secret. A lot of what’s happened since you met us has been done without us consulting you. We kidnapped you. Lucas had you brought home against your will. Even my living with you…it wasn’t your choice.”
“Not at the time.” I squeezed his hand to bring his attention back. He’d started to stare at the wall again. “But that was ages ago, Desmond. I love having you here. I love you.”
“More than you love him?”
I didn’t have to think about it. “Yes.”
I don’t think he expected that. He stared at me and said, “Say it again.”
“I love you more than I love Lucas.” The moment I said the words, I knew how true they were. “I do care for him, don’t misunderstand me. But I’d love you even if there were no soul-bond. If I ever lost you, I’d die.”
Desmond didn’t say anything. He pulled me closer using my own grip on his hands and wrapped an arm around my back. I lay against him, my cheek on his chest, languishing in the familiar scent of him and the taste of citrus he left in my mouth. The rise and fall of his breathing made me feel comforted for the first time all week.
“He needs me,” I whispered after a long silence.
“That’s what he said after I decked him.”
