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“Courting?” Dominic sneers as if the word tastes bad in his mouth.
“Yeah.” I’m not about to go into detail about the gifts. Oh Goddess, the gifts. I returned everything he tried to send me, but the gesture was completely over the top. Callum hadn’t been thrilled at the time himself—especially since Jerome sent all the gifts to me at the office, forcing me to deal with them in front of Callum instead of discreetly at home.
As nice as Jerome is, I have a feeling that was no accident.
It’s been two years since that happened though, so I cross my fingers that ship has sailed. After all, it was never really about me. Like most men who have crossed my path since I first shifted, it was only really about the scent.
It makes men crazy. And I suspect that’s what’s going on with Dominic too.
“Are you trying to tell me you’ve dated this man?” He glances back at his SUV like he might be rethinking me waiting in the car.
I’m half-tempted to lie, but I force myself to tell the truth that, “No. I didn’t date him. I never entertained the thought at all.” It would be wrong to compromise their working relationship just to get a dig in at Dominic. After my time working with Callum, I know better.
“This is fucking ridiculous,” he mutters under his breath. “Is there any man who isn’t panting after you?”
I have nothing to say to that, so we finish crossing the parking lot in silence. When we reach the door, he holds it open for me and gestures for me to go ahead. It obviously has nothing to do with being a gentleman and everything to do with making sure I don’t run. I make sure to ram my elbow into his hip as I pass.
“Fuck,” he swears with a sharp inhale.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” I tell him, my voice high and light so that he absolutely knows I’m not sorry at all. Not even a little bit.
Chapter Fifteen
Dominic
Sorry, my ass.
I'm starting to have a hard time reconciling the petite woman I rejected years ago with this firecracker walking ahead of me, her ass sashaying like she's got a point to prove. She's kind of hot when she's mad at me, which I'm sure is counterproductive since it makes me want to piss her off more.
I let her walk ahead so I can admire her tight ass. I'm still not convinced I actually want to keep her, but ever since I talked aloud about marking her, I can't help but think it's not the worst idea I've ever had. After all, it's not like I've been able to stomach so much as looking twice at a woman since I first ran into my true mate.
"Tess?" Jerome's voice carries as he comes to greet us himself. Of course the guy has no secretary. He's friendly as hell—so much so it makes me a little suspicious of him. Knowing he's shown interest in Tess doesn't help either, especially not as I watch him reach for her.
I let out a low growl just before he wraps his arms around her, and that's enough to make the other man hesitate.
"Alpha Dominic. It's a pleasure to have you here." He glances between Tess and I. "I didn't realize the two of you knew each other." I can hear the speculation in his voice.
No doubt Cross has alerted every pack in a five-hundred-mile radius about her absence. Bastard.
"Tess is my mate," I tell him bluntly.
Until I decide what to do with Tess, I have to make sure I'm keeping other men away. I knew her scent was intoxicating, but I'm only starting to realize the reach it has. Even with the clear warning in my voice, Jerome shoots her a longing look.
I can't help but notice Tess makes no move to correct me. The fates did deem us mates, yes, but technically she isn't my mate so long as I haven't marked her. And as far as she's concerned, I rejected her properly. She doesn't know what the Luna Sovereign insinuated—that we could be double fated.
It's a little reassuring to see she clearly has no interest in Jerome. I relax for the first time since seeing her with Luca.
"I'm glad you decided to meet with me after all," I tell Jerome, slipping easily into business mode. He's been putting me off for months about this project, but I'm positive I only need one meeting to convince him that he needs to let my team remodel his new resort.
"Ah, giving me a hard time already?" Jerome shows off his annoyingly bright white teeth. I'm pretty sure they're not even real. "You all come on in and make yourselves comfortable. Can I get you a coffee?" The question seems directed at both of us, but his eyes linger on Tess.
"Oh, please. Let me," she offers.
Tess glances over at me with a glint in her eye. It takes me a second to realize the coffee station is in the small kitchen we pass, not the conference room Jerome guides us to at the back of the cottage.
I work my jaw, but I can't exactly forbid her from leaving my side. It's one hell of a leap of faith for a woman looking for any chance to bolt.
I touch her arm as she turns on her heel to head back the other direction, and she raises her eyebrow in challenge. I'm all too aware of Jerome's eyes on us, which really makes it impossible to give her so much as a warning look.
