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“I don’t remember you being this shit about hiding what you were thinking.”
“You don’t know shit about me,” she grumbled.
His demanding dark eyes pinned her in place. “I know what your lips taste like. I know what you feel like against me. I know that you hide behind a tough exterior, but you have goodness in you. I know that you made some fucked up decisions that put you in the position you’re in, but I also know that those decisions don’t define you. And, Stella, I know that you were just irritated with yourself because your guard slipped, and you were actually honest with me.” He leaned forward across the table and stared at her with those fucking intoxicating brown eyes. “If you do that more often, we might be able to get somewhere.”
Stella swallowed hard, sat back in her chair, and shifted her gaze to something over his shoulder. “The only place I want to get to is away from you.”
He snorted a laugh. “Keep lying to yourself, then.”
“If you have a contact in the academy, what do you need me for?”
“Ineedyou because you’re my mate. I want you to help, so you can prove to me and my family that you aren’t the monster you accuse us of being. And I want a chance to prove to you that we aren’t evil.”
Stella’s gaze shifted back to meet his. All she could see there was honesty. She wanted to keep believing that he was a monster, that he was capable of killing indiscriminately, but that narrative didn’t fit with what he had shown her.
“How am I supposed to believe that you want me around?”
Trick held eye contact as he answered, “Don’t believe what I say. Believe what I do. Believe how I treat you. Believe what you felt when we were pressed together in bed.”
“That’s just sexual.”
He shook his head. “No. No, it’s not,” he said simply and stood. “You can be cuffed here, in the bed, or in the bathroom. Your choice, but I need to make a run.”
“You’re leaving?”
“Don’t get your hopes up. You’re not taking off.” He stepped next to her and asked, “Where are you picking?”
She glared at him as he stood there with his hands on his hips, wearing a pair of jeans, a tee that stretched perfectly across his shoulders, and his cut. He was too damn hot, and she looked down at the table to not let her attraction to him muddle her brain. She could sit there in the uncomfortable kitchen chair. She could sit on the toilet in the bathroom, where she would have access to use it if she needed to, but she would be uncomfortable. Or she could relax on the bed.
“Bed, I guess. Can I use the restroom first?” The words came out from between her gritted teeth. She hated having to ask anyone for something like that, but she didn’t have a choice.
As if he was reading her mind, he bent down and put his lips by her ear as he unlocked the cuff that was around the leg of the table. “If you give in and let me see the real you, I wouldn’t feel the need to lock you up like this… well… not unless you wanted me to.” He nipped her earlobe. “You keep letting it show on your face, Stella.” Then he straightened and stood in her way, so she had nowhere to go but into the bathroom.
Trick
After she was done in the bathroom, Trick walked Stella over to the bed and let her get comfortable before he handcuffed her to the headboard again. His bear was pushing him to climb into that bed with her, and so was his cock, but he had shit he needed to do, and unfortunately, making her orgasm wasn’t one of them.
“I’ll be back soon. Anything you want? Drink? Snacks?”
“My knife and the keys?”
He chuckled. He liked her sense of humor, even if she didn’t show it often. “Not this time,” he replied. “Seriously. Want anything?”
She stared across the room and didn’t say anything.
With a sigh, Trick left the cabin, making sure to lock the door behind him. The last thing he needed was someone stumbling on the place and finding her cuffed. If someone let her go, that would be bad, or worse yet, if someone harmed her when she wasn’t able to defend herself. He growled as he climbed into the driver’s seat of the van. He would leave a trail of blood if someone hurt her.
The vehemence of his reaction to that slim possibility had Trick a little on edge. He was quickly losing hold of his control. The more time he spent with her, the more he felt for her. The base was there. She was his mate. But the more he watched the expressions on her face, experienced her intelligence, saw the lust in her eyes, smelled her arousal, the more his wall of wariness crumbled and revealed his heart.
His bear wasn’t helping. The animal was ready to throw in the towel and follow her around like a lost puppy, begging for any attention she would give him. Okay, that wasn’t entirely true. His bear also wanted their family safe, but his animal went on instinct alone, and instinct said she wouldn’t truly hurt his family. Stella held some responsibility in what happened to Rex and Shortcake, but she also deserved some credit for trying to right the wrong.
“Fuck. What a mess,” he groaned as he turned the van around in the front yard and headed back down the driveway.
Once he reached the road, he made a left and dialed Axle on his phone.
Chapter Seven
Stella
