Page 16 of Marked

Orion narrowed his eyes, but then another thought must’ve crossed his mind because his expression softened. “Did you… Did you not enjoy our time together?”

“No.” I winced. “No. That’s definitely not it.” The man had a way with his hips and tongue. “Definitely not that.”

He rocked back on his heels as his eyebrows slashed down in a severe frown. “Then it’s what I said in the morning.”

I sighed, unsure whether to reach out and touch him, but that felt like such a condescending thing to do. “I like you, Rye.”

“Just not like that.”

“Not like that,” I admitted. I liked him as a friend and occasional hunting partner. I respected him. I liked who he was, but I wasn’t in love with him.

“Well, shit, Emi. You should’ve just said something.” He crossed arms over his chest. “I thought I meant enough to you to at least warrant an honest conversation.”

“Your penis was literally resting on my thigh. Excuse me if I didn’t feel like breaking your heart in that moment.”

His lips lifted at the corners, not enough to be a whole smile, but enough to tell me I’d amused him. “It takes a little more than that to break my heart.”

“Noted.”

“So, explain what happened next? I told you I loved you and then we had one last round before you ran away. What was that? A pity phaan or an attempt to distract me from how you didn’t return my sentiments?”

“No.”

He waited.

“Maybe a little of a distraction, but that wasn’t the only reason.”

“You just wanted to take me for another ride?”

“Maybe.” Yes. Definitely yes.

I really was a horrible person.

His mouth twisted into a wide smile. “You’re fine with sleeping with me even though you don’t love me.”

“I’m sorry. You didn’t deserve that. I should’ve told you I wasn’t looking for anything serious. I’m a terrible person.”

Maybe I should take my brother’s advice and talk to someone about all the feelings twisting me up inside. But I couldn’t risk telling a therapist all my problems, all the things holding me back, so what was the point?

Orion shook his head and stepped in close. “No, you’re not. But you are confusing. So what if you don’t love me? That’s obviously not a requirement for what we did together. And guess what? Nothing bad happened. I’m okay with you not returning my feelings. What I’m not okay with is you ignoring me instead of coming to my bed and screaming my name.”

“But—”

He reached out, grabbed the strap of my quiver, and pulled. I staggered forward into the heat of his body.

“Let me phaan you senseless, Emi.”

“What about that heart of yours?”

“Like I said, it doesn’t break that easily.”

“But—”

“Let me worry about my own heart.” He let go of the strap, releasing me. “But stop avoiding me.”

“Okay.”

He glanced over at Nala before turning toward the door. “You know where to find me.”

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