Page 76 of Never Feed a Dragon

“You lied to me. I trusted you, and you lied.”

“I didn’t. If you’d ever asked me, I would’ve told you.”

“You agreed just to be roommates,” she snapped.

“That wasn’t a lie. That was me taking what you offered, and nothing more.”

“Bullshit.”

“Have I tried to push you for more since heat ended, or have I been really damn agreeable?” I growled back. “I wanted you—I still fucking want you. I jerk off in the shower every day to mental images of you, and there’s no way around that. I will always ache for you. But being around you is enough for me. If all you want is to be roommates, that’s fine. Hell, it’s perfect. We’ll fuck during heat, and that will be more than enough for me, because I want you, Vi. In whatever way you’ll have me.”

She shook her head and shoved her hair out of her eyes. “I need some air. Don’t follow me.”

She grabbed her keys off the hook by the door and stepped out. I trusted that she would come back—but the beast within me wasn’t willing to take any risks when it came to her.

If I could’ve, I would’ve shifted forms and followed her from above, but I couldn’t. Shifting when we were apart was an impossibility.

But… I could follow in my truck.

Fighting the instinct to make sure my mate was safe wasn’t a possibility, so I didn’t bother. I just grabbed my keys and headed out behind her.

She could have as much time as she needed, but I wasn’t risking permanent separation. She could hate me for staying close if she wanted to.

fifteen

VI

My heart pounded like a freight train, my music blaring loud in an attempt to keep my thoughts out of Eli’s head.

He was following me—of course he was following me.

But I was too upset by what I’d learned to stop.

So, I kept driving.

Tears were leaking down my cheeks, but I ignored them fiercely.

Eli had known I was going to be his mate for two years. Or at least hoped. He’d done everything he possibly could to set off a bond between us.

He flirted.

He teased.

He argued.

I could remember his hand brushing my knee and arm a few different times while we were disagreeing. They’d made me want him, desperately.

But they hadn’t started the bond.

It had taken sex to do that.

I wiped my tears away angrily.

If we were really meant to be, wouldn’t heat have ignited the first time we met? Or the first time we touched? Or the first time he drank from my glass, like with Randa and Jasper?

Eli had snagged food from my fingers and drinks from my hands at least four or five times since we met. I’d thought he was teasing me. He’d acted like he was teasing me.

And maybe he was.

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