Page 25 of Wild Bliss

Coward.

Now he did understand her actions. He knew why she’dretreated. The question was what had happened to his partner.

Bella licked the floor where the bowl had spilled. She’dalready gotten everything in the bowl, but she wasn’t about to leave anydeliciousness behind. Sawyer kind of understood the dog. He wished he’d had achance to lick Sabrina. He reached down and grabbed the bowl, putting it backon the table. “Wish me luck, Bella.”

Sawyer pushed through the kitchen doors. Wyatt stood at thesink, the window in front of him dark with night, though he could see the snowwas still falling. “Dude, what is your damage?”

Wyatt turned on him, his jaw tight. “My damage? Are youkidding me? You knew how I felt about her and you tried to fuck her anyway. Wasthis your way of showing me it can’t work?”

He was pretty shocked by Wyatt’s hostility. Were they evenwatching the same show? “I have spent all night trying to make it work. Whatare you talking about?”

Wyatt pointed a finger his way. “I’m talking about the wayyou’ve cut me off at the knees at every single turn. Every time she asked me aquestion and I answered, your ass had something to say about it. Alwaysnegative.”

Had he been? “I was being realistic, Wyatt. Look, I wasn’ttrying to…”

Wyatt wasn’t listening. “You tell her how dumb I am.”

“I didn’t say dumb, but I didn’t want her to think we’recollege graduates or something.” Now that he thought about it there might havebeen a better way to let her know about their differences.

“You tell her how shitty my family is.”

“Your family is a literal crime syndicate,” Sawyer pointedout. “Not any way out of shitty there, buddy.”

“And then when you’ve driven me off, you get her on thetable and start to fuck her?” Wyatt’s tone was low and angry. “You couldn’t goto the bedroom or something? I suppose it would have taken me longer to findyou if you’d had any amount of respect for her.”

“That’s what I’m trying to tell you,” Sawyer insisted. “Itotally respect her. She’s mean and she thought we were gay. I get it. We’readult men living together. No biggie. But I wanted to show her we aren’t, andjust saying it didn’t feel strong enough.”

He’d needed to drive the point home, and he would have. Withhis dick.

Wyatt had gone still, his expression blank. “She thought wewere a couple?”

Sawyer shrugged. “Like I said, we’re roommates, and not manydudes our age have roommates.”

Wyatt nodded as though confirming something in his head.“She thinks I’m weak.”

His head wasn’t very smart. “What?”

“I did too much girl shit.”

Sawyer was deeply confused. “Girl shit?”

“Cooking. Trying to ask polite questions. I talked aboutfucking brownies.” Wyatt huffed out a laugh that held no humor. “Naturally shethinks we’re gay and I’m the wife.”

Sawyer took a deep breath and didn’t follow through on hisfirst instinct which was to call the motherfucker out for being an asshole.This wasn’t about Wyatt’s feelings. This was all the bullshit his family hadtaught him. Wyatt had required some deprogramming, and it looked like he neededa reminder. “Cooking isn’t girl shit. We need to eat, too, and you’re good atit. Brownies are delicious, man. I keep this place clean because I like itclean, not because I’m getting in touch with my inner woman. All the shit yourdad and brother told you was woman’s work was because they’re too lazy to knowhow to take care of themselves. Housework should be done by anyone who lives ina house. You want a relationship with a woman, not to find a woman who’ll doall the shit you don’t want to do. You want a partnership, and you’ve worked tolearn how to be a good one. You’re upset, but you can’t let those voices takeover, man. You know they’re wrong.”

Wyatt took a long breath, his eyes closing. When he openedthem again he seemed calmer. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I struggle to figure outwhat’s right and what’s crap my family shoved down my throat so I wouldn’t seehow wrong we all were.”

Sawyer nodded, happy the drama level seemed to be comingdown slightly. “Exactly. Dude, you told me your brother said accounting was forbeta men. Numbers, being smart enough to handle your own money, is for lessermen. Your family is fucked up. Stop letting them seep in and destroyeverything. There’s no alphas or betas. We’re not a fucking werewolf pack. Somepeople need to be told what they are. You are not one of those people. You getto be Wyatt. You get to like cooking and accounting and still be a strong man.”

Wyatt’s head fell back, and when it came up again it wasclear Sawyer had gotten through to him. He was surprised at the wave of reliefhe felt. “You know for a self-proclaimed feelingless asshole, you’re a goodfriend, Sawyer.”

Yeah, he didn’t like how that made him feel either. Kind ofwarm. He was going to ignore the whole feeling thing. “Now can we talk aboutwhat happened? Maybe you don’t know how these things work. I thought I’d taughtyou. When one of us gets the woman we both want on her back, you join in, notinterrupt.”

Wyatt’s head shook. “What the hell happened? I got thefeeling you two low-key hated each other when I walked out.”

“Hate is a strong word. I definitely don’t hate her. Iexplained why I had the reaction I had to her in the beginning. I also let herknow I would be open to spending the weekend in bed with her. Both of us. Thenshe did this thing where she said she wasn’t attracted to me, but she kissed meback, and then it went the way these things go.”

“With you nearly fucking her on the dining room table.”Wyatt sighed. “We need to do better. Again, I’m sorry. I had a bad reaction. Igot jealous because I thought she was choosing you over me. Which is fine ifthat’s what she wants.”

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