Page 107 of Her Males

He shuts it after seemingly deciding there’s nothing of interest inside, and his body tenses as he turns to me. I try not to wilt under his gaze, and I watch as he leans against the counter and crosses his arms over his chest.

I didn’t mean my question to sound so unappreciative, but Aziel hardly seems offended as he shrugs and peers down the short hallway leading to my bedroom and bathroom.

“Would you rather I had left you in Lust?” he asks.

I shake my head.

“I mean, why are youstillhere?” I clarify.

Aziel runs a hand through his hair and shoots me a crooked smile. I don’t know how to react to it, so I don’t.

“I used all my energy bringing the shifters to and from Lust. I can’t leave,” he admits.

A small part of me hoped he was here by choice.

I’m not sure how long it takes him to regenerate his energy, but I doubt he’s planning to stick around any longer than necessary. The thought makes my heart ache, but I ignore it.

After what I’ve done, I don’t have the right to ask him to stay. I missed him, all of them, but I fucked up too much to ask them to take me back.

“And you don’t want to execute me?” I ask.

I’m sure he’d have done it by now if that was his plan, but I need to hear him say the words.

Aziel rolls his eyes. “No, Charlie. I’m not going to execute you.”

My palms grow sweaty as I wait, knowing he has more to say. His silence when I asked about Gray and Silas speaks volumes, and I know they’re aware of what I’ve done. Even now, I’m sure he can smell Kato and Emily on me.

My anger flares when he doesn’t say anything. I know we’re both thinking about it, and I’m ready to hear his judgment. I don’t have an excuse for what I did, and I know I fucked up, but his silence is killing me.

“Say it,” I beg after another long moment of nothing.

Aziel sucks in a deep breath, his eyes fluttering shut as he tilts his head back, before he slowly exhales and levels his stare with mine.

“We aren’t in a relationship,” he finally says. “What is there for me to say?”

I clench my jaw. That’s not true, and he knows it.

Things were tense, but we had an unspoken agreement. It started well before he admitted his feelings for me, and I’d be hurt if he’d been with anybody new in my absence.

“We weren’tnotin a relationship,” I point out.

Aziel nods, acknowledging my words, before stepping forward. I step back. I want him to yell at me and be angry. This Aziel is one I don’t recognize, and his calm reactions are putting me on edge.

I can practically see his wrath pushing to come out, and for the first time in my life, I relish the sight.

“What do you want me to say, Charlie?” Aziel asks, running a hand through his hair. “That I’m disappointed in you? That I think it was selfish to break my male’s hearts for a quick fuck?”

There’s a dried smear of blood on the back of his arm, and I stare at it until he lowers his hand back to his side.

Yes. I want him to say all those things.

“You already know that to be true, and I’m not in the mood to make you feel worse than you already do,” Aziel continues, his eyes darting toward the cabin door.

I turn and spot Chev’s eye peeking through the crack. It slides to me before returning to Aziel and narrowing. He has no shame in his spying.

“He does that. Just ignore him,” I say.

Aziel doesn’t acknowledge Chev as he turns back to me.

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