Page 10 of That's the Way Rejection Goes

“Y-You’d be surprised,” I stammered, taking a step back.

Erick stepped forward, even closer than he was before. “Oh? Nobody has laid claim to you yet?”

“Nope. Just me and my books.”

It was hard to breathe with him so close. I mean, I liked my personal space and all, but I wasn’t usually so shy with men. But something about Erick, his scent, and intensity of his gaze made me shiver. And it was agoodkind of shiver. The kind that went straight to my cock and made me think of doing nothing else but getting down on all fours for him and letting him have his way with me.

“Do you ever indulge?” he asked, his hand reaching up and brushing a long strand of hair out of my face. “With your guests I mean?”

“Uh… I try not to. Most people who come here are at their lowest low and I don’t want to take advantage of that.”

I stared into those rich brown eyes of his, this conversation feeling extremely familiar. Hadn’t it been just twenty minutes ago when I was dressing down Calum, Erick’s mate, for making this exact same insinuation?

“And what if those guests were pretty happy?” His hand was on my shoulder now, squeezing the muscle there. “Would you bend your rules then?”

A soft sound escaped my lips as he squeezed, the pressure lighting up all the pleasure centers in my body. I wanted to lean into him, to let him have me. Between his scent and the electric touch of his fingers, there was very little resistance left in my body. However, just as he moved closer, my vision crystalized and I realized what I was doing. Reaching up, I yanked his hand off my shoulder and took a step back.

“Are you and Calum in an open relationship or something?” I asked, my arms crossed as I stared at Erick.

“N-No. We haven’t talked–”

“Then why are you hitting on me?” I snapped. “You and your mate just lost everything and now you want to risk him too by cheating on him?”

He seemed horrified by my insinuation, but it wasn’t because I said it. I recognized that look on his face. He was finally realizing what he was doing.

“Of course not! I would never–”

“Are you sure about that?” I asked, cutting him off. “Because from where I’m standing, you sure looked like you were willing.” I pointed a threatening finger at him. “Also, don’t fucking touch me without my permission.”

He froze up for a moment, trying to sort through his emotions. “I… I’m sorry. You’re right. I shouldn’t have done that.”

“I don’t know what’s going on with you two, but I’m not interested, okay? I already told you, I don’t sleep with the guests or date them or whatever. You two are welcome to stay here and I want to help you, but if you need someone to fuck, find another wolf because I’m not gonna be used up and tossed away once you two leave.”

Erick just stared, his jaw working but no words leaving his lips.

“Thank you for fixing my computer,” I continued, my heart pounding and my neck muscles twitching as I tried to stay calm. “Now please leave me alone for a bit. I need to get some work done.”

He stared at me for a few seconds more, an apology in his eyes but not on his tongue. Eventually he just nodded and walked back toward the elevator. As soon as the door was closed, I collapsed into my chair at the front desk, annoyed that everything still smelled like Erick.

It had been a long time since I’d gotten so much attention from a man. But it wasn’t the attention that bothered me. It was the fact that Calum and Erick seemed so ready to cheat on one another when both of them admitted to not having a predetermined agreement between them.

The way they came onto me and the way they were so willing to forget their mates… it reminded me far too much of the early days after I got kicked out of my pack. I went through a lot of guys back then and all of them were the same. They wanted nothing more than a quick romp. They’d tell me how beautiful I was, touch me without asking, and say anything they needed to so they could get what they wanted. Then, at the end of it all, I was left lying in a cold bed while they went back to their wife and kids in the suburbs.

That wasn’t the kind of life I wanted to live ever again. Calum and Erick were more tempting than anything I’d come up against in the past few years, but that didn’t mean I’d let them use me. As far as I was concerned, they were off limits, and I wanted nothing to do with them. Besides, they were obviously made for one another. A perfect pair of cheaters to keep each other company.

I let out a long sigh and grabbed my book out of habit. But as soon as I lifted it open and saw the next chapter was all about sex, I tossed it aside. As much as I despised those two and what they were willing to do, I couldn’t deny that I was still rock hard from their advances. And that wasn’t the kind of behavior I wanted to reinforce.

So, instead of reading my saucy books, I decided to do some actual work instead as punishment. Yay.

Chapter Six: Calum

After Sam dressed me down in the middle of the street four days ago, I’d been keeping my distance. Each day since, I got up early, kissed Erick goodbye, and went to work at the bakery helping Andy and Josh with their new seating project. They were good guys, but I found myself staying quiet most of the time. Even though they tried to include me in things and be friendly, it just made me realize how much of an outsider I was in Shifter Grove.

A few weeks ago, I’d been the son of the pack Alpha, next in line to take over and almost just as important as my father. We had a large house and an even larger estate. I’d spent most of my life being pretty much waited on hand and foot. In my teens I got fed up with it and took a part-time job in town with a human handyman as his assistant. I learned a lot of things from him, but not before my father forced me to quit.

Eventually I found Erick, and that gave me a new reason to stay out of the house as much as I could. Those few years we spent together, our romance was kept secret from everyone in the world andespeciallyour parents. The consequences of our love hung like dark heavy clouds over our relationship. But even so, those were some of the happiest days of my life. He was still at my side too, making all my days even more joyful.

And that’s why I couldn’t forgive myself for what I’d attempted to do. Sam was right, I was being the world’s biggest asshole risking my mate’s trust like that. I couldn’t deny that I was attracted to Sam, even though I did everything I could think of to quell it. But it didn’t matter that my dick was like a magnet near north when I was close to him. What mattered was Erick and the love we had together. That was worth more to me than all the flings in the world. And I wasn’t going to risk it again.

---