Page 12 of The Wolf's Plus-Size Bride

She flashes me a sweet smile. “Wouldn’t it be weird if I didn’t know where my boyfriend lives? Besides, you’re friends with my cousins, remember? It wasn’t hard. I just told them everything here looked the same and I couldn’t tell one dinky cabin from another. Boom, address.”

Dinky?Seriously? And they call me arrogant. “Pardon the hell out of me. Maybe I’ll redecorate and add some skylights and an open floor plan. But then again, we aren’t going to do long-distance because I don’t ever want to see you again after we’re done, so I won’t bother.”

I shut the door and turn toward her, watching as her entire face gets redder and redder.

“Actually, I came here to tell you this stupid ploy is off,” she snaps. “I don’t know how I let you talk me into this last night, but I’m out.”

“What? You can’t be serious.” I trail behind her as she follows the scent of coffee to my kitchen. She sniffs my mug, sighs, and drops a spoonful of sugar in it before grabbing a tea bag from a drawer.

“As the fucking plague, Reiner. You saw me in a vulnerable situation last night, and you took advantage of me with a scheme to solve your own problems. I don’t even know why I let you talk me into this.”

“I took advantage of you? I think you have that wrong. If I remember correctly, you were a very willing participant. No, no, don’t pull the innocent card.” I snatch the carton of creamer she was about to pour and hold it high above my head. I hear the air hiss from between her teeth before her arms cross her chest. “You wanted the out just as much as me. We have the exact same reason to pull this off.”

“I’m not a liar!” She jumps to grab the creamer, but dammit if the woman isn’t short. I’d put her at five foot two, tops. Grunting, she jumps again, and finally, her hands close around the milk, yanking it free.

Only, her jump launches her right into my torso. We knock together in an “oomph” and stumble backward. She flattens a hand on my abdomen, and dear God, her touch sears me. Fire and ice rocket up and down my skin, dancing a complex tango, making me shiver.

“Neither am I,” I counter, catching myself before it escapes on a low, throaty grunt. Is she close enough to feel my… cough… excitement? I can’t help it. “But desperate times call for desperate measures, and I’m willing to bet you’re just as desperate as I am.”

When she opens her mouth, I fully expect another complaint to tumble out. Instead, she huffs and looks away, smacking her lips. Cautiously, I lift a hand to her chin and make her meet my eyes.

“I can’t force you into this, Jane. All I can do is ask. This is both our futures. They want to pair you off to the first man, and I…”

She looks up at me, concern in her gaze, waiting for me to finish my thought. I feel the air in my lungs dissipates as her mouth parts. Those plush, pink lips catch my attention. I have to look away before I can continue. What the hell was I going to say?

“Look, everybody in Green Lake has this image of me, okay? All tough-guy playboy. Nothing I say will ever shake that perception. Except maybe settling down. I’m not saying I haven’t earned my reputation, because I have. But I’m getting older now, and the women of the Green Lake Pack think I’ll neverchange. None of them will even look at me beyond what happens between the sheets. So, if we do this, I can prove myself. Be someone my pack can respect.”

Her stern expression softens, and pity gleams in her gray eyes. I loathe it, truly. I’m stronger than she can imagine; I don’t want her pity. If anything, I’m the one who feels bad for dragging her into this. Asking her to lie to her friends and family. But we both have something to gain here, and even though she’s a little hesitant, I truly think she can look past her qualms.

Or, I hope so, at the very least.

I don’t even know why I felt compelled to tell her so much about my motives. She doesn’t need to know the details or why I feel the need to put on this stupid show. Maybe I just wanted her to know I had a reason, that I wasn’t just out to torture her. Or maybe I wanted to level the playing field, make her feel like she wasn’t alone here. Like she wasn’t the only one feeling vulnerable and exposed.

“Okay,” she replies with a simple nod. “But we need to lay down some ground rules.”

“Rules are important,” I agree with a nod of my own.

“If we do this fake dating thing, there can’t be a single thread of emotions involved. None. It’s not happening.”

“I don’t think that’s going to be a problem. I mean, look at us. You can’t stand me, and I…”

She wets her lips before speaking again. “I got it. We’ve made our positions clear. And that little attitude brings me to my next rule.”

“Shoot.”

“I will not tolerate another second of your arrogance, okay.” She says it more like a statement than a question. “I don’t care how little you think of me and my pack. I will not-”

“What makes you think I don’t think highly of you?” It’s a genuine question.

“Is that a joke? After the way you humiliated me last year, the way you laughed at me when I…”

I cut her off with a dramatic roll of my eyes. “I went a little overboard in Stardust Hollow last year. I’ll admit it. But let’s just put that behind us and focus on the situation right in front of us.”

She stares at me for a moment, chewing her lip like there’s something more she wants to say. “All right, then. Just as long as we’re on the same page.”

“And I have one condition of my own.”

That little dimple pops in her left cheek as she chews on the inside of her mouth. “Which is?”

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