Catarina is silent for the longest time, stretching it out. Probably because she knows she can. Probably as a passive-aggressive way to punish me for going incommunicado. All of those things and more because that’s exactly who she is and it’s what I need.
It’s what this pack needs.
I close my eyes, pinching the bridge of my nose and waiting for Catarina to get to the point. It’s better to wait rather than dig myself a deeper hole.
“Then I’ll let you return to whatever it is you find more stimulating than pleasing your wife-to-be,” she finally says. “Have a lovely day.”
She hangs up on me, and for amoment, I’m the one who stops. Who stares at the lake surface unblinking before I slowly lock the screen.
If I toss the cell in the lake and let it drop, will that save me?
Why am I still working so goddamn hard to prove myself to a man who never gave a shit? My father might have been loved by his pack, but he was a shitty dad. Nothing was ever enough for him, either.
So the question remains. Why did I want to try and please him when it made no difference? Would it ever be my turn to be happy, unshackled from the mental burdens, the constant ache to do more, to be better, to be perfect?
A throat clears behind me, the sound delicate and soft and feminine. I feel her before I turn around. The energy thrumming between us is undeniable once I tune into it, and I’m exhausted enough to be powerless to ignore it.
Ren.
She always finds me, and it’s always during a moment when I’m weak. Rather than show her the weakness, I draw the old familiar mask across me, for protection. To show her just how strong I can be.
By the time I finally face her, I’m stoic once again, and oh so tired of having to be this way.
I lift an imperious brow. “Yes?”
She’s wearing her bright red hoodie, setting off the rich color of her eyes and the dark waterfall of hair. She’s left it loose and flowing down to her breasts. The jeans hug the curves of her legs, those shapely thighs, and the boots have a slight heel to give her an edge and make her ass stand out even more than it does.
I’ve seen her naked. I know the clothes aren’t doing her body justice.
My wolf reacts to the nearness of hers, and I swallowover a growl, locking it down deep. More distractions, more crap, none of it good.
“You looked worried. I’ve barely seen you these past couple of days, not since we got here. I thought…” She trails off.
“You thought what? I don’t need your concern, Ms. Wexler.”
She shifts from foot to foot before she finds her strength and faces me, with fire growing in her eyes. “We haven’t had a chance to speak alone since I sucked your cock. Is that what you want me to say?”
The word clangs through me and said appendage gives a mighty throb in response. I fix her with a look. “So? You think that means there’s something between us?” My smile grows sly. “You were begging for it. I had a weak moment and gave you what you wanted. Now, if you’re done being a nag, I’ve got a thousand better things to do.”
It's a classic brush-off maneuver, to insult her to get her to back away, but Ren isn’t having it.
I step up, and she moves into my path. Blocking me with her much smaller frame. She’s got brass balls, this one. In any other life, I’d give in to the connection between us and claim her. Bite her and make her mine.
“There is something between us. Bubbling. Churning.” She presses her hand to her gut. “I feel it everywhere, Torin. You’re telling me there’s nothing to it?”
“I’ve practically rented a billboard to make you understand,” I reply. “What aren’t you getting?”
There’s nothing, there’s nothing.
There has to be nothing because I can’t allow her to crawl under my skin and settle there. She’s got me unnerved as it is.
I gesture behind her. “There’s too much to do for us tostand here wasting time. Go help your mate, if you’re so inclined. Your energy is much better spent with your people.”
Her people, mine.
What doesn’t belong to her at this point?
I ignore the downcast expression, the way her eyelashes flutter black against her pale skin. I ignore the way my heart clenches as I watch her.