Page 48 of Ronan

This isn’t going to work.

The light illuminates Ronan’s body as he sleeps, his torso moving with his slow, rhythmic breathing, and his muscular ass pushes out at me like a fucking invitation.

Maybe I can curl up with him and pretend it happened in my sleep.

The thought of pressing myself against that ass almost makes me moan. A needy pulse from my cock makes my hand return to it, feeling a wet spot forming on my boxers. I inch closer to him, wondering if he’ll believe it was an accident, but I’m so turned on that I’m beyond caring.

Another scoot forward, and I run into something soft. My brows furrow as I glance down, wondering how in the world I missed the pillows shoved in the space separating us.

My irritation grows with each passing second as I stare at them, a knot forming in my stomach.

He put them there.

Between us.

His purple ass came to bed, intending to keep me away from him. He even constructed a small, fluffy fortressto prevent the needy,pathetichuman from crossing into his space.

I don’t know why it hurts so much.

It feels like rejection, and it hurtles me into a rage as I watch his shoulders rise and fall, sleeping peacefully on his side of the barrier. Making as much racket as I can, I sit up, but the bastard sleeps on, oblivious.

Mighty warrior, my ass.

If I was an assassin, he’d just hang out in dreamland as I slit his throat.

A serene sigh pushes from his lips, and my anger gets the best of me.“Ronan!” I’m louder than I mean to be, and he wakes with a start, leaping from the bed with his sword brandished.

Where the fuck did that come from?

His eyes scan the room, searching for danger, before zeroing in on me. “What the hell, Cameron?” His voice is thick and raspy, and so godsdamned sexy it pisses me off even more. “Why the fuck did you wake me up like that?” he bellows, and I’m very proud when I only flinch a tiny bit. “I thought there was somethingwrong!”

Boomerang lifts her head from the chair in the corner, but is obviously no help, because she settles back in without coming to my rescue. Ronan puts his sword away, still staring.

“Thereissomething wrong,” I growl, launching a pillow right at his face, and it cuts off his words as he tries to respond. He gawks at me, mouth sagged open, before his jaw sets and he forces his way closer even as I try to toss the second pillow at him. He swats it away and hovers over me.

“What is it, then? You wanted my attention? Well, you’ve fucking got it. Tell me what’s so important that you needed to wake me up in the middle of the night.”

He’s in his own battle of concern versus irritation, but my emotions win as my temper flares to the surface. “What’s wrong is that you are an asshole,” I taunt, my voice trembling, and I force myself not to look away as he stares down at me, fully engaged. “A giant, pig-headed, inconsiderate, ill-manneredbeastof an asshole!”

“Cameron, I wassleeping.” Some of his composure slips as he leans closer, fully awake now as he stares. It’s like I’m splayed wide open, and those eyes are examining every hidden, rotten part of me as I try not to crack. “I’m going to need some guidance here, because I’m obviously too tired or too dense to get it. Explain to me how I was being an asshole while I was asleep.”

“You really have no idea, do you? You have absolutely no idea how this makes me feel.” I gesture at the now-empty space between us, chin jutted out as he looms over me.

“Howwhatmakes you feel?” Under different circumstances, his expression of confusion and outraged disbelief would be hilarious, but not right now. “What are you even going on about?”

“The pillows!” I bellow, and he rears back in surprise at the rage in my voice. “You put the pillows between us. Do you know how hard it was to actually ask you to share this bed with me? To admit to myself that I want to try this?! It washard, Ronan, because all I have ever done is shut others out. But I did it. I did it because I’m trying to be better at this… atallof this… but it didn’t end up mattering. It doesn’t make a difference what I do if you don’t fucking want me.” All my insecurities come spilling out as I rush to my knees, slamming my fists against his chest, but he doesn’t budge. They slam into him again, and when he catches my wrists with gentle hands, we gasp in sync from the shock that hits us both.

“Of course I want you,” he whispers, and I try to jerk my arms away as he holds tight.

“If you wanted me, you wouldn’t put fucking walls between us. You wouldn’t be doing everything in your power to stay away from me. That’s how you keep someone at arm’s length, Ronan. That’s how youleave.”

“Are we back to this?” His voice is a low murmur in the otherwise silent room, his hands holding me steady. “Back to you being a stupid human?”

“I am not a stupid human,” I seethe, baring my teeth at him as I fight to get out of his hold.

“Are you sure about that?” He releases my wrists, pushing his fingers through my hair and jerking my head up to face him, effectively interrupting me. “Do you not see the way I look at you? How I fucking fight not to touch you? I keep my distance because you asked me to, Cameron.”

When my brows meet, confused, his nostrils flare as a tendril of his pent-up anger shows itself. “Do you not remember running out that door and screaming that you rejected the idea of a mate? Ordering me not to follow you? Or has it slipped your mind that you told me you did not want me?”

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