Page 46 of The Wild Moon
“Guest quarters?” Johnathan asked, looking past me at his father, then back at me.
I smiled broadly at him, teeth and all. “All good things take time. Surely you have the patience to wait for your mate, don’t you?”
Johnathan’s jaw clenched, the veins in his temples standing out. He didn’t like this one bit and was quite obviously having a hard time with his temper.
Oh, well. Maybe you shouldn’t have been such an asshole, and we could be mated happily ever after. Sorry, not sorry. Dick.
I let my eyes convey my thoughts as I walked past, fighting hard on the inside not to sashay my hips a little as my Soulbond pulsed stronger than ever. That was expected, however, and I’d braced for it, preparing my mind not to be distracted as I walked down the hallway.
I very carefully didnotlook at the relic room as I passed. No sense in giving anyone the slightest clue what I was planning. Better to catch them unawares if that was possible.
Not long after I’d shut the door to my chosen guest quarters–I’d chosen the farthest one possible from Johnathan’s room–he entered. No knock. He just waltzed in as if he owned the place.
His dull blue eyes locked on me. I forced myself to look at the bridge of his nose instead. This close, the pull toward him was strong. I had to resist in any way I could.
“Well?” I said as airily as I could. “Did you chat with dear old dad?”
“Yes.” The single-word reply came out clipped and short.
“So, do we have a deal?” I crossed my arms and tried to stare him down.
Johnathan sighed. “You really do hate me, don’t you?”
I gaped at him, stunned by the confusion in his voice. “OfcourseI hate you. I fucking loathe you. You ruined my damned life, all because you couldn’t handle being dumped. So, yeah, I hate you. Just a little bit. I wouldn’t expect any loving or tenderness for the first, oh, ten or twenty years.”
Hopefully, comments like that, pretending that I was thinking about the long-term, would help keep at bay any doubts Johnathan or Lars had. Maybe.
Johnathan bit his lip. He wasn’t happy about the arrangement, but I didn’t give a shit. He’d made his own bed. Now it was time he slept in it. Alone.
“How long are you going to be staying in the guest quarters?” he asked gruffly.
“Until I’ve got carpal tunnel in my wrists and nothing but dead batteries,” I said, scoffing at the idea that we’d share a bed anytime soon.
“What about children?” he asked, lifting a hand, palm up, in question.
“I just got here,” I said. “We’ll discuss conjugal visits later.”
He eyed me, and I saw suspicion creeping into his gaze.
“Of course I’m not happy,” I snarled before he could say anything. “I hate this. We’re Soulbound. But I can recognize reality just as well as you can. So, just leave me alone, and I’ll see you at dinner, okay?”
Johnathan shook his head. “I’m not buying any of this. Three days ago, you fought me in the ring.”
“Three nights ago, I kicked your ass in the ring,” I corrected.
He bared his teeth at me. I gave him the finger. It was the truth, whether he liked it or not.
“There’s no way you’re submitting to me now, not so soon after that.”
I sighed. Time for a bit of honesty. “It’s not about that,” I said, voicing my actual feelings about what that night had taught me. “It’s about what your presence did.”
His forehead wrinkled between his eyebrows, but he stayed quiet, letting me continue.
“You showing up there reminded me that I’ll never live a life without you. Or your father. You would always both be after me. Always showing up to ruin whatever life I tried to make for myself.”
Johnathan nodded. “I’m drawn to you like you’re drawn to me.”
That wasn’t at all how I’d meant it, but whatever, if it got him to agree with me, I’d go with it.
