Page 50 of Wolf Desired
“Maybe you don’t hate me, but you don’t want to be seen with me either. You keep making passes at me, here in my room where it’s isolated, as you’ve pointed out numerous times. But out there, you’re as distant as the rest of the shifters. I don’t get involved with guys who are ashamed of me. I want someone to trust. Someone I can rely on.”
Maddox untangled his fingers from her hair, and immediately she felt the loss of his touch, of his breath tickling her skin. She wanted this shifter, more than she cared to admit, but he was hiding something from her. She could feel it every time he opened his mouth to speak, only to clam up without an explanation.
“I’m not what you think, Artemis.” He grabbed her hand and headed out of the room, pulling her along with him. “And as far as trust goes, that’s a two-way street. Shifters want the same in a female. Someone they can trust to have their backs, to guard their secrets, to be their partner.”
When they reached the door to the stairwell, he released her, and she got that distant look again. “I’m not looking to mate you like Tiernan or Rafe—”
She blew out a breath. “I know what Tiernan wants from me. Something about needing me to help control his wolf. But Rafe’s a mystery. I get the feeling he doesn’t want to deal with me at all despite. . .” She hissed, thinking about what she’d just done with him in some haze of lust. It wasn’t something she was proud of and not the type of thing to tell anyone, especially Maddox. He still respected her, and she didn’t want to change that. “Never mind.”
“He’s attracted to you.”
“I’m not here to get laid,” she said, though her body seemed to be screaming for sex when she was around these three.
Maddox twirled a lock of her hair around his fingers again. “You don’t see how beautiful you are. How much you shine, and not just your face or figure, angel. It’s you. The person inside.” He turned away from her and slumped against the blue fire door. “Fuck, Artemis, I’m not here trying to get you in my bed. I need a bit of light in my life for a little while. That’s why I’m down here talking to you even though I know you’d rather be alone.”
“Me? Light?” she scoffed. “You wouldn’t say that if you knew my background. My father’s not exactly a shifter lover. That’s why I don’t talk to him anymore. I needed to get away from him and all his hate.”
Maddox’s fingers trailed along her jaw. Her breathing hitched as the pad of his thumb snuck inside her shirt and traced over her collarbone. Not being able to walk away from his touch, fromhim, would be her downfall one day.
“You said you weren’t looking for sex, Maddox.”
“That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t sayyes.” He pulled his hand away and stepped back, but those dark eyes remained fixed on her like he couldn’t let go. She knew the feeling. “Your destiny is not with me, angel. I had my chance once, and I blew it. You’re meant for Tiernan. Or maybe Rafe.”
“I’m not meant for anyone,” she said, the words spewing from her mouth, nearly an exact quote of her dad.
Maddox quirked a brow. “You don’t like yourself, do you?”
“I like myself just fine.” Her mattress on the floor behind Maddox reminded her of that fling she’d had three years ago when she’d turned twenty-six. Sean had seemed sweet enough. Even promised to build a bed frame for her since she’d been saving every penny to pay back student loans. A month into the relationship, he ran out in the middle of the night so terrified that he’d left without his clothing, wallet, and keys. She still didn’t know what had happened. They’d had sex, mediocre sex at that, and then she’d passed out or something, even though she hadn’t been drinking.
Maddox brushed his thumb over her lips. “Where did you go, just now?”
“I’m afraid I got caught up in some unpleasant memories.”
“Something I said?”
She shook her head. “A guy in my past. Things didn’t work out between us. I’d always thought he’d just flaked out on me, but lately I’m starting to wonder if he saw something in me that scared him.”
When Maddox started to speak, she held up a hand, silencing him. “I like who I am, who I’ve become, regardless of what others think of me.”
“Then it’s me you’re not sure about,” Maddox concluded. “Keep it that way.”
“What? Maddox, you’re—”
“Go back to calling me 86. It’s less personal.” He got that closed off look to him again. “And I knew what I was doing when I chose it.”
“I just said 86 was a stupid name because it’s a number. It had nothing to do with you personally.” Suddenly it clicked in her head, and she realized how insensitive she’d been. “Oh, God, that number means something to you, doesn’t it?”
“It reminds me of someone I lost. Isabella.” His mouth slammed shut and he shoved clenched fists behind him.
“You were married?”
He nodded, and his jaws clenched so hard his neck muscles strained. “August sixth was the date we blood-bonded. Isabella—” He swallowed hard. “She didn’t survive the shifter elimination virus. That’s partly why I’m here. I owe it to her to kill those bastards at the WSSO.”
Alyssa’s heart sank for him as guilt swept through her. “I’m so sorry, Maddox. I shouldn’t have teased you about your code name.”
He pushed her hair behind her ear with the hint of a smile on his face. “You didn’t know.”
“Do I remind you of her? Is that the real reason why you keep coming down here?”
