Page 6 of Brody
Not only would she be seeing me every day, but her lab equipment was currently being installed in my Brewstillery.Quinn and I had agreed it was the only suitable space in the Ridge with the necessary infrastructure.I’d spent the past three days personally helping out and overseeing the setup, making sure everything was perfect for her arrival.
“Rozi, I know I have no right to ask anything of you—” I started, unable to stop myself.
“Finally, something we agree on,” she cut in, her tone sharp enough to draw blood.
“But I need you to understand what happened in Kenya?—”
“This is exactly where this conversation ends.”She raised her hand like a traffic cop.“We’re not doing this, Thornbern.Not now.Not ever.”
“We’re wasting time.”I forced practicality into my voice.“There’s a town hall meeting about to happen in a couple of hours, and you’re presenting.”I stared at her like an idiot, drinking in the details of her face like a dying man offered water.“Have you been well?All these years?”I was desperate for any connection with her, any crumb she might offer.
She met my question with pointed silence, her expression unyielding, though her scent changed subtly, a hint of sorrow layered beneath the anger.My wolf whined, eager to comfort her, to press our muzzle against her neck in apology.
“I’ve thought about you.Every day,” I admitted quietly.“Every.Single.Day.”My words were naked and vulnerable.
“That’s your problem, not mine.”Despite her cold tone, the slight catch in her breath told me my words had landed.
She stared at me for a couple of beats, then took a deep breath as if gathering herself.“I gather that monstrosity”—she pointed over at the black SUV I’d been leaning against when she’d come out of the airport—“is yours.”A flash of humor brightened her eyes momentarily, the first break in her armor.
“Yes,” I said with a half smile.We both reached for her luggage at the same time, our hands connecting.A frisson of static skated across my palm.The momentary contact sent a wave of relief through my trembling limbs, easing the chronic pain that had been my constant companion.
Rozi jerked her hand away, her lips parting on an indrawn breath.
“I’ve got it.”She walked away with her rolling luggage dragging behind her.
Stubborn woman.My inner beast snorted in agreement and replied,Stubborn, perfect mate.Would you expect less fromourchosen one?
“Open the cargo area, please.”
I moved to help with her luggage.Our hands brushed again, a whisper of skin against skin, but the jolt of electricity that shot up my arm might as well have been lightning.
For one breathless heartbeat, time stopped.Her pupils dilated, swallowing the honey-brown of her irises.Her fragrance spiked with a potent mixture of desire and rage.
Her expression hardened.She batted my hands away with enough force to make her point crystal clear, her strength surprising for her size—a reminder of the predator that shared her skin.
“Don’t.”The word carried two decades of hurt.Her voice cracked slightly on that single syllable, revealing depths of pain beneath her controlled exterior.
My predator pressed against my consciousness with desperate need.Touch her again.Pull her close.Make her understand.She needs to know what will happen to us.
I clenched my fists at my sides, fighting the primal urge to reach for her.She stowed her luggage inside, her movements jerky and tense, betraying the effort it took her to maintain her distance.
The air between us felt thick enough to slice with a knife.
I opened the passenger door with exaggerated courtesy, a pathetic attempt at normalcy.She ignored the gesture, taking off her backpack, getting into the back seat, and shutting the door with enough force to make the SUV rock slightly.The barrier she placed between us was both physical and symbolic.
“So this is how it’s going to be,” I muttered before getting behind the wheel.I turned around to glance at her.“You can sit up front.I won’t bite without permission.”I attempted a smile that felt more like a grimace, my canines pressing uncomfortably against my lower lip.
Speak for yourself.I want to give her our claiming bite.My animal half’s hunger for our connection surged forward with primitive need, images flooding my mind—her throat exposed, my teeth sinking into tender flesh, the copper-sweet taste of her blood as the bond sealed permanently.
“No, thank you.”She didn’t even look up from scrolling on her phone.“Please drive.I have a town hall meeting to attend.”
I sighed heavily, turning on the radio before pulling away from the airport, the engine’s growl matching my inner frustration.The music filled the silence but did nothing to ease the tension that vibrated between us.
This is going to be a long ride.
The beast within whined with frustration.Take back what’s ours.As if the years of pain could be fixed with a simple apology, as if two decades of absence could be erased with words.The fated bond hummed between us like a live wire, despite her anger, despite the physical distance she’d placed between us in the car.My body was already responding to her proximity with heightened senses and a calming of the tremor that had plagued me for months.Even in rejection, she was healing me, her mere presence acting as a balm to symptoms that had resisted my tonic.
The irony wasn’t lost on my inner beast.We need her.She needs us too.She doesn’t know yet.
