Page 72 of The Heart of Winter

"Don’t. You’re doing more than you should, considering you’re my employee. And I’m telling you to respect the boundaries I’ve set. There will never be anything between us, no matter what fantasy you’ve cooked up in that minty head of yours."

Grimacing, I turned away and walked off.

But I could still hear the rattle of his cart behind me. He was following, quietly, like a kicked puppy.

Finally, my patience cracked. "Are you seriously just going to trail behind me like this?"

"I have every right to be in this store," he muttered, his voice low and rebellious, lips puckering in defiance.

My irritation was boiling over. I wandered erratically through the aisles, unable to think straight, let alone pick anything out for dinner, not with Minty glued to my heels.

I spun around abruptly and faced him. "Do I need to call store security and tell them I’ve got a stalker?"

He stopped too, leaning casually on the cart.

"Go ahead. Call them," he said with that strange expression. That unyielding mutinous energy, so opposite to everything I was. I was built on structure, order, control, and being… proper.

Sariel was a walking middle finger to all of that.

"That’s the problem with guys like you," I snapped. "Rules don’t mean a damn thing because golden boys always get away with everything. But for me? This kind of situation could wreck my life."

He pressed his lips into a thin line. "Does it hurt?"

"What?" I barked.

"Being that frozen inside."

We were literally having a staredown now.

Then he softly whispered, "Can’t you just… be normal?"

My emotions were boiling inside me—far from being frozen—as I stepped in closer. "News flash: I live in real life. With real responsibilities and a career I actually care about. And I’m not going to risk it for someone who has nothing to lose. No matter what happens, your father’s not kicking you out. But me? He’ll crush me. Don’t you care what happens to me?"

We were chest to chest now.

I caught the faint scent of mint again, and saw his lips tremble just slightly.

"I do care," he whispered. "A lot."

"Then leave me alone, Sariel."

He closed his eyes. "Is that what you really want?"

Lie, I needed to say. Lie…

Sariel’s eyes shifted over my face. He caught my hesitance and followed through with his line,

"Because you’re all I think about, Winter… And I won’t let him fire you. I’m a shareholder, I’ve been one since I turned eighteen."

God, he sounded so naïve. Unfortunately, I had to end it. Push him away for real. Because he wasn’t going to give up unless I made him.

So I stepped even closer, hating myself already.

"First of all, I don’t like alphas and I don’t date them!" I said, low and sharp.

Silence. Almost vibrating.

Mint-green eyes caught me, like shadowy lakes deep in a vast forest, holding secrets, dangerous, pulling me into their depths.

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