Page 27 of Same Difference
“Before I figured out what you had really done.”
“Yep. That’s me, Delta. I make decisions I think are right, and in the moment, I don’t care about consequences. I care about fixing shit, and I thought I was fixing it for you. I don’t want you to be Rogue.”
“But we’re here. We’re Rogue.”
He shook his head, and she could hear the truth in every syllable as he uttered, “I don’t want you to be Rogue. You said you want this though, so we’re here. I’m here. No, we didn’t work out, and I’ll have feelings on that probably for the rest of my life, but we’re in this. For better or worse, we are in the same Pack, and neither one of us is going to chase the other to the outskirts of it.”
She didn’t know if she liked this. She’d never seen Nate act this way. Not with her. He was brash and opinionated and said what he wanted and left no room for compromise. But on theother hand, it was kind of hot, and no, she didn’t care what that said about her.
“If we are going to be friends, we need to set some ground rules,” he said.
And to the absolute astonishment of the fluttering butterflies in her stomach, that fine-ass man rested his hands on her bare knees. She was wearing a faux leather skirt she’d bought earlier today, and a pair of sexy boots to make her legs look longer.
He was touching her. He was really touching her. Even his thumbs stroked over her skin there.
“Rule number one,” she said. “You aren’t allowed to touch me. You had your chance. That will be someone else’s job.”
A wicked smile twisted his lips and his eyes flashed brighter. “Mmm,” he rumbled. “That’s fun. Rule number two, if you beg me to touch you, I will break rule number one.” He drew his hands away from her skin and leaned back in the chair, resting his forearm on the table. The cocky expression on his face dared her to argue.
Delta’s heart was pounding so hard against her sternum. “Rule number three,” she whispered shakily.
“Speak up, Delta-Girl. If you have something to say from now on, say it with your chest.”
Bossy. Fuck, this was kind of turning her on. Delta cleared her throat and sat up straighter, tugged at the see-through lace of her turtleneck, dared to look right into his glowing gold eyes as she said louder, “Rule number three, you will not deter me from moving on with someone else. I do not belong to you anymore. I filled out the paperwork to dissolve our Arrangement. We are both single now.”
The smile flickered to a snarl and he looked away, and then back at her. His eyes looked like fire. He pulled her chair even closer until her knees rested against the zipper of his jeans, andhe leaned forward, pressed his lips right next to her ear, and whispered, “You better hide him from me then.”
Nate leaned into her and nipped her neck. She could feel the sharpness of his teeth and rolled her eyes closed with a soft moan before he eased back.
He wore the devil’s smile. “I like that little noise you just made,” he rumbled.
“I don’t know if I like anything about you anymore,” she whispered.
Nate shrugged. “I don’t blame you. There are benefits to being my friend though. Want to hear them?”
“No.” But her stupid voice had a lie in it. She sighed, and said, “Yes.”
“No one will ever hurt you. If they do, I’ll kill them.”
And a vision of him going after Decker when he’d yelled in her face flashed across her mind. He’d known Decker was the Alpha of a big Pack, and it hadn’t even slowed him down.
And he’d won.
He’d bled for her. She’d been too angry with him to care about that before now.
“What else?” she asked.
“I’ll remember your food. Until you have a mate taking care of your needs, I will force my way into paying for as much of your food as I can. You can gripe at me all you want. I’m going to do what I’m going to do.”
She swallowed hard. “You bought all the lumber to fix the cabin.”
He nodded once. He looked like an avenging angel right now, eyes blazing in the flashing lights from the dance floor, jaw clenched. “I’m going to fix up the house, and I don’t want to hear shit about it. Don’t message me in the middle of the night withI’m independent and don’t need you. I don’t give a shit. I likethat you’re independent, but you were mine once, and I take care of what’s mine.”
“I’m not yours anymore,” she quipped stubbornly. “Your choice.”
He shrugged and crossed his arms over his muscular chest.
“What else?” she asked.
