Page 53 of A Wolf's Treasure
Cedric checked his phone again. “Say twenty minutes?”
“I’ll be gone,” she told him.
With a nod at Duncan, he left, closing the front door quietly behind him.
And uncomfortable silence filled the room. After a moment, Duncan got up and padded silently to the trash under the sink to throw away his beer bottle.
“Duncan, what’s wrong?”
Straightening to his full height, he crossed his arms over his bare chest and turned to face her. “What were ye going tae tell me in the bedroom?”
“I don’t think now’s the time to get into that conversation,” she said, watching him closely.
“Why no’? Because it would make things uncomfortable if ye were tae tell me ye were only using me tae get information?”
She stilled, her forehead creasing in confusion. “What? No. No, that’s not what I was going to tell you.”
“But it’s th’ truth, is it no’?”
“Duncan.”
“Dinna start lying tae me now, lass. I dinna think my tender heart can take it.” The sarcasm in his voice was not to be missed.
Eyes sad, Ryanne stood. “I think I should just go.”
“Och, aye. Run away.” He was being an ass, and he knew it fully. But if anyone had a right to act this way, it should be him. The lass had taken him for a ride, and as it turned out, he was not a fan of amusement parks.
She came to stand in front of him, and Duncan held his ground. “Come see me tonight,” she told him.
“I dinna think I’ll be doing that.”
“You’re not going to give me the chance to explain?”
“It’s no’ necessary,” he told her. “Ye just explained everything tae me and Cedric.”
“No, I did not. That wasn’t everything.”
“Then ye should fill in my alpha when ye see him tomorrow.”
Pinks and greens and blues and yellows flashed in her eyes, but the colors were sad and subdued. Ryanne glanced away and back, then cleared her throat. “If you change your mind—”
“I will no’,” he told her. “Thank ye for what ye did for me, lass. I meant what I said, and I will no’ forget it. But there’s no reason for ye tae hang around anymore.”
To his surprise, her eyes filled with tears. But Duncan was not to be moved. He was done being a plaything for the Fae. For that’s exactly what she’d done. Used his body and his mind for her own sick amusements.
Ryanne stared up at him for long moments. And then she spun away and was gone between one blink and the next.
Chapter 18
Duncan stood frozen for a long time. So long his spine began to ache from holding himself so stiff. When he could, he dropped his arms to his sides and exhaled.
Och, but his heart hurt. It felt as though it were burning a hole in the center of his chest. He was a fookin’eejitto let her get under his skin the way she had.
Though the last thing he felt like doing was going out, Duncan decided that would be the very thing. He needed to get the scent of her off of him. Needed to have another wee face in his head every time he closed his eyes. Different locks between his fingers. New curves against him and a different scent in his nose.
An hour later, showered and dressed in jeans, a light blue button-down shirt with long sleeves, and some cologne for the ladies, he stopped by his favorite steak house and ordered his favorite meal. A wink at the hostess got him a good table in the corner where he could see the exits, and when his meal came, he wasted no time emptying his plate even though his stomach was in knots.
A good stein of Scottish beer washed it all down. While he ate, Duncan watched the other patrons, even listening in on some of their conversations in an effort to keep himself out of his head. When he got the check, he left his waiter a fifty percent tip.
