Staring at the ceiling, as I was currently doing? Nope.

Counting proverbial sheep? Not in this lifetime.

Melatonin? Are you serious? That stuff never worked.

Sex with my crazy ass pseudo-ex? Big, fat nope.

I was sensing a pattern.

Lying in bed, wishing and praying for sleep to come wasn’t working either. I had work in the morning, and I was on the verge of losing my shit on everything around me. Not sleeping for another night wasn’t an option.

Frustrated, I quietly, and carefully climbed out of bed and headed toward the kitchen for something to eat. Maybe that would help.

I managed to leave the room without Tabitha waking up. That was a miracle in and of itself. Though I hated the idea that she was in my bed, to begin with, she served her purpose. She distracted me enough to keep my thoughts from staying on Gemma for too long. At least, for a little while.

Though it appeared that even sex had stopped working.

And while she was a beast in bed, she was an exceptionally loose cannon. One I couldn’t afford to have in my life, regardless of how many times I invited her back into my bed. I needed to be rid of her for good. But she always seemed to come around when I needed a release the most. But I couldn’t ignore how much she was going to be a problem for me. One I would have to deal with sooner rather than later.

But, for now, she served a specific purpose. One I couldn’t deal without.

She wanted more from me, however. Much, much more. But I wasn’t capable of giving her such things. We came from two different worlds. She was a mountain lion shifter, and I was a wolf shifter. That should have been my first clue.

Besides, the only thing I valued her for was her sex. Nothing more. Nothing less.

But I also realized how cruel it was to keep her strung along. I knowingly dangled a carrot in front of her, always keeping it out of reach.

I made it to the kitchen and opened the fridge. My eyes fell onto the various items, but the thought of eating made my mouth dry. A sour taste covered my tongue.

My wolf stretched against my frame, just as restless.

Who the hell did I think I was kidding? There was only one thing that could settle my mind and body… not to mention my wolf.

Gemma.

I couldn’t very well become involved with her if Tabitha kept coming around.

I slammed the fridge door shut and headed back to my room. I couldn’t take it anymore. One more sleepless night and I would lose my mind. I pulled on my clothes and ran my fingers through my hair before turning and glaring at the sleeping form in my bed.

While I watched her sleep, I formulated a plan. One that would remove Tabitha from my life for good and place Gemma back into my arms.

Step one: Get rid of Tabitha.

I stomped to where she slept and pulled the blankets from her naked body.

Her eyes shot open, and she sat up. “What is it? What’s going on?”

“You need to leave,” I said. “Now.”

“What?” she asked, staring at me through her sleepy, doe-eyed gaze. “Why?”

“You need to leave and because I said so,” I said. “Get your stuff and get out.”

She ran her fingers through her hair, crossed her legs in front of her, and sighed. Sounding more awake, she said, “You don’t mean that.”

“Yes, I do.” I gestured toward the door. “Kick rocks.”

She laughed. The crazy woman literally laughed at me. Not the sarcastic sort of laugh. Oh no. It was as though she was sitting in a comedy show and the comedian had just delivered a doozy of a punch line.