Page 73 of Rebel's Fairytale

“Ruby.”

Ruby approached the refrigerator and pulled out the carton of eggs, the butter, and a container of already chopped veggies. “What?” She turned and slammed the items down on the counter with more force than was probably smart before she turned to grab a pan out of the cupboard.

“You seem… madder than… I expected.”

Ruby shot him a disgusted look and slammed the pan down on her stove top, the movement causing a greatclangto echo in the room. “Of course, I’m mad.” Grabbing a bowl from another cupboard, she started forcefully cracking eggs into it. “For one thing, they defaced a building that children frequent. They dragged me into whatever their damn problem is and put my job at risk. My boss didn’t demand I take time off, but she sure as hell was trying to get me to agree to it. The idiot with the paint also dragged you and the Howlers into this mess, which I don’t fucking like one damn bit. And I specifically asked you to not show up there, told you I didn’t want to have you there while I was dealing with something that had to do with mycareer, but you showed up anyway.”

“Sweetie—“

“Don’t Sweetie me, Rebel,” she blurted and pointed a finger at him. “I asked you to let me handle this, but you didn’t give me that. You said you would, but you didn’t. You lied.”

“Axle sent me,” he insisted and grabbed the butter off the counter, opening it and slicing off a pad to put in the pan.

She watched him drop it into the pan and turn on the burner, then she returned to the eggs. “And how exactly did that go down, Rebel? If I had to guess, you called Axle, and Axle said go down there because you want to, anyway? Am I close?”

She glanced at him and saw him wince, before he replied, “The Howlers were already in it. When I called him, he was heading to the police department at their request. He needed someone to go look at the vandalism, and yeah, he sent me because of you, and because I wanted to be there with you. You can be mad at me for that, but I can’t apologize. I won’t.”

She finished with the eggs, retrieved the milk, added some to the egg mixture, dumped in the veggies, and began to whisk before she responded. She knew if she didn’t take a minute, she was going to come off meaner than she intended to be. “So, you won’t apologize for crossing a boundary I set, and you agreed to? Noted.”

She felt him against her back before she saw his hands come around and take the bowl and whisk from her hands. After setting them aside, he wrapped his arms around her and kissed the side of her head. “I didn’t think about it that way. Yes, of course, I’m sorry for that.Gods, Ruby. I’d never want to cross a boundary with you. I love you. I wouldn’t ever do anything to intentionally hurt you.”

Ruby felt her anger at him waning, but she wasn’t letting him off the hook that easily. She stepped out of his arms and turned to face him. “In the future, if you have to choose between a boundary I set and an order from your president, what are you going to do?”

Rebel’s gaze dropped to the floor. He scratched at the beard hair at his jaw and sighed. “It depends, Ruby. I’m being honest, here. If it has to do with your safety, I’m going to do whatever keeps you safe. If that means you’re mad at me for keeping you safe, then I can live with that. If there’s a way I can respect your boundaries, and not do damage to my club, I’ll always take that route… unless it has to do with your safety. And believe it or not, Axle wouldn’t expect me to cross a boundary with you to follow an order. I can go to him with it and figure something out.”

“So, I’m priority?”

He looked confused for a moment. “Well… yeah.”

She nodded and went back to whisking.

“Do you forgive me?”

She let out a deep sigh. “Yes, but I’m still mad.”

“Fair enough. Now, what else are you mad about? Because if you beat those eggs any harder, we’re not going to end up with omelets.”

She stopped what she was doing and moved to the pan. Dumping half of the mixture into the pan, she answered, “Like I said, I’m pissed at this asshole that did this to the library. I mean… they put my job in jeopardy. They exposed kids to something scary and unnecessary. They caused damage to that beautiful building. But more than anything else, I’m pissed off that they would try to accuse our family of doing something malicious or—“

“Our?”

At his question, she turned and looked at him. “What?”

“You saidour family.”

She was confused for a moment until she thought over what she had said. As her heart began to race and anxious excitement built in her stomach, she met his gaze again and confirmed, “Yes, I did. Of course, they’re our family. I’m your mate.”

His eyebrow lifted as a smile grew on his face. “Are you?”

Rebel

Rebel tried not to get his hopes up as he stared at her and waited for her response. Was his mate finally accepting their bond? Had he finally proven himself? He tried really hard not to be pushy, but it had been difficult. His wolf and his heart already thought of her as theirs.

While he waited for her answer, his wolf stood, his tail swishing, as he whined.I know, buddy. I know. I want it, too.

Without another word, Ruby took two quick steps toward him and grabbed his cheeks. She pulled him toward her, pressing her lips to his. He groaned the second her tongue caressed his bottom lip. Rebel opened to her, but he let her continue to lead it. He didn’t know where she was taking them, but he sure as hell liked the path.

Still kissing him, she put her hands to his chest and pushed. He allowed her to push him up against the wall and didn’t fight it when she tried to remove his cut. He let it fall off his shoulders but caught it before it hit the floor. Without turning away from her, he reached out and dropped it on the counter.

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