Rafe gestures at the seat across from me. "Can I join you?"
Holy fuck, I smell like ass. I sit up straight and ignore my own smell, of sweat and booze, as I try to at least get back some of my dignity.
Especially because...well, Rafe is exceptionally calm.
Calmer than I've seen him in ages.
"You're not here to kill me?" I ask.
Rafe snorts. "Nope."
"It's not that funny."
"I was never going to kill you, Fallon," he says.
"You literally said you were going to kill me."
He winces.
"And now I'm not," he says. "I came to tell you...well, fuck."
I cock an eyebrow, even though it hurts my black eye. "For some reason I feel like 'well, fuck' is not what you came here to say."
Rafe sighs. "Fine," he says. "I came to tell you I'm sorry."
My eyes widen and I lean back in my seat, crossing my arms. "Holy shit," I say. "She got to you too, huh?"
Rafe groans and rakes a hand through his hair. "She's really persuasive."
"That's what I was trying to tell you," I say. I shake my head. "You know...I didn't mean for any of that to happen. It's like every time I'm around Jade, she drives me crazy. Makes me feel like a goddamn dog on a leash, like I can't control my actions."
Rafe nods, his expression softening. "I get it," he says. "Believe me, I do. She's got this...aura about her. It's hard not to be drawn in."
I grunt in agreement, feeling a faint twinge of sympathy for Rafe. After all, I know exactly what it's like to fall under Jade's spell.
"So...what now?" I ask, studying Rafe's face.
He tenses slightly, tapping his foot on the floor in a nervous tic. "Well, her heat's over," he says, "so that's good."
"And I'm sure the two of you made a huge fucking mess of my room," I mutter.
He laughs. "Can't deny that," he says. "But here's the thing--she wants you to come back. She wants...she wants to spend the night with both of us."
I gape at him for a second, unable to stop my jaw from dropping. "And you're okay with that?"
"She's my mate," Rafe says, then his voice gets a little rough--like he has a hard time saying the next words. "And she's yours, too. You bit her. She asked you to. And she said she cares about you."
I cock my head. "This is some kind of conditional thing, isn't it?"
He rubs his eyes. "You know how to read me too well."
"She told you she wouldn't fuck you again until you made up with me, huh?"
Then he barks out a laugh. "Youreallyknow how to read me too well."
"And I know Jade," I shrug. "So...you're really just going to forgive me. Let me into your pack. Let me fuck your mate."
Rafe sucks in a breath, squaring his shoulders and leaning on the table across from me. I watch him closely, afraid that he's on the verge of another meltdown--that he's about to beat the everloving shit out of me, and that next time, maybe hewillkill me.