“You’re so stubborn.” Ranger shook his head in disappointment. “You know, he and Lauren knew about that little crush you had on him when you were a teenager. They laughed about it then. How pathetic you were watching him with those puppy dog eyes all the time. You’re just as pathetic now.”
She wasn’t listening to any more of this. She couldn’t. Pushing past him, Chelsea strode quickly to the elevators, intent on catching the one slowly sliding open.
As the doors revealed the interior of the cubicle, she froze in shock as Cullen stepped out, gripped her arm and pulled her inside without saying a word.
And he was furious.
His eyes were flat and hard, the green darker, the amber flecks more pronounced. And she swore he looked taller, broader as he stood beside her after punching the key for the first floor.
Chelsea restrained a groan of pure frustration. She’d actually forgotten about those damned glasses as Ranger kept running his mouth. Geez, she’d known he was a moron for years, but he’d really outdone himself this time.
But despite the hurtful words, she knew, in his own way, he was just trying to protect her.
Sort of.
Like the detectives and officers at the department, she’d known him all her life. And like her family he had a tendency to be overprotective and a little too free with his advice.
Whether she wanted it or not.
Whether she could handle it or not.
Reaching the first floor, Cullen led her firmly from the elevator and through the lobby, ignoring the greetings called out to him from several of the officers and lawyers he passed.
He was more furious than she’d ever seen him. But she really wasn’t so happy herself. Not with him or with Ranger.
Reaching the car, Cullen pulled open the passenger door, and once she was inside he closed it with enough force that she winced.
The drive back to his house was anything but comfortable. The tension sizzled around him, heavy enough that a weaker-willed woman would have drowned in it.
Pulling in behind the house, he shut off the vehicle, and rather than waiting for him to open her door she let herself out of the car, ignoring his dark look.
As they entered the house he closed that door loudly behind them as well.
Wow, she’d never heard him slam doors before.
“Graeme canceled the meeting again,” he told her, his tone a dangerous rasp of fury. “Cerves won’t be at his compound for several more days and Graeme wants to gather more intel before we talk.”
“A wise decision,” she murmured, watching him carefully.
His expression tightened further and she knew that cracked molar was coming soon.
He shifted, his feet planted firmly on the floor, legs slightly parted, and the prepared stance had a frown flickering on her brow.
“What, Cullen?” She crossed her arms over her breasts and stared back at him with a glare. “Are you going to try to blame me for Ranger’s diarrhea of the mouth? Not my fault. That’s between you and Ranger.”
“Do you want him to die?” The hard, flat look in his eyes had her swallowing tightly at the question.
He wouldn’t really kill Ranger, she assured herself.
“Look, I know he’s your friend . . .”
“He lied to you, Chelsea,” he suddenly snarled, his fingers curling into fists for a moment before he pushed them restlessly through his hair. “At no time did I ever hint that you were at the fucking office as a reminder of Lauren. And I damned sure, not at any time, never made fun of our friendship when you were a teenager.” His jaw clenched and unclenched with furious motions as he glared down at her, his gaze probing. “I would never have done such a thing.”
Anger vibrated in the air around him, frustration and maybe resentment. Maybe he hadn’t told Ranger she was a Lauren stand-in of some sort, but it wasn’t completely illogical either.
“But I am your mate now,” she pointed out quietly, that knowledge settling heavy in her heart as she watched him. Perhaps the recessed genetics really were the reason he hadn’t mated his wife then. When his Breed instincts began waking, he’d mated her because she was the closest he could get to having his wife back.
“Again, not your fault,” he growled, heated lust flashing in his eyes. “And not something I regret for a moment, so don’t even go there.”