“No, actually, I came for—”
“Teddy.”
Every cell in my body vibrated at the sound of his voice. He stood in the foyer, in front of the first doorway, wearing a large black shirt and a pair of those sweatpants that looked too good on him to be fair. He was barefoot, and his hair was still as long as it had been the night before. But his eyes…they were green and gold mixed beautifully, and my poor heart melted at the sight of them.
“Fuck, Dom,” Derek mumbled to himself, then turned around and slipped inside the house as if he were suddenly pissed.
Dominic didn’t comment, only walked up to me slowly, his eyes measuring me like I was the prey he was going to feed on. I swallowed hard.
“You’re pink,” he said, stopping by the door, two feet away from me—which both pissed me off and relieved me.
“Yeah,” I said, scratching my cheek. “My mom came up with a formula to sort of expel Crackdown from the body.”
His thick brows shot up, and as much as I wanted to tell him about how the Chief called me just seconds ago to offer her a job, I held myself. It wasn’t his business. He wouldn’t care.
“What are you doing here, Teddy?” he asked, and his voice was sad. Desperate. Disappointed.
I knew why. His wolf was there—I could see it in the colors of his eyes. He told me before how badly my scent—even the sound of my voice—affected him when he shared the body with the beast, and I knew that that was why he kept all that distance between us.
But my stupid body still yearned to reach out and touch him.
“I actually came for Derek,” I said, forcing myself to focus. “I know he never took any drugs, and I know the effects of whatever magic those people put on him are not temporary like Crackdown, but I think it’s the same kind of magic.” I pulled out the bottle from my purse and showed him. “And I think this might heal him, too.”
Dominic’s eyes became wide and completely golden as he took a step closer to me.
“Impossible,” he said, eyeing the bottle suspiciously.
“There’s a chance that I’m wrong, but it’s worth a shot, don’t you think? If it doesn’t work, it’s not going to hurt him. The Research crew already tried it at Headquarters, too, and it’s working.” God, I was so hot so suddenly. How was it that just the presence of him had my body messed up like this?
Thisshould have been impossible, not the mixture my mother created.
“No,” Dominic finally said. “Derek will not drink this.”
My eyes opened wide. “What?”
“He will not drink that thing, Teddy,” he said through gritted teeth.
“Why?” I asked, incredulous. “Are you kidding me? This actually has the chance to heal him, and you—”
“No,” he cut me off. “Take it back. He’s not going to drink it.”
I shook my head, and a strange smile stretched my lips. “What is wrong with you?” I spit. “He’s your brother and you have the chance to make him whole again.”
Dominic came even closer to me until he towered over my head. I stood still as a statue, despite everything.
“It’s not going to work. I’m not going to put him through this,” he whispered, his eyes falling on my parted lips. “And you shouldn’t come back here again, Teddybear. There’s no more Crackdown in me.”
It sounded a lot like a warning, and it was ridiculous that abigpart of me liked it.
“I know that. I’m just here for this,” I showed him the bottle again and felt my cheeks heating up like there was invisible fire on my skin right now.
His hand came up and he touched my chin with the tips of his fingers. My head raised as if to meet his lips automatically. God, I was so screwed with this man.
“You asked me to leave,” he whispered. “I did. Now I’m asking you.”
If he’d have grabbed me and pulled me completely apart, it would have probably hurt less.
“Dominic,” I breathed, almost ready tobeghim not to turn me away.