Harper could see what he was getting at: although he knew her intentions were good when she didn’t call out to him, he couldn’t help being hurt that she’d gone back on her word. “Okay, so I didn’t keep my promise. I regret that I was in a situation where I chose to do that, but I don’t regret that I chose to do it.” She wasn’t going to lure him into a trap.
“Just as I couldn’t regret that I’d delayed giving you bad news. In that sense, neither of us were in the wrong. We both had good intentions when we made those decisions, but we still hurt each other when we did.”
Yeah, okay, that was true. “You didn’t answer my question earlier.”
Knowing she was referring to what she’d asked him just before she left, Knox said, “Of course I accept you as you are. I want you exactly as you are. You seem to think I want to control you. I like that I don’t. I like that I can’t. I like that you have your own mind and you demand that I respect that. And I do respect it. But, baby, that doesn’t mean I’ll always like your choices. I’m certain that works both ways.”
Harper sighed. He was right again, which was unfortunate because he was taking major chunks out of her “you’re an asshole” argument.
“We both have very strong personalities,” Knox continued. “Neither of us are the type to bend to please others. That means we’ll sometimes butt heads. It means I’ll hurt you when I don’t mean to, and vice versa. We have to learn to move past things, Harper.”
“I don’t know how we move past this. I will never change.”
“I know that, but you’re missing that I don’t want you to.” He lightly traced her collarbone with his fingers. “I’ll have to accept that you’re willing to put yourself in danger to protect me. And you’ll have to accept that I’ll be pissed and react badly if you do.”
“Reacting so badly that you say mean shit —”
“Was wrong,” he finished. “I apologized for that.”
“Actually, you didn’t.”
Realizing she was right, Knox curled his hand under her chin as he spoke. “I said things I didn’t mean, I hurt you, and for that I’m sorry. But I can’t be sorry for being angry that you took Crow on without me.” He wasn’t going to insult them both by saying otherwise just to placate her.
“And I can’t be sorry for not luring you into a trap.”
His mouth quirked a little. “So very stubborn.”
“And so very proud of it.”
Knox swept his thumb over her bottom lip. “I was angrier at myself than I was at you.”
She frowned. “Why?”
“I’m your mate and your anchor. I’m supposed to protect you.” He rested his forehead on hers. “I hate that I was sat in a meeting with my sentinels, having no idea that you were somewhere in pain, being attacked.” He placed his hand over her heart and let the beat of it soothe him. “You underestimate what you mean to me. You always have. I need you safe. Well. With me.”
That was sort of sweet. She wasn’t good with “sweet.” “If I’m ever attacked again, I’d rather have a comforting hug and a ‘how are you feeling’ than be yelled at.”
Knox slipped his arms under her back and hugged her to him. “How are you feeling?”
“Less pissed at you.”
Knox didn’t relax, knowing he wasn’t out of the woods yet. “How about your demon?”
“It wants to bitch slap you. And I mean, like, really hard.”
He’d thought as much. “My demon wants to snuggle you and make you feel better.”
Okay, that softened her demon a little.
He kissed the hollow of her throat. “We’ve never had a major argument before. It was bound to happen at some point. And now we deal with it. We start as we mean to go on. When I fuck up, I’ll admit it. I’ll apologize. If you need space while you work through some of your anger, fine. It won’t be easy to give it to you, but I will. In return, you don’t leave in a huff. And you don’t sleep anywhere but right beside me, where you belong.”
“I’m not sure you’re in a position to use that demanding tone with me.”
His mouth curved at her haughty look. “How would you have felt if I walked out on you, baby? How would you feel if you came to find me, hoping to work things out, and you saw that I was gone?”
Like utter shit. She blew out a long breath and then agreed, “I won’t walk out next time. I’m not saying I won’t walk away to cool down, but I won’t leave.”
He nodded, satisfied. “That’s my girl.”
“Can you free my hands now?” The wicked curve to his mouth made Harper tense. “What?”
He fingered the bobbly white T-shirt she was wearing. It smelled of her. “This an old shirt of yours?”
Harper nodded. “Jolene kept it for me.” He hummed against her neck as he gathered the ends of it. “Now wait a minute, Thorne —”
“It needs to come off. I want to be able to touch and taste every part of you.”
“I’m still mad at you.” Well, only a little.
“I know that.” He rubbed his nose against hers. “But you’re holding onto that anger just for the sake of holding onto it.”
Damn him for being right.
“Let it go,” he whispered into the hollow beneath her ear. “I know I hurt you. I know I messed up. But now I’m going to make it up to you.”