Devlin stared at her in disbelief. He’d known from the start that humans couldn’t feel the mate bond, but recently, he’d been convinced that she felt something. Her words struck him right through the heart as if they were blades.
“I don’t understand how humans can be like this,” he answered, his voice low and deep. The panther was pissed, as well, and it was hard for him to keep his emotions in check.
I have a right to be angry. We’ve become so close, and now she’s acting as if we are strangers!
“Like what?” she asked softly.
“Like this,” he snapped. “How can you feel nothing when I know, with my heart and soul, that we are meant to be together? Fighting it is a waste of time and effort … a useless exercise of unnecessary pain. I thought you could feel what I feel.”
Kate’s eyes continued to gleam with that dispassionate, faraway look. It was another blow that his poor heart simply could not take.
“You’ll never feel for me what I feel for you,” he said softly. It was a moment of perfect clarity. The answer was written all over her face. Only a fool could fail to see it. When she continued to stare at him without refuting him, it was like a horrible confirmation of his worst fears.
“If that’s true, then I don’t need to be with you at all.” Devlin’s voice was harsh and cold with fury and pain. He knew if he stopped to think, he could fall apart, so he pushed on.
“I want you to leave,” he snapped. “Right now. This isn’t going to work.”
Her face crumpled just slightly. Devlin almost relented, but the rejection surging in him was too powerful. He could see that she was upset, but so was he.
Slowly, Kate slithered backward until she reached the end of the bed. She kept the sheet wrapped around her as she slipped her feet over the edge and went looking for her clothes. Devlin felt as if hiding her body from him was a personal insult. It deepened the rejection in his heart until it was almost unbearable.
Kate didn’t say a word as she moved around the room, picking up her clothes from the floor. They were scattered all over the place, and he didn’t need to be reminded of the joyful abandon they had both been taken by as they undressed. Devlin turned his eyes away from her to glare at the pillows.
“Devlin,” she said very softly. He looked up at her from where he knelt in the middle of the bed, completely naked in both his body and his soul.
She was fully dressed, standing in the shadows like an angel of doom. The light from the TV flashed across her face like a strobe.
“What?” he answered.
“You’ve forgotten our deal. You owe me two official dates as well as a donation to charity.”
He glared at her, unable to believe she was pulling this trick on him. The cruelty of her actions went beyond anything he could ever imagine.
Can’t she see she’s tearing my heart out through my ribs right now?
“Fine,” he said, making his tone hard and final. He did not look up at her again, but he listened to her soft footsteps as she left the room and then fled the house.
FOURTEEN
KATE
Kate hurried home from Devlin’s, her heart a mess of emotions. She’d seen the hurt written across Devlin’s face, and she’d heard it in his voice. It had affected her … how could it not? She wasn’t made of stone.
That doesn’t mean I’m going to compromise myself just tofixhim.
There was a heavy dose of anger overshadowing her sorrow. Kate felt bad about hurting Devlin that way, and it made her a bit pissed off that he’d put her in such a position. The urge to take him into her arms and say yes to heal his hurt had been very strong.
That doesn’t mean I’m going to abandon myself.
As she tossed and turned, trying to get to sleep in her own bed, Kate thought about the fated mate bond. She definitely felt a strong attraction to Devlin, and being away from him was painful, but she was pretty sure that Devlin was right, and she didn’t feel it as strongly as he did.
He keeps insisting this fated mates deal means we are supposed to be together forever. But does it?
The idea of completely abandoning her own security to move in with Devlin was terrifying. It triggered her memories of moving between her parents’ houses, rootless, completely without a home to call her own. She couldn’t give up everything she had on a promise she wasn’t sure she believed in. It felt like she had only known Devlin for a relatively short time, and it did not feel natural to move in with him so soon, no matter what he said.
Or how strong the attraction is.
Kate had to admit, she was very attracted to him. It felt good to be near him. Leaving his house had ripped a great hole in her heart. Still, agreeing to move in with him would have hurt her more, and she knew that.