I nodded and crossed my arms over my chest. Fake the strength, right? I didn’t know why, but he was pushing my buttons. Not those that made me fear retaliation or punishment. No, he pushed the button that made me want to stand up against him and just scream.
I looked him straight in the eye and got my pointer finger out like I wasn’t weak and tired. “If I were you, I would be more careful, buster. I’m not afraid of you. Besides, him leaving?.That sort of feels like maybe a setup for a sexual harassment lawsuit.”
He watched me. The only movement was his chest as he breathed. He seemed a little too comfortable perched over me and I was an idiot for not trying to fight him off. What the hell did it mean that I didn’t want him to? His face was closer than it had been seconds ago. I could practically taste each breath.
“Look, wolfy. If you let me stay here, safely until I feel better, I’ll consider dropping all the charges.” I was a glutton for punishment. Where was this confidence coming from?
He bent down closer. So close I could see the golden flecks of his wolf in his eyes. They weren’t so obvious to a human, but it was that power that lay behind the human exterior. And hell. He was so good looking. Why hadn’t any of my owners been this good looking? Maybe it wouldn’t have sucked so bad if I’d have had him to look at.
The moment he opened his mouth I listened. I liked the sound of his voice.
“Let’s get one thing straight, little-wolf. One, you were poisoned. There is a large amount of wolfsbane in your system among a few other sedatives. It will take time to work this out of your system. Two, if and when I decide to do anything to you, you will welcome it. Beg for it.”
My breath caught in my chest and I fucking held onto his scent.
“Damn. You’re really confident aren’t you?” I said.
I think the look on his face was something close to a smirk, and it worked for him. He had every damn right to be confident. And me? I’d never been wanted a day in my life. Not as me anyway. I’d been wanted as a bargaining chip, as a servant, and now? I wasn’t sure what his angle was. Luckily I’d always been worth more alive than dead until I wasn’t. My heart fell. I was supposed to be free and yet here I was. A captive again.
“When your wolf wakes up, come find me. For now, I will have a female healer stay with you,” he said.
He was so close, and he wasn’t backing away. I could practically taste the mint on his breath. Tired and weak I might be, but hell. I wanted him and I could count on one hand the last time that had happened. Never.
“Tell me something, big-guy. What will you do if I run?”
He leaned in nose to nose with me.
“I will hunt you down.”
I sucked in the sterile tasting air.
“And why wolfy would you do that?”
I was asking for a punishment. I was sure of it and yet I still didn’t stop.
I pressed my legs together as tight as I could under the thin blanket. Where were the strange tingles coming from? Why was I okay pushing all these boundaries? It had to be because I was tired of being owned.
Instead of getting answers, he just said something that made no sense.
“Because, you are mine.”
We stayed locked in each other’s gazes for far too long. But as much as I wanted to put him in the category of males. The ones that all sucked. I couldn’t and my wolf wasn’t here to tell me why. My instincts were dull. My head a hazy mess and yet I liked having him close to me. This was the only relief I’d ever felt from the loneliness.
In a blink he was standing away from me and everything felt colder. My heart constricted at his abrupt retreat.
The loneliness had always been unbearable, and for one tiny second it hadn’t.
Confusion settled right next to my cocktail of emotions. A second ago he was nose to nose with me and the next he was gone and in walked some female.
I blinked after the door closed and wondered if I’d imagined the whole thing. What was that all about?
“Hi. How are you feeling?”
I couldn’t even shrug. I was too tired.
“Tired. Fine. I guess I’m safe here?”
A warm smile touched her lips, and she started to adjust my pillow.