Chapter 13
LIAM
I smiled to myself upon hearing the question from my little wolf. I know the situation isn’t funny, but I love how fierce she can be. “She smells so good. Her scent is like chocolate, and God help me, I hate chocolate, but with her, it’s driving me crazy.” Since she walked through the doors of the place where she works this morning, I have had her scent imprinted in my mind and nostrils since I left, making it easy for me to capture her aroma even from this distance. Which led me to jump into my car and ignore the meeting I was supposed to be in right now.
Instead, I came to find her. I know I seem like a damn lunatic. Her scent has hit me hard, making me salivate. It took all my self-control to keep every single one of my instincts in check, giving me time to admire her from a distance. Everything in me screams to touch her once more, to glide my nose and tongue over her skin and savor every inch of that little body, which now possesses another scent besides chocolate. It’s a sweeter, softer aroma, like vanilla. From the moment I first saw her, I felt the most primitive reaction one can have, and it’s the most intense of all: to claim her, desire to bite her, and leave my mark on her. That’s how I knew she was my mate. No matter how much I tried to play dumb, I couldn’t ignore her, especially not now that I’ve tasted her and want to do it again. She already belongs to me, she’s marked by me, and I have to find a way to tell her the truth. But how am I going to do that if she keeps running away from me? How do I tell her what I am without her running off? And by the way she treats me now, I know she will as soon as I say anything. So I have to be careful if I want to have her. Of all the women in our world, she was mine, my mate, and I am more than happy with the results. I just need to convince her that we are perfect together.
“Just look at you, Liam! You went from not wanting a mate to having one. And not just any mate, but a human one, for whom you’ve become obsessed,” my subconscious scolds me.
“Is that what this is all about? Why the hell are you doing this? Is it some kind of revenge for having sex with you and then leaving you alone in your hotel room?” I raise an eyebrow at the sincerity of her words. I don’t respond as I pull into the parking lot of the building where I live, which she remodeled to her liking, realizing she’s not mocking me; on the contrary, she’s being serious. How can I make her understand that I could never hurt her? Damn it, I’ve let her decorate my house with all that fancy crap that drives me crazy, but knowing she did it makes me love it.
“Do you tend to always think the worst of people?” I ask when I stop the car in my parking spot and turn off the engine to look at her directly.
“So you think what you’re doing is okay?” she spits. I can smell her feeling cornered and nervous.
“And what exactly am I doing?”
“Can you stop answering a question with another? It’s not funny at all, Liam.”
“I feel we aren’t getting anywhere with all this.”
“Ohhh, you think?” I can hear the sarcasm in her voice. I smile to myself.
“My apologies, I’ve never had a relationship.” Her eyes go wide, matching her open mouth. I reach out, and with the tip of my fingers, I close her jaw.
“Wait a minute! Are we in a relationship?”
“Of course.” She furrows her brows before bursting into laughter. “I don’t see what’s funny,” I say, clenching my jaw.
“Sorry, sorry, it’s just so funny.”
“What?” I ask. Is this little wolf mocking me? How much am I going to enjoy punishing her?
“Are all millionaire CEOs like this?” She doesn’t answer me but throws another question back instead. I stay silent, waiting. “They sit behind their huge desks, filing their nails while watching the stock market go up and down. They expect people to do what you say when you snap your fingers.” There was a trap in her words; it seemed like a question, but I knew it wasn’t.
“To start with, stop comparing us all, as I am not like them. I am not like any of the men you’ve ever crossed paths with or imagined. And to continue, I also don’t sit behind my desk filing my nails… I prefer to do that at home. I don’t snap my fingers to give orders; I just issue them, and they need to be carried out, period. And what makes you think I invest in stocks?”
“You own one of the largest and most important five-star casino chains in the whole country, along with a few hotels?” she suggests.
“I see you’ve taken the trouble to research me. Does that indicate you are interested in me?” She sighs.
“We had sex, Liam, and it turned out you were my boss, not directly; more like you are the man who paid to remodel your apartment. So yes, I took the trouble to find out who you were, especially since you put a confidentiality clause with my boss.”
“Why did you approach me in the first place?”
“I…”
“Why did you let me make love to you if it now seems you can’t even tolerate me?”
“Oh my God, it’s not that I can’t tolerate you. It’s about my job; it’s about crossing some boundaries I’ve set not to mix my personal life with my work, and that’s exactly what I’ve done. All this could cost me my job; maybe you don’t understand because you’re a millionaire, but I’m not, Liam. So it’s not about regret over not wanting to be close to you because none of that is true. If I decided to make love to you, it’s because…”
“Don’t tell me!”
“What? I don’t understand; aren’t we here to talk about this?”
“Dinner with me.”
“No, you’re crazy; it seems you’re not listening to anything I’m saying.”
“I am; I’m just asking you to have dinner with me. Give yourself a chance to get to know me, please. Let’s clear this whole matter up.”
“I’m here to do exactly that.”
“Dinner with me and let me reward you for your lost lunch.”
“Damn it, you really made me miss my lunch.” She falls silent while huffing, squeezing her purse.
“Fine, one dinner and that’s it; you’ll continue on your path and I’ll continue on mine.”
“Okay, little Shane.”
“Now I have to go, if you don’t mind. I’ve already wasted enough time; I need to get back to work.”
“Perfect, let me take you.”
“No thanks, I’ll call a taxi; you just stay here and do whatever it is you do at your work or at home, whatever.” My little wolf doesn’t give me time to react; she opens the door and gets out of the car, leaving me completely stunned. I watch her walk away from me towards the entrance of the building, where she greets the security guard who clearly knows her, and then she disappears from my sight.
“No one tells me no, my little mate, and I will have you at all costs because you are mine.”