BELLA

I couldn’t get the events ofst night out of my mind. I mean how could I when that was the most amazing sex I’ve ever had? I had thought about it all day when I was at the office. I’ve thought about Kade all day long. About his expressions, the sounds he made, how he fucked good.

And at the back of all those thoughts was a thought less delightful; did he regret it?

This morning, he didn’t seem like he regretted it.

Actually, it seems like the opposite. He had seemed soft with me, his emotions were clear on his face, and for once I could know what he was thinking. But that made me… ufortable.

Why? Well, you could call me a coward.

I finally got what I wanted, but seeing Kade act that way with me, like we were real husband and wife, makes me want something more.

So I ran, but I still couldn’t stop thinking about him.

And I’ve been stupid to think he would stop his habit of stayingte at work. Stupid, indeed.

So right now…

“Tell me you don’t regret it.”

I already knew. I knew he didn’t, but I wanted to hear it directly from him and finally convince myself that it all wasn’t in my head.

He looked at me, his expression once again closed off from me, but that was okay. I knew that wasn’t going tost anyway.

“What part ofst night or this morning makes you think I regret it?” he asked, his voice t, but I saw the twitch in his jaw.

“I don’t-”

“Was it the part where I cleaned you up this morning after you passed out?” he continued, cutting me off. “Or the part where I was being gentle with you but you gave me the cold shoulder and left? In fact, I should be the one asking that question.”

“I don’t,” I answered in a rush, taking a step forward, but I stopped. “I don’t regret it. I loved every bit ofst night.”

His jaw tightened, his mask cracking a bit. “Then what was that about this morning?b” /b

I swallowed, asking in a small voice, “Do you really want to know?”

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His gaze was hot on me, a bit of frustration bleeding into his expression. “I guess not.”

He turned to leave, climbing up and I watched him go, but then he paused, his back tensed. He turned back to me, his expression no longer nk, but I still couldn’t decipher the look there.

“I didn’t regretst night,” he said. “Not in the slightest. I’m grateful for what you did. Last night would have been hell without you. The risk-”

“Kade.”

I finally understand why I was so ticked off this morning. It wasn’t because I wanted more–no, that would be silly–it was because he kept thanking me.

He stopped talking, his gaze fixed on me.

“Thank me one more time,” I said, my voice cool, “and I’ll punch a hole through your face.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”

“Oh. You’re thanking me like I did you some grand favour.”

He opened his mouth again. “That’s because you-”

“No. No, shut the fuck up, Kade. Can’t you see that you’re making it sound like I did some kind of chore? Like a service to my country or some kind of shit.”

His second eyebrow joined the first, the expression hovering between amusement and confusion. “I’m not getting you, Bedonna.”

I threw my hands up in frustration, my temper ring, my face burning in anger. “Of course you fucking don’t!”

I marched up to him, my hands itching to wrap themselves around his neck, and squeezed. But it seems walking on stairs when you were burning with anger wasn’t a good idea, because as I got close to him, I twisted my ankle.

My eyes widened as the pain tore through my ankle, and I fell backwards. Kade’s eyes went wide and in a blink, he shot forward, grabbing me by the waist and pressing me to the wall, pinning me with hisrge, hot body.

If he thought that was going to make me forget about my anger, he was in for a surprise.

“Shit, Bedonna,” he muttered, looking down at my ankle with his eyebrows furrowed. “We need to put ice on-”

I grabbed him by the cor, cutting off his words. He looked at me with that frown deepening.

“You’re not getting me,” I snarled into his face, repeating his words from earlier, “because you’re not trying to,

Mr. Varkas.”

“Bedonna, you need ice on that ankle. Now.”

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But I acted like he didn’t speak and continued. “If you were trying to understand, it would have gotten through to you that thanking me would only piss me off.”

He gave up on my ankle, pinning me with a look. “And what’s so wrong with showing my appreciation?”

I released his control just to poke his chest. “Appreciation.” I jabbed my finger into my chest, but I was the only one who got hurt because he was made of stone–or ice. “Do you know what that sounds like, Kade? It sounds like you only did thatst night because you had to. Like it was the only option you had, and if whatever happenedst night didn’t happen, then you wouldn’t have touched me with a ten–foot pole.”

The frown was wiped from his face and reced by a hard look. He grabbed my jaw, holding me still so I won’t look anywhere but at him–not like I was going to.

“You’re right,” he said, his voice hard. A sharp pain went through my chest. “I wouldn’t have done that yesterday if it weren’t for my rut. But that wasn’t supposed to happen until next week. What to know what triggered it, Bedonna?” He didn’t even give me the chance to think before he went on. “It was you.” My eyes widened and he nodded. “Want to know how? I was beating my meat with my shirt that was filled with your scent pressed to my nose. Will a person who doesn’t want to touch you with a ten–foot pole do something like that?”

And just like all my anger melted away, and there was nothing more I wanted to do than just melt into him. But not now.

I kept my head high, not letting him know how much his words affected me, but somehow I knew he knew. “Then prove it, Kade. Prove to me that you’re not repulsed by my touch. That you’re not repulsed by me.”