Not that she could tell Miles that.
Had she thought that Dakota would just blurt out the truth and admit who she really was, so that Miles didn’t kill her? Or had she just not cared? Had she thought that Miles would kill Dakota without stopping to ask questions?
Odds were that Dakota would never know. Jamie was long gone.
“I just wanted to know what really happened up here with Shaun,” she said finally. “And then there’s the children.”
“Yes. Precious little angels, aren’t they?”
She stared at him. “You are kidding, aren’t you?”
“Of course I’m kidding. They’re a bunch of little brats. Although they seem a little less obnoxious now that they’re with you and your friend.”
She glanced at the naked shifters in the river. They had paired off and were locked in passionate embraces. She felt a stirring of longing deep inside.
She stood up, and Miles followed suit. “Speaking of which, there’s only so much torture I should inflict on her. I’ll go relieve her of duty.”
He gave her a roguish grin. “Well, whenever you’re ready, you know where my cabin is.”
She raised an eyebrow.
“So your way of ensuring that you never find a woman who’d want a real relationship is to insult them?”
He looked taken aback. Clearly he wasn’t used to anyone calling him out on his behavior. “How am I insulting you?”
“By making it clear that you want nothing more than a quick roll in the hay.”
“Well, let’s face it, Jamie, I’m not exactly life-mate material.”
And I’m not Jamie.
She glanced around. “You’ve created order out of chaos here. Well, at least more organized chaos. You’ve provided a safe haven for shifters who have nowhere else to turn. You have the respect of your packmates and shifters of every species. You even show mercy when it’s warranted. You might be a better life mate than you think. And no, I’m not applying for the job.”
“But you’re attracted to me.”
He waited for her to deny it, but she couldn’t. “So? Every woman’s attracted to you, Miles. That’s just biology.”
“Uh…okay.” He looked thoroughly baffled now. “Well then. So, the point I was trying to make, apparently not very well, is that I’m free tonight.”
“And? What exactly is it you want from me?”
He looked a little uncomfortable at that. Good.
“Well, you know…” he said.
“No, I don’t know. Tell me. What exactly are you asking me to do?”
At that, he regained his composure, and his lips curled in a slow, seductive smile. “Shall I start at the beginning and finish with you waking up next to me tomorrow morning?”
“No, Miles, I know how sex works, thank you very much.”
“Not really. You haven’t experienced it with me.” There was a gleam in his eye, and she had no doubt that he was telling the truth – that sex with him would be amazing and mind-blowing. But that wasn’t enough – far from it.
“What I’m asking,” she said, smiling through gritted teeth, “is for you to spell out what you want from me. I assume it would be a one-night stand, and then I’d leave in the morning. And I swear to God, if you make some stupid joke about how, no, you’d cook me breakfast first, I will punch you in the face and to hell with the consequences.”
Miles’s jaw dropped.
“And then, after our no-strings-attached one-night stand, I assume I would be treated to the delightful sight of you parading your next conquest of the day past my doorstep to your cabin. On a regular basis.”
“Well, no, I…I wouldn’t do that to you.” Miles’s face flushed. “And I haven’t even been dating that much lately. It’s been months since I brought a woman back to my cabin.”
“So you want a monogamous relationship with me, then?”
He looked genuinely pained. She could feel conflicting emotions tangling inside him, desire mingled with fear and the ghosts of some past trauma that was hidden down deep.
“Jamie, I’m just not a relationship guy. I’m just not wired for it. And this…” He gestured at the pack lands, at the shifters in the stream, and the lands that could just be glimpsed through the trees. “This is all my responsibility. This whole territory. If I fail in my duties to this territory, it doesn’t just hurt me or my pack. The entire area descends into anarchy, and a lot of innocent shifters suffer.”
She rolled her eyes. “That’s an excuse, and a pretty lame one. Plenty of Alpha Primes have mates and cubs. Here’s what I’m saying, Miles. Your constant come-ons make it very clear that you want to have sex with me, and then afterwards you’d like me to go away quietly, and I’m not interested in that, so knock it off.”