“I want to dress and then we’ll talk.”
He didn’t let go of her hand. “I want you.”
It’s all about sex to him. More pain tightened her chest. “Fine. We’ll talk right here. You’ve had a lot of changes in your life recently.”
“I don’t want to talk.”
She ignored him as if he hadn’t spoken. “Your mate was killed in front of you and you—”
“I don’t want to talk,” he repeated more firmly.
“Must hurt deeply over her loss.”
“Alli, stop.”
“I’m familiar to you because you grew accustomed to my scent. They warned me that it wasn’t a good idea to attempt it.” She paused, waiting for him to interrupt but he just regarded her with narrowed eyes. He remained silent so she continued.
“I don’t regret what I’ve done but you will when you finally come to grips with everything that has happened. You’re free now and your entire world is different. You’re strong, Obsidian. You don’t need me as a crutch to bridge you through this. You’ll get past your anger, the grief will set in, but then the healing will begin. You are going to be fine in the end. I believe that with my whole heart.” She took a deep breath. “I’m only hindering that process by being here and I need to return to my house. We both have things to deal with on our own.”
His grip on her eased and he let go. She released him too and stepped back to put a little space between them. “This is really for the best,” she whispered, hoping she’d believe it and so would he. “Just take one day at a time. I know what it feels like when someone you love dies but you’ll survive losing your mate. It really hurts but I promise that it will get better. One day you’ll wake up and your heart won’t be broken anymore.”
He said nothing, his face frozen in that grim expression. She slowly turned away and fled the bathroom. Her bag beckoned to her and she bent to open it, planning to get dressed. Instead an arm hooked around her waist and she was lifted off her feet. A gasp was all she managed before experiencing the sickening feeling of being airborne.
She bounced when she landed on the soft bed, shocked that Obsidian had thrown her at least five feet across the room. Nothing hurt but the shock factor held her still until her brain could catch up. The mattress dipped, moved, and then weight pressed over her back where she lay sprawled on her stomach facedown. He caged her with his body.
“I refuse to let you go.”
Fear shot through her as his hot breath fanned her ear. The towel had slipped to her waist and his chest plastered against her back.
“Obsidian, get off me.” Her voice shook.
He shifted his position over her and a big hand cupped her ass, rubbing. “I want you.”
“Stop it!” Her head snapped in his direction and she stared at him. “You’re scaring me. Do you get that?”
“I won’t hurt you, Alli.”
The sound of her name coming from his lips in that gruff tone made some of her fear ease. He was engaging in conversation and addressing her personally, something she figured he wouldn’t do if he couldn’t be reasoned with or had lost control. “You just tossed me halfway across a room. That is not acceptable behavior!”
“The bed won’t hurt you. I wouldn’t have done it if I thought I’d miss.”
“You are missing the point. I want to leave and you can’t force me to stay here against my will.”
“I could but I will change your mind instead.” The big hand on her ass massaged. “You will want me too. Calm and roll over. I want to taste you.”
She didn’t flip when he lifted off her to give her enough room to reposition. He sat back on his bent legs, waiting and watching her with beautiful dark eyes. His tongue darted out to wet his lips and she had to admit part of her was tempted. The memory of how talented he was with oral sex made her libido spark some interest.
“No.” She tugged on the towel, raised it higher and curled onto her side to get a better view of him. “I’m not here for you to fuck at will just so you can avoid the reality of your situation.”
He frowned. “What does that mean?”
“You want to use sex as a way of avoiding facing the pain of losing your mate.”
His gaze drifted downward to linger over the curve of her ass. “I want you because you make me hard and you do things to me that are good. 46 has nothing to do with that.”
“She has everything to do with this. You need to grieve instead of trying to make me her replacement. You can’t just switch out people like T-shirts. I’m Dr. Allison Ann Baker. I’m thirty-two years old and my favorite color is blue.” Tears threatened but she blinked them back. “I deserve someone who wants me.”