Yeah, this was a bad idea. Horrible.
And yet, she didn’t have a plan B, and she’d promised Nolan she would stay with Reid. How whacked was this situation?
She forced herself to focus on the condo. The kitchen had a lot of natural light coming in through the sliding glass doors off the dining area and several windows. The cabinets were white. The counter a black speckled granite. The appliances were black. The floor was done in tiles swirled with black, gray, and white. His kitchen table was a glass-topped oval with white chairs. Modern. Sleek. Inviting.
When she turned around to take in the living room, she found a similar color scheme. Black leather sectional with gray carpet and a giant whitewashed entertainment center. He liked his electronics. The television was enormous, and there were several other pieces of equipment she couldn’t identify. Gaming stations or something, she assumed.
The designer in her went into overdrive, imagining everything she could do with the space to make it look less like a model home and more like people lived in it. This is not your condo, she reminded herself.
Reid tugged on her hand, and she followed him down a short hallway. “Bathroom. Office.” He pushed doors open and pointed inside.
When he spun her around and headed for the stairs, he released her to grab the suitcases.
She followed him upstairs. There was an inviting landing with a black, plush leather chair next to a small round table. It looked like the perfect place to read. She could do homework there.
Reid used his foot to kick a door open. “Guest room.” He nodded across the hallway. “Guest bath.” And then he backed through another door and set her suitcases on the floor. “Master.”
She followed him inside. Spacious. Lots of natural light streaming in like the kitchen below. “You’re fond of black and white.” It needed color.
He chuckled. “I guess I got carried away.”
She smiled. “It’s modern.” His king-sized bed was unmade, which was about the only thing out of place in his condo. She gasped sarcastically, setting a hand over her heart. “You didn’t make the bed.” A jumble of black sheets and pillows and even a black comforter lay haphazardly on top.
He gave her a playful shove. “I rushed out the door when Nolan called. Making the bed didn’t seem like a priority at the time.”
She flushed. What a morning. “You have an aversion to colors?” she teased. The dresser, four-posted bed, and end tables were also black. The carpet was the same gray as the living room. She could go crazy for days in this home with a credit card and carte blanche.
“Not really. It’s more like I was afraid to do it wrong, so I never decorated at all. It needs a woman’s touch.”
“You think?” She grinned. Was it possible she could be that woman? “Let me guess, the bathroom is a mirror image of the kitchen.”
“Pretty much.” He shrugged. “I’ll take you shopping. You can make changes.”
She swallowed. That sounded so…permanent. They had no way of knowing if they would be together when this was over. She had no business decorating his condo. But she didn’t say anything.
“You must be starving. We haven’t eaten since breakfast. Unfortunately, there’s no food in this house. I haven’t had a chance to shop since I got home from my last assignment. We can head to the grocery store or order out.”
She considered the options. “I know you didn’t ask for the inconvenience of having a house guest and didn’t get up this morning expecting a roommate at the end of the day. I also can’t contribute much to this arrangement. I’m on a thin budget paying tuition and eating up my savings. But,” she lifted a finger and smiled, “I can cook.”
His expression was serious as he closed the distance between them. He set his hands on her shoulders and stared into her eyes. “You’re not an inconvenience, so stop that. And I also don’t want you to worry about finances. This is totally out of your control. I make plenty of money to live comfortably. You worry about school and leave the rest to me.”
She frowned. “I’m at least going to get a job. I’ve applied to a few on campus. Easier to manage.”
He shook his head. “Now’s not a good time for you to have a job. It makes it harder for me to keep track of you.”
“You don’t have to keep tabs on me twenty-four seven, Reid. I’m a grown-up.”
He furrowed his brow. “It’s not about how old you are, Adriana. It’s about safety. Even if it seems like overkill, I’m going to stick to you like glue for the time being. Besides the fact that I want you to stay safe and alive, Nolan would kill me if I let you out of my sight.”
“Whoa.” She stepped back, breaking the contact with him and leaning against the side of the bed. “You can’t go everywhere with me. I have classes and studying.”
He stepped closer until he was once again in her space. It was hard to breathe when he got that close to her. And when he touched her… “I’ll do my best not to hover too close or draw attention to you, but you have to let me do my job.”
“I’m not one of your usual clients, Reid. Don’t you think you’re overreacting? I mean now that I’m not at the Osborns’, that Rimouski guy won’t even know I exist. I’ll be fine. Although it will be difficult for me to get to class tomorrow since you insisted I leave my car at the Osborns’.”
“You’re right. You’re not one of my clients. You’re so much more. So, don’t argue with me on this. You won’t win.”
“Don’t you have to work?” It suddenly occurred to her how messed up this was. As long as Reid followed her everywhere she went, he wouldn’t be doing his regular job.
“I just finished a case. I have employees. I’ll assign everything to them while we deal with this threat. I can manage my job from home. My guys will fill in any gaps.”
“Have you thought of everything?” She tried to sound lighter, but it was tough because he was now standing so close his knees were touching hers.
When he reached for her hands with both of his and lifted them to press them against his chest, she stopped breathing. He was so muscular, a byproduct of his job or vice versa. She’d been able to see how huge he was all day. Broad shoulders, firm abs, a damn fine tight ass. But touching him like this? This was different.
His brow was furrowed again. She wanted to reach up and rub her thumb over it to smooth it out. She hated knowing she was responsible for putting it there in the first place. As usual, he must have read her mind because his face relaxed and he smiled. He wrapped both her hands in one of his against his chest and lifted the other to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear. His thumb grazed her cheek.
Her heart pounded at the intimate contact and the way he looked at her.
His thumb lowered to her lip, tracing the bottom one softly. His voice was deeper when he whispered, “Did he kiss you?”
For a moment she didn’t know who he was talking about. But then she realized he meant Nolan. “Yes.” They were not going to have secrets. That much she needed to promise herself. She couldn’t imagine a stranger arrangement, but she would not keep things from either of them.
She thought Reid was going to kiss her too. Wasn’t that why he asked? Did he want to level the playing field or something? Keep things fair?
But that’s not what happened. Instead, he lowered his hand, stepped back, and slid his other hand into one of her, tugging her to follow him. “Let’s order something to eat. We’ll hit the grocery store tomorrow sometime.”
She followed him back downstairs, her lip tingling from his touch. Her legs were wobbly too. Her entire body seemed to have only one thought, making it difficult to walk properly. She would have preferred if he’d pushed her back onto the bed and kissed her rather than stepping away and dragging her from the room.
But what was she thinking? She needed to get control of her emotions and fast. Otherwise, this was going to be a disaster. She couldn’t let this thing between them take flight. It wasn’t fair to any of them. She needed to keep her distance, physically and emo
tionally.
“Pizza? Chinese? Mexican?”
“You have Mexican places that deliver?”
He grinned. “We’re in the city. We can get whatever we want. If they don’t deliver, a service will pick it up.”
“Huh. They don’t do that in Silvertip. Then again, we don’t have many restaurants in Silvertip, so what would I have delivered?”
When he reached the island in the kitchen, he hauled her closer, grabbed her waist, and angled her so she was leaning against it. He was crowding her again, which was both hot and domineering. When he got in her space—this time with his legs on either side of hers, trapping her against the island—she had trouble thinking.
He tugged a drawer open next to her hips and pulled out a pile of menus. “Anything you don’t like?”
“I’m not picky.”
“Excellent.” He fanned out several like playing cards. “Pick one.”
She grabbed one from the center, not looking. Her gaze was on his face. He was in a playful mood. She liked it better than his business slash serious mood. It didn’t matter what he ordered, as long as he continued to talk to her so she could get to know him.
He set the stack of menus on the counter, cupped her face with both hands, and met her gaze.
She stopped breathing while he looked at her. “You’re killing me.”
“What did I do?” She lifted both brows.
His smile spread. “You came into my life. That’s all it took.”
Her cheeks burned with a flush. “The feeling is mutual.”
“You have no idea which menu you picked.”
“Nope. Surprise me.”
“Okay.” He released her again.
It felt like a game of Ping-Pong. Every time she thought he would close the gap and kiss her, he stepped back. Eventually, she would melt into a pile of goo on the floor and hit her head when her legs gave out.
“You go sit on the couch. I’ll order something. Later, maybe I’ll teach you the exciting concept of grocery shopping online. Then we won’t even have to waste time roaming the aisles.”
She rolled her eyes. “I’m aware that grocery stores deliver these days.”
“Have you ever done it?”
“Well, no. The one and only store in Silvertip doesn’t deliver. I’m just saying I’m familiar with the concept. Don’t want you to think I’m some small-town girl.”
“You are a small-town girl,” he teased.
“Okay. True. But I’m educated.”
He pulled her hand to his face and kissed her knuckles. “I can see that. Never doubted it.”
When he stepped aside, she made her exit. Not that it was a far distance nor did it block her view of him. The living room and kitchen were all one big room. But she wasn’t sorry he’d asked her to go sit on the couch. At least that way she couldn’t fall when her legs gave out.
She picked a spot on the far corner of the leather sectional and tucked her legs under her. And then she watched him moving around the kitchen.
He popped open a laptop on the counter, clicked a few keys, and then closed the lid again. When he lifted his gaze, he asked, “Done. What would you like to drink? I don’t have much food, but I do have some beverages. Soda? Beer? Wine?”
“Wine? What color?” Her nerves would surely calm if she had a glass or two of wine.
“I have both red and white.”
“White would be great.”
He spun around, opened the fridge, and grabbed a chilled bottle. What a Boy Scout. The whirr of an electric corkscrew filled the silence, and the next thing she knew, he was seated next to her pouring two glasses of wine.
It all happened so fast she didn’t have time to put her brain cells back in order before he scrambled them all again with his proximity.
“This is never going to work,” she murmured.
“What?” He looked confused as he handed her a glass.
She waved her other hand through the air. “This. The entire arrangement. I should be doing homework, not playing house. I have classes in the morning, and I’m worried I won’t be able to concentrate with you cluttering my mind. I can’t think when you’re in the same space as me.”
He leaned back, turning his body to face her and setting his hand on the back of the couch behind her, not quite touching her. “I’ll stay in the back of the room. You won’t even know I’m there.”
“What room?” Did he think if he went to the kitchen or even upstairs, his pheromones wouldn’t continue to torture her?
“Your classes.”
She’d just taken a sip of the wine and nearly spit it across the distance between them. “My classes.” She shook her head. “No. Hell, no. You can’t come to my classes with me. For one thing, I’d look like a fool, and you’d draw attention to me. For another thing, I would flunk the entire semester.”
He chuckled. His hand slid down to reach for a lock of her hair. He fingered it casually, staring at it. “We’ll figure it out.” His mood switched again. She was going to get whiplash.
Then again, if he felt anything similar to how she felt, it wasn’t shocking. She couldn’t keep up with herself either. She kept switching from convincing herself to stay away from him and clear her head to wanting to throw herself at him and damn the consequences. Except, that was only two moods. He seemed to have more.
“When you order groceries, get more of whatever shampoo you used. I love the scent.” He leaned closer, lifted her thick hair to his face, and inhaled. “Vanilla or something.”
“Yes.” Her voice was breathy. “We can’t do this.” She reached for the front of his shirt as she spoke and fisted the soft material in her free hand. She needed more contact with him. Now. Like a drug addict, she needed to press against him.
She closed her eyes, took deep breaths, and released her fist to flatten her palm on his chest. She concentrated on the rise and fall with every heartbeat.
Reid took her glass from her hand and leaned away from the couch. She imagined he set it on the coffee table. And then his hands were in her hair, threaded in both sides, tipping her head back. “Look at me.”
She opened her eyes.
His gaze was serious again.
Whiplash.
“Deep breaths.”
“You do realize any breaths only make this worse.”
He grinned. “You’ve got me there. But we’re grown adults. Pretend we’re human. Pretend we’re dating.”
“And not exclusive. And living together? Do you realize how ridiculous that sounds?”
He set his forehead against hers. “Yes. But we have no other option. Between the two of us, we’ll have to come up with enough self-control to wait this out.”
She jerked free, shaking him off, and jumped to her feet to put several yards between them. “Wait it out?” She set her hands on her head, feeling like a lunatic as she paced farther across the room.
Reid didn’t move from the couch.
Her voice rose to hysterical. “Between the two of us? Between the two of us, we aren’t even playing with a full deck, Reid. If you’re half as aroused as I am, we won’t make it until dark before we sleep together. And then what? How will we keep from binding? It’s a slippery slope.”
She couldn’t catch her breath. She wasn’t exaggerating. She wanted him. She wanted him to strip her naked and take away the edge that had been simmering all over her body since she first scented Nolan last night. That high-level arousal only a shifter with their mate would feel had doubled that morning. By now, she seriously thought she might need a straitjacket.
Reid stood.
She faced him, dropping her hands from her hair and fisting them at her sides. “I can’t stay here.” She threw her hands up in the air next. “What am I even talking about? If I left, the problem wouldn’t even go away. I only felt marginally less needy last night in Nolan’s bed, and at the time I hadn’t even met him or you.” She was still shouting.
Reid didn’t move. Thank God. Was he humoring her?
Did he not feel the same pull?
“Even if I went back to the Osborns’ or to a hotel or a stranger’s house, I would still be unable to calm down or sleep. I have no idea how I’m going to shut my mind down to rest for an hour tonight. Months? That’s inconceivable.” She slapped one hand over her forehead and twisted around to face the back of the condo.
In far fewer steps than ordinarily would be necessary, she raced toward the sliding glass door and yanked it open. The rush of cold air was welcoming. She stepped outside, slid the door closed, and gasped for oxygen. His scent was watered down outside, at least. As she moved across the small deck, she took long breaths.
It was too cold to stand outside without a jacket, but she didn’t feel it even though she was easily colder than most people. She felt like flinging off her sweater and tossing it to the deck. Actually, what she wanted to do was shift and go for a long run in her grizzly form.
But that wasn’t going to happen. After twenty-three years of running in her natural form almost any time she wanted right out the back door of her parents’ home, she was now restricted. Grizzlies didn’t have that luxury in the city. And this condo was definitely in the middle of Calgary. She didn’t even have total privacy.
At least Reid’s condo faced an easement. There was a copse of trees behind his property. But there were no fences or anything else to keep the other occupants of the row of condos from seeing her if they stepped outside. Luckily no one was outside at the moment.
Ignoring the outdoor table and chairs next to the grill on the deck, she lowered herself to sit on the edge, her feet on the first of three steps that led down to a grassy area. More deep breaths. She was grateful he left her alone. He didn’t come outside, nor did he probe her mind.
Surely he also needed space and time.
How the hell was this going to work out?
Chapter Nine
Reid stood by the window, watching his mate suffer in silence. He understood exactly how she felt, and he couldn’t blame her. It wasn’t natural to deny the call of mates. Her sexy little body had driven him insane all day, and it was only getting worse as the hours ticked by.
Grizzly Perfection: A Paranormal Shifter Menage Romance (Arcadian Bears Book 6) Page 9
