She narrowed her eyes. “This argument will get you nowhere. The motherfucker behind all this is not getting away with it. No way. Like I told the others just now, I appreciate all that you’ve done. If you want to leave, I understand and—”
“Like you told the others?” he echoed. Like he was nothing more than a pack mate to her, just like them? Anger sparked through him like a fever in his blood.
Standing, she put her hands on her hips. “You leave if you want to, but I’m staying right here. And if you weren’t so overprotective of your pack, you’d see that this is the right thing to do.”
Patience gone, he loomed over her, his neck corded. “I’m not interested in right and wrong, I’m interested in you. You’re not safe here.”
“Are we still on that? Boring.”
He went nose to nose with her. “Don’t fucking test me right now, Riley. You’re going.”
“I’m. Not. Leaving. You don’t get to tell me what to do just because we fuck.” Riley froze as something not wholly on the side of the angels flashed in his eyes.
“Fuck?” It was a whisper. “We fuck? That’s it?”
“Of course that’s it.”
“Bullshit,” he spat.
“Excuse me?”
“We have something here, Riley. It’s fragile and easily fucked up, but it’s there. And there’s no point in us pretending any different, so don’t fucking bother.”
Looking at the stubborn set to his jaw, she marveled, “You’re serious.”
“I’m serious. Don’t even think about playing dumb right now. You’re not stupid. I’m not stupid. This thing crept up on us when we weren’t looking and now we have to face it.”
Her hands slid from her hips. “You said you didn’t want a relationship.”
“Because I’m not good at them. Making people happy is not my specialty, and most people annoy the shit out of me anyway. But you . . . I want you more than I’ve ever wanted any damn thing in my life. You got right under my skin and it should piss me off but you feel good there.”
“Tao—”
“We’re not going to ignore what’s between us. No way. It would be pointless and tiring, just as it was pointless and tiring when I fought how much I wanted you. All that brought me was sexual frustration and a pissed-off wolf. I’ve learned my lesson.”
Yeah, Tao knew that bulldozing her wasn’t the smartest move, but he refused to go easy on her. For him there was no budging on this. There was no going back for either of them. He wanted the very thing he’d thought of when he was dying on a battlefield not so long ago while providing backup for the Mercury wolves: he wanted Riley Porter. He’d accept nothing less.
Closing her eyes, she waved her hands. “I can’t have this conversation right now.”
“You can and you will.” He wasn’t going to let her “process” him later. “Look at me.” He cupped her jaw tight and repeated, “Look at me.” Finally those eyelids lifted; there was a whole lot of confusion there. “We have something. Something I have every intention of keeping. It makes me happy. I’m never happy.” He’d been passably content before, but not happy. The fact that she’d cheapened that and what was building between them by implying it was no more than sex pissed him off on too many levels to count. “Lie to me again and tell me all we do is fuck,” he dared, anger pulsing through every word. “Lie to me, baby, go ahead.”
Riley swallowed. On the outside she was composed. Inside she was fumbling. She’d never expected any kind of declaration from Tao. He was just too . . . well, Tao. Distrustful of others. Cynical about relationships. A guy who, even amid his pack, seemed to walk alone. She’d expected him to eventually get bored with her and, as much as it would have hurt, she’d been prepared for that. But this . . . she hadn’t been prepared for this.
Riley wasn’t good at handling being taken off guard. Right then, she didn’t know what to do. She didn’t really have the right words to say to him—not even the words to apologize for hurting him by lying that this was just sex for her. So she did the next best thing and lowered her gaze.
Feeling the anger drain from him, Tao closed his eyes. She’d completely disarmed him and his wolf by submitting. It was no easy thing for a dominant female, and it was the last thing he’d expected her to do. Sliding his hands into her hair, Tao rubbed his cheek against hers, accepting the silent apology.
“Eyes back to mine,” he said. Her gaze returned to his, soft and confused. “I can see your mind is racing and you’re not quite sure if I’m really serious. I’m deadly serious. This is no fling, Riley. I’m not sure if it ever was. The situation is actually very simple. You’re mine now. I’m yours. This is exclusive. Permanent. And it’s what we both want, isn’t it?”
She hesitated. “If I said no?”
“You’d be lying and I’d ignore it, because the answer simply doesn’t work for me. You want this, don’t you?” After a moment she nodded, but it wasn’t enough for him. Tao tightened his hold on her hair. “Say it.”
Riley licked her lips. “Yes, I want it.”
“Good, because you’re mine, Riley. And I protect what belongs to me. We are leaving. Hear me out. Lucy and Sawyer were shot, punished. You weren’t. You dodged the bullet, literally. If you stay here, the person who did it may take another shot at you. They want you punished for whatever crime they feel you’re guilty of committing. And that’s why I think that if you leave, they’ll follow you.”
Her brow furrowed. “Follow me?”
“Follow you to our territory. Much as I hate that idea, I also know you’ll be a lot safer there. Here they know every inch of this place and they have the advantage. On our territory they won’t. We have sensors and cameras and traps everywhere, especially near the border.” A friend of the Mercury Pack Alpha male had installed all kinds of high-tech security stuff all over the place.
“They’re a raven, Tao. They could just fly right over the perimeter fence and the traps.”
“I always know when you’ve shifted and your raven is on the loose. Know why?”
“The full-blooded birds go crazy every time.” Crazy crazy. For some reason full-bloods had a seriously big aversion to avian shifters. Her raven found true delight in spooking them.