AMARIS
Staring at the ceiling at dawn seems to be the most productive I would be today, not because I didn't have anything else planned to do.
I have no intention to do anything.
I'd spent all night tossing and turning in my bed and at the sound of every shriek, echo from the hall, chirps from the bird or croaked frog in the pond below, I jolted from my bed.
I didn't want to be assaulted by two handsome men again, although I'd willingly indulged them. I wanted to, a part of me knew I didn't fight hard enough to resist.
A soft knock came from the door, I grumpled, it must be Nia here to tell me to get dressed and like I said, I didn't want to get out of bed.
First I was avoiding Ryker and secondly, I was avoiding Ryker.
Ryker was trouble and I knew it damn well.
I stood up from my bed dragging my feets, while using the back of my palms to clear my sleepy eyes which were already wide open but a reflex action I guess.
The smell hit me right before I opened the door and I sighed, not out of frustration but out of acceptance.
Because I knew I was going to let him in.
I pulled the doorknob and took two steps back instinctively allowing the door to fling wild open to the man smiling at me with his bright eyes and well tailored suit smelling like apples.
Rowan Grave. The man who described me as a young wench to his fiancee and called me a breeder.
My expressionless face instantly hardened to a scowl, and I crossed my hands under my breast.
His eyes trailed from my face and stopped at my breast and that was when I realized that my nipples were gloriously protruding through my silky night wear and half of my breast were out due to the v-neckline of the fabric.
"Can I come in?" He asked politely after what seemed like an eternity of staring that ended with him shaking his head in what seemed like an attempt to shrug away his intrusive thoughts.
"If I say no, would you leave?" I asked, still trying so hard to keep my face in a scowl.
"No," he simply said and took three steps forward and closed the door.
My eyes widened in disbelief, the nerve of these men, they had no sense of boundaries and evaded people's personal space when they like and whenever they so damn please.
"Do you and your brother know what the word 'no' mean or do you just ignore it when I say it,"
He did not reply immediately, his eyes scanning around my room, almost like he was taking in the view, his eyes landed on the bed and it felt like his thoughts teleported to mine.
I knew what he was thinking about, that night. The night he and his brother came here hungry and ready to devour me.
Again, he shrugged the thought away and whirled to face me, "Ryker was here?"
Not the question I asked but at this point, I was beginning to understand the hierarchy of these men.
"Yes he was," my voice lost an octave as my mind went back to what happened here when Ryker came.
"Uhmm," Rowan remarked, I wasn't really sure what to make of his response. "Are you ready for your tour?"
I glared at him, is he joking? "Are you kidding me, you expect me to go on a tour with you after what your fiancee said of me?"
He paused and took a step forward and I took a step backwards, he chuckled like he found this little play we were doing funny.
I thought he was the responsible one, right now there was not so much difference between him and Ryker.
"Come on, Amaris, you didn't take what Lila said personally right?" He said, his voice was almost a whisper.
I gazed at him, " She called me a wench and a breeder and you want me to swallow it in like a good girl,"
I immediately regretted the words as soon as it came out of my mouth, his expression turned into a smirk and I leaned to the door hoping he would not explore my words.
"Like a good girl, huh?"
"You know what I mean," I retorted.
He chuckled, "I am sorry, Lila can be like that sometimes."
"So you mean you didn't call me a wench and a breeder?"
"Oh I absolutely did, but in my defense, what did you expect from me? Accept you with open arms" he paused and grinned "or should I swallow it too?" He teased and immediately my cheeks flustered pink.
"I guess it was a fair reaction to give a step mom,"
A crooked groan escaped his lips as he took a step closer, it was almost like he couldn't help filling the space between us, was it a function of the bond?
Was this how it worked? would it keep pulling us to one another like gravity?
"I don't like the term step mom,"
"But that is what I am or rather that is what I would be."
"You are too beautiful to be that," he paused, the words must have flown out of his mouth without him intending to and he cleared his throat.
"What I meant to say is that the word step mom sounds too formal and I would like you to consider me as a friend," his voice dropped a baritone.
Friend.
Why did the word friend make me sad? Then I realized it was my wolf.
'Our fated mate just wants to be friends' she murmured inside me.
"Yeah, friend," I repeated.
"So what do you say? Should we go on the tour or would you keep being mean to me,"
I rolled my eyes, "Oh I am the one mean, you called me a wench,"
He laughed, his chest rising and falling in a hearty sound that somehow made my heart flutter as his eyes brightened. He closed the space between us and immediately I could feel his hot breath on my skin.
I didn't try to move as his hands were on my waist, my back against the wall and I stared at him.
"Amaris," he whispered my name gently, his voice suddenly sounding so intense, "This bond will ruin us and I don't want to ruin you,"