I gave a slow shake of the head. There were plenty of her breed around The Hollow; I’d learned to withstand the Keja allure a long time ago. “If that was the case…” I put her hand over my cock. It was so painfully hard, I could hammer nails with it. “This would happen every time I was around Paige, too.”

Lips flattening, Imani made a feral noise in the back of her throat. She snatched her hand free and folded her arms over her chest.

“If he does contact you, be sure to tell him how things are with you and me.”

She sighed, looking sad and weary all of a sudden. “You don’t want a relationship, Butch. Not really. If you feel possessive and jealous, it’s because of the Keja allure. The cravings will fade, they always do.”

Speaking softly, I smoothed her hair between my fingers. “Ah, baby, you’re not listening to me. I fucked up before. I let you go. That’s not happening again. Get used to it. Learn to like it. We’re gonna do ‘more,’ and we’re gonna make it work.” There was no other acceptable option for me.

Her spine snapped straight and her chin lifted at the command in my tone. I should have remembered she lost her easy-going temperament when anyone pushed her.

“Is that so?” She backed away, irises flaring slightly. “It’s been almost a year, Butch. You didn’t want me. Not badly enough to try a relationship. I wasn’t mad at you for that. I don’t think it’s fair to be upset with someone for what they do or don’t feel. So I accepted it. I wasn’t a bitch to you. I didn’t let any of it bleed over onto our working relationship.”

No, she hadn’t. It was something that I’d appreciated.

“I accepted that I wasn’t enough for you that you’d push yourself out of your comfort zone, and I moved on. Moved on, Butch. You can’t come to me now and expect me to just fall right in line because you’ve decided that, hey, you’ve changed your mind.”

“I can. And I just did. As for you not being enough for me? That’s total shit, Imani. I never once thought that. I never once felt that way.”

“Yet, you weren’t prepared to try a relationship until another guy entered the picture. How typical.”

I closed the distance between us. “Typical? Typical would have been for me to try and come between you out of jealousy and because I’m that fucking selfish. Don’t think I didn’t consider it. I did. But I have too much respect for you to fuck with your head like that.”

“This is fucking with my head.”

Because she was too shocked to process it, I realised. I probably should have anticipated that. Forcing myself to take a step back, I said, “If you need some time to wrap your head around everything I’ve said and accept what I want from you, take it. Three nights, baby.” That was the most I could give her. “Three nights. Then I’m coming for you, and we’ll continue this conversation and lay everything out. But don’t make the mistake of thinking those three nights include freedom. You’re mine. That’s the way it is, and that’s the way it’s gonna stay.”

CHAPTER THREE

(Imani)

Meetings always took place in the main building of the gated community. It was a huge mansion that had once been solely Antonio’s home. Although he’d offered it to Sam and Jared when he stepped down from his position, the pair declined. In their minds, it was too much Antonio’s home. They felt it wouldn’t feel right to ask him to move.

As such, Antonio built them a beach house and divided the mansion into two sections. Half was his ‘living quarters’, which he shared with his mate. The other half was work space for Sam and Jared, including an office and several conference rooms. Antonio’s opinion was that their space should be in the centre of the community to place significance on their role and status.

Entering the building, I passed Sam and Jared’s office. Their personal assistant, Fletcher, paused in his typing and peered at me over his spectacles. “You’re a broth of emotions this evening.” Like Sam, the Brit had a strong London accent. He was also an Empath. “Frustrated. Anxious. A little dazed.”

Well, yeah. Feeling exposed, I fought a blush. “Good evening to you too,” I said, pressing the number for the elevator.

“Does this have anything to do with Dean? I hope not. You can do better.”

I’d figured that out when I heard he’d let another vampire drink from him. Biting was very intimate for my kind. His act was a form of cheating. And Dean knew it. “How’s Norm?” I asked, referring to Fletcher’s adorable boyfriend.

“Annoyed and upset that you missed two movie nights in a row. But he’ll forgive you, because he loves you.”

I smiled, stepping into the empty elevator. “See you later.”

The conference room was only half-full when I entered. Noticing that Butch wasn’t yet present, I greeted everyone before taking the seat between Paige and Denny, who had the cutest baby face.

I chatted with the people around me, but my mind was on Butch. I was still having trouble accepting the things he’d said. It all still seemed much too surreal. It had to be the Keja allure messing with his mind and playing his body. Had to be.

‘I had to watch you with that human for seven months. Seven. Long. Fucking. Months. The only thing that stopped me from hurting him was that he made you happy.’

The words had rang with a pain I wouldn’t have expected. A pain that suggested this was about more than just cravings. A pain he hadn’t acted on because he’d wanted me to be happy. But it was also a pain that I’d never once sensed. Wouldn’t I have noticed it if it was truly there?

Maybe. Maybe not. Butch was emotionally stoic and very good at projecting an outward calm. I had the feeling that he hid a lot behind that calm, but I didn’t know him well enough to be sure.

Still, did I want to try a relationship with him? A part of me did—the same part that wanted to believe he wasn’t simply roped in by the Keja allure. It was probably a bad idea, given that he was very distant and detached. But he had a lot of good points; he was loyal, trustworthy, and he always had my back. Even when I’d been with Dean, Butch had never been any less protective or supportive. And if he genuinely had found it hard to watch me with someone else, he’d never taken that pain out on me.