was basically sitting between his spread legs. His mouth drifted closer to my ear, and I forced myself not to react. It was harder than I’d thought it would be. "Don't make me force feed you, Brooke."
Brooke.
I'd never been called that before.
Brookie had been my parent's nickname for me, a name that had been corrupted by Blake, so I always insisted on Brooklyn from everyone. But when my name, this new version of it anyway, slid from Dylan's mouth, it fucked me up inside.
I was that sad and pathetic.
I reached for a small quiche, and even though I took a decent bite, Dylan didn't move away, keeping me locked in. His strength and natural magnetism held me hostage. "Why did you really lie to me?" he asked, the question murmured so softly that no one but me would have heard.
I swallowed my mouthful of quiche, and it swirled uneasily in my gut. Turning to the left so that our eyes could meet, I lifted my chin as defiantly as I could manage. "I'm a broken bird, Dylan. And you're a pterodactyl. We don't belong together, considering that one of us could destroy the other with a simple twist of their claws." And that one wasn’t me. I let out a sad burst of laughter, bordering on hysterical. "It's ironic because the pterodactyl is my favorite dinosaur. It's the fiercest hunter and so majestic in full flight." My voice grew hoarse as I fought back tears. "Maybe that's why I craved to have you, even just for a short time."
His lips twitched, some of the ferocity fading from his gaze as he shook his head. "You are the oddest person I've ever met," he said. I'd never seen his eyes such a bright green before, and as always, I was trapped in their piercing gaze. "But before you get to call it your favorite, you should know that a pterodactyl isn't actually a dinosaur. It's a pterosaur; a flying reptile."
I blinked at him as a smile forced its way across my face. "How do you know that? Was that part of billionaire boardroom lessons?"
He finally leaned back from me, and I could breathe again. "Pterodactyls are my favorite as well, and let's just say that when I like something, I make a point of learning everything I can about it."
I wasn’t even remotely surprised by that; there was an intensity about Dylan that I’d rarely seen in any other person.
"Eat!" he barked suddenly, and I picked up the quiche again before abandoning it just as fast. I was almost certain that I wasn't going to be able to eat any of this.
"I'm too stressed to eat," I said shortly. "If you make me, I'll barf my guts up again."
Dylan's feet slammed on the floor as he was once again in my face. I'd had enough, though, so I got to my feet to stare him down. "Stop this fucking macho shit," I seethed. "I get enough of it at home, and since there I'm a prisoner of circumstances, I've made my peace with that. But I don't need to deal with it from you as well. If you're not going to help me, then get out of my way, Dylan."
He was on his feet now too, and that move was much more impressive with his height. Huge hands wrapped around my biceps, holding me in place. "You haven't asked me for help, little bird."
Fuck. Great. He had taken my last statement literally, but since I was about to ask for his protection, I couldn't really insist I was a dinos—pterosaur. Asshole.
"Jonnie, my brother's spy, has been a little more forceful than usual," I said—softly, since it was clear that half the hall was looking at us. Maybe they had been the entire time, and I hadn't noticed since Dylan had all of my attention. "I'm not sure staying in the cabin by myself is a great idea. Can you arrange for Matthew or maybe even Ben to stay with me?"
I had no idea why, in the last second, I’d changed my mind from wanting to share his cabin to getting one of the other guides to share mine. But I had the sense that I couldn't handle nights near this man if we weren't having sex, and that was, no doubt, a bad idea when everything was this messy. In my life... and between us.
"Not a fucking chance."
I jumped, unsure why he was so pissed. "Come on, Dylan. I know you