one whose life he had saved, shouldn’t even have thought about it. But she was no longer his responsibility, and she was done being lost.
“Grace.” One word, said in that brogue, with a demand that was absolute.
If she could run, she would. Instead, her body froze, her heart thundering. “I know I goofed up here, and I won’t do it again.” The appeasing note in her voice ticked her off, but she wasn’t up to a physical struggle right now. This disastrous meeting had taken weeks to set up. “Let’s just forget this and move on.”
“Have you lost your mind?” He sounded more curious than angry.
Hope flared through her. “Yes, briefly. It happens.” He’d never wanted anything to do with her, so giving him an out should work nicely. A simple apology—she tried to sound sincere—although she wanted to kick him in the shin instead. He’d always been a jackass, but there was no doubt he’d win any physical fight. Even at her best, which she wasn’t close to right now, she couldn’t take him. It was doubtful anybody could. “This whole thing was a mistake, and I’m sorry.” She choked on the last word.
“Let’s go.” His hand was still out.
An electric shiver took her. “Adare, I don’t think—”
“Exactly. You didn’t think.” A muscle ticked in his rugged jaw, revealing the effort his control was costing him. “Apparently that’s something we need to discuss. At length.”
Was that a threat? Yep. That was definitely a threat. “Not a chance,” she snapped, drawing on anger to camouflage panic.
Nick turned Freddy and shoved him toward the door. “We need to take this somewhere else,” he muttered.
“Not me,” Freddy said. “Really. This isn’t my fault.” He pushed back against Nick, his voice dropping to a whine. “I just wanted to get laid. Whatever she’s into, I’m not a part of it. Please. Let me go.”
Nick opened the door and propelled him into the snowstorm. The wind shrieked, blowing snow inside.
Adare grasped her upper arm. “Now.”
She tugged free. “Absolutely not.”
“I wasn’t asking.” For a big male, he moved surprisingly fast. He ducked his head, and within a heartbeat, she was over his shoulder, heading toward the door.
Her chin hit his lower back, and her stomach lurched, the alcohol she’d consumed stirring around. She pounded against his waist with her good hand, not close to stopping him. This was a disaster. Panic grabbed her, and she tried to struggle but could barely move. “Let me go. Now.”
“Hold on to your strength, Grace. You’re going to need it.” With that, he took her into the storm.
Chapter 2
Adare waited with supreme patience in the driver’s seat of the SUV while Grace glared at him from the passenger seat and Nick delivered Freddy, not so gently, to his front door. Or rather, to his mother’s front door, since the moron lived in her basement. By the time Nick was finished with his lecture, Freddy would not only forget they existed but would never try to pick up a woman on the internet again.
Grace huffed.
He held on to his patience because he was a patient male. Damn it.
“I could’ve taken my own car,” she muttered.
“That was barely a car,” he retorted, watching the snow billow outside. The female was lucky he’d allowed her to fetch her belongings from the death trap. He didn’t have time for this, considering his mission commenced in less than twenty-four hours. “I’ll have somebody pick it up tomorrow.”
She crossed her arms. “I could pick it up tomorrow.”
The tightness of his jaw was beginning to give him a headache, so he took pains to loosen it before answering her. “You have a bank account with a hundred thousand dollars in it as well as unlimited funds on various credit cards. Why you were driving that heap of junk is beyond me.” She had to be smarter, since he probably wasn’t going to make it past the week.
She turned toward him, setting one leg beneath her to face him. “I don’t want or need your money.”
“You’re my mate,” he said.
“Hah.”
What the hell did that mean? He exhaled slowly. Out of all the females in the universe, why did this one small human get under his skin? “I understand it wasn’t a conventional mating, but it happened nonetheless. You’re my responsibility.” By the widening of her eyes, he could tell she didn’t like that. Too bad. It was the truth.
The back door swept open and Nick jumped inside the car, bringing snow and wind with him. “We’re good.