Mate Set (18 page)

Mika saw Grady pale. His head jerked to Mika and she saw his shock. She reached

over and grabbed the bottle of whiskey and poured more into her glass. She sipped it

and glared at Grady while she got shitfaced. It was helping her numb the pain he’d

caused her.

“I tell Minnie everything. Almost anyway. She doesn’t know how we really met.”

Minnie frowned. “What does that mean?”

Grady growled. “Let’s go, Mika.”

“Is your friend gone?” Mika sipped her drink, glaring at him. “If you want him to

get fucked so much, you could always fuck him. How about that one? Or I’ll watch you

get fucked by Eric. You deserve to get bent over for what you did.”

Grady was shocked at her words and it showed. He stared at Mika. “I don’t know

why you’re so damn upset. I am trying to protect you, damn it.”

“And yet you ended up hurting me worse emotionally than you ever did

physically!” She slammed her drink down so hard the glass broke. She stared at the

spilled contents that splashed over the tabletop and glass pieces. “Sorry.”

Minnie moved around Grady and started cleaning up the mess. “Don’t worry about

it, baby. You’re upset.” She shot Grady a glare. “Leave her here for the night. You’ll

survive until morning without her. She’s not much of a drinker and that was number

three for her. She’ll pass out soon so you can collect her in the morning.”

“No.” Grady inched toward Mika.

“Is he gone? Swear to me he won’t be back.”

Grady crouched down next to Mika’s chair. “He’s gone. I won’t bring him back to

your house. Let’s go.”

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She sat there. “I don’t want to be anywhere near you right now.”

Cursing, Grady grabbed her out of the chair and lifted her into his arms as he

straightened. He headed for the door. “We’re leaving.”

“Put me down.” Mika didn’t fight but she said the words.

He paused at the door and shifted her in his arms to open the door. His Jeep was in

the driveway. “We’ll talk about this at home.”

“There’s nothing to talk about. I’m stuck here with you. Minnie explained what

would happen if I leave. I don’t like you anymore, Grady. I don’t even want you

touching me or talking to me.”

Grady looked a little pale to her as he shifted her again and opened the Jeep door.

He deposited her gently into the passenger seat, put on her belt, and slammed the door.

She watched him round the Jeep and climb inside. He drove silently back to her house.

Eric’s Mustang was gone. Grady pulled into the driveway and then lifted her out of

the car. She noticed he’d attached her key ring to his keys as he unlocked her front door.

He must have taken them from her purse. He carried her to her room and set her on the

bed. She watched him. She heard the front door slam. In seconds he was back in her

room. He stared at her from the doorway.

“Don’t ever pull another stunt like that again. I can’t believe you sneaked out the

bathroom window.”

“Don’t tell me what to do.”

“Damn it, babe. I’m sorry, all right? If I knew you’d freak out this way, I never

would have suggested bringing Eric here to protect you.”

“Get out of my room.”

“I want you.” He paused. “I need you. It’s been hours.”

“Go fuck Eric.” She climbed off her bed and stumbled as she staggered to her

bathroom. “I am really taking a shower this time.”

“I don’t fuck other men,” he growled behind her.

She froze and turned her head to glare at him. “Neither do I.”

She staggered into the bathroom and tried to slam the door. That’s when she

realized it was broken. The lock and handle were dangling and the doorframe was

broken. She saw a crack on the door next to the handle. Grady obviously had kicked in

the door. The water wasn’t running in the shower anymore.

She stripped and turned on the water. It helped sober her up but not by much. She

really didn’t drink often. She took her time. She was almost afraid Grady would follow

her into the bathroom but he didn’t. She hadn’t brought clean clothes. She wrapped a

towel around her body and walked into her room.

Grady sat on her bed, watching her silently. His eye color had gone totally black.

She saw the look on his face as he slowly took in every inch of her from toes to head.

She knew he wanted her. She hesitated and then walked to her nightstand drawer. She

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opened it and threw a condom at him. She walked to her dresser and grabbed the hand

lotion she used on her legs. She shot him a glare and then dropped her towel.

She threw the lotion at him, hitting him in the chest. “Go ahead and fuck me,

Grady. It’s all you want from me.” She walked over to her chair in the corner and bent

over, gripping the arms of it to support her balance. She looked over her shoulder at

him. “Put the condom on, lube up, and use me. Don’t sugarcoat it anymore. Just do it

this way so I know exactly where I stand. Or should I say bend.”

Grady snarled. He put on the condom and grabbed the lotion. He dumped it in his

hand and coated his hard, condom-covered cock. He stood up and moved toward her.

Mika turned her head away from him and squeezed her eyes closed. She tensed and

then forced herself to relax as she took deep breaths. She hoped he wouldn’t hurt her,

knowing he could if he wanted to, by taking her too roughly. She could sense him

standing inches from her.

“Babe,” he growled.

“Just do it and get it over with.”

“I’m not taking you like this. You don’t want me and you aren’t ready.”

Mika swallowed hard and fought tears, refusing to look at him. “Do it, Grady. You

need to fuck me so get on with it. You don’t have a clue what I want, obviously. I’m

here, I’m bent over, and I’m telling you to take me. Just do it so I can get away from you

again for a few hours.”

Grady snarled and his hands gripped her hips roughly. Mika tensed but Grady

didn’t enter her the way she thought he would. Instead he yanked her away from the

chair and she screamed as he threw her. She hit the bed but it didn’t hurt. She stared at

Grady in shock as he got on the bed with her.

“Spread your thighs,” he snarled.

She saw his intent. He wanted to go down on her to get her turned on. She rolled

away from him and lifted to her hands and knees. “I don’t want your face between my

thighs again. Just fuck me, Grady. I totally have learned my place in your life. You

made certain of that.”

“What in the hell are you talking about?”

She turned her head and glared at him. “If you aren’t going to fuck me then get out

of my room.”

Grady snarled and moved to his knees behind her. One hand gripped his cock and

his other hand gripped her hip. “Do you really want me like this, babe? No foreplay?”

She turned her head away and shut her eyes.
No.
She didn’t. She wanted him to

love her. She wanted him to care enough about her that the idea of someone else

touching her made him furious. She wanted him to never…

He entered her slowly. All thought left her head. Mika bit her lip hard. She should

hate the feeling as Grady pushed into her from behind but she didn’t. She fought the

urge to moan. He was working his cock into her slowly and he buried himself in her

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balls-deep, where he held still. One hand wrapped around her waist and the other slid

between her legs to her clit. It was the hand he’d slathered with lotion.

He stayed still inside her while he rubbed her clit. “I can make you want me,” he

growled at her.

“I hate you,” she whispered.

His hand stilled then his fingers moved faster and firmer until Mika couldn’t fight

the sensations anymore. She moaned and wiggled on his hand. Grady groaned behind

her and started to slowly thrust in and out of her. With the sensation of him inside her

and his fingers rubbing her clit she only lasted a few minutes before she came hard. She

cried out but she refused to say his name.

Grady released her clit and gripped her hips. He pounded into her from behind,

hard and deep, as her muscles inside still clenched and fluttered from her climax. He

didn’t last long. He shook and groaned loudly as he emptied his seed into the condom.

Mika tried to crawl away from him but Grady refused to release her hips. “I’m

sorry I upset you.”

“Let me go, Grady. Get out of my room and don’t come back in here until you need

me again.”

“You like sleeping with me.” He withdrew from her body and released her hips.

Mika crawled to the edge of the bed and stumbled to the bathroom. “That was

before I knew how you really felt about me. I’m going to go wash. I feel dirty.”

She’d barely turned on the water when she heard a howl of rage come from her

bedroom. Something heavy smashed into something else. She experienced a little fear

as she inched toward the bathroom door and eased it open.

Her nightstand was across the room in pieces and the wall it had hit was damaged.

Grady wasn’t in her bedroom. She turned, easing the broken door closed again, and

moved to the shower as hot tears fell down her face. She didn’t even bother to wipe

them away. Maybe her words had hurt him as much as his words had hurt her.

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Chapter Eleven

“We need to talk.”

Mika ignored Grady. She glanced at her watch instead. “We had sex an hour ago.

We have nothing to talk about for at least another hour.” She moved around his large

body and walked into the kitchen.

For two days she’d refused to talk to him except for unavoidable, clipped

exchanges. She’d stopped fighting to keep things cold in the bedroom. Grady was

stronger and bigger. He’d easily pinned her down and done things to her to turn her

on. He loved to bury his face between her thighs. She just wouldn’t talk to him and

right after sex she’d shower every time and refuse to stay in a room with him.

“Damn it, Mika. We can’t go on like this.”

She shrugged and opened the fridge. “I’ve already told you I don’t want to talk to

you.”

“You’re being childish, damn it.”

She clenched her teeth and then removed a premade chicken Caesar salad from the

fridge. She ignored his insulting remark, not wanting to fight with him. She walked to

the table and sat down with her lunch. She got up, went back to the fridge and grabbed

a soda, got a fork and then sat down and started to eat.

“Mika, damn it, we can’t live this way.”

She swallowed her bite. “Is mating season over?”

“Not yet.”

“Then this is how it is since it’s been clearly explained to me that we’re stuck

together.”

He sat across the table from her and glared at her. “Are you ever going to forgive

me for suggesting Eric be with us in the bedroom?”

She sipped her soda. “You said a threesome. There’s a world of difference between

a threesome and voyeurism. You were going to let that prick fuck me. No, I’m not going

to forgive you.”

“I never pegged you for a prude.”

She looked up at him then. “I never pegged you for a complete asshole with the

intelligence of a turnip since you’re too dense to get why I’m so damn upset and angry

with you.”

“Then explain it to me slowly since I’m so damn stupid,” he growled.

“I thought I already had.”

“I don’t get it.”

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“Is there a woman in your life, any woman at all that you feel protective of? Maybe

a sister or a mother figure?”

He blinked. “Yes. One of the families that raised me had four daughters. They are

like sisters to me.”

She nodded. “Good. Now imagine one of them ending up with a creep who wanted

his pal to fuck her too. Think long and hard about it. Is that a happy thought for you? Is

that what you want for your sister?”

She saw his eyes darken. “That’s totally different.”

“Really? How?”

“I’d kill any asshole who touched one of them if he wasn’t mated to her. No mate

would ever let another male touch his woman.” He frowned. “We’re not mated.”

She sighed. “You’re never going to get it. I’m done trying to explain it to you.”

She continued eating, sensing he was watching her but she didn’t look up. When

she finished lunch she threw away her trash and turned to leave the kitchen.

“I miss seeing you smile and hearing you laugh,” he said softly. “I miss how it

was.”

So did she. She paused in the archway to the living room. Grady knew how to get

to her. She took a deep breath and turned to meet his gaze. “What do you want me to

say? You hurt me, Grady. Am I supposed to forget that? Am I supposed to just get over

it?”

“I wish to hell you would. I want to sleep in your bed again and I don’t want to

have to feel as though I’m forcing you to want me every damn time I touch you.”

“How long is mating season still in effect?”

“About a week more but it’s hard to tell since it’s not an exact science. It’s more to

do with it being summer and…hell, I can’t explain it. We have about a week left.”

She wanted it to be the way it had been between them before he brought Eric home

with him but this time she wasn’t going to let herself get hopeful he’d fall for her. She

slowly turned around and walked toward him.

“If you ever suggest another man to me, I don’t care if you go crazy and they have