“I take my job seriously.” I averted my gaze to keep myself honest. “I take the safety of my citizens even more seriously.”
He crossed to me, which made it even more awkward, given I was sitting and he was standing.
Goddess, I did not want a face full of his junk as he shook my hand, but there you go.
Today was just a face-full-of-junk kind of day, I guess.
The warg packs gathered their wounded and left with nods to Midas and me, and the gwyllgi did too.
Once Midas and I were alone, waiting on the cleaners to arrive, I worked up the nerve to face him.
Chewing my bottom lip, I got down to it. “How mad are you on a scale of one to ten?”
“They haven’t invented a number that high.”
“I’m sorry.” I pulled my legs up to my chest. “It was all I could think to do.”
“You saved our lives.”
“So…” I flexed my toes in the dirt, unsure where my shoes had gone. “Are we okay?”
“Hadley,” he said on a put-upon sigh. “You can jump into as many roach-filled pits as you want, get exploded as often as you like, and shake hands with naked men until your arm falls off. As long as you still come home to me, in one piece, with a pulse, I’m good.”
“Good.” I leaned my head against his shoulder. “Midas?”
Gently, he pressed a kiss to my hair. “Hmm?”
“I love you.” I ignored the way my stomach wrung itself tighter and tighter until I wanted to hurl on him. “I didn’t mean for this to happen, but you didn’t leave me much choice. Really, if you think about it, it’s all your fault.”
“I did trick you into the courtship,” he admitted, his expression remote.
“Yeah.” I linked my hands in my lap. “You did.”
“The way I see it,” he said slowly. “This is all your fault.”
A laugh halfway to my lips, I gawked at him. “What are you talking about?”
“I’ve been broken a long time, and you’re the first person who hasn’t tried to fix me.” He sighed. “You’ve made me better by example. I see you fighting your demons, and it’s given me courage to swing at mine too.”
“We’ve both got work to do. I can’t very well shine a spotlight on yours when I’m under construction.”
The thumping of my heart grew more painful as it sank in that he wasn’t going to say I love you back.
“We should go.” I kept it casual as I drew away from him. “I owe Linus an update before I crash.”
A thin excuse, but it beat the others out of my mouth.
“That’s it?” His gaze roved my face. “You’re leaving?”
“I feel like a total idiot,” I confessed, cheeks burning, “so yes. I’m leaving.”
The mate thing must come with an expiration date similar to the courtship deal. It would be great if someone printed a handout for us non-gwyllgi to help us avoid whiplash and awkward declarations.
Midas twisted until he faced me, and he stared until I blinked first. “I love you.”
“Are you sure?” I blurted. “I’m a mess, and I joke all the time, and I don’t think before I act, and—”
“You’re not going to talk me out of loving you.” He traced my collarbone with a finger. “Nothing will.”
“Are you really sure?” I shivered under his touch. “You don’t have to say it just because I—”
“Hadley.” He cradled my face in his palms. “You can’t scare me away.”
Throat tight, I had to push out the words. “You would be better off with—”
“I love you.” He brushed his lips over mine. “Even your warped sense of humor.”
“You’re the warped one.” I kissed him back. “You like it.”
“Let’s go home.” He got to his feet and pulled me to mine. “Linus can wait. You need rest.”
“You’re just trying to get me into bed,” I teased with a quiet laugh.
“Yes,” he said with heat that threatened to melt my bones. “I am.”
Twenty-Eight
A heat wave jarred me awake at dusk before my alarm got the chance. Sweat coated me head to toe, and I was sticky with it. I showered before collapsing onto the futon, but I still smelled…well-done. Probably my hair got burned. I might not have minded so much if I hadn’t registered the cause for my hot flashes.
Midas was wrapped around me like a blanket. His strong arms locked around my waist, and his muscular legs tangled with mine. His chin rested on my shoulder, and he snored lightly in my ear. He was boneless against me, utterly relaxed, and I could have stayed like that with him forever and been happy.
As if sensing I had woken, Midas growled and tightened his grip, reminding me last night had taken its toll on me.
“Good morning to you too.” I reached back, ignoring the twang of pulled muscle, and patted his cheek. “You don’t have to get up with me.”
“I need to report to the den,” he mumbled. “Gotta update Mom.”
“I need to report to HQ.” I tapped his hands where they rested on my tender ribs. “And I have to pee.”
Slowly, as if considering the merits of ignoring me, he let me go. “Come back when you’re done.”
Sitting on the edge of the mattress, I had to force my legs to get with the program. Midas in bed, his lashes fanning his cheeks, was more tempting than anything on my docket for the day. “No.”
Another growl slipped from between his lips, and he swiped out his arm to grab me. I leapt onto my feet in the nick of time, laughing at his frustrated snarl when he closed his fist over air, then hissed through my teeth as a wave of stabbing pain blindsided me.
Midas stood in front
