“No,” Peter mutters, his face turning red.
“No,” she repeats, still smiling. “You know who else would be upset to hear you’ve been flirting? My big scary brother, who just so happens to be her boyfriend.” She points in my direction. “And ask anyone, Ryker is known to have some anger issues.”
“Ryker Weylyn?” The bartender’s eyes go wide, and his face pales.
“The one and only.” The previously bright grin on Remi’s face has turned into a mischievous, dark one. “Should I call him?”
Uh, oh.
“No, please. I’m sorry, I didn’t know.” Peter backs up and raises his hands in defense. “I’m sorry if I offended you.” He looks at me, eyes pleading for forgiveness.
“It’s fine,” I tell him.
“Drinks are on me tonight,” he tells us quickly before disappearing around the corner.
I bust out laughing the second he’s out of sight. “Oh my God, I can’t believe you did that.”
“What? I wasn’t lying. Kody really hates when his bartenders flirt with the customers.” Remi shrugs like it’s no big deal she almost made a grown-ass man pee his pants.
“You called Ryker my boyfriend.”
“I figured calling him your mate was a little much for the poor human.” Remi looks down at her phone and smiles. “Our ride is here.” She jumps down from her seat.
“You called a cab?” I ask her, following her out of the bar.
“God no, that’s what big brothers are for. I made Ransom come and get us.” She scoffs. “God, I really want a cheeseburger.”
18
Ryker
I’m lying shirtless in bed, staring at the ceiling when she walks in. The light from the hallway shines behind her as she stands in the doorway. I can only see her silhouette because of the light, but I can tell by the way she hangs onto the doorframe for support that she isn’t completely steady on her feet. Ransom sent me a text telling me he was going to go pick them up from Kody’s bar. I was a little upset she didn’t ask me, but I understood why she didn’t.
She was upset about my past with Avery. Even though I didn’t actually cheat on her, there has to be a level of betrayal there that’s hard to understand. I don’t even know for sure if there were men in her past, but I’m jealous of them regardless.
“Are you still upset?” I ask her as I sit up in bed.
She doesn’t say anything. Instead, she shuts the door behind her as she enters the room. She kicks her shoes off as she walks toward the bed, stopping twice to reach down and remove her socks. She stops at the edge of the bed and looks at me, the soft moonlight coming from the window shining across her face.
“Can I sleep here?” she asks, instead of answering my question. “I don’t like the idea of sleeping in a different room than you,” she confesses, biting her bottom lip as she does.
“I don’t like it either.” I hold out my hand to her. “Come here.”
Part of me is afraid she won’t take my offered hand, but to my delight, she doesn’t hesitate, putting her smaller hand in mine. She climbs into the bed, still dressed in her jean shorts and a tank top. The house is warm from the hot summer day, so I don’t bother putting the blankets over us. Instead, I wrap my arm around her while she puts her head on my bare chest. We lay in silence for a time, each other stuck in our own thoughts. I’m trying to figure out what I’m supposed to say to her to make the Avery situation okay.
“Remington called you my boyfriend tonight,” she finally says, and I note her voice has a slight slur to it as she speaks.
“I’ve never been someone’s boyfriend before.” I grin at the idea. The terms boyfriend and girlfriend aren’t used often in the shifter community, it’s kind of strange to hear. “I like it.”
She pauses again before speaking. “And no, I’m not upset anymore.” She raises her head so she can look at me. “I just don’t like it, and I really don’t like her.”
“Avery can be a lot sometimes.” I wrap a strand of her hair around my hand before watching it fall between my fingers. “But don’t ever think I care more for her than I do about you. We both have pasts, and we have to make sure we don’t let them come between us. Okay?”
“Okay.” She nods before lying back down and cuddling closer to me. “By the way, I’m drunk.”
“I know.” I chuckle. “Ransom texted me and gave me a heads up.”
“Remi ate like five cheeseburgers on the way home.”
“Good morning, sunshine!” Ransom tells Remi louder than necessary as she walks into the kitchen. She must have fallen directly into bed after coming home last night because black makeup surrounds her eyes, and her hair is sticking out all over the place. “Sleep well?”
“Bite me,” she growls at him as she plunks down into a chair at the kitchen table and immediately lays her head down, turned, so she isn’t facing me.
“How much did you guys drink last night?” I ask her. “Both of you look like shit this morning.”
I swing my gaze over to Pru, who sits next to me wearing one of my old hoodies and is using both hands to hold her head up. Her usually bright skin is looking a little green, and she hasn’t touched any of the breakfast Mom put in front of her.
“Gee, thanks,”
