You Wouldn't Dare (Khaos Trilogy Book 1), стр. 37
He tried to slide by me, aiming for the bathroom, but I grabbed his arm, preventing him from moving any further.
“It looks like we’re both in for a very miserable, unsatisfied life then, doesn’t it?” He looked me up and down as he gave me a smirk.
“You’re so transparent. Go on, do the usual female trick, and say you’ll withhold sex.” I went to respond, but he clamped his hand over my mouth. “Before you decide to take that path, think very carefully. Remember whose pack you are living in. I had women long before I met you, and they’ve made no secret of the fact that they’re willing to continue to share my bed. You can withhold your body from me, and I’ll just get it elsewhere. The only person you will make miserable is yourself. Life is what you make it, little one.”
I shoved him away, slapping his arm away from my face.
“How can you treat me like this? Especially after what your own mother suffered, especially after Louisa!” I screamed as he went to walk away. “You’d think you’d have learnt,” I muttered, but he only shrugged.
“I learnt. I learnt from the absolute best. I only ever had one example of the way to treat women, and that was from my father. Remember that next time you choose to piss me off.” And with that, he slammed the bathroom door closed.
I hurled myself on to the bed and sobbed out my frustration. This conversation hadn’t gone at all as I had planned. I hadn’t wanted to argue with him, but it seemed we really brought out the worst in each other!
Just as my last tear had fallen, and I was drifting off, completely spent and exhausted, I felt a gentle hand on my shoulder.
“I’m sorry,” Khaos muttered in a whisper. It was so quiet I barely heard the words. “I’m sorry,” he repeated louder when he noticed my frown. “You’re right. You don’t deserve this life, but as you well know, we don’t choose our mates. I didn’t want to find you, but now that I have, I can’t let you go. Call me selfish, call me a bastard, but that’s just the way it is. I can’t promise you a life of romance and happiness beyond your wildest dreams, I’m too damaged for that, but with your help, I can promise to at least try to be better. To not repeat the mistakes of my parents. Let me know when you’re not happy and I’ll do what I can to fix it.”
I knew I should take what he was offering, that I shouldn’t push my luck, but I couldn’t help myself. I needed to know that life would be different. “Will you leave the past in the past? You got revenge on your adoptive parents, leave your birth parents alone. Don’t ruin the last of yourself with hatred for them. They weren’t there for your upbringing, Khaos. Change your aim, make a new future with me.” I pleaded, knowing he would reject the idea, but I was clutching at straws to find a way to make us work.
“I can’t do that, Violet.” My heart sank as he confirmed what I already knew. His vengeance came before anything else.
“Then I want to go back home. Have enough respect for me to let me go.”
“I can’t do that either.” My anger grew as he refused any sort of compromise with me.
“Unfortunately, we can’t always get our own way! Meet me halfway at least - let me go and come back to me when you’ve finished your task, when you’re ready to commit to a relationship. Don’t drag me along with you when you know how much I’ll hate it.”
“What about your heat? That will hit you in a matter of days. Do you honestly expect me to let you go back to your parents’ pack knowing that you have Logan there just waiting to take what’s mine? Don’t tell me you’ll avoid him,” he muttered as I went to deny his accusation, “I’ve seen how responsive you are first-hand. I know how much you enjoy being touched. Add the haze from the heat on top of this and you’ll be ripping his clothes off within seconds. It’s not happening, you’re staying here, and that’s final.”
“You’re a monster!” I sobbed.
He shrugged his shoulders, completely unfazed, “I’ve been called worse.”
“Who’s saying when my heat hits that I’ll come to you anyway? I saw the way those warriors looked at me, I’ll have my fucking pick of whoever I want! You think you can control me; you have no idea of the lengths I will go to in order to make your life difficult.”
“Ditto,” he snarled, cutting off the rest of my rant. I got up on my knees on the bed, kneeling directly in front of him as he stood clutching the bedpost. We were eye to eye as I prodded him in the chest.
“You don’t scare me, Khaos. You can pretend you’re the big, bad, unfeeling wolf, traumatised by your childhood and completely out of control, but I know better. It’s because of your childhood that I know you won’t hurt me. You attack males, warriors, you wouldn’t lay a hand on a woman and so I know I’m safe. Growl at me all you want; you know I’m right.”
“You sound so sure, so confident, but really you have no idea what I’m capable of.”
“You’re not capable of hurting me, I know this for a fact. You’ve had ample opportunity, but you’ve never laid a finger on me.