“Puppy dog?” His voice was low, a soft, menacing growl that made the hair on her arms stand straight up.

Next to her Scott actually took a step back, using her body to block his own. Oh, yeah, total wimp. “Should I, uh, call the cops?” His voice was pitched a little higher than it had been earlier.

“No. Just go inside and forget you met me.” She didn’t look at him and he didn’t question her directive. She heard him shuffle away, then fumble for his keys. They hit the pavement once, then seconds later she heard the front door slamming.

Jayce continued to stare at her, his chest falling and rising erratically. Oh, yeah, she’d pissed him off really good.

“Get. On. My. Bike.” The words tore from his throat with apparent difficulty.

She really should just give in. Especially when he was in a mood like this. But she wasn’t in the mood to be passive or appeasing. She was in the mood to fight. “No.” With her gaze still on him, her eyes mocking, she pulled her cell phone out of her pocket. Before she had a chance to call someone for a ride, Jayce plucked it from her hand and shoved it in his front jeans pocket.

Kat stepped toward him until they were inches apart and held out a hand. “Give me my phone.”

“If you want it, come get it.” He lifted a dark eyebrow in challenge.

Swallowing hard, she looked at the front of his jeans where the bulge of her phone was. Yeah, that so wasn’t happening. Glancing past him, she looked at the bike. She could be stubborn and walk home, but that thought wasn’t appealing. So she ignored him and strode toward the bike. After sliding onto the back—no helmets for either of them apparently—she sat there and tried to ignore the heated stare he gave her.

A combination of red-hot fury and lust rolled off him, both of which she could do without. She wasn’t scared that Jayce would hurt her, but she didn’t want to deal with his anger. Despite her desire to fight with him, when they argued things almost always ended up in the bedroom.

And she definitely couldn’t handle that right now.

Too many things had happened since they’d been together, and she had too much resentment toward him. She averted her gaze, purposely ignoring him as he got on the bike in front of her. As he tore out of the driveway she had no choice but to hold on to him.

Sliding her hands around his waist, she tried to ignore the strength beneath her fingertips. His back was incredibly muscular and the feel of it pressing against her breasts was almost enough to take her back to when they’d been together. Back to when they’d actually liked each other, not just physically wanted each other.

Nine months wasn’t that long, but it might as well have been a lifetime. She was a different person now even if he wasn’t.

When he took another sharp turn she gripped him tighter. Over the sound of the rushing wind, she thought she heard him laugh, but it was impossible to tell.

After what felt like an eternity they pulled up to December’s house. Kat immediately jumped off the bike and headed for the front door. She could get her phone later. Before she’d made it up the front steps, Jayce passed her and inserted a key into the lock.

Gritting her teeth, she hung back as he stepped inside without giving her a backward glance. “What do you think you’re doing?”

He didn’t bother to turn around as he flipped on a light in the foyer. “We’re talking. Now.”

For the first time since she’d seen him that night she was beginning to second-guess her decision to bait him earlier. She should have just kept her mouth shut. Sighing, she stepped inside and shut the door behind her. But she didn’t bother locking it. Jayce wouldn’t be staying long.

Leaning against the closed door, she crossed her arms over her chest as he turned to face her. Under the small decorative chandelier in the entryway his gray eyes almost seemed to glitter. She refused to look away, but she was thankful for the door holding her up. “What do you want to talk about?”

He took a menacing step toward her. “You and your bullshit.” Before she could lay into him, he continued. “You might not care about yourself, but every time you go out in public without telling anyone where you are, you put the entire pack in danger. You might be an adult, but you have the skills of a cub. Until you learn to control your urges and your ability to shift, you need to use your fucking head.” All his words were gravelly and filled with anger.

“I didn’t ask for this life,” she snapped.

“No. You didn’t. But at least you’re alive. It’s time to stop feeling sorry for yourself.” He covered the distance between them, and before she realized what he intended, he caged her against the door with his body and braced his hands on either side of her head.

Asshole. “I don’t feel sorry for myself.” Maybe she did, but she wasn’t going to admit it to him.

His snort told her he didn’t believe a word she said, but he didn’t contradict her. “If you have a need to find sexual release, you won’t search it out with any other male but me.” The words rumbled up from his chest in a low growl that sounded more wolf than human.

The statement took her so off guard that she dropped her arms from their protective embrace around herself. “Excuse me?”

He leaned in closer until his entire body was a mere inch from hers and his mouth was next to her ear. His hot breath sent a tingle racing through her, searching out every nerve ending until she practically trembled with the need to feel that mouth all over her. “If you go to another male, I will kill him. That human tonight is lucky he’s alive.”

“You wouldn’t do that,” she whispered, even though she knew the truth. Could hear it in his darkly murmured words. She’d known he still physically wanted her, but this . . . was unexpected. And a little insane. Why should he feel all possessive when he was the one who’d decided she wasn’t good enough for him by lying to her about the bonding process? It had to be his animal side asserting dominance. That was all. Like a dog peeing on a freaking fire hydrant, he was just acting territorial because he could.

“Do you really want to find out if your puppy will bite?” Another low murmur against her skin.

He wasn’t quite touching her, but she could feel the heat rolling off him and onto her nonetheless. She didn’t answer, partly because she didn’t trust her voice but mainly because she knew the question was rhetorical. Jayce was a deadly warrior, not a puppy dog as she’d said earlier. She knew he was reminding her of that.

As she stared at the spot where the curve of his neck met his shoulder, she fought the sensation that shimmied through her. The thought of going to bed with Jayce was tempting. Even thinking about it made her feel light-headed.

He’d said she could find sexual release with him, but that was all it would be to him. Even if he did care about her, he would never give her what she wanted. Not that it mattered anymore. She was so messed up and broken, she had no hope of having anything normal in her life again. And she refused to go to him for any sort of sexual pleasure. Especially since it wouldn’t be about control. With him, she’d lose it, not gain it. She could find control of her life in other places. Like revenge.

The word rang loudly in her head. Revenge. After what that APL bastard had done to her, she was going to make every single one of them pay. And she didn’t need Jayce interfering with those plans.

Ducking out from under his arms, she put a few feet of distance between them in the blink of an eye. Without his spicy, earthy scent overpowering her, she could breathe again. And think clearly. “Get out of here.”

Jayce gave her a hard look before fishing her phone out of his pocket. Wordlessly he handed it to her, then opened the front door, but before he closed it, he paused and turned back to her. “Don’t test me, Katarina. I don’t think you could live with the knowledge that you got someone killed.”

As the door shut behind him she pushed out a long breath and grabbed the stair railing to brace herself. Somehow, with him gone, the pain and loneliness eating at her were almost impossible to bear.

Which was stupid. She’d left him more than nine months ago. Or almost a year, she reminded herself. It sounded better when she rounded up. Why oh why couldn’t she get him out of her system? When she’d first met Jayce she’d been utterly entranced. Not because of his looks—though she loved the dark edge to him—but because of the raw, untamed power that practically rolled off him.

Since she’d grown up with an arms dealer for a father, she’d never been intimidated by anyone. Until Jayce. Of course she hadn’t let him see it. She’d called him a puppy even then, completely taunting him. He’d been so surprised. She would never forget the shocked look on his face as she’d teased him. He deserved the taunt, of course, after saying something rude to her. She couldn’t remember the exact phrase, but he’d insinuated that he wanted to do something sexual to her and she’d laughed at him.

From that point on he’d chased her with a single-minded focus. Not that she’d minded. Being on his radar had made her feel empowered and sexy in a way she hadn’t imagined possible. Before Jayce men had either been too scared to approach her because of her father’s shady dealings—and his violent reputation—or wanted to get close to her because of her father. Not Jayce. He’d just wanted her. She’d made him wait six months before agreeing to go to lunch with him. At the time she’d thought she could drag out her teasing even longer, but they hadn’t even made it to her parked car at that restaurant before he’d kissed her.

And oh what a kiss. He’d told her everything she’d needed to know in that one very long kiss. He was claiming her, making a statement that she was his. Or at least that’s how she’d taken it. But it hadn’t been a permanent thing. That knowledge made her stomach turn sour. She’d wanted to make a life with him, but when she’d broached the subject of their future, he’d told her that the chance of a human turning into a shifter from a bite was one percent. What he’d failed to mention was the fact that if he’d taken her as his bondmate she would have changed into a shifter without any issues. He’d lied because he hadn’t wanted her as his bondmate. He’d never actually admitted it to her, but what other reason could he have had for lying? Swallowing hard, she ignored the sudden sting of tears.