“Crap,” she muttered under her breath.
“I really want to know,” his deep voice drew her attention from her thoughts and she looked at his amused face, “not because I’m being polite. I don’t really care about being polite,” he added.
“Well you caught all that stuff that just went through my head, so that’s how I’m doing,” she told him without looking away. She wasn’t about to be ashamed or embarrassed about wanting him, and if he had a problem with it he could kiss her butt.
“I do have a problem with it,” he answered her thoughts.
She jerked her arm back with a frustrated growl. “No worries, I won’t force you to marry me. I’ll get over you,” she told him and then mentally kicked herself because she knew there was no way in hell she would ever get over him. “There are plenty of fish in the sea and all that jazz.”
She pushed past him, no longer having the energy to verbally spar with him. Instead she just wanted to lie down and sleep for…like…ever.
Cush watched Elora walk down the hall away from him toward the living room. He had gotten the message loud and clear. She wanted him, but she wouldn’t beg. He was telling himself it was a good thing that she was able to resign herself to the fact that they wouldn’t be completing their mating. He didn’t have room for a woman in his life and he wouldn’t be able to make her happy. In fact, he would just drive her crazy. Because once he claimed her, once he made her his, he would never let her go. He knew the type of male he was: possessive, jealous, selfish, alpha. He wouldn’t want her around any other males. He would cage her to protect her and that would break her. See it’s better this way, he thought to himself as he followed the direction she had just taken to the small living room in her brother’s apartment.
Cush’s feet and thoughts froze in place the second he entered the living room and saw Elora standing wrapped in the arms of a male he’d never seen before. He felt his muscles grow rigid and his jaw tightened as he ground his teeth together. He forced himself to lean casually against the wall because if he didn’t he was going to rip the arms off of the human male who was still touching his Little Raven. He watched as Elora, her brother, the unknown male, and Lisa talked and laughed. They were obviously friends. Friends, he told himself, that is all. But then the idiot had to go and smack his mate on the ass—stupid human.
Cush saw red as that hand made contact with Elora’s very tempting backside and he was across the room with his forearm pressed to the human male's throat before the idea had even crossed his mind.
“CUSH!” He heard Elora’s gasp but ignored everything but the human he had pressed to the wall.
“Give me a reason not to remove your hand from your body,” Cush said calmly.
The male’s eyes were wide and Cush could feel the pulse in his throat pounding against his forearm.
“Dude, I didn’t, I mean…Elora’s just…we’re not,” the boy stuttered stupidly.
“She doesn’t belong to you,” Cush pointed out. The boy shook his head. “Then why would you touch her in such a way?”
“I was just messing around, just playing,” he screeched.
“Cush let him go!” Elora’s voice broke through. He turned his head to look down at her as she attempted, in vain, to pull him off of the human.
“He touched you,” Cush told her unnecessarily.
“So what?” Elora snapped. “I’m single, Cush. I can let any guy I want touch me. Now let Paul go.”
For some reason, the male’s name on Elora’s lips only enraged him further. He turned back to the human. Paul, he mentally spat the name. The guy was turning blue, which indicated to Cush that he was pushing just a tad too tightly.
“Do not touch her again,” he spoke slowly and though he didn’t yell he knew his words were laced with the right amount of menace, “ever.” He finished and stepped back. His sudden release had Paul falling to the ground which caused his lips to twitch. He turned around to walk away and as Elora made her way to get closer to Paul he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her back.
“Do not,” he warned her as he leaned down to whisper in her ear. “I don’t know what is going to happen. I don’t know what I feel for you. But what I do know is that any man I see touching you, or being touched by you, is in danger of dying by my hands. So please, do not go to him.”
Elora stilled at the cold hardness that wrapped around the warning in his voice. She tilted her head back so she could look up at him and saw that his blue grey eyes were so bright that they nearly glowed. His jaw was clenched with the effort that it was taking him to not act on whatever it was he was feeling.
“So you’re telling me that you don’t want me, but nobody else can have me either?” she asked him as she pushed out of his hold. She wouldn’t have been able to get free had he not allowed it, but she wasn’t going to dwell on that little detail.
Cush frowned at her and she nearly laughed. It was obvious that he didn’t like the way it sounded when she laid it out there for what it was.
“I don’t know what I want, Elora, but I do know that seeing another male touch you is making me more violent than usual.”
Elora’s brow rose. “More violent?” He didn’t say anything more. He simply took her hand and pulled her to the farthest piece of furniture in the room and pushed her into it. She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, but she stayed where he put her. “Keep treating me like a damn dog, Cush, and I’ll bite your…,”
“Elora!” Lisa snapped. Her voice was sharp, but when Elora looked up at her mother she saw the hint of humor behind the tone.
“I’m just giving him fair warning. Is Paul okay?”
Lisa nodded. “He’s just a little nervous now but he’ll be fine.”
“Okay.” Oakley came and stood next to Lisa, arms folded across his chest. “Now that Legolas isn’t trying to kill my roommate anymore, are you two ready to tell me everything?”
Elora let out an exaggerated sigh. “Gah, if we have to…or we could order Chinese and play on your X-Box. Really that’s a no-brainer choice, Oak.” She looked up at him hopefully, but the stern glare he returned told her he wasn’t going for it. “Fine, pull up some carpet and cop a squat; this is going to take a while.” Elora slid down onto the floor with her back leaned up against the couch and got comfortable before she and Lisa began their story.