Page 43 of Fractured Mates
I hardly know this man. I shouldn’t… Hell, I can’t even argue with myself. I might not entirely trust he’s been honest with me, but I can’t deny that his motives are true as my wolf previously reminded me. Kyler is here for my benefit and nobody else’s.
It takes another few moments, but he finally breaks. “What’s your favorite food?”
I gasp, not bothering to hide my outrage. “Excuse me? You want me to pick one favorite? That’s, like, sacrilegious.”
My very real outburst has us both laughing and the tension in my chest loosening ever so slightly.
“Okay. Top three, then,” he amends.
“Still not nice, but let’s see.” I hold my hand up and lift a finger with each item I list. “Cake, obviously. Beef—and no, I won’t choose a particular cut of meat. Hmm, how about chocolate?”
He shakes his head, a grin firmly in place now. “Chocolate doesn’t work. Give me something more specific. I’ve already bent the rule with the question. Give me this.”
He’s right. Considering how easily he let me have my moment and move on from it, I give him what he asks for. “Brownies, especially when served with ice cream, but also, M&M’s. Love those little bits as a good filler snack.”
“Good to know,” he muses, both hands on the steering wheel and his eyes back on the road. “Your turn again.”
Well, let’s see if I’ve learned my lesson about asking questions that can possibly turn much too serious for my liking.
I tap my pointer finger over my chin, using the dramatics to hide the unease I’m still trying to shake. “Where is your favorite place that you’ve been to for work?”
If this isn’t safe, I quit at this game.
“Easy,” he says with confidence. “East Texas.”
Yep. I give up. I expected his answer to be somewhere tropical or even in the middle of nowhere, but of course, it happens to be the one place I intend on settling down once this shitshow is over.
I told you that he might want the same things as you, my wolf says. And now you know about his mate.
Her words are spoken with the utmost respect. Not only for my fragile heart, but toward Kyler’s as well.
I want to tell her what he said changes nothing, but I’m not ready for that conversation. Not right now when I’ve just finished reliving the worst and best moment of my life.
“Why Texas?” I ask, since most people can’t stand the heat there unless they grew up in it.
He shakes a finger at me. “That’s two questions, but I’ll let it slide. Just remember that later. But to answer you, it’s the people. When I was there a couple of years ago, they were welcoming, and it had been a long time since I felt like I could have been right at home if I’d stayed.”
I want to ask why he didn’t, but I know that’s too much for me.
“Your turn,” is all I say instead.
The smirk on his face deepens, and I have to hold back my groan. What the hell is he thinking about now? Never mind. I don’t want to know.
“Have you ever”—Oh, this should be good, I think before he finishes—“skinny-dipped with other people?”
My shoulders droop with open disappointment. “Seriously? That’s the best you have? I’m a wolf shifter. Nudity isn’t really an issue. At least, for most.” I raise a brow with that last comment.
He taps on the brakes. “I’ll get naked right now. Don’t tempt me.”
I cover my eyes with my hands and laugh loudly. “Please don’t.”
And just like that, the trauma of my past has gone back to its locked box, and I find myself enjoying Kyler’s company more than I could have ever imagined, considering I held a knife to his throat as our first introduction.
Chapter Seventeen
Kyler
We continue to volley questions back and forth, my lesson learned regarding getting close to anything serious. Seeing her completely shut down and practically frozen in the seat next to me when she’d zoned out terrified me more than I could have imagined. The fact that she wouldn’t tell me what was wrong was all the answer I needed.