Chapter 116

"I'm not," she said, trying to turn away from him again.

Davian moved his hand before he could stop himself. He placed it on her shoulder to keep her in place. He wanted to keep seeing her face but more importantly, he wanted to fix this.

"I am sorry," he said.

He didn't know what he had done wrong but he didn't like the tense air around them. The discomfort wasn't very pleasant.

It also didn't help that he had seen her in that sexy lingerie. Sexual urges and negative emotions didn't mix very well for him.

His jaw tightened as he cursed himself for remembering. He had needed a moment in the closet to calm down and now he was about to rile himself up again.

"You're sorry?" She frowned.

Davian pulled his head back; she clearly didn't like his apology. Was he wrong to apologize or did she not like the way he apologized?

"Yes?"

"Why?" She asked coldly.

He sighed and pulled his hand from her shoulder to run it through his hair. He had lost count of how many times he had done that today.

"To be honest, I don't know. I just know that I did something bad enough to make you cry and I am really sorry. I should have apologized earlier but I had a lot of things to take care of and—scratch that. All that doesn't matter. All that matters is I am sorry and I really want to fix this."

Layla twisted her lips as she stared at him. Why was he so easygoing with her? How was she supposed to keep being cold and ignoring him when he could easily go on a rant about how sorry he was? He didn't even know what he did wrong.

She turned her back to him again without replying and Davian felt a cold hand grab his heart. He started to reach for her and stopped himself.

He lay on his side, resting his head on his elbow as he wondered what he could do. She didn't even want to speak about it. How did he not realize he had done something so bad?

"You told me never to do that," she mumbled.

"What?" He blinked, confused but a part of him was happy she was speaking.

"You said I should never do that again." Layla shut her eyes; now that she was voicing her anger, it sounded a little ridiculous.

"I said that?"

She turned to face him, folding her arms. She didn't like the confusion in his voice. "Yes. When we got to the car, you said I should never do that again."

He could remember uttering those words but he couldn't understand what the problem was. He didn't want her putting herself in danger for him.

"Yeah," he said softly. There was clearly some miscommunication. "What did you think I meant by that?"

"You don't want me meddling in your work."

"What?" He couldn't comprehend how she got that.

"Are you saying you didn't say that?"

"No, I said that. I just want you to explain from the beginning. Why do you think I don't want you meddling in my work?"

"You literally said I should never do that again and when I tried to ask you multiple times what was going on before we got to the hospital, you refused to tell me anything."

"I had my reasons for that."

"See," she said and sat upright. "You're excluding me again."

"No," he said and adjusted so he was also sitting on the bed, his back on the headrest. "I am not excluding you. I just didn't want to talk about Nolan. He was already bothering about the stupid party from the car ride. I did not want to bring up his name in your presence."

"Why?"

"Because he is a sleazy bastard. Despite how politely he speaks, he is very irrational and I hate that you were not only exposed to him but he also used your debt to rope you into this. I also hate that you took the bait to protect me while sacrificing yourself. That is why I said never do that again. I don't want you putting yourself on the line because you want to keep me safe. I hated that."

He didn't even realize when he grabbed her hand but he didn't want to let it go. He liked the warmth of her soft palm against his tough ones.

"Oh," she said and bent her head. "I thought you hated the fact that I spoke up when it was none of my business."

"My business is your business. Meddle all you want," he said and kissed the back of her hand.

She blushed at the fuzzy feeling she got from the kiss. Also, why did he have to say it like that? How was she supposed to act nonchalant?

"Why do you say he is a sleazy bastard? Pretty harsh."

Davian shook his head. "It is not harsh enough. He once kidnapped Alpha Asher's mate, Celine."

"Oh."

"That's why I never wanted to speak about him."

"Are you angry that you have to go to the party because of me? But you don't have to. Our agreement was only for my attendance."

"You really think I would let you go alone?" He said and pulled her against him.

"I kinda did something you didn't want."

"That's not true. If you hadn't spoken, we would have ended up shooting each other and the hospital. I am glad you spoke."

He rested his chin on her shoulder and his light stubble tickled her. She did her best to pay attention but now that she wasn't angry anymore, she was becoming more aware of how he was touching her.

She pouted slightly, glad that she couldn't see his face. To think she had been upset and rude to him when she was the one misunderstanding the situation.

He wrapped his arms around her. "Is that all? Or are you still angry with me?"

He spoke directly into her ear; the bass voice echoed throughout her body. He was also pulling her closer to himself and rubbing himself all over her like a cat.

The worst part was she didn't hate it. His mark at the back of her neck itched and she wanted nothing more than for him to touch it.

"I wasn’t angry—"

"You were," he cut in and slightly adjusted his arms, grazing her underboob.

Layla closed her eyes briefly. "Fine, I am no longer angry and I am sorry for having an attitude when I should have asked you."

"Well, if you thought you couldn't meddle in my business. I don't see how you could have known you could ask me. But next time, do ask."

Layla couldn't help but notice how lazier his voice was getting. His scent was also a little different and it was affecting her. "I will."