Monster in My Bed

Chapter Twenty-Four | Can't Risk It

"You didn't expect me to be awake," I stated, knowing he had stopped because he didn't expect me to be standing at the foot of the bed just as he had left me hours ago. I turned around to meet the emotionless gaze of my irritatingly handsome mate. "Did you?" He didn't say anything. He just watched me as I took slow, deliberate strides toward him. "You planned to just come in here while I slept, fall asleep, and then wake up before I had the chance to and leave again until we had to go home."

Matteo didn't reply, but he didn't have to. His stoic expression said it all. I wasn't wrong.

"Why?" I asked. His dark eyes staring down into mine causing a cool chill to run down my spine. "What could I have possibly done that has made you want to go back after we've worked so hard to get this far with one another?" Again, I was met with silence and Matteo's intense gaze, so I continued to push. "Matteo work with me. Did someone say something? Did I say something?"

"It's not what you said, Kai. It's what you didn't," Matteo finally spoke up, making me internally sigh in relief.

"If you're referring to my parents, my brother, we've been over this," I defended. "I've told you things about my past that I've told little to no one—"

"Yeah, because your brother came back. You told Jack about your parents. Were you ever going to tell me?" My brows drew together, and my arms crossed over my chest as his words sunk in.

"Are you jealous of Jack? Someone who's not even here?"

"Jack is one of the last people I'd be jealous of when it comes to you. At least he doesn't enjoy crossing me, and he knows better," Matteo stated. His jaw was clenched showing me he was obviously irritated. Maybe if I didn't find his terrifying countenance so mouthwatering, I would have stopped my reign of terror for fear of him throwing me out of a window.

"So, you are jealous! Of who? Who could possibly irritate you so much that you're ignoring me?" I snapped, making Matteo even more annoyed than he had been originally.

"Just forget it," he grunted, pushing past me in the direction of the bathroom where he most likely intended to shower.

"Matteo, stop!" I demanded, grabbing his arm and pulling him to a halt. "Who's causing this? Who's crossing you?" I asked as I recalled what he said about Jack earlier. 'At least he doesn't enjoy crossing me'. No one enjoyed crossing Matteo. My mate was a beautiful man with a devil's soul. The only person really willing to anger Matteo was myself and occasionally—my eyes widened, and I took a step back. "Barron. You're not seriously jealous of Barron are you?" A defeated look rested on his face proving what I had said to be true. "Barron? You're jealous of Barron of all people! I feel nothing for him!"

"But you trust him," Matteo interjected roughly.

"I do not—"

"Don't even start," he interrupted me. "You're always talking to him and going to him when you need something. You tell him things freely that I can't even seem to force out of you."

"Matteo, I don't like him," I affirmed trying to keep my voice as strong as possible. I wasn't lying, so I wasn't worried. I didn't feel anything for Barron the way I felt about Matteo. I'd never felt anything for anyone the way I felt about Matteo.

"But you trust him," he repeated.

"I don't trust him!" I shouted in frustration. "Barron Mendax is a self-serving prick who can't even stay faithful to his own mate. How could I ever trust that?"

"Then, why go to him? Why seek help through him and not any other Alpha who was in those meetings?"

"Because, they wouldn't defy you! They're all terrified of you and what you would do to them if they'd happen to be caught!" My frustration at this point was off the charts. "Barron's ego here thrives on your irritation toward him. He would do anything that he knew you wouldn't like even if that meant getting close to me."