Her lips parted. “You have got to be kidding me.”
“No joke, no lie, I can give you that. He doesn’t know you like I do. You and I have history. Good history.”
“Dieter—”
“No, listen to me.” He took another step closer. “I love you, all right. I love you. I should’ve said it before now. I should have gotten my act together, admitted what was most important to me, and asked you to take a chance on me, on us. I didn’t, but I’m doing it right here, right now. If you need time for me to prove to you that I mean every word, I’ll give you that time. I will. Whatever you want, Havana, I’ll give you whatever you want. I’m in this for the long haul.”
She stared at him, hurt. Once, hearing those three little words from him would have delighted her. Now, they only made her sad. Because if he truly meant them, it had taken her finding her mate for Dieter to actually realize he cared for her so deeply.
If the situation were reversed, she wouldn’t have made this declaration. She wouldn’t have messed with his head this way. She’d have had more respect for the fact that he’d found his true mate. Yet, he apparently couldn’t do any of that for her. He expected—literally expected it, she could hear it in his voice—her to drop Tate for him. “You need to go.”
Dieter frowned. “What?”
“I’m with Tate now. I have no wish to change that. I don’t want to hurt you, but I won’t lie to you. I don’t want what you want.”
“Because he’s got you convinced that you two are mates. I don’t see it, Havana. When I looked at the two of you standing side by side, I didn’t see any connection there. You believe him because you want to believe him. You want to put down some roots and settle. I get it. Like I said, I can give you that.”
“I don’t want you to.” And it was pretty much the last thing her devil wanted. “He and I are mates, Dieter. I don’t expect you to be happy for me. But I’m asking that you respect that and just drop this.”
His eyes flared. “I’d respect it if I believed it, but I don’t.”
“Lucky for me and Havana, we don’t require you to believe it.”
Tate almost snorted at how fast the eagle twirled to face him. He’d overheard plenty as he stood outside the office moments ago, and he was finding it an honest to God’s struggle not to drop-kick the son of a bitch. His cat had sliced out his claws and was now drumming them on the ground, raring to pounce.
Dieter had tried to move in on Tate’s woman. Had claimed that there was no true-mate bond. Had professed to love her and be ready to fully commit to her. Really, it was like Dieter wanted to have the shit kicked out of him.
Tate planted his feet and cocked his head. “I figured you’d make this play sooner or later. Havana’s not a woman who’s easy to let go of, is she?” Tate had learned that the hard way. He’d initially made the mistake of not instantly snapping her up, but not because he hadn’t wanted to. No, he’d held back to protect her from any hurt that his cat could potentially cause her. Dieter, though, simply hadn’t bothered to offer her more until he learned she was taken.
Dieter sneered. “If you think I’m going to cower or apologize, you’re wrong. I won’t give her up without a fight.”
“I won’t give her up period. You made this move too late. And for that, I thank you. Because I might not have her now if you’d tied her to you. But that has already occurred to you, hasn’t it? Things could be so different now if you’d just done this sooner. And that knowledge is eating away at you, isn’t it?” The idea gratified his cat.
“She is tied to me in her way.”
Tate almost rolled his eyes at the pathetic claim. “Can’t you just be a friend to her? Someone who’ll support and be pleased for her? Do you really not care how hard this is for her? You want her to choose between her friend and her mate. And, weird as it is, you expect her to choose you.” That Tate really didn’t get … unless Dieter had always suspected that Havana cared for him.
“She and I are more than just friends with benefits,” the eagle insisted. “Always were.”
Yep, Dieter had suspected that she cared for him. Tate’s nostrils flared. The motherfucker had known she felt something for him. He’d known that going back to her bed again and again was giving her false hope that their little arrangement could evolve into something else. More, he’d known that he was hurting her by bedding other females and seeking her out when lonely. But he’d selfishly done it all anyway.
“I know her inside and out,” Dieter went on. “I know everything there is to know about her. I know what she needs, and I’m ready to give it to her.”
“You think you deserve her? Odd. You didn’t propose a relationship until after another man entered the picture. You didn’t hesitate to sleep with other women. You didn’t appreciate what was right in front of you. Instead, you quite simply used her. Used and then tossed her aside again and again.”
“I didn’t—”
“You also had no problem committing to another woman. Then you heard that Havana had found her mate, and you realized how badly you’d messed up. But rather than accepting that you missed your chance and just wishing her well, you decided to ask her to dump her mate for you. You expect her to choose a man who didn’t appreciate how special she is, which I think is plain fucking insulting.”
“You’re not really her mate. You’ve fooled her into thinking you are, but it isn’t true.”
Tate’s cat snapped his teeth. “You truly believe that Havana is so easily manipulated? That she doesn’t know her own mind?” Unlikely. “The only person here trying to manipulate her is you. I truly can understand why you’d want her to be yours, but you can’t have her.” Tate moved toward Havana, but the eagle quickly blocked his path. Tate felt a cold smile curve his mouth. “You think you can stand between me and what’s mine?”
“She’s not your mate.”
“So you stupidly keep saying. But even if she wasn’t—which she absolutely is, I assure you—I wouldn’t let her go.”
“You can’t hold someone against their will.”
“I won’t need to. Despite what you might have told yourself, Havana’s not going to leave me for you. If you make her choose, you’ll lose her.” Which would suit Tate fine, to be honest, because Dieter had never treated her how she deserved to be treated. He’d never appreciated, treasured, or been considerate of her.
“You can see the brand on my neck,” Tate said to him. “It should tell you that she considers me hers just as much as I consider her mine. You don’t have a prayer of coming between us.”
“He’s right, Dieter,” said Havana, making the guy turn back to her. “Tate and I are mates. This little declaration of yours … you made it too late. I’m not going to leave him for you or anyone else. I wouldn’t even if he wasn’t my true mate.”
Dieter swallowed, his face falling. “You hardly know him. I’ve been part of your life a hell of a lot longer. He might think you belong to him, but notice he didn’t once say he cares about you.”