His eyes flashed with hurt, and Josie hated herself a little bit for having spoken the words. If he wasn’t going to let her ghost him, then she had to be a woman about it and use her words.
“We shouldn’t be together,” she whispered.
York clamped his mouth shut. A full heavy, loaded minute passed in silence before he spoke. “Oh? And why not?”
“Because…” Tears formed in her eyes, and she sobbed. An actual sob. Why was this so hard? Only a week ago, she hadn’t been anything to York Warwick, and he had been nothing to her. “Because I fucked up. Big time. I won’t let you get involved in the mess I’ve made.” She pushed away from him and started pacing the room.
“You’re officially scaring me, Josie. Explain.” His voice was commanding, and Josie could see that he was every bit the dragon banker at that moment. He was used to giving orders and having them executed.
This was going to be disappointing to him. It wouldn’t work on her. It couldn’t.
Instead of raging at her like she had half-expected him to do, he closed the distance between them and took her in his arms. He hugged her close, tucking her head under his chin. His breath blew out over the top of his head.
“I’m going to tell you something, Josie. Something that is a big deal. It’s sort of like a secret, so it’s going to take a lot out of me to tell you. If I do that, do you think you could find it in your heart to tell me what has got you so upset?” His fingers brushed away a stray tear.
She tightened her grasp on him.
Her mind was going about a million miles a minute. Could she tell him? Did she dare? There was every chance that he would be furious and call the police. She’d be locked up faster than she could say, I think I’m falling in love with you.
“Josie?” he asked, his voice soft and coaxing. “Do you think you can tell me?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know. I don’t think so. It’s…complicated, York. And you would hate me. It’s…” she bit down hard on her lips. “It’s really bad. Like, the worst possible thing ever.”
“Can you believe me when I tell you that no matter what it is, we can figure it out together?” He pulled her back into his arms, hugging her tight before he took her hand in his and dragged her to the living room. He sat down onto the sofa, pulling her into his lap. She was bundled there, knowing she shouldn’t be. But she was going to soak up all of him for as long as she could. “Together, Josie.”
She swallowed her tears, nodding her head. There was no way she could actually come clean as soon as he told her his piece, she would claim that she had a man back home in Buffalo. And there. That would put an end to things. She was taken by someone else. Just thinking of the lie made her feel sick.
“You know I’m a dragon shifter. You figured out that bit pretty quickly.” He gave her a soft smile. “You also know that Annalise, my wife, died. She was my mate.” He looked down for a minute, letting his words sink as he searched for the courage to go on with whatever it was he wanted to tell her. “I was crushed when she died. I thought that my life was over. Shifters only ever get one mate, you know. That’s what I was always told. It’s what we’re led to believe.” He cleared his throat, shuffling on the couch as if the next part was going to be uncomfortable. “The next bit of this might be a bit of a shock, so bear with me, okay?” He inhaled deeply. “Just before you waltzed into my life with those damn heels, my mother came into town to let me know that I was working too hard.”
“She’s right,” Josie said through more tears.
He gave her a smirk. “I know. It’s all I had for a very long time. My work, the banks. It made me feel close to my dad, but it also kept me busy. It’s not like I could come home to my wife.” He stopped, his hands reaching out for hers. “Johanna brought me all of these documents, written by shifters through the ages. Dragons like me, who had lost their mates way too soon. There’s a theory that when that happens, fate decides to reboot itself. That fate tries to make it right by…by…” he tightened his hold on her hand, interlacing their fingers. “By sending another mate.”
Josie’s tears came to a grinding halt as she looked up to meet his eyes.
“When Johanna told me that, I thought she was just trying to get me back into the dating game, so I wouldn’t be so lonely. I thought it was a crock of shit, if I’m honest. You can’t know how surprised I was when I saw you. My dragon just lost his mind, shouting at me that you’re mine.” He gazed down at their fingers. “That you…” His eyes met hers, “you’re my mate.”
Chapter Thirteen
Josie
Josie didn’t know what to say.
It was impossible to formulate any sort of real thought.
What just happened?
She had fully expected to end things with York. To make up a fake boyfriend, to make sure York and his family didn’t need to get any more involved than being victims of theft.
This changed everything.
Josie knew what it meant to be a mate. The issue was that she had never heard of a second mate. Oh, sure. There were triads, and all other kinds of relationships in the shifter world. It was just their way. They didn’t get bogged down by humans’ silly rules.
But this?
This meant that she was York’s fated mate. His forever. That they were destined to find each other. Josie swallowed hard at all of the implications. Could this be why her family had been plagued with MS? Is this why she had started stealing? All so that fate could push her into Milo Steiner’s scheme, so that she would land in York’s life?
It seemed cruel, somehow. Like fate had been a raging bitch, torturing a whole a lot of people, all so that two people could meet.
“You haven’t said anything in a few minutes,” York cut into her thoughts. “Did I frighten you?”
She closed her eyes, needing more time to clarify her thoughts. Her whole head was a mess.
“Josie, let me in. You’re my mate. Whether or not you want to be with me doesn’t change that. If you’re in trouble, at least let me help you. I won’t have it any other way.” His voice broke on the emotion. “I won’t lose another mate.”
Her eyes snapped open as she realized what he was saying. York was terrified that she was in so much danger, her life was on the line. He wasn’t too far off of the mark.
“You’re going to hate me when I tell you what’s happened. And you’re going to take the mate thing and flush it down the drain.”
“Josie,” he whispered. “Please. Nothing can beat the terrible things I’m thinking.”
She blew out a breath. “Okay. I’ll tell you…” Josie had no choice but to start at the very beginning. When Rose had gotten sick, and the family had accrued an insane amount of debt they had to pay for treatments. The family had already been struggling after her parents had died suddenly in a car accident. Then there was the added weight of Gammy’s health and the debt that incurred.
It had been a whole mess.
One blow after the other, with no possible end in sight. That’s when Josie had started chasing adrenaline. It was the only thing that dulled the terrifying pressure that was wrapped up in her life.