Claire jerked, not foreseeing that complaint. “So.” Thank God he hadn’t caught her inhaling his scent on the sheets and pillows, closing her eyes as feelings for Gideon washed over her unchecked. She fisted both hands on the tabletop.

At that moment the food arrived. A strained silence fell. Tension crackled on the air. The waiter looked from one to the other uneasily before making a quick escape.

Gideon motioned between the two of them. “This has got to stop.”

“What?”

“This thing between us. It’s distracting me from what I need to be doing… which is focusing on finding the alpha to break your curse.”

“I thought that’s what we’ve been doing.”

His green eyes sparked fire. “I suppose we are. When we’re not fucking. Or when I’m not thinking of fucking you.”

She blinked at his coarse words. Unbidden, the image of them sweaty and tangled in his sheets rose in her mind. Body tingling, she traced the rim of her glass. “What are you saying?”

“If I’m not going to put all my energy and attention into helping you break this curse, then I might as well destroy you now.”

Claire sucked in a deep breath and sank back into the leather bench, tossing her napkin on the table. “So you scratched your itch and now you’re wondering why you’re keeping me around anymore, is that it?” She swallowed down the hot lump rising in her throat.

“Claire, that’s not—”

“What are you waiting for?” she asked, her voice shockingly calm. “You think I need to be destroyed. Go ahead, then.”

Their gazes clashed in silent battle. Belatedly, she realized that she’d thrown down one hell of a dare.

She waited for him to say something, to refute her taunt by saying that he couldn’t do that. That he didn’t want to, that what he felt for her would never permit him to do such a thing. Instead, he just stared at her with cold eyes.

Even knowing he could offer no such assurances—that it was unfair to expect him to soothe her with false promises—she felt a flash of anger. She had given more than her body to him. It was not just some curse, some animal instinct that drew her to him. Her hunger forgotten, Claire bolted from the table and fled the restaurant.

She heard him call her name, but didn’t stop.

Pushing the door open, she fled into the rain. She hurried along the uneven sidewalk edging the road, enduring the splashing water from passing cars. One stopped. A Jeep. A maroon Jeep. The passenger door flung open. Gideon leaned across the seat, shouting, “Get in!”

“No,” she shouted back and continued walking in stiff strides, hands shielding her face in a feeble effort to ward off the rain. A pointless endeavor. She was already soaked.