Kari had stopped crying, but she hadn’t moved from the spot on her bed where she had curled up, her knees pulled to her chest. She stared blankly across the room, unable to close her eyes without seeing the pained expression on Evan’s face when she said she wanted to reject him.
There was a knock on the door, but she didn’t move, dreading that she might find Evan outside her door. She couldn’t handle him and the mate bond again so soon. She couldn’t look into his face and tell him she didn’t want him when every ounce of her body seemed to be crying out for him.
“Kari?”
She slowly uncurled at the sound of Joe’s voice, taking a moment to wipe at her face, hoping she didn’t look like she had been crying her eyes out for the last hour.
He was leaning against the door frame, hands in the
