Page 5 of Forsaken Desire (Ruthless Wolves #1)

I was so stiff on top of him that my limbs ached.

My pulse elevated, and my fingers clenched around his arm.

He’d groped me as I lay across the bed, trying to catch the towels.

The way he’d spoken to me and touched me .

. . He hadn’t known I was his mate until the bond snapped into place, but there had been no doubt he attempted to fuck me. No, not me . . .

Her .

I growled, possessiveness filtering through my veins.

He’d been waiting for another woman. Anger and hurt clashed, melding together to create a painful combination.

My nose stung with the urge to cry, and I sucked in a harsh breath. It burned to swallow, and I tried pulling away, but his grip tightened, squeezing my skin more. Although it was gentle, there was no room to get away unless I put up a fight. Even then, I doubted he’d release me.

“I said, get the fuck out,” he hissed, and his palm engulfed my head to press my ear over his pounding heart. I remained frozen, unbelieving, as I worked through everything. The door thudded, and he sighed.

“You were going to fuck her?” My voice rose and fell like a question.

I hadn’t tried to lift my head to face him, because I didn’t want him to see the pain.

He was an obviously attractive man; of course he’d had lovers.

But he’d mistaken me for one. Groped me and touched me all while angry that I hadn’t been in a dress.

It hurt. The pressure in my throat was building.

The rise and fall of his chest ceased, suspending us in a moment in time.

“Josephine, look at me.”

I flinched, keeping stiff.

“Let me go.” I didn’t recognize my voice.

His arm banded around my waist, tightening. An answer without words. He wasn’t going to release me. The hand on my head slid down to my neck, cupping the side of it. Tingles spread downward from his touch.

I gritted my teeth and took a deep breath, trying to keep it together.

“I have to go to work,” I muttered, pushing against the band of his arm. His hand slid up to my jaw. “Please let me go,” I choked.

I put more effort into my struggle, but he didn’t budge. His strength was unfair. I huffed; lips pursed.

“Look at me,” he ordered.

“No.”

“Josephine,” he barked, his aggression making me not want to even more.

My scowl deepened, and I stubbornly kept my eyes closed with my cheek pressed against his chest.

He growled, but I didn’t react. Finally, he sighed and pinched my chin, forcing my face to look at him. His face lowered, and the tip of his nose pressed to mine.

“I’m sorry,” he murmured close to my lips. “No mate should see that.” His gaze shadowed, and he closed his eyes.

My stomach soured, and I twisted my lips.

“I didn’t know you . . .” He stopped and cleared his throat. It was true, he didn’t know me until ten minutes ago. Logically, I understood, but it fucking hurt. “But all I want is you. My fated.”

Should that make me feel better? Maybe it would have if the way he grabbed at me didn’t keep playing in my mind. I kept thinking about her sprawled on the bed, face down as he fucked her.

“It doesn’t make me feel better,” I mumbled. He didn’t know about me . I understood it was unfair of me to have expectations of him, but my emotions weren’t based on logic.

“I know, Princess,” he murmured into my hair. “I’ll make anything bothering you go away.”

I closed my eyes and forced my shoulders to relax. He hoisted me up and swept my legs across his lap. His hand settled on my waist, keeping me tucked against him.

I pressed my lips together, wiggling on his lap to get into a better position. The cock under my ass hardened, and a blush bloomed over my face.

“I was serious about needing to get back to work.”

“You don’t need to wor?—”

I held up my hand, cutting him off.

“Lucian.” I said his name. I’d heard it come from her mouth first. By the softening of his lips, it really was his name.

I couldn’t help but think of the tattoo on my rib cage. The Moon worked in mysterious ways. It had given me something to hold on to. “I have to work.” I licked my lips.

I would work, and there would be nothing he could do about that. Just because he was my fated mate, it didn’t mean he would decide for me. I refused to take his handouts, which I was sure were what he was about to offer.

“Taking care of you is my job.” He scowled, and the corners of his lips tipped down. “I have more than enough money?—"

“Stop.” I clenched my fingers around his muscled bicep. “We still need to get to know each other.”

His lips became a thin line.

“But—”

“Let me down.” I wiggled in his hold, pressing my palm against his chest. I met his stunned gaze head-on, unwavering from the yellowish hue.

He seemed to contemplate it, grappling with some internal demon.

Likely his own instincts. His jaw shifted from side to side.

He sighed, wafting his scent along my nose.

It was so painfully delicious-smelling. I bit my tongue so I wouldn’t melt into his embrace.

If he wasn’t being stubborn about me working, I would have, but if I gave in now, he would wheedle me down.

I was already weak for him.

“Lucian,” I repeated calmly. “I promise not to take off running.”

He growled, and his arms loosened from around me. I slid to my feet, reveling in the feel of his bulge rubbing against my side. I stood and straightened my slacks. The key card lay on the floor beside the bed, likely flying out of my pocket at some point. I crouched and swooped it up.

“You work here.” He didn’t ask. His gaze was fixed on the key card in my hand. Lucian nodded tightly.

“Yes, see, I won’t be able to run off,” I muttered, straightening the blouse. Shit, the bottom had snagged. I rolled my finger around the thread and snapped it off.

I was yanked forward so suddenly that I yelped. He pulled me between his spread legs. Since he was still sitting, it put us face-to-face. My eyes dropped to his lips.

“Fine,” he growled and buried his nose against my throat. My body melted into his. I’d never known being touched could feel this good. I moaned, inching closer. His chest rumbled, and the vibrations sent shockwaves to my clit. I sucked in a harsh breath.

My mate’s hands slid down my waist to palm my thighs and squeezed them tightly. I licked my lips, pushing my knees tightly together. He turned me on so easily, it was crazy. I throbbed between my legs. Incredibly overbearing, rude, sexy male.

His hand slowly inched up, and his thumb dipped into the crease of my thighs, lightly rubbing against my core. Fucking tease. I whimpered, my mind turning into a scrambled mess.

I might get off simply on his caresses.

He chuckled against my hair, and his teeth tugged at my earlobe. I sucked in harshly, and my pussy felt needy to the point that my underwear must be a mess. Fuck, could he smell how turned on I was?

My face heated even more. I took a shaky step back, and his arm stretched out between us, keeping his palm against my waist.

Standing in front of him, panting, I smoothed my slacks down again while he watched. His dark eyelashes lowered, and his tongue wet his lower lip.

My sinful mate was going to be the end of me.

I cleared my throat and inched back again, and his hand fell away from me. My foot smacked into the lotion, sending it under the desk in the room.

“Sorry,” I whispered.

Lucian only smiled, his eyes crinkling at the corners.

“I will come see you before my work shift tomorrow,” I rushed out. His eyes didn’t waver.

My stomach clenched. Excitement and nerves and fear becoming a soup in my stomach. I shuffled out of the room like my ass was on fire. As soon as the door closed behind me, I let out a gust of air and pressed my hand to the tattoo on my rib cage.

“Fuck,” I croaked, beelining toward the open elevator.

I clicked the button to the lobby a million times until the doors slid shut.

Pressing my shaking palms to my stomach, I cinched my eyes shut.

The Moon had truly worked her magic, bringing us together now .

She must have known I needed something to fight for—to keep going.

My time in prison hadn’t been perfect. The dull, endless days that encompassed the entirety of my memories.

If I hadn’t dreamt of the name a year ago, I didn’t know if I’d be alive.

But I was. And I made it out alive.

A grin spread on my lips. I had found my fated.

My mate. I belonged to someone. My nose burned with unshed tears.

Lucian was mine, and I was his. We could start our lives together— whoa, hold up .

I needed to slow it down, for his benefit.

I stepped out of the elevator, striding toward the employee area.

What if he didn’t want me when he found out about my past? What if he rejected me?

My throat clogged, and my steps faltered.

No. I wouldn’t tell him yet.

The room Karol had pointed at when she’d shown me around had its doors wide open, and I stepped through. A group of people sat in a row of seats as they faced a screen.

I plopped down beside a girl and folded my hands in my lap. She tapped away at her cell phone.

I didn’t even get his contact information. How would I call him? My heart sped up, but I took a few calming breaths. That was the last thing to get all worried about; it wasn’t like I had a phone yet. He also knew how to find me . . . and I did him: Room 201.

Surely, after I’d agreed to visit him, he would have said something if he planned to leave. But I was regretting my resolve. Already, I craved his presence.

The woodsy scent of a shifter crossed near me, and I lifted my gaze to someone striding past me. He stopped, looking down at me. I struggled to hold his gaze. He was more dominant than me.

His eyes widened, and he inhaled deeply. It was the shifter Karol had greeted; she’d called him Alex.

“Hey,” he said casually, raking his eyes down my body.

“Hi.” I tried not to be awkward, but it was harder than I thought. Clearing my throat, I rubbed my palms on my lap. His smile widened, and he seemed to inhale again. Was he sniffing me?

A human male walked in front of him and dropped into the seat next to me. I stiffened, tightening my arms so I wouldn’t take up much space. I didn’t want to touch any male other than my mate.