Page 128 of His Fated Luna

"If she's worth it, you wont give up. If you give up, you're not worthy."? Bob Marley

Rose's POV

I sat on my bed later that night, lost in thought. Aiden had kissed me. Aiden said he cared for me. Did he really want me? Or was this just his wolf egging him on? My heart wished for it to be true, but doubt had a funny way of creeping up on me. How could a man who had always vehemently rejected me as his luna suddenly…want me?

A knock jolted me from my thoughts.

Aiden walked in and I felt the rush of heat fill my veins his presence always seemed to cause. I hadn't seen him sinceour kisses in the library earlier today. I really hoped he wasn't avoiding me.

“Can we talk?” he asked quietly, sitting down in the chair next to my bookshelf.

“I understand if you want to…to forget about it,” I said the words in a rush, my face flaming red as my insecurities rushed in on me. Aiden'seyes sparked and he made his way to me. “I mean, I won’t hold you to—”

And I was completely cut off when he closed the distance between us,clutched my shoulders and pressed his lips against mine.

“Why would I want to forget about something I’ve been wanting to do for a while now?” he hummed when we finally broke apart.

“I…I thought…well, you wouldn’t even come sit next to me…” I trailed off.

“I wouldn’t sit next to you because I don’t trust myself with you on a bed.” His voice was hot and belying an ache in his tone. An ache he felt for me, maybe?

“It is time to stop holding back. I did that and almost lost you once before.” Aiden said.“But now that I’m here…” His eyes glinted, and he kissed me again slowly, torturously; he pushed me back to lean against the pillows.

“Tell me when to stop,” he groaned against my mouth. His hands were running over my hips, reveling in the feel of my curves. “Please...let me know if I’m...too much.”

His hands shook slightly as they roamed downwards, nearing the hem of my night dress which ended a little bit above my knees.

Never stop is what I really wanted to say. But then Aiden began nibbling on my earlobe, murmuring how good I smelled, how good I tasted, I was completely lost in a whirlwind of white, hot heat.

“Is this what you wanted to talk about?” Ifinally gasped, clutching fistfuls of his dark luxuriant hair.

His hands roamed up and down my sides possessively as his head rested in the crook of my neck.

Aiden's response was his teeth grazing against my mark. Hands inching up to my thighs, his tongue laved the area where he’d marked me. I shuddered, my hands tugging at the hair behind his head. Aiden pulled back to look down at me as he hovered over me on the bed.

“I care about you a lot, Rose.”

He stated this clearly, concisely, to leave no room for argument.

“I’ve never felt this way about anyone before.” His voice was sincere.

I looked up at him, eyes wide.

“I just… I think there have been a lot of misunderstandings between us, and I want to make sure you know my feelings. There is no one else in my heart except for you. I want to be with you. I want to be able to kiss you like this all the time, to be able to claim you as mine.”

“If this is just because of the mate pull—” I began.

“No. It has nothing to do with my wolf,” Aiden cut in vehemently. He went on since I still looked a little wary. “Physical attraction has nothing to do with the fact that I love seeing you smile, hearing your laughter. Physical attraction has nothing to do with the fact that I want to stock the pantry with a year’s worth of cinnamon for your coffee because you can’t drink coffee without it. You’re the only one I want next to me in this crazy that my life has become. You anchor me, help me become better, do better. Would you…would you be willing to give us a chance?”

I looked up at him, my hands resting on his shoulders as he hovered over me. I looked up into his open eyes and thoughtback to all those times I'd seen this exact same look in his eyes, on his face, but hadn’t been able to discern what exactly it was. Now I knew. It was affection. It had never been anything but that. It had always been affection. How could Ihave gotten it so wrong?

I bit my bottom lip, and his eyes darkened but he didn’t move. He was waiting for my permission. My hand slid from his shoulder down to his heart, fingers splaying protectively over it.

“I like you too.” Ivoiced it finally, and it felt so good to finally say it out loud. I felt his heartbeat speed up beneath my palm “But you know this wasn’t part of the plan,” I whispered. More to myself than Aiden.I was supposed to go to New York…supposed to go to med-school…

“The best laid plans of mice and men—”

“-often go awry.” I ended the famous quote with him.