Page 87 of His Fated Luna

“Oh.” Ava laughed. “Don’t worry. It’s just—you didn’t smell like your mate.”

I blinked. “Smell like my mate?”

“Well, after mating, scents change. Alphas scent their mates almost immediately. You start smelling like each other—it’s a whole thing. Yours hasn’t changed at all. You haven’t been marked or scented.”

I stared at her, stunned, as she went on.

“You guys don’t seem all that touchy either. But I guess you haven’t turned yet, and it’s still new. Being part human might make you more reserved.”

“I’m reserved?” I echoed. I really needed to stop repeating everything she said.

“Yeah, you look like you’re going to faint every time your alpha touches you.” Ava laughed. “Like a blushing maiden.”

I gawked at her.

Her expression shifted. “Oh my God. You are a blushing maiden. You haven’t slept with him, have you?”

“Oh, we have!” I said, way too fast and way too high-pitched.

“Rose…” Ava lowered her voice, gentle now. “It’s okay if you haven’t. No one’s judging you. Honestly, Alpha Aiden must have nerves of steel. He always looks like he wants to eat you.”

“We’ve had sex!” I repeated, this time way too loud.

Then I turned—and saw him.

Aiden. Fully dressed, standing just a few feet away.

Yeah. He definitely heard everything.

Fantastic.

Chapter 28

"And think not you can direct the course of love, for love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.” ? Khalil Gibran, The Prophet

Rose's POV

I’d decided to give Diego the go-ahead for dinner tonight. I wore a floor-length, dark-blue dress with a daring scoop in the back that exposed my entire back. The luxurious silk felt like a second skin against my curves. What would Aiden think when he saw me? Diego had taken out Josie’s pearls for me—a multi-strand necklace, six delicate strands, each one a little longer than the last. The shortest started at my collarbone, the rest draping gracefully over the swell of my breasts, the final one resting just above my rib cage. Each pearl was separated by a tinydiamond, maybe a millimeter in size, catching the light in just the right way to reflect parts of my face I hadn’t seen illuminated before. It was beautiful—elaborate—and probably worth more than anything I’d ever worn. Josie really shouldn’t have trusted me with it.

I looked at myself in the mirror, pearls on, smokey eye makeup done by Diego. My jaw looked sharper, my cheekbones a little higher. Altogether, I looked older. More...mature. I’d asked Diego to keep my hair down, remembering Aiden’s offhand comment this morning—he liked it better that way. Still, instead of admiring myself, I bit my bottom lip, worrying over if I looked too big in this dress.

“Wow.”

I turned to the doorway and saw Aiden standing there, stunned. Did I look like the luna I was supposed to be? Or did my thick thighs and soft stomach turn this backless black dress from seduction to spectacle? Was I just a girl trying too hard to be wanted?

Diego gave me one last approving glance before moving to adjust the dress around me.

“Use that thigh high slit to show what your mama gave you Luna,” Diego declared flamboyantly before he slipped out of the hotel room.

I felt my cheeks heat. There were more pressing matters at hand than showing off legs.

“We…need to be more convincing,” I said, the words tumbling out before I could stop them.

That pulled Aiden out of whatever daze he’d been in.

His eyebrows furrowed. “Convincing?”

“This fake-dating isn’t working,” I said quietly. “We don’t touch each other like the other couples do. I don’t...smell like you,” I added, voice trailing off. It sounded pathetic out loud. I instantly regretted saying anything.