Page 89 of His Fated Luna

“I know it’s hard to…to…do this with me,” she said, cheeks red. The sight nearly broke me. She looked like she thought I found her repulsive.

“If only you knew,” I muttered, rolling my eyes, fighting the urge to grab her right there.

Couldn’t she see what she did to me?

Her chest was heaving, her breath coming in soft pants, and all I could do was stare at her lips again. Would she let me bite that lip?

“But, well…we’ve got to make this look legit and…” she trailed off.

"What would you know, Rose, about lust and making our relationship look legit?" I threw the words at her, sharper than I meant.

"Just because I’m a virgin doesn’t mean I don’t know about...those urges,” she said softly. “You—we—need to touch each other more.” She was nervous, anxious, biting her lip again.

My control snapped.

In a flash, I closed the space between us, backing her up against the wall. My hands moved possessively over her skin—from her bare shoulders down to her waist. She felt like fire beneath my palms. And I wanted to burn. Rose yelped when I pulled at her waist, turning her to face the wall. I hummed in satisfaction when my lips touched her spine, starting from the nape of her neck all the way down to the small of her back. I let my tongue swirl over the base of her spine. Delicious. My hands, of their own accord, went up to cup her full breasts. I began totrail a path back up and heard her moan right as I bit into her right shoulder lightly. I wantedmore.

“Aiden,” Rose gasped, and I felt her tremble against me.

Her voice brought me back to my senses. What the fuck was I doing?

Abruptly, I stepped back.

“I…I’m sorry,” I said, breathless. What the hell was wrong with me? She didn’t deserve that—me losing it on her like that in a dark hallway. She deserved better. My eyes went to the mark on her shoulder from where I’d bit down. It was going to leave a mark. My wolf purred in satisfaction. I felt like an absolute lecher for assaulting her.

Rose turned to me, confused. I kept talking, trying to explain.

“I…lost control. I didn’t…it wasn’t…” I couldn’t find the words. I should’ve asked. I shouldn’t have let it go that far. She must’ve been shocked.

But she wasn’t. She just looked at me with sympathy. “It wasn’t supposed to go that far? Your wolf instinct took over?” she asked gently. “It’s OK. Well…now I look convincing. And smell like it too.” Her smile was shaky, and I hated how it didn’t reach her eyes. “We should go back inside. People need to be able to smell you on me.”

I watched her swallow hard. That was the part that killed me—the idea she had that the only time I’d touch her was when I wasn’t fully myself. That Aiden, the man, didn’t want her. What a joke.

I cursed myself silently as we walked back. When she’d said it was hard for me to touch her, she had no idea. The hardest thing in the damn world was not touching her. Especially with that back on display, smooth and exposed, just asking to be caressed. And that lip—her constant biting was going to drive me insane. I cursed myself again for losing control.

I’d made my choices. I had to live with them. I had promises to keep. No matter how natural this felt. No matter how right it felt.

I stopped mid-step. Rose looked at me, brows raised. We were halfway back to the dance floor.

Mine.

She wasn’t mine. Why did I keep thinking that?

“Everything alright?” she asked softly, her voice pulling me back from the edge.

“Yeah…” I breathed out, and forced my feet to keep moving.

That night, I didn’t sleep. I lay on the couch, wide awake, arousal still simmering under my skin. This…whatever it was between us—it was going to destroy me.

Rose's POV

I slept peacefully that night, my dreams filled with Aiden—dancing with me, kissing me, laughing like we didn’t have the weight of the world pressing down on us. I couldn’t help it. Tonight was perfect. He’d stayed on the dance floor with me for the rest of the evening, his arms low around my waist, his thumb brushing slow circles over my hip bone every now and then. We laughed, we joked... for a little while, we actually felt like a couple.

The next day was a blur of work. Everyone split into groups to draft recommendations for a land conservation bill. It was a long, exhausting day. I didn’t end up paired with Aiden but my group included Mrs. Evans, which was surprisingly nice. She treated me with the same mutual respect most lunas offered one another.

By the end of it, I was certain I’d need a massage.

“And that concludes our three-day conference!” the hosting alpha boomed. “Last, but not least, please forward your drafted recommendations to Aiden Sinclair who, as you all know, we voted to be our representative for the meeting in Washington, D.C. If anyone can get some of these put down on legislative paper, we know it’s got to be Aiden!”