Page 9

Abel

Three Days Later

T he room feels like it’s closing in on me.

I can still feel her—the heat of her skin against mine, the scent of her still lingering in the air, marking me, claiming me. Her body pressed against mine. Her pussy strangling my cock.

I can’t escape it. I can’t escape her.

I’m sitting on the edge of the bed, running my hand through my hair, trying to steady myself.

Trying to gather my thoughts. But my body is still buzzing with the aftershocks of our mating, of what we did during her heat.

Her scent is everywhere, on my skin, in my blood, in my lungs.

It feels like the air itself is heavy with her presence.

The pull is still there, tugging at me, deeper than ever before.

And I hate it.

I shouldn’t feel this way. I shouldn’t feel this connected to her. I shouldn’t feel this much. But I do.

I glance over at her, watching her sleep.

Her body is tangled up in the sheets, her breathing slow, deep.

She looks so peaceful, so innocent in this moment.

But I know what we’ve done. The bond is complete.

She’s mine. And I am hers. Joined together irrevocably.

It’s all I can think about. It’s all I can feel.

But my chest tightens, a gnawing guilt taking hold of me. She’s my best friend’s daughter. She’s an omega. I’m an Alpha. I’m the owner of the Dark Side of the Moon. The fallout from this is going to be massive.

What just happened between us is going to destroy everything. I know it. I can’t be the man who ruins her life.

I’ve seen what happens when a mate bond is forged under pressure, under heat, with no room for either person to think it through. I’ve seen it in the clubs, in the streets, in every broken relationship that came from someone not being ready.

She may have said it was what she wanted but I know better. I should have walked away. I should have refused our mate bond. She’s so young, so innocent, and she deserves more than me. More than this.

I stand up, pacing the floor. Every step feels like I’m walking on broken glass. Every part of me is screaming to go to her, to feel her again, but I know I can’t. She’ll be better off without me.

I’ve been around long enough to know the bond doesn’t care what’s good for either of us. It just pulls. And when it pulls this hard, it doesn’t give a damn about the consequences.

I can’t give in to this. I can’t let her see me for what I really am.

I turn to her, feeling the weight of it all crash down on me, the truth I’ve been trying to avoid. But the bond is so strong now, I can’t lie to myself. I can’t hide from what I am to her, and what she is to me.

She stirs, my name a soft murmur escaping her lips, and her eyes flicker open. They lock onto mine, that intense, searching gaze, and I feel it again, that damn pull. The irresistible way she draws me to her like a magnet.

She’s still mine.

“Abel?” Her voice is weak, still sleepy, but there’s an undercurrent of something in it.

Something ... needy. She doesn’t have to say it.

I know what she wants. I know what she needs.

I can’t help myself. I take a step toward her, drawn like a moth to a flame, even though every ounce of me is screaming to run. To walk away and never look back.

But I don’t.

I sit on the edge of the bed again, my eyes never leaving hers.

I can’t stop looking at her. The bond makes it impossible.

That’s not true. Even before the bond, I couldn’t keep my eyes off her.

I’ve been infatuated since the moment she showed up at Dark Side of the Moon, her presence filling my thoughts and fantasies even though I tried to fight it.

“Are you okay?” I ask, my voice low, rough.

She nods slowly, her lips curving into a tired smile. “Yeah. Just ... a little stiff.”

“Don’t lie to me, Juliet. I can feel you.” The words slip out before I can stop them. The bond is stronger now.

Her breath catches, and I see the flicker of realization cross her face. Her eyes go wide for a split-second, and then her shoulders sag. She looks away from me, pulling the sheets tighter around her.

“I don’t know what to do now,” she whispers. “You don’t want this. Me.”

And fuck, if that doesn’t hit me like a goddamn punch to the gut. Because neither do I.

I want to reach out, to pull her into my arms and tell her everything’s going to be okay, tell her I want her and only her, but I can’t. Because I don’t know if it will be okay and I refuse to lie to her. I know this isn’t going to be simple. Not with everything at stake.

I’m not the right man for her. I’m not the man she deserves. And yet, here we are. The bond is unbreakable. We will be linked until one of us dies. Or one of us decides to sever the bond.

“We shouldn’t have done this,” I finally say, the words coming out harsher than I intended.

She looks at me, hurt flashing across her face before she schools her expression. “What do you mean?”

I take a deep breath, trying to keep my emotions in check. I don’t want to hurt her. I don’t want to push her away. But I know I need to.

“This,” I say, my voice thick with emotion. “You and me ... this bond ... it’s not good for either of us. You’re young. You have a life to live. A future.”

“And you don’t think I know that?” She sounds so small, so vulnerable. It fucking tears at me.

I want to hold her. I want to kiss her and tell her everything’s fine, but I can’t. I can’t let myself fall any further into this. Into her. She pulls the sheets tighter around her once more, her lips trembling. “I don’t care about the future. I just care about right now. About you.”

And goddamn, her words crush me. I run a hand through my hair, standing up, fighting the urge to go to her.

“I can’t give you what you want,” I say, my voice thick with regret. “I’m not the guy you think I am. I’m not a good person, Juliet. You deserve better.”

But her gaze stays fixed on me, unwavering, despite the unfallen tears clinging to her lashes. “I don’t want better. I want you.”

And that’s it. That’s the moment I know I’m in deeper than I’ve ever been.

I don’t fight what I am feeling anymore.

I go to her, take her in my arms, and kiss her with every ounce of passion and want I am feeling.

She rolls me over, straddling my hips and taking my cock inside her.

I lose myself inside her once more even though I said I wouldn’t.

I am so fucked.