Page 36 of Hooves & HeartStrings

I follow, knowing damn well that is not how this night is going to end. I’ll lock us in there and make her talk to me if I have to.

When we get to our room, Marley pushes the door open with a huff and walks in. I follow behind but almost nearly crash into her when she comes to a sudden stop.

“They must have given us the wrong room,” she says.

“What makes you think that?” I ask her.

“Because. There’s only one bed.”

Leaning around her to peek around the corner, I grin, seeing that she’s right. There’s only a king-size bed in the center of the room.

“We need to go ask for a new room,” she says, spinning around to face me. I look down at her, my whole body igniting at the look in her eyes as she stares up at me, clearly affected by the fact that we’re hardly an inch apart.

“Or,” I say, my voice becoming husky. “We don't.”

“We don't?” she whispers.

“The bed is big enough for the both of us, Mar. We’re just going to sleep, right?”

“Sleep,” she says slowly, unblinking. “Yeah, sleep.”

I can smell her arousal as it fills the room, making me swallow down a growl. My little mate isn’t so unaffected by me as she tries to make me think. She wants me. I want her. She still loves me, I know she does. I just need her to stop fighting this.

* * *

This is torture, pure torture. Just as I’m pulling the blanket back to get ready for bed, Marley comes out of the bathroom dressed in a thin sleep shirt and sleep shorts.

I pause, my eyes eating her up. Fucking hell. My cock swells, pressing against my boxers. Marley lets out a little gasp and my eyes shoot from where I’m staring at her hard nipples pressing against her shirt up to her wide eyes.

“You okay?” I ask, my voice coming out husky.

“Ah.” She clears her throat. “Your…” She points to my dick and I can’t help but chuckle.

“Harder than stone? Yeah, baby, it’s kind of hard not to be when you're in the same room as me. And dressed like that? I didn’t stand a chance.”

I take the pinkness forming on her cheeks and the fact that she doesn’t tell me to fuck off as a win.

“Oh,” she whispers. “Sorry?”

“Don’t be,” I tell her, climbing into the bed. “I’m not.”

She stands there, hesitating for a moment before she slowly joins me. The bed dips as she crawls under the blanket. I inhale deeply and hold back a groan as her pomegranate scent fills my nose. She always smells so damn good.

She turns the lights off, sending the room into darkness. We lay there, neither of us saying a word. My hand twitches, wanting to reach over and touch her, to feel her creamy soft skin, to kiss her pouty lips.

My mate is laying half-naked beside me and I’m starting to go out of my damn mind. I can’t be the one to make the first move here. I’ve already tried so many times and she shot down each one.

“Lucius.” Her soft whispering voice fills the silent room.

“Yeah?” I grunt.

“It’s been weeks since school started. Why haven’t you given up yet?”

“On what?” I ask, turning my head to the side. My eyes adjust to the dark, just enough to make out the side of her head.

She turns to face me. “On me.”

We both stare at each other for a moment as I think about what to say next. I want to tell her because she’s my mate and my heart won’t let me. But it’s not only that. She’s so much more to me than just a mate.

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