Page 42 of Claimed By the Damned

It had taken her a long time to finish all the chores her father had given her for the pack, including reorganizing her father’s bedroom and cleaning the main house from top to bottom. She ended up being two hours late to work because of it and then had to jump right into everything she needed to do for the shop.

Amara had completed all the opening prep work in record time, though that was because her mind was seemingly stuck on everything that had happened that morning. Drake, despite his constantly fighting the bond between them, had joined them in bed. Willingly. And what was more, he hadn’t left angrily right afterward. He didn’t exactly say much to her before he left, but he did lie there with her for a while, allowing her to rest against his chest. Because of that, she couldn’t help but wonder if he was finally coming around to the idea. The thought made her smile. He was the final piece of the puzzle, and once he accepted things, their little foursome would be complete.

The morning passed quickly with all the restocking she had to do, and there was an influx of customers that kept her running back and forth from the register to the stacks. By the time lunch came around, she was ready for a nap. However, she had managed to find a copy of the book that Zeke had asked her for the day before, and she was more than a little excited to get it to him.

After locking the front door, she left the bookshop and crossed the back lot to the bar. The place was closed since it was only noon, but the guys always left the back door open, and for that, she was grateful because she was able to easily let herself in. She didn’t see anyone around inside the bar, so she jogged up the stairs and knocked on the apartment door.

Footfalls sounded from deep inside the apartment, and then the door swung open, revealing Drake. He had clearly just gotten out of the shower because he only had a towel around his waist, and his chest was still damp. Her eyes involuntarily tracked a water droplet as it rolled down his abs and disappeared into the towel.

She swallowed thickly. She would be lying if she said that she wasn’t attracted to him, but she was quickly reminded of his attitude when she raised her gaze to his and found him scowling at her. Just like that, her smile faded, and all hopes of him finally coming around to the bond between them were dashed.

“What are you doing here?” he demanded.

Sighing, she held up the book she had clenched in her hand. “Zeke asked for a book yesterday. I just came by to give it to him,” she replied, her voice soft and unsure. Once again, he was back to being cold toward her, and she wondered when all this back and forth was going to end.

“He’s not here.” She half-expected him to slam the door in her face, but instead, he opened it wider, allowing her to enter. “You can leave it in his room.”

“Thanks,” she muttered, lowering her eyes as she stepped around him.

Amara had been in the apartment enough times to know where Zeke’s room was and quickly made her way there. Once inside, she set the book down on the nightstand before pulling out a small notepad to leave him a note, which she placed on top of the book. When that was done, she had no reason to stick around. So, she turned and left the room quickly. She wanted to get out of there as fast as possible since Drake was clearly irritated with her again.

Unfortunately, she had been moving too fast, and with her eyes on the floor, she didn’t realize that Drake was coming down the hall at the same time she was exiting the room until she slammed face-first into his bare, wet chest. She nearly fell backward onto her ass due to the impact, but Drake’s arm was suddenly around her, keeping her upright as his fingers dug into the curve of her waist.

She felt him stiffen and sigh heavily before he said, “Don’t move.”

“Why?” she gasped breathlessly.

Despite his obvious hatred toward her, he still had the same kind of effect on her that the others did, and her body enjoyed his touch. Probably a little too much.

“The towel.” The two words came out in an irritated growl that caused goosebumps to appear on her skin.

“What about it?” Instinctively, she looked down only to discover that the towel had fallen, giving her a completely unobstructed view of his rock-hard cock. “Oh,” she squeaked. She wasn’t sure why he was hard, but the sight of it made her mouth water and her pussy clench. She couldn’t help but stare at it for a few moments, wondering how the hell that had ever fit inside of her.

Amara shook herself mentally and forced her gaze upward, back toward his face. However, Drake was looking anywhere but at her, his jaw clenched. It was clear that he wanted to be anywhere but there, and that realization felt like a knife to the gut.

“We can’t stand here forever,” she muttered after a moment.

“I’m aware.”

When he made no move to release her, she pressed her lips together and focused on his chest. “So… what are we supposed to do?”

She really wanted to reach out and touch the gorgeous, well-defined muscles of his chest and abs but thankfully managed to refrain from doing so. It didn’t stop her from staring though.

Drake sighed through his nose, cursed under his breath, and then gently pushed her away. He bent at the waist and grabbed the towel before tying it back around his waist. “I’ll tell Zeke you stopped by.”

She frowned at the blatant dismissal. It cut her deep. The pain felt like a rejection, piercing her chest and stealing her breath. She blinked, realizing then that she really was nothing but a toy to him. He was using her, and that was all there was to it.

“Wow, you really do hate me,” she whispered to no one in particular. Blinking away the tears that pricked the back of her eyes, she nibbled on her bottom lip. “Sorry I bothered you.”

When she moved to step around him and head toward the door, Drake suddenly grabbed her arm, stopping her in her tracks. After a moment, he murmured, “I don’t hate you, Amara.”

She didn’t believe him. Actions spoke louder than words, and his actions had made his feelings for her perfectly clear. The only time he was even remotely okay with her around was when he wanted to get laid. Otherwise, he couldn’t be bothered to even be civil toward her. And she was done with it. She couldn’t take it anymore. Her heart couldn’t take it. She was already dealing with enough as it was. She knew then that she needed to stop this before it broke her even more.

“Could have fooled me,” she told him softly, not bothering to hide the pain in her voice. “Unless you are horny and need to get off, you want nothing to do with me. I’m just a toy to you.”

“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to–” He paused and let go of her arm, his fingers moving to tug on his hair. Several seconds ticked by until he dropped his hands back to his sides and looked her square in the eye. “I’m not trying to use you.”

“But you are,” she countered, turning to face him fully. “And I… I just can’t do it anymore. I’m not a toy, Drake. I’m not a whore, despite what my father may say. And unless you are going to accept this thing between us, I’m… I’m not going to do it anymore. I’m not going to have sex with you again. I can’t. Every time I do, it makes me fall for you more and more.”

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