Page 109 of Vicious Luna

“Acting like I belong with them.”

I roll my eyes, focusing back on the road ahead. “Of course you do, they’re your family.”

“No, the five of them are a family,” he mutters. “I’m just an interloper.”

I scrunch up my nose. “An inter-what-now?”

“A fucking outsider,” he growls. “An unwelcome guest at their happy little family dinner.”

“How can you be unwelcome when they literally invited you?” I ask, darting him another side-eyed glance.

He cards his fingers through his hair with a sigh. “They were just being nice.”

“Or maybe they’re just nice people and they truly want to get to know you.”

“Sure, they’re nice,” he concedes. “But I doubt they want me hanging around any more than you do.”

My heart stutters in my chest, brow furrowing in confusion. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about how I don’t fit in anywhere,” he snaps, his raised voice making me flinch. “I was thrown out of TheGuild when I became a shifter, and other shifters don’t want me around because I used to be in The Guild. I’m talking about how I unknowingly fucked up my whole life, and no matter what I do, I can’t go back and change any of it. I can’t bring back the werewolves I killed. I can’t un-capture you. I might’ve helped you guys take The Guild down, but it was too little too late, wasn’t it?”

I shift my wide-eyed gaze between him and the road, at a complete loss for words. He seemed so content during dinner; I felt the hum of his contentment through our bond. Butthis… I have no idea where this is coming from.

“I’m talking about how people who know my history can’t help but look at me sideways, and the worst part is, I fucking get it,” Cam continues bitterly. “I wouldn’t want to be associated with me, either. I’m a shifter who used to hunt my own kind. I can barely get the hang of my wolf, my mate doesn’t want me, which is against nature from what I’ve been told, and I’m…”

I cut off his tirade by slamming my foot on the brake, the tires of the Jeep squealing against the pavement as I jerk the wheel to the right and veer off the road. “Whoa, back the fuck up. When did I say I don’t want you?!” I demand as the Jeep rolls to a stop and I throw the gear into park.

Cam flickers a rueful glance in my direction, shaking his head. “C’mon, Avery, there’s no point in tiptoeing around it. You’ve been practically trying to shove me out the door to Denver.”

“Yeah, so you could meet your family,” I say.

“And go off and join their pack, right?” he scoffs. “Isn’t that why you said I should look for them?”

“Well yeah, but...”

“And now that I found them, you’re all about pushing me to get to know them,” he continues.

“I’m just trying to be supportive!” I exclaim, banging mypalms against the steering wheel in frustration. “I don’t want you to move to fucking Denver!”

He flinches back, brow furrowing in confusion. “You don’t?”

“No, you idiot. If I had my choice, you’d stay and just fuckingbe with me, but then what kind of mate would I be if I asked you to do that? I can’t keep you from your family, and as much as I love you, I don’t want to leave the six-pack. My family’s there, my friends, the squad…”

Cam darts out a hand, cupping my face in a palm and turning it toward him. “What’d you just say?”

I blow out a shaky breath as I stare into his eyes. “I don’t want to leave the six-pack.”

“Before that.”

I wrinkle my nose as I comb back through my words, cheeks heating when I realize what just slipped out.

Cam brings his other hand up to the opposite side of my face as he leans in, still holding me captive in the intensity of his stare. “I love you too,” he declares, and all the air leaves my lungs in a whoosh of breath. “I should’ve told you sooner, but I just… fuck, I don’t know, I’ve never said that to anyone before, and you’ve never been shy about saying what you want so I just thought…”

I shove forward, silencing him by slamming my lips against his. He grunts in surprise, nipping my lower lip, then parts his own, tongue sliding into my mouth and seeking mine. My fingers sink into his hair, tugging him closer as I kiss him fiercely, desperately, showing him just how wrong his assumptions were.

He kisses me back with the same intensity, our mouths still fused even as he tugs me to climb over the center console and onto his lap. My knees part to straddle his waist, arms winding around his neck as I tilt my head and kiss him harder, deeper. Our lips glide, tongues tangling as he slides a hand up my thigh and under the hem of my sundress, a shiver runningthrough me when his fingertips brush the soaked fabric of my panties.

“Does this feel like I don’t want you?” I murmur against his lips, grinding my hips as I chase his touch.

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