Page 74 of Moon Claimed

I’ve gathered that much.

“Okay,” I said.

Sascha closed the gap and engulfed me in his strong arms. I hugged his middle, resting my cheek against his firm chest. His hands splayed against my back, and a deep rumble filled him as he buried his nose in my hair and inhaled. I couldn’t resist the urge to do the same as liquid warmth filled me, sweeping away the bruised ache left from my first shift. My worries faded, replaced by a feeling of contentment that had to be fake because I’dnever—not once in my life—experienced anything like this.

Hugging Sascha wasn’t just a hangover cure any longer. I couldfeelour bond thing fixing me,healingmy wounds. It felt so right that the thought of stepping back left my mind almost entirely.

“Why aren’t you playing your saxophone?” Sascha whispered in my ear. “You love it.”

Anger twisted sharp in my gut and the spell was broken. I stepped back. “None of your business.”

“Is it because of your mother?” His eyes were clear and sharp again, and a languidness hung over his previously tense shoulders.

A humourless smirk curved my lips. “Which mother?”

“The one you knew and loved.”

I brushed my hair back. “Let’s get something straight, Sascha. I’m grateful for the help last night, and the orgasms, but don’t believe for a second that things between us have otherwise changed.”

Sascha stalked closer and caged me against the door.

I glowered up at him.

He tilted my chin, exposing my neck. “What will you do when you realise outrunning me is futile?”

He’d uttered a similar version long ago, and my answer was still the same. “It’s not a matter of outrunning you.”

“I agree,” he murmured, drawing closer until a bare sliver separated us. “You’re running from your past. But I’m not your past, Andie. I’m here to stay. You willalwayshave me. So stop running.”

My chest rose, and his focus dipped to my breasts.

“No person stays forever. Everyone has their limit. Even you.”

He stared into my eyes. “Time will show you, little bird.”

I tore away from his intense perusal, trying to even out my shallow breaths. My new senses made standing close to Saschatorturous. The bond wanted me to go to him, to wrap my legs around him, to rest my cheek against his chest again, and to never let go.

Was this what Sascha always felt?

It was fucking overwhelming.

“Timewillshow me,” I replied in a trembling voice.

Sascha led a trapped pack. His parents were immortal.Literally,no one could leave him because the pack couldn’t leave the valley. He had no idea how shit abandonment felt, regardless of his age. He didn’t understand that people weren’t reliable, and that I wasn’t angry or bitter about that. It just was.

Fact.

Done.

Reaching behind me for the handle, I twisted and pushed.

Sascha’s reactions were too quick to fall on his face, but the look of shock on his features didn’t quite mesh with what I’d done. Smirking, I turned, jolting at the sight of Rhona.

Her shock equalled his.

“Rhona,” I said calmly. “Sascha Greyson was just leaving.”

My sister’s emerald eyes moved between my short dressing gown and the Luther leader’s bare chest.

---