Page 99 of Moon Claimed

Hmm, actually. This was the ideal chance to confirm a theory.

Releasing some of my forest calm, my fingernails shot out into lethal claws, fangs sliding down either end of my chin. My vision sharpened and my hearing range burst outward to five times the radius, my smell stronger still. A trickle of energy returned to me, like dipping a foot into a hot bath.

I’d always found it weird that Sascha spoke of personal issues in the hearing of his pack, but with the sheer range of a Luther’s senses, there probably wasn’t another option. It would be impossible to drive twenty minutes away each time a person wanted to have a private conversation. Even the idea of lying to another Luther was ridiculous.Ugh,suddenly, my wholeinfiltrate The Densploy was laughable. They’d have known the minute I re-entered the casino.

You couldn’t drive?I thought hard at the wolf.

His answer filled my head.We never drive if we can run, mate.

Pulling back my forest calm, I shoved my wolf away, trying to conceal my triumph. Wolvescouldmind-speak in a partial shift.

Facing the waterfall again, I focused there instead of on the cracks and pops behind me.

“You’re happy with yourself? Why?” Sascha’s smooth voice washed over me.

“You know, driving has its perks. Mainly that you’d be wearing clothes right now.”

“I didn’t think nudity bothered you,” he said, walking toward me in his birthday suit. “Or is it just my nudity that makes you squirm?”

He had to use that word in particular.

Turning, I fixed my eyes on his mocking face. “What are you teaching me today?”

He stopped before me. “Why do you smell like sorrow and stress?”

“I told Rhona the truth of what happened during the capture meet. And about the meets and what it means. She’s not happy.”

Dang it,I couldn’t help glancing down. He was a work of art, for shit’s sake. Hard abs were the bridge between wide shoulders and hips that were built to fulfil all types of fantasies. There was no other word for his powerful physique than gorgeous, and I couldn’t help but noticethisbeauty didn’t feel distant and cold like the waterfall at my back.

“I’ve waited a long time for you to look at me like a woman looks at a man,” Sascha said softly.

I politely returned my attention to the guy’s face. “I appreciate nice bodies.”

“Nice bodies or just mine?”

He could smell a lie. “I’ve always appreciated men’s bodies. I have the power to look but not touch.”

“Can you think of another man after what we shared?” He stalked closer. “It’s been impossible for me to look at another woman since I first saw you. After tasting you, it’s like women no longer exist.”

“Doesn’t that bother you? That you’ve magically been told to want me and so you do? If you were really attracted to me, then you would have been after Rhona long before I arrived.”

His mouth crooked, and I tilted my head back, challenge in my gaze.

“Rhona smells like cut grass—”

“I love that smell,” I shot in.

“—that’s been in the compost heap for three weeks.”

My mouth snapped shut. That didn’t sound so pleasant.

“You—” Sascha wrapped his hands around my upper arms. “—do not. Your actions tell me that you have a beautiful mind and heart as well as an exquisite body. I don’t know how I got so lucky.”

Someone was counting their chickens before they’d hatched, but his slightly baffled tone made my stomach feel strange. “What do I smell like?”

He placed his mouth next to my ear. I swayed into him, feeling some of my exhaustion seep away.

“Like vanilla and oranges.” His words warmed my insides. “Like liquorice and pumpkin spice.”

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