Page 2 of Forsaken Desire
His inhale was close to a gasp.
In an explosive move, he had me pinned against the wall, his lips crushing mine.
My hands hovered over his arms, and I finally settled them on his bicep. His vanilla scent enveloped me. So, so good. I moaned. This was where I was meant to be. In his arms. We were each other’s other half. A fated pair that must be nurtured.
I flicked my tongue against his hesitantly, trying to match his fervor with my clumsy, unpracticed attempts. His body crushed into mine, his hardness shoving against my stomach. Butterflies bloomed in my stomach, and I gripped his shirt, tugging frantically. Suddenly, he pulled back, lips damp.
His hand cupped my jaw and forced my face upward to rub his thumb across my lower lip.
“Who are you?” I breathed.
“Lucian,” he answered. His teeth clicked together while a muscle flexed in his jaw.
He jerked away from me, taking away his warmth.
I made a grab for him, but he shoved my hand away. I couldn’t help my flinch. Why was he pushing me away?
He exhaled, and it sounded close to a hiss. He stretched his neck from side to side and rolled his shoulders. Why was he so angry?
When he looked at me again, it was with such intensity that it caused a shiver to course down my back. With a single stride, he overwhelmed my space. He gripped my jaw, squeezing so hard it brought tears to my eyes.
“I don’t have a need for a fated mate.”
I gasped, my heart shriveling under his glare. It would have hurt less if he’d punched me. “I reject you. Get out of my sight.”
He released me so abruptly that I staggered.My mate doesn’t want me. Emotion clogged in my throat. I couldn’t believe this. A fated mate didn’t behave this way. My lip trembled. I neededmore of an explanation. He couldn’t just leave me like this, but he was already striding away stiffly.
“Wait,” I whispered, so low that he must not have heard me. He was my mate; if he had heard me, he would have stopped.
It took a beat to get my legs working, but eventually, I forced my feet to move. One step. Another. All the way to the end of the dark hall. The threshold opened to a large waiting room. I passed an empty desk with plants covering the surface. As soon as I was near the couch, I could see into a room made of glass walls with the blinds open.
The light from inside made it easy to see my mate inside the office, head bowed over the large desk . . . and another woman was there. She said something, but the glass made it impossible to hear.
His fists pressed to the desk’s surface. Watching was a train wreck in slow motion. Each step I moved closer made it easier to see when her fingers touched the back of his neck—skin to skin.
I gasped and the bond struck a sharp pain through my chest, but I didn’t stop my forward momentum, only slowing once I was a foot away from the pane. My mate stiffened and whipped his head directly to where I lurked near the door. He had pinpointed my location with such ease. His expression morphed into something that never should have been on the face of the one meant to cherish me.
With a swift movement, he yanked the woman onto the desk. Another slam of agony stabbed into my chest. I staggered, only a few feet away from the glass. The woman was so wrapped up in watching him, she hadn’t seen me. She spread her knees, and his fingers delved under her dress. Once his fingers wrapped around her bare thigh, the searing pain drove me to my knees.
I could only mouth “no” repeatedly. Every fiber of my being ached, and it all came from the bond spearing through my chest.
He met my gaze, an analytical edge to his expression. A thick pressure formed in my throat, and my stomach and heart were in agony.
Him touching her physically hurt.
I couldn’t make sense of this. Why was he doing this? Why didn’t he want me?
The blonde woman with dark roots tipped her head up, her lips grazing against the jaw meant for me. She tugged up his shirt and touched his stomach. Another agonizing slam against our bond. I grunted from the force of the hit. She slowly crept lower to tug the button of his slacks loose. She slid off the edge of the desk and knelt before him. Nausea roiled in my stomach.
His cock bobbed free, and her palm wrapped around the base. A rip shredded through my stomach, and I crumpled to the floor.
From my position on the ground, I watched her lean forward and lick the tip of his length. I crawled away from the scene and lunged for the plant on the other side of the desk, using it as a shield to not watch my mate betray me. All the contents exited my stomach. The pain worsened, and numbness crept over my limbs.
I staggered to my feet.
I had to get away from here.
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