Page 36 of Forsaken Desire
The rest of the drive went by without a word, just as I preferred. I only opened my eyes once when the car revved onto an incline and halted. The car headlights illuminated my duplex. Once I undid my seat belt, I hopped out of the car and strode to the slab of cement now adorned with a gray, ribbed doormat, fished in my pocket, and unlocked the door. Anything new that popped up around the house shouldn’t surprise me so much. The car shut off, and I sighed, slamming the door behind me. His large palm stopped me from shutting him out.
I spared him a brief glare and went directly for my room, shucking my clothes as I went, shifting in a burst. My limbs burned and stretched. Now on all fours, I padded over to the bed and jumped onto it. The mattress creaked and bounced under my paws. I plopped down against my pillows with my back to them, keeping my head turned to the rest of the room. Footsteps thudded in the living room. I moved my ears, focusing on the heaviness of the steps, tensing as they approached.
He strode into my bedroom, tugging his jacket off, watching me with intense focus.
“Josephine—”
I growled deep in my throat, letting the vibration shake my body. His lips thinned, and he finished removing his coat, laying it across the end of the dresser. He loosened his cuffs with aggressive tugs. The moonlight caught his eyes, and they seemed to glow gold, the reflection of his wolf eyes glinting.
Slowly, he unbuttoned his shirt, exposing his silky, muscled skin. My eyes dropped to his flexed abdomen and lower, to the line of hair running into the waistband. With two wide strides, he was at the edge of the bed, directly across from where I lay against my pillows. The corner dipped under his weight, and I growled again. He jerked, and a short rumble echoed in his throat.
My warning didn’t stop him. His weight fell onto the surface and I stiffened, lifting my head.
“Fine,” he growled. He rolled off the mattress, and I settled back in my spot. His gaze hadn’t moved away from my ears, and I bared my teeth at him, groaning and grumbling. I settled into bed, lowering my head on my front legs.
He paced near the edge of the bed, running his hands through his locks. Each movement rippled the muscles of his body.
I could see why he was so desired.
All those women who had crowed about the Alpha’s sexual prowess weren’t wrong, but now that I knew it was him, it was hard.
No wonder he seemed upset that I wasn’t experienced. I must have been a crappy lay after all the women he’d fucked.
This male pacing at the end of the bed seemed so different from the cold, cruel Alpha who had been on the stage.
I’d heard him clearly deny any claim to Cierra. If only he’d told me about everything.
It’s only been days since you met . . .
No! We were fated. How could he not tell me?
I exhaled in a gust.
Lucian stopped his pacing.
“I didn’t want to hurt you.” He speared his fingers through his hair, mussing the strands and making some stand upright. He’d seemed different on the stage. Cold and harsh. Nothing like the doting male who stood in my bedroom.
I didn’t know what to believe.
With so much uncertainty in my life, this only unbalanced me further.
Could I trust my mate?
Lucian sighed again, strode over to the wall across from the bed, and lowered next to the dresser, settling with his back against the wall. Once he propped his knee up, he rested his arm over it. At this angle, his upper body was cast in shadows, allowing me to see only the glint of his eyes.
“Josephine.” He paused. “Princess, you are my fate. I will wait for you.”
He said nothing else, and his promise echoed in my brain.
Would he really?
I tucked my tail closer to my body. It’d been a long day. Fortunately, I wasn’t due to work tomorrow until the late shift.
At the hotel my Alpha mate owned.
Great, what would theAlphathink about being fated to a felon?
My stomach roiled. Everything had already been complicated, and it was only worse now.
