Page 12 of Wolf's Claimed Mate
My hands sliding down his toned stomach, grasping at his belt buckle desperately, my skirt already pushed up my hips…
I bit down on the inside of my cheek to stop my thoughts of him, of that night.
“If you don’t want to correct me on my assumptions, then I’m only left to assume, aren’t I?” he asked. “I might not be an alpha, but I can still bend you to my whim, Sasha.”
I remembered how my name sounded in a groan from his voice, deep and gravelly, buried in my neck as he’d rolled his hips against mine, seeking friction.
I was fraying, trying to cling onto a shred of composure. I busied myself with digging into my pancakes instead,justso I didn’t have to look into those green eyes of his, so bright with words he didn’t always say aloud.
“Sasha,” he said again, his voice deepening. I repressed any physical reaction to it even though it did something for me. “We can work together, can’t we?” His voice was sultry, a lilt to it that I swooned with.
“No,” I breathed, trying to compose myself. “No, we can’t. I work alone. I work alone or not at all.”
Conall laughed, as if he knew a joke I didn’t yet have the punchline to. “See, you don’t have much of a choice.”
“I do,” I said. “Don’t try to use Thalia against me. I can help her without working with you.”
He shrugged. “I can’t dispute that.”
“Then whatareyou disputing?”
Silence fell over the table. The sound of the diner’s kitchen rushed around us, and I held onto my milkshake glass for the cold, grounding sensation. It didn’t last for long, that grounding peace.
Not when Conall’s voice lowered. “Do you remember that night, Sasha?”
“I don’t know which night you’re talking about,” I answered, but my voice betrayed me, shaking.
“I think you do.” His gaze was fierce, pinning me in place.
I tried to gather myself. “You mean that drunken, unfortunate incident after the Inferno Lounge?”
“Only unfortunate because it came to an end,” he murmured, lifting a brow.
My hands shook. I clenched the glass harder, feigning a high laugh. It wastoohigh, too false. “We were drunk,” I said. “That night is a mere blip in my life. Barely memorable.”That night burns through my memories, haunting my dreams. It’s all I’ve thought of since. “There was a reason I stopped it going further.”
“What? Because it wasn’t memorable.”
I forced a smirk at him. “Your words, wolf. Maybe I knew I was only in for disappointment.”
That accusation cut something deep within him, striking true. Like with the cruel text I’d sent, my victory was short-lived. I forced my guilt back, away, so I could remain clinging onto my triumph.
He can’t know, I told myself.He can’t know that of all the fears in the world, commitment terrifies me. Pinning myself to one man terrifies me. I cannot give myself to him so easily.
I finished off my pancakes, Conall’s gaze weighing heavily on me. When my plate was empty, I smiled. “I’ll let you grab the bill. Thanks for the breakfast but just to reiterate, Iwillbe working alone. Thalia and Fenrys will receive their information, but it won’t be the cutesy double act they’re thinking of.”
“Do not move from this table.” Conall’s voice rang dominantly, halting me from moving an inch. I thought of him saying those words in another situation.Hands on the counter. Do not move them, or I’ll stop.
After everything, it had beenmeto stop that night.
“Conall,” I drawled. Something in his face flickered at my voice changing, that bravado that always saved me, the one I even gave Thalia. “I appreciate what you need to do for Fenrys, I do. I appreciate your loyalty to your pack, I admire it, even. But everything I have in my life, I’ve achieved it alone, and I won’t stop that now to save a pack who would turn their backs on me in a heartbeat if anything ever happened. Your loyalty is to each other, not with me, so mine cannot belong to your pack, either.”
Fingers grasped my wrist, stopping me once again from leaving. His eyes bore into mine.
“What if I gave youmyloyalty?” he asked quietly. His thumb glided over my wrist.
I laughed. “You’re part of a pack. It doesn’t work that way.”
“Yes, I am,” he agreed. “But I’m still just a man. A man who’s offering you himself.”
