Total pages in book: 39
Estimated words: 37590 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 188(@200wpm)___ 150(@250wpm)___ 125(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 37590 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 188(@200wpm)___ 150(@250wpm)___ 125(@300wpm)
“Excuse me? You didn’t even know me.”
“You had your nose up in the sky.”
“I love to look at the sky, asshole. That doesn’t make me stuck-up.”
He glared at her. “Who does that? Who stares at the sky for most of the day? It’s weird.”
“Five-year-olds do. Go for your walk. I can’t believe I even felt sorry for making you upset. The only reason you care right now is because of the mating. We don’t have feelings for us. It’s purely physical, but we can end this. Both of us can demand to have this mating severed. You hate me, and I can’t stand you. Why prolong the inevitable?”
Lucas advanced toward her. She sat down in her chair. There was nowhere else for her to go. The look in his eyes sent a shiver down her spine. There were no other words for it. He gripped the handles and moved in close to her face.
“I don’t hate you, Mabel. I never have. Far from it.” He stood up, and without another word, he was gone.
She stayed in her chair and growled. “Fuck!”
This was the last thing she wanted.
Running a hand down her face, she tried to think of all the reasons she should hate him, but at that moment, she was only pissed off with herself. There was no one else to blame. She’d done this.
She placed a hand on her neck, right where he’d kissed her last night. It still felt a little sensitive, but the pleasure had been out of this world.
Get a grip.
Standing up, she hobbled toward the door and opened it. Lucas was at the edge of the water, staring up at the sky. She heard the growls and angry cries falling from his lips.
The wolf inside her stirred.
Their mate was in pain.
Go to him.
Mabel held on to the door, refusing to go any further.
Go to him.
He needs us.
She watched Lucas a little more. The feelings stirring within her were too great to ignore.
Leaving the door open, she hobbled down toward the beach. The angle she held her foot made it very awkward.
He tensed up the moment she was close to him.
“I’m sorry. I don’t … I don’t know how I feel about you.”
Lucas spun around to her. “I don’t hate you.”
“I don’t hate you completely, but I don’t love you either,” she said, looking down at the ground. “I’m willing to make this work. To see where this goes.” She pressed her lips together.
“Mabel, I can promise you two things. One, I will always take care of you from here on out, and second, I will never do anything you don’t want me to do.” He walked toward her, grabbing her face. “Please believe that.”
“I do.” She couldn’t resist glancing at his lips. Was he going to kiss her?
He pulled away, and the moment he stopped touching her, she missed him.
“Did the screaming help?” she asked.
“It did.”
“I didn’t mean to make you angry.”
He shrugged, and then she cried out as he picked her up. “You should be resting your foot.”
“I needed to set this right with us.”
“And you’ve done that. Now it’s time to rest your foot.”
“Do you forgive me?” she asked.
“There’s nothing to forgive.”
She cupped his cheek, forcing him to look at her. He slowed down as he did. “I mean it, Lucas. I am sorry.”
“Forgiven.”
The temptation to kiss him was so strong, but she held back. Like all things in life, it seemed all she ever had to do was freaking hold back.
****
And so a routine began for the next month. Not that Lucas could complain. Rather than live separately, Mabel sought him out every single day.
They’d go for long walks. It took nearly a week for her foot to be completely healed before she was able to walk again. He didn’t like that. He loved having an excuse to hold her in his arms and carry her everywhere.
At nights, they watched some television or talked about what they’d seen the previous day.
Mabel often cooked breakfast while he handled lunch.
All in all, it was … humble.
“And you’re complaining about that?” Duke asked on one of his calls.
“No, I’m not complaining. It’s good, right? We’re developing a relationship together.”
“It is good progress. You have to be happy with that.”
“I am.”
“You’re impatient?” his father asked.
“No. I’m happy with how things are progressing.”
What he refused to talk to his father about were the touches, the lingering looks. He’d noticed Mabel had started to become highly aroused around him, and he was a little unnerved about what that meant when the full moon was high up in the sky. They were close to a second. The first had ended with them watching each other, and that had happened even when they’d been distant.
He’d gotten closer to her these past few weeks and there was no denying the tension constantly falling between them. It was always there, waiting to burst free.