24 - ra


    He trails behind me quietly as I make my way to my room. Once inside, I hear the faint buzz of his phone vibrating in his pocket. ncing over, I catch a glimpse of his lock screen, and my heart skips a beat. It''s a photo of him with a blonde woman, bothughing at something off-camera. The image is clearly cropped from arger picture, evident by the disembodied hands at the edges. He deliberately zoomed in to show only the two of them. Could this be the reason he''s resisting the bond? Does he still have someone else? Even after finding me, she remains the first image he sees when he checks his phone. Feeling a pang of jealousy, I turn away and head toward the bathroom, leaving him to his notifications. Maybe they''re sexting while he''s on the road-that has to be it. After all, he''s here often, but I can''t help but feel uneasy about him traveling unmarked to a pack where there''s a female Alpha, unmated and unmarked, every couple of weeks.


    I step under the hot cascade of water and let the warmth ease the tension from my muscles. It takes two thorough rounds of shampoo and conditioner to wash away the dirt and grime, restoring my fiery red hair to its true vibrant shade instead of a dull rusty brown. Honestly, I haven''t been keeping up with basic hygiene as well as I should. While scrubbing myself with an exfoliating sponge, making sure I''m clean enough to satisfy Mnie''s standards, I suddenly hear a sharp intake of breath. Startled, I straighten up from my bent position and turn around, nearly losing my bnce. Strong, warm hands catch me just in time before I slip on the slick soap suds pooling at my feet.


    "I didn''t realize your shower was open concept," Ben mutters, his eyes closed.


    “You''ve seen me naked before. This isn''t anything new, Ben," I whisper, surprised at the softness of my voice. Why am I whispering?


    "This is definitely not the same thing," he replies, still with his eyes shut. "I heard from Jax and Dev, and one of my healers. I just wanted you to know." His words ignite a re of irritation inside me.


    "Oh, so now you''ve decided to be a gentleman?" I grumble, realizing I must be delirious.


    I try to pull away from his embrace, but his hands tighten around my ribs. He''s dangerously close to ces I both desperately want him to touch and simultaneously want him to avoid. I haven''t been with anyone in a long time. That''s all this is desire born of loneliness. I don''t want a man whose attention is elsewhere, even if he is my mate. He doesn''t want me, and I don''t want him, really. It''s only this forced bond making me feel like this—along with the tingling, the electric current running through my entire body. Just his touch alone makes me feel like I''ve finally slept through the night for the first time since this whole ordeal began.


    "If you could see what''s running through my head right now, you wouldn''t call me a gentleman," he murmurs, his chest vibrating against my already sensitive nipples, sending another surge of heat through me.


    "Prove it,” I challenge, the words slipping out before I can think better of them. His eyes snap open, but they''re not his usual warm brown; instead, the ck depths of his wolf swirl within, signaling the fierce battle raging inside him.


    The blonde woman on his phone. I don''t understand why I''m not fighting harder. Neither of us truly wants this, but somehow, it''s helping. My mind feels clearer, my body more whole. I hate this mate bond for the control it wields. His wolf demands his mate, and he wants whoever that is.


    His thumbs glide over my nipples again, and an involuntary moan escapes me. He presses harder this time, coaxing a deeper, more primal sound from my lips-one I''ve never made before. His serious gaze remains, but the devilish smirk belongs entirely to his wolf. Without warning, he lifts me effortlessly, and my legs instinctively wrap around his waist. A hand presses firmly against my back, pulling me closer as he tilts my chest toward his face. His mouthnds on my skin with a bruising bite that, surprisingly, I enjoy far more than I should. He sucks hard, leaving marks, then kisses the spot tenderly before moving on to another sensitive area on my breasts.


    So absorbed am I in his touch that I barely register us moving until I''m suddenlyid down on my bed and he''s crawling over me. His clothes are drenched from pulling me straight from the shower, but he''s in no rush to shed them. Instead, he licks and sucks every inch of my body below my neck, his attention relentless.


    I barely have a moment to think before I feel him lower his mouth to my core, his lips capturing me with a hunger that makes my breath hitch.