TEMPORARY MATES PERMANENT CRAVINGS novel Chapter 104

Cow hundred and four

+15 Bchus

One hundred and four

“There’s honey garlic chicken and mashed potatoes. Do you want some?”

I nodded.

Lisa moved around the counter, pulling plates from the microwave and setting them on the table. She set one in front of me and took the seat across from me. I started eating while she watched, neither of us speaking. The sauce was sweet and salty, still warm, and I realized how hungry I actually was.

The silence felt heavier than it should have. We were only eating. Two people at a table. Still, the closeness worked under my skin.

I glanced toward her laptop on the table.

“What were you working on when I came in?”

She leaned back in her chair. “I’ve been thinking about starting something after the baby.”

“What kind of business?”

“Fashion. Styling, personal shopping. That’s what I know.”

“That makes sense.” I took another bite. “Luna Catherine spoke highly of you. That alone should give you confidence.”

She dropped her gaze to her plate.

“I’m not saying this because I need help.”

“I know. You don’t need my help to succeed.”

I kept eating, but the quiet felt different. It felt ordinary.

That was the problem. Normal was dangerous.

She stood and started collecting the plates when we finished. I reached out and wrapped my arms around her waist from behind.

Her body softened instantly against mine, melting back into my chest, but her hands stayed tense around the plate. The reality of what I was doing slammed into me at the same time as the desire.

My cock stiffened, thickening against the zipper of my trousers, pressing into the small of her back. Every shift of her hips ground against me just enough to send a fresh pulse of need straight to my groin. I should have let go. Instead my fingers spread wider across her belly, pulling her flush so she could feel exactly how hard she was making me.

She turned in my arms. The space between us vanished. Her breasts brushed my chest and I felt them drag across my shirt like sparks.

“This isn’t right,” she whispered.

Neither of us moved. Her eyes searched mine, and I felt my control fraying thread by thread.

“We’ve kissed before. It’s nothing new.”

“Still doesn’t make it right.”

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One hundred and four

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I closed the distance anyway.

The kiss started carefully, almost polite. Then something snapped.

Her hand slid up my arm. I angled my head, took her mouth deeper, tongue sliding against hers in a slow, wet stroke that made her gasp into me. I swallowed the sound and kissed her harder. 1

She arched against me, and the friction against my erection drew a groan from my throat. My hands dropped to her ass, kneading through the robe, lifting her slightly so the hard length of me nestled right between her thighs. She rocked forward again and the pressure made stars burst behind my eyes.

Her fingers tangled in my hair, pulling me closer, and she moaned softly against my tongue. That sound nearly undid me completely. I forgot the guilt, the duty, Evangeline’s face flashing for a split second before it drowned under the heat of her mouth, the taste of her, the way her body fit against mine.

Then reality crashed back.

I broke the kiss and stepped back. My erection strained painfully against my jeans, obvious, impossible to hide. I ran a hand over the back of my neck, looked toward the table instead of at her swollen lips or the flush on her cheeks.

We stared at each other in the heavy silence.

I shouldn’t be doing this.

“I’m sorry.”

“Get some rest.” She turned and headed upstairs, the robe swaying against her thighs with every step.

I poured whiskey into a glass and set the bottle down on the table. The sharp smell rose up, and I stood there

holding the glass while my mind circled the same images, her mouth, her warmth, her body. My body reacted like it remembered her.

I set the glass on the table, untouched.

This was exactly why I shouldn’t have come.

I repeated the explanation I wanted to believe. This attraction was temporary, situational, hormones and proximity. Anything except what it actually felt like. She was carrying my child. That alone could explain the pull. Biology has its own logic. Wolves were drawn by reproduction. Instincts could confuse things. That explanation sounded reasonable enough.

I leaned back and stared at the ceiling. Sleep didn’t come. All I could think about was the room down the hall and the woman inside it. I hated that I wanted to get up and go there.

I stayed where I was. That counted as control.

Then I headed to the shower.

The bathroom light was harsh when I turned it on. Cold tile pressed under my bare feet as I stepped in and twisted the shower knob. Water hit the floor with a loud rush before warming. I braced my hands against the wall and let the water run over my shoulders and down my back, hoping it would loosen the tension under my skin.

It didn’t help.

My cock was already half-hard. Now it filled out the rest of the way under the spray. I tried ignoring it. Tried

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Cured and four

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thinking about Evangeline or anything safe.

Nothing stuck.

Every time I closed my eyes, it was Lisa’s woman’s mouth on mine, her hips grinding against my cock through the robe, that small moan she let slip.

I wrapped my hand around the base and gave one rough pull and started chasing the edge so I could get this over with. My other hand stayed braced on the tile. I pictured her turning in my arms again, her thighs parting so I could slide between them.

I finished, more out of frustration than relief, breathing hard under the spray. When it was over, the pressure eased a little, but not enough. Nothing compared to the real thing.

Evangeline was sick while I stood there wanting another woman. That thought sat heavy in my chest.

I shut off the water and stood there with droplets sliding down my skin. At least I slept.

It was close to midnight when I went to bed, and I woke when sunlight filtered through the curtains. For the first time in days, I felt lighter.

I got dressed and stepped into the hallway, intending to leave.

Lisa’s door opened at the same time. She stopped when she saw me. Her gaze lifted to mine. Neither of us spoke. The air between us felt heavy, something unfinished hanging there.

“Good morning.”

“Morning.”

I should have walked past her. Instead, I stepped closer. She didn’t move back. That was all it took.

My hand came up to her face, my thumb brushing her cheek. Her eyes closed, and the reaction went straight through me. I kissed her. This time there was no hesitation. Her arms wrapped around me, and the familiarity loosened something inside me that felt both right and wrong. I pulled her closer.

Her scent clung to my skin, and I knew it would stay with me long after I left.

This time she pulled back.

Our breathing stayed uneven as we looked at each other. Neither of us pretended this was accidental anymore. Time hadn’t fixed anything. If anything, it made it worse.

“You should go.”

I nodded and headed downstairs. I grabbed my keys from the table.

One thought settled in my head with uncomfortable clarity.

I wasn’t losing control because Lisa chased me.

I was losing control because I wanted her, and I knew before I reached the car that I would come back again.

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