TEMPORARY MATES PERMANENT CRAVINGS novel Chapter 156

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One hundred and fifty six

Cameron POV

The endless line of idling cars stretched ahead, and the AC blasted cold but unevenly. The peak hour let in blaring horns, and a sensory attack built, invading my ears despite the windows being wound up.

The rearview mirror twisted, forcing eye contact with Franklin’s concerned stare. I looked away, trying to settle my thoughts into something that made sense.

Something about the way I had just handled that situation sat wrong.

The image of that doctor came back without effort. Him sitting close to her. Close enough to make it look like a doctor doing his job.

It had not crossed any line I could point to. That was the problem. I had reacted like it had.

Lisa’s voice cut through the replay in my head.

You don’t get to decide who interacts with me.

She was right. I had not walked in on anything inappropriate, yet I couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable with his presence.

I shifted in my seat and focused back on the road, but the irritation stayed, directed at myself.

Something about her kept pulling me into reactions I did not plan for. It didn’t follow structure or the rules I had already set in place.

“You’re going to keep pretending that was nothing?” Franklin’s voice cut in from the passenger seat.

I didn’t respond.

He chuckled. “You walked into that room like a mad bull.”

“Shut up.”

“You’re thinking too loud,” he said. “You love her.”

I glared at him. “That’s not what this is.”

“Then what is it?”

“It was about control,” I said. “The setup between her and the doctor is getting loose.”

“That’s not what you were reacting to, and you know that. You’re in love with her.”

“That’s your interpretation. You’re building a narrative around something that doesn’t exist.”

“It’s the only one that makes sense. You’re just not calling it what it is.”

I didn’t bother looking at him this time. “I have a mate.”

“I’m aware,” he said. “That hasn’t stopped anything. You don’t plan these things. They show up and complicate everything.”

“This is not one of those situations,” I said, navigating to another lane.

“Then why are you thinking about it this much? Why is it affecting you so badly?”

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That landed hard.

I kept my attention on the road, letting the silence stretch instead of answering. He wasn’t entirely wrong, and that was the part that annoyed me.

“She’s part of a contract,” I said. “That’s where this begins and ends. When this is over, she walks away.”

“Then act like it and stop being a cock blocker.”

I didn’t respond.

Franklin let it sit, then changed direction.

“That arrogant bastard Desmond needs to be severely punished. His confidence, and the fact that he even had that information with Nadia, is telling. There’s a traitor in the alpha house.”

“Don’t mention Evangeline. She’s always the first name you mention,” I cut in. “Evangeline wouldn’t expose Nadia like that. That doesn’t fit.”

“I didn’t say it had to be her,” Franklin said. “I said someone did. I’m trying to understand how he found out, because that doesn’t happen randomly. Besides, people don’t always act in ways that fit.”

“That’s not a reason to start throwing accusations,” I said.

“I’m not throwing anything,” he replied. “I’m connecting what I believe and suspect.”

“What you suspect doesn’t change what we know,” I said. “She’s Nadia’s best friend. That doesn’t just flip.”

Franklin leaned his head back against the seat. “That’s exactly why it would hurt if it did.”

I shook my head. “You’re building something out of nothing.”

He let out a short breath. “Fine. Leave that aside. But don’t ignore the herbs,” he continued.

That part I didn’t dismiss.

“Desmond can poison her, so we test it.”

“Go ahead.”

He looked stunned.

“You’re serious?”

“I’m not taking chances with something I can verify. I’ll have it sent to the lab.”

Franklin let out a relieved sigh.

“But listen carefully. If there’s nothing in it, you drop this. No more pushing or trying to fill in gaps with assumptions about Evangeline.”

“Fair,” he said.

“She’s already changing how you move,” Franklin said with a cheeky grin.

I glanced at him. “What?”

“Lisa. You adjust around her. You might not see it, but it’s happening.”

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“That’s your interpretation again.”

“It’s observation, my alpha.”

I looked back at the road. “You’re wrong, and shut the hell up. I need to get flowers and apologize properly to Evangeline.”

Franklin laughed.

“You fought again?”

I regretted even telling him anything.

The bouquet looked right when I picked it. I bought it not because it would fix anything or change what had already happened, but because walking back empty-handed after last night felt worse.

I stared at options until I chose something that looked like it could pass as an apology.

It was never going to be enough. I paid anyway.

Last night had been a hellhole.

Evangeline was already upset when I got in, glaring at me with her arms folded.

“You told them not to let me out,” she said. “You caged me. How dare you?”

I dropped the keys on the table and looked at her. “That’s not what I did.”

“That’s exactly what you did,” she shot back. “I had to ask permission to step outside but wasn’t even allowed.”

“You didn’t have to ask. You had to inform.”

“You don’t get to decide that for me, Cameron.”

“I get to decide what keeps you safe.”

“I was going to get some cough medication, not cause a fucking war.”

“Don’t blame me, Eva. You went out alone, and you came back unwell.”

“I got sick. That doesn’t mean I stop living.”

“It means we control the variables until we understand what’s happening.”

Her eyes held mine, burning with anger. “Control. That’s your answer to everything.”

“It’s my answer when things start going wrong. I’m not taking chances with your health.”

“And if I refuse?”

“You won’t.”

The silence that followed was loaded and stretched thin between us.

She stepped closer.

“You don’t trust me to handle myself.”

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“I don’t trust the situation.”

Her gaze stayed on me, then shifted. She sighed. Before I could ask why she was looking at me like that, she untied the belt of her robe, going naked.

It was clear this wasn’t for affection or reconciliation. She was testing me.

“Fine then. I want to get fucked tonight.”

I tried hard not to wince.

She had lost considerable weight, her ribs almost visible, making her look pale and fragile.

“Eva, are you sure? I don’t want to hurt you.”

Her brow raised, and I knew I had to please her, not because I wanted to, but because this was what I was supposed to do.

She closed the distance and kissed me first. I kissed her back, the coldness of her tongue startling me.

I tried to imagine the Evangeline I used to love. The one we had spent the first three days after finding out we were fated making love, only taking breaks to eat and sleep.

The familiar sensation of bond arousal, ‘something my body knew how to do without thinking.

Thankfully, the scent that had been wrong before was gone. That sharp edge that had made everything feel off wasn’t there anymore. But something else was. It was deeper than the scent had ever been.

The wrongness.

Her hand moved lower to my zipper, certain of the response she expected.

There was none.

She looked up, and our eyes met.

There should have been a reaction. There wasn’t. I stayed still, waiting for my arousal as her hand moved along my shaft.

It remained limp.

Her eyes stayed on mine, searching, and I had nothing to give her.

She pulled back, and I tried to hold her, but she flinched away. She held my gaze, then turned from me.

I opened my mouth, but the words didn’t come out right.

\ “Eva-”

“I’m fine,” she said. “Goodnight, my love.”

She walked away, removing herself from the moment before it could turn into something worse, and I couldn’t be any more grateful.

The room felt different after that.

I stood there, trying to make sense of something that didn’t make sense.

Pushing the memory aside, I knew I had to make it up to her.

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But by morning, staying in the house felt worse than leaving, so I drove out without a clear destination. That was how I ended up at the safe house.

I didn’t plan it. I just didn’t stop, and to worsen my mood, I walked in and saw Lisa sitting close to the doctor.

Nothing was happening, nothing I could point to or justify reacting to, and yet the irritation came anyway.

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