TEMPORARY MATES PERMANENT CRAVINGS novel Chapter 32

Thirty-Two

CAMERON POV

I woke up gasping, my cock painfully hard.

The dream clung to me in vivid detail. I could still feel her around me and hear her voice saying my name. I lay in. the dark breathing hard, trying to orient myself.

Evangeline slept beside me, her platinum hair spread across the pillow.

My mate.

My body didn’t seem to understand that.

I was harder than I’d been in years, aching with need, and it was all directed at a woman who wasn’t in this bed.

I needed to fix this. I needed to prove to myself that the mate bond still mattered more than anything.

I turned toward Evangeline and studied her for a moment.

She was beautiful. She was mine.

I leaned in and kissed her.

She stirred under me, her eyes opening slowly. “Cameron?”

I kissed her again and began unbuttoning her nightgown.

A smile curved her mouth. “Well, good morning to you too.”

I didn’t answer. I kept kissing her and sliding the fabric off her shoulders, trying to recreate what I had felt in the dream.

But the moment the nightgown came off, the smell hit me.

Raw eggs.

I forced myself to ignore it and told myself it was her medication, some side effect of the illness.

It didn’t matter.

She was my mate. I should endure the smell without hesitation.

Evangeline’s hand slid down my chest and wrapped around my cock.

“I’ve missed this,” she whispered. “Missed you.”

She started stroking me. I kissed her harder and ran my hands over her body, trying to force my body to respond.

The smell grew stronger.

And beneath the fading arousal, I felt my body pulling back.

No.

That couldn’t be happening.

I kissed her with more urgency and touched her the way I knew she liked.

My cock softened in her hand.

“Mmm,” Evangeline murmured against my mouth. “Someone’s eager. I love it when you’re like this.”

She stroked me faster.

It wasn’t working.

I was going limp.

Shame tightened through my chest. This had never happened before. I had always been able to satisfy Evangeline.

Except now.

I tried to focus, tried to force my body to respond, but the dream kept intruding. Lisa’s voice. Lisa’s body. The way she said my name.

Evangeline’s hand stilled and she pulled back, confusion replacing the smile.

“Cameron?”

“It’s fine,” I said quickly. “I just don’t want to hurt you. You’re still recovering.”

“Sick people can have sex,” she replied, with a small laugh. “I’m not that fragile.”

It was only part of the truth, but it was the safest explanation.

Evangeline’s expression softened.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “I never should have agreed to this arrangement. It’s affecting everything.”

I put as much regret into my voice as possible. If I didn’t sound upset, she might start asking the wrong questions.

And I couldn’t explain the truth.

Evangeline reached for my hand. “It’s okay. We can try again later. The ritual will wear off eventually.”

I nodded.

“Actually,” I said after a moment, “Lisa asked for a break last night. She said her body needs time to recover. Maybe that’s a good idea.”

Evangeline brightened. “Really? She asked for that?”

“Yes. She said she’s exhausted.”

She settled back against the pillows looking satisfied. “That’s actually wiser than I expected from her.”

I frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I thought she was a bit of an airhead, honestly.” Evangeline waved a hand dismissively. “Pretty, obviously, but not much going on upstairs. No real ambition or future plans. Just another girl looking for a man to take care of her.”

The casual cruelty in her voice made me go still.

“That’s not nice, honey.”

Evangeline laughed. “But it’s true. She’s twenty with no career, no education beyond the academy, and her only job was being my mother’s personal shopper. Now she’s selling her womb, That doesn’t exactly scream independence.”

I stayed quiet.

Part of me wanted to defend Lisa, to point out she was doing this for her family.

But saying that would raise questions I couldn’t answer.

So I said nothing.