TEMPORARY MATES PERMANENT CRAVINGS novel Chapter 37

Thirty Seven

CAMERON

We stayed knotted together longer than we should have.

My body was still locked inside hers, her warmth wrapped tight around me while our breathing scraped against the quiet of the forest. Leaves rustled overhead and somewhere deeper in the trees a bird called out, the sound sharp against the silence settling between us.

I should have pulled out as soon as the knot loosened. Should have stood up, gotten dressed, and put distance between us before this became something harder to control.

Instead I stayed where I was.

My forehead rested against hers. Her legs were still wrapped around my waist, holding me in place, and the longer we remained like that the heavier the guilt pressed down on my chest.

I had kissed her.

Evangeline’s one rule. The single line she drew to keep this arrangement from becoming something else. Something personal.

And I crossed it without hesitation.

The knot loosened and I finally pulled out. Lisa inhaled sharply as I withdrew, my release spilling from her while I rolled onto my back and stared up through the branches overhead. She lay beside me, silent, her breathing uneven while the forest closed around us again.

This had to stop here.

She needed to understand exactly what this was before she started thinking it meant anything more.

“This doesn’t change anything.”

Lisa turned her head and looked at me. Her expression gave nothing away.

“I know.”

“I mean it.” I pushed myself upright and dragged a hand through my hair. “What just happened was sex. That’s all.”

“Okay.”

Her calm answer unsettled me.

I expected anger. Tears. Something emotional I could push against and use to rebuild the distance between us.

Instead she lay there watching me like she was waiting for the lecture to end.

“Evangeline is my mate,” I continued, hearing the tension in my own voice. “The Moon Goddess chose her for me. We have a bond. A real one.”

“I understand.”

“Do you?” I turned toward her. “Because what we have is a transaction. I’m paying you to carry my child. That’s it. That’s all this will ever be.”

1/4

Thiny Seven

+15 Bghus

Lisa sat up and reached for her clothes.

“I entered this arrangement with a purpose, Alpha Cameron,” she said while pulling her sports bra over her head. “I’m here for the money. I haven’t forgotten.”

“Good,” I said. “Then we’re clear.”

“We’re clear.”

She stood and stepped into her leggings as if she had just finished a routine appointment instead of what we had done on the forest floor.

Like it meant nothing.

Which was exactly what I wanted.

Wasn’t it?

“Don’t fall in love with me.”

Lisa paused with her shirt halfway over her head. She pulled it down and looked at me, something faintly amused in her eyes.

“I won’t.”

“I’m serious.”

“So am I.” She crossed her arms. “You’ve made it very clear what I am to you. A womb for hire. Someone who’ll do anything for money. I remember.”

There was no bitterness in her voice.

That made it worse.

I grabbed my clothes and dressed quickly, trying to ignore the way my hands trembled.

The last few days without her had been hell. I barely slept. Couldn’t focus on work. My mind kept drifting back to her body, the way she moved under me, the scent of her skin.

I’d become dependent on it.

And I hated that realization.

Even when I was with Evangeline, trying to force my body to respond to my own mate, my mind kept dragging me back to Lisa. The way she sounded. The way she looked when I pushed inside her.

It was wrong.

All of it.

But the thoughts wouldn’t stop.

“Let’s go,” I said.

We walked back to the estate without speaking. When we reached the main house she went straight upstairs to her

room.

I watched her disappear down the corridor before turning away.

2/4

Thirty Shonn

+15 Bonus

I needed to see Evangeline. Needed to remind myself what mattered.

But first I needed a shower.

Hot water pounded down while I scrubbed at my skin, trying to wash away the guilt clinging to me. Lisa’s scent still lingered and no amount of soap seemed to erase it.

When I finally stepped out, I dressed and headed toward Evangeline’s wing.

I didn’t get there.

Laughter drifted from the library.

Lisa’s laughter.

I stopped in the doorway.

She sat in one of the armchairs near the window with her legs tucked beneath her, talking to Franklin. He said something I couldn’t hear and she threw her head back and laughed, the sound open and unguarded in a way I had never seen from her.

Franklin watched her with obvious fondness.

Jealousy tightened in my chest.

Lisa noticed me standing there. The laughter faded from her face and she stood immediately.

“I should go.”

“Lisa, you don’t have to-” Franklin started.

“I’ll see you later.”

She walked toward the other exit without looking at me.

Franklin watched her leave, then turned his attention back to me. Silence filled the room.

“You’re becoming a distraction,” he said at last. “To yourself. And to her.”

I could have denied it.

Instead I said, “I love Evangeline.”

Franklin studied me. “I know you do.”

“She’s

my mate. The Moon Goddess chose her. Lisa is just a womb. Nothing more.”

“Is that what you tell yourself?”

“It’s the truth.”

Franklin exhaled and stood. “Cameron, I’ve known you for fifteen years. I’ve seen you survive things that would break most people. But I’ve never seen you lie to yourself.”

“I’m not-”

“You are.” He moved toward the door, pausing before leaving. “Just be careful. With both of them. This situation is already messy enough.”

3/4

Thaty Seven

He walked out.

I remained in the library alone while his words settled into the quiet room.

I wasn’t lying to myself.

I loved Evangeline. She was my mate, the woman I chose to protect.

Lisa was a contract.

A means to an end.

That was all she was.

That was all she could ever be.

So why did it feel like I was trying to convince myself?

P

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