Lunar Temptations

Ch 11

"And what makes you think that I want the same?" I gritted out. He might be the kind of man girls drool over, but he must be a fool to think that I, too, was drooling over him after his past sins. I doubted if he even regretted it for a moment in these 5 years.

"What makes you think that you cannot?" He shot back sharply, and I hissed. "Probably the fact that I don't trust you, let alone like you enough to marry you," I gritted out.

Something shifted in his stance, and the next moment, his hands wrapped around my waist and pulled me impossibly closer to him. Our bodies met, my front to his, and I forgot to breathe. I could have tried to squirm, and he would have released me after a small protest, but surprisingly, I did not move. Instead, I forgot all that I wanted to say as heat flushed through me. Warmth spread between my legs as I felt my boobs pressed against his torso.

Fuck - no, this needs to stop. - The alarms went off in my head, but my heart betrayed me. My heartbeat increased until my ears rang with it.

The lust and desire to be closer to him felt so wrong yet needed. As if I needed salvation and he stood right there, offering me every bit of it, yet I could give in. My mind warned me against it with each breath, and all I could hear was the battle between my heart and mind. One said to ignore my past and mate with him right then and there, the other reminded me of every miserable moment I had spent crying over Elio because of this man.

"I never broke your trust, Ray, and even if you were not my mate, I would still have haunted you to prove it," he whispered against my face, his breath fanning my face. He was so close to me that I could see his jaw clenched tightly and a muscle twitching in his jaw. He was controlling himself because I could see his want for me raw in his eyes.

"You can never earn my trust back, Zayden. Forget about it," I replied.

Something flashed across his face, but before I could guess, it was gone. My body turned to jelly when his eyes switched to my lips. Was he about to kiss me after I told him that he could never earn my trust back? Before I could answer my question, he had leaned in enough for our lips to touch. My mouth parted, and I felt tempted to crash it against his, but closing my eyes, I breathed deeply and pulled my face away.

"This was a bad idea - everything is a mess. None of this should have happened. I cannot marry you, why can't you listen to me for once?" I babbled and pushed him away but missed his touch as soon as it was gone. He did not even move, pushing him only caused me to stumble back and out of his grip.

His eyes narrowed, and he adjusted himself until his hands were in his pockets and his head steady, pinning me with his gaze. I adjusted myself as well; my dress had ridden up, exposing my thigh a little too much. This was the most undressed I had been by someone in the past few years, ever since I had left.

"Why?" His voice came suddenly like a deep rumble.

"Huh?" My brows knitted with confusion.

"It's him. Isn't it?" His voice was hoarse, with danger lacing every syllable. It took me a moment to decipher what he was saying. He was talking about Elio, and I was surprised that he was still asking this. This was not supposed to be a question but rather a statement, but

now it felt more like he was asking himself rather than me.

"Was that why you left for 5 years?" He asked. It almost seemed as if he was hurt that I left for years because he killed my boyfriend, which was pretty ironic when he was the one who had betrayed me, and I should have been the one hurt here. There was once a time when I cared about his feelings and my words to him, but nothing was the same now except bad memories and grudges.

"Yes. I wanted nothing to do with you or this life after what you did to Elio," my eyes began watering until my vision blurred, and I had to look away. He didn't need to see me like this; he lost the right to my vulnerabilities. I bet he didn't even care. "I ran away as far as I could and stayed there. I didn't even try to find my mate all this time - until now," I let the venom flow out of my mouth. I was done with this s**t, all the time I was quiet last night, today, and even when everyone successfully convinced us to get married, and he simply agreed.

"Everything that I agreed to - the engagement, the wedding, and this show of love - it's all for the sake of my parents, my pack," I continued as I stepped up to him once again. "Because if I had it in my hand, I would have never seen you again, and I know you wouldn't have wanted to either. You had Audrey, the perfect fiancee for you. Ready to play the part for you - to love you, to accept you, even though she wasn't your mate." A few tears escaped my eyes, and I finally let them, realizing they didn't make me vulnerable but instead only reflected what he had spoiled for me.

"Yet here you are, stuck with a mate who's unable to even accept you as she did, let alone love you." I scoffed, rolling my head back and wiping a few tears. "Guess not all mates are supposed to become soul mates." Pausing, I inhaled deeply, "And no, it is not just Elio. It's you too and how you betrayed me," I said, my lips quivering with the impending sob.

Silence descended like that after a storm, when one expects only destruction in return. I gulped and held back my sob, waiting for him to speak, but nothing followed. Not even a goodbye because the next moment, he turned around and left. I could only steal one last look at his face, and it was the coldest I had ever seen him.