Chapter 75
Chapter 75
My pulse is a fucking war drum.
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It pounds in my ears, each beat louder than the last, drowning out everything but him—his scent, his breath, his goddamn hands caging me against the desk as ifI belong here, like I belong to him.
I should shove him away. Scratch at his arms. Sink my fucking teeth into his skin if I have to. Anything to break whatever fucked–up spell he has over me.
But I don’t.
I fucking can’t.
Not when his lips are brushing against my throat, his breath warm, teasing, full of unspoken promises that twist something deep inside me.
His lips graze my throat, right over the sensitive spot where his mark would go. His breath is hot and ragged, making me shiver as goosebumps crawl up my skin. I can’t think. I can barely breathe.
“Fuck…I gasp, fingers curling around the edge of the desk to ground myself.
Enoch’s growl vibrates against my neck, his teeth grazing my skin just enough to make my toes curl. “A crescent moon,” he murmurs, his voice low and dangerous. “Would look fucking perfect right here.”
My entire body locks up.
Oh, hell no. His voice is low, rough, dangerously close to a growl. His fingers tighten on my waist, pressing me harder against the desk like he needs me still, needs me here, needs me to let him fucking do this.
My breath stutters. I hate that he can hear it. Hate that he can feel the way my body reacts, the way my fucking resolve crumbles under the weight of him.
“I shouldn’t…” My voice is barely there, a whisper between us. A weak, pathetic thing compared to the fire eating me alive from the inside out.
“But you want to.”
His lips press against the sensitive spot right where his mark would go. He doesn’t bite. Doesn’t sink his teeth into me the way a real mate would.
But he’s right fucking there.
And I want him to.
No. No, I don’t.
My hands fly to his chest, fingers curling into the fabric of his shirt. To push him away? To pull him closer? I don’t even know anymore. I can’t think, can’t breathe, can’t do anything except let myself sink deeper into this fucked–up black hole of wanting something I shouldn’t.
Something that isn’t mine.
I can taste the tension on my tongue, thick and suffocating, clogging the air between us.
“Enoch…” My voice shakes, barely above a whisper. I can’t let this happen. I shouldn’t. He’s engaged. To Celeste. The woman who’s probably already picking out wedding napkins and planning her little reign as Luna.
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Chapter 75
But his mouth is still moving, trailing down my neck, his teeth scraping just enough to send a jolt of heat straight between my legs.
My traitorous body arches into him, and I fucking hate myself for it.
“Stop.” I murmur, but there’s no conviction in my voice.
He doesn’t stop. He doesn’t even pause. His lips brush lower, his tongue tracing a sinful path that leaves me panting.
“Let me claim you,” he growls, voice dripping with pure possessiveness.
My eyes squeeze shut, my heart pounding so loud I’m sure he can hear it. I know what happens if he marks me. There’s no \coming back from that. No pretending this is just a fucked–up situation with no feelings involved. And I’m not ready for
that.
“I… I can’t.” My voice cracks, and my fingers dig into his arms. But instead of pulling him away, I’m holding on like a lifeline.
“Why?” His lips brush against my skin again, softer this time, almost tender. But there’s desperation in his voice, and it cracks something inside me. “Why are you still fighting this?”
Because I’m a fucking idiot. That’s why.
“Because,” I whisper, but the words die in my throat.
I can’t tell him. I can’t tell him I’m scared. That I’m afraid I’ll fall for him all over again, just to watch him walk away. Again.
My body betrays me anyway. My head tilts to the side, giving him more access as if I’m begging him to bite me.
“Fuck.” he breathes, his lips hovering right over my skin. “I need you.”
And I’m so damn close to giving in. So fucking close.
Celeste.
The name slams into my mind, waking me the fuck up.
Enoch has a fiancée. A gorgeous, high–status, probably–perfect–in–every–way fiancée.
And I’m here. Letting him touch me. Letting him brand me with things that aren’t his fucking mark but might as well be.
My stomach churns, my entire body locking up, and I do what I should’ve done the second this started.
I shove him.
Hard.
He stumbles back a step, breathing heavy, his hands clenched into fists as though he’s trying to hold something back. As if he’s trying not to fucking lose it.
“Don’t.” I cut through the thick, suffocating tension between us. “Don’t fucking do that.”
His jaw ticks. “Do what?”
“Act like I’m yours.”
His eyes darken. “You are mine.”
Something inside me snaps.
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“Then where the fuck have you been?” My voice rises, trembling with something I refuse to name. “Where were you when I had to scrape my fucking life together, piece by piece? Where were you when I was barely holding myself together? When I had to pretend that I was fine while you-
I choke on the words
While you were off playing King. While you were off in this palace?
He doesn’t say anything. He just stares. Just watches. As though he’s trying to figure out if I’m about to break apart or start swinging
Probably both.
Fuck you, Enoch.” My voice is quieter now, but it cuts just the same. “You don’t get to show up, touch me like that, and pretend like nothing happened.”
His jaw clenches, his breathing ragged. He looks torn between punching a wall and throwing me over his shoulder. Maybe
both.
“You think I had a choice?” he finally growls, his voice like gravel, rough and raw.
“Yes” My chest is rising and falling too fast, my body hot with frustration and something else, something I don’t want to fucking name. “You had a fucking choice. And you didn’t choose me.”
Something flickers across his face. It’s gone before I can name it, buried beneath the storm of whatever war he’s fighting inside his head.
“Is that what you think?” His voice is quieter now, dangerous.
I swallow hard. “That’s what I know.”
A muscle in his jaw ticks. He exhales sharply, raking a hand through his hair, his whole body coiled tight though he’s barely holding himself together.
I don’t care. I can’t care.
If I let myself care, I’ll break.
And I can’t fucking break again.
I square my shoulders. “Let me go, Enoch.”
His gaze sharpens, something unreadable flashing in his eyes.
“You don’t mean that.”
“I do.”
The lie tastes bitter on my tongue.
He watches me for a long, suffocating moment. Then, slowly, he steps back, his eyes never leaving mine.
Something about the way he looks at me, as if he’s seeing me for the last time, makes my throat tighten.
No. I asked for this. I told him to let me go.
So why does it feel like a mista-
“Oh, for fuck’s sake!”
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Chapter 75
The door slams open, and Jacob’s voice crashes into the room like a goddamn grenade.
Everything shatters.
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Enoch jerks back, his growl vibrating through the air, raw and pissed the fuck off. His eyes snap toward the intrusion, flashing with fury, his jaw clenched so tight I swear his teeth might crack.
My stomach drops.
Jacob’s standing in the doorway, arms crossed, eyebrows raised though he just walked in on the most ridiculous thing he’s
ever seen.
“Yeah, yeah,” Jacob drawls, sounding completely unfazed. “I just saved you both from making the biggest mistake of your lives. You’re welcome.”
Shit.
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Heat floods my face, humiliation clawing at my insides as I scramble to push Enoch off me. My hands are shaking as I push at his chest, and this time, he actually moves. I practically fall off the desk, my knees wobbling as I grab the papers I’d hidden earlier–documents I’d been trying to steal before this whole mess started.
“What the fuck just happened?” My mind is a fucking mess.
“Get. Out.” Enoch’s voice is deadly, his tone leaving no room for
argument.
Jacob doesn’t flinch. If anything, he looks bored. “Relax, Alpha. I’m leaving.” He smirks, but his eyes flick to me, and for a split second, I swear I see concern.
But I don’t care.
I need to get the fuck out of here.
I grab the documents and bolt. I don’t look back. I don’t stop.
I feel Enoch’s gaze burning into my back
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
My heart’s pounding so loud it’s drowning
the hall.
I’m so fucking stupid.
escape, but I don’t let myself turn around. If I do, I might not be able to leave.
by the whts,
out my feet moving faster as I shove past the door and sprint down
My fingers grip the papers so tightly they crinkle in my hands. I don’t stop moving until I’m back in my room, slamming the door shut behind me and locking it.
My back hits the door, and I slide down, my legs giving out beneath me as I sink to the floor.
The silence is deafening.
My hands cover my face as everything crashes down on me, the weight of what almost happened suffocating me.
“I’m pathetic.”
The words echo in my head, louder than anything else.
“He left me,” I whisper, my voice trembling as tears sting my eyes. “He’s engaged. And I still fucking let him-”
My throat tightens, a choked sob escaping before I can stop it.
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Chapter 75
What the fuck is wrong with me?
My body’s still on fire, aching for him even though I know it’s wrong. I hate myself for it.
I’m disgusting. I’m weak.
I press my forehead against my knees, my tears soaking through my jeans.
I should hate him.
I want to hate him. I need to. But my heart’s a traitorous bitch, beating for a man who walked away without a second thought.
And I can’t fucking stop it.
