Tempted (Book 5) The Brazil Werewolf Series

Chapter Twelve/ Release

TW: Sexual Intercourse

Luca held me as I fell asleep. My cheek was pressed against his chest with the steady thump of his heart resounding in my ears. The darkness came pulling me down into the abyss of sleep. Safe in his arms the nightmares I had expected didn't come. Neither did the fear that John or the Grey Wolves would attack us.

I awoke before Luca did. I still had my cheek pressed against his chest. I raised my head. My gaze roamed over his face. While in slumber, the muscles in his jaw were relaxed. His hair waved over his brow and his lashes cast a shadow on his cheeks. His full bottom lip rested in a pout.

My heart warmed and I reached out and touched his jaw with the tips of my fingers, running them over the stubble before tracing his bottom lip. He reached up and grabbed my hand and I raised my eyes to his. He frowned as he studied my face taking in every inch of it before meeting my eyes.

He cupped my cheek with his free hand and pulled me to him, brushing his lips over mine at first before deepening the kiss. He pulled me closer before twisting and covering my body with his.

His manhood pushed into me, hard and big as his tongue entered my mouth. My heart was racing as he bit my lower lip and moved his hand to my breast. I gasped and he pulled back. His eyes were wide as he shook his head.

"I'm sorry," he said, blinking as darkness shadowed his face.

"Don't be," I said, reaching up and brushing his hair from his forehead. "I like kissing you."

He gave me a lopsided grin but there was a sadness to it that I wanted to wipe away. "I don't want you to ever feel like I'm forcing you to do anything," he said. "Especially after—"

I shook my head as my heart tightened. I would never think of him the way I did John. He was too precious to me. "You aren't John," I said as my heart clenched. "You have never forced me to do anything. I know you never will."

He nodded. "Claire," he said as his eyes roamed my face. His voice softened. "I love you."

I opened my mouth, blinking rapidly as I stared into his eyes. "Luca..."

"You don't have to say anything," he said and he took a deep breath. "I said it because I want you to know and because you need to understand why I have chosen to do what I am going to do."

My heart trembled because his face darkened even further as he cupped my cheek. "I'm going to kill him, Claire," he said as his eyes hardened. "I'm going to make sure you never have to see him again."

Then, he rose from the bed, leaving me there with the feel of his lips still against mine and a fear that shook me to the core because I didn't want him to go after John. I didn't want Luca harmed. The realization struck me that I would do anything to prevent that from happening because I had fallen in love with him too.

**********

I stared at the bathroom door with a frown on my face. Two things that Luca had said replayed through my mind. The first caused a chill to slide through me as images of the night John attacked me flashed in front of me.

Until you bond with someone else...That way...His scent will remain, Luca's voice whispered in my brain making those images scatter.

The second thing he had said was his admission of love. It had floored me, rendering me speechless. I chewed on my bottom lip and sighed. As much as I wanted to show Luca my love physically, I didn't know if I could...Not without the pain...Not without the images. My heart would break if that happened. I would break.