Moon Bound

(35) You Can Leave Your Hat On |Scarlet's POV|

'Strip' was the last thing I expected to come out of his mouth.

"Are you for real?" I echoed the thought aloud and rose from my spot on the bed only to cautiously back away from him.

I wasn't imagining these same lips that spoke that word on my body. I wasn't thinking about how they would feel against my skin. This was the last thought on my mind. It truly was.

Who was I trying to fool? It was exactly these images that were swirling in my mind as I watched him raise a brow and give me that smirk of his. He knew exactly what was on my mind, and he didn't hide it, either.

I shook my head, hoping a grain of sanity returned and hit me on my head. Pretty much like a brick would. No such bricks came falling from the ceiling. The concrete remained solid and well - concrete.

"What do you mean by strip?" I asked slowly.

"Strip as take off your clothes, Scarlet," he said, flashing me a grin. "Or maybe you need me to help you?" His tongue flickered over his lips, these oh-so-kissable lips.

Damn.

"Thanks, but no thanks. I don't need your help, Alpha. And I know what strip means. I just can't figure out what you mean by it. You wanted to talk so why do I need to undress now?" I asked, taking a step back. No distance placed was ever safe when faced with the likes of him, and he was already closer than common sense allowed.

He gave me a cat-like grin, his green orbs going darker as he stalked closer to me. "Don't be mistaken, Scarlet. The moment you're ready, you will be underneath me," he said without bothering to sugarcoat it as he kept getting closer and closer.

My back hit the wall, cutting my escape from him short. A heartbeat later, he already stood in front of me, his body just inches from mine.

"You'll be moaning my name, Scarlet." His hand reached up, thumb caressing my lips, trailing down my chin then my neck. "You'll be screaming for me to give you more and more."

His fingers rubbed circles around the spot where his mark was supposed to be. "And more," he said.

Every nerve ending in my body flared as sensation flooded in. What was he doing to me? Why was I feeling this way?

"And I will." He inched closer until there was no space between us. My feet had nowhere to run. I had nowhere to hide from his heat. The heat of his body millimeters away from mine.

"I will accommodate you any way you want me to." His hand trailer lower until I felt like I was going to combust into flames.

"But most importantly, I will be there, by your side. Be anything and everything you need me to be. Do you understand me, Scarlet?" he breathed out, his voice bringing shivers where it fanned over my skin, making my knees quiver with the sheer effort it took to support me up.

Happy tingles traveled across my skin, burning a way to my core until I felt like a live wire. I could choke on the potent scent of desire sprayed into the air. His and mine.

He gripped my hips and pressed me flush against him.

Insanity.

"I can't let you do that, Alpha," I whispered, trying to keep my hands still and not give in to the need to touch him back.

Leaning closer, his lips almost touched mine. More heat seeped through his hands when they slipped under my T-shirt and started drawing circles on my skin, sending small shocks to my spine. My body pulsed against his.

"You will," he said, desire melting all reason as I took his breath into my lungs. Pure. Male. Mine to take.

"Soon," he added, so close to me now that I could count his eyelashes.

He inhaled my scent deep into his lungs. The fire inside me reached boiling levels.

"So sweet," he growled, the vibrations of his voice leaving his body and reaching mine.

Countless images of what could be kept flashing in my mind just like his face flashed in front of my eyes.

Alluring.

His hand came up to cup my face in its palm. He tilted my head up and pinned me down with that heated green stare of his.

Daring me to taste.

But before I could make my mind, his lips descended upon mine, the momentum unstoppable as my heart stuck at the back of my throat. His mouth took a hold of mine - capturing, tasting, begging for an entrance.

I was like mold in his hands for him to shape into a form of his own desire - so weak, I couldn't even think to fight it as my eyes flickered closed.

I gave in.

My hands rose to rest around his neck as his went on a sensual exploration down my body, ending back on my hips, pulling me closer and closer to him until there was not a millimeter of space existing between us.

We fit. A lock and a key in perfect symmetry.

Breaking the kiss, resting his forehead against mine, panting as his body shook as hard as mine did, "Do you see how perfect we are together, Scarlet?" he said, those words bringing me down to reality.

Struggling for strength to break the connection, my hands went to his sculpted chest and pushed.

"Go away," I whispered, pleaded with him.

Didn't he understand? Didn't he care how wrong it was?

"I know," he said, his voice quiet, his eyes sad.

He placed his hand back to my cheek, cradling it gently. He looked like a sweet and caring man. I had to remember. It wasn't who he really was.

"I'll make it right again, Scarlet. I promise," he said and for a moment there I was almost ready to believe he could actually read my mind.

Then again, he didn't need to. He already knew everything between us was wrong.

"You're wasting your time with me, Regan," I told him. "You need to face reality and accept that I won't ever be able to give you what you want or take what you're offering."

He chuckled. "It's not I who needs to face reality, Scarlet. You know the bond always gets what it wants. It's fate. We can't change it but we can make it a good one."

He was seriously the most delusional person I'd ever met.

"Don't look at me like I've gone mental, Scarlet. I don't have illusions about this. Winning you over will probably be the hardest thing I've ever had to do but I can do it. I am prepared to wait and I will. You know I never give up."

Of course, I did. Day after day, for two years he had shown me just how stubborn an Alpha could be. He was the most stubborn man I had ever had the misfortune to meet but this time... "You'll give up, Regan. This time, you won't win," I told him.

He stepped away. "We'll see," he said, narrowing his eyes at me. "Now get those clothes off and let's go to bed."

"I thought you wanted to talk." I reminded him, trying to push out the images the idea of sleeping in the same bed with him evoked.

"I think I already showed you that I don't give a fuck about you are or what you'll become, but if you need to talk about it, we can always do it tomorrow. Tonight, though, I'm just gonna lay next to you and hold you," he said point blank.

I groaned. "I'm not going to--"

"Yes, you are going to and better get used to it because ready or not, I plan to have my queen by my side, Scarlet. One way or another."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Is this a promise or is it a threat?"

"Both," he said and pointed at the bed.