Mabel served him up some pasta, and he wanted to take hold of her arms and kiss up each one.
Get a grip.
Hands clenched into a fist, he counted to ten, then to another ten, to calm his nerves. Mabel looked completely unaffected until he started to really look. Her hands shook a little, and the pulse at her neck beat rapidly. Her nipples were hard pebbles against the fabric of her dress.
The scent of her arousal lingered in the air, as well as her perfume.
She’d tried to hide it.
“Are you looking forward to the run tonight?” he asked.
“Yes. I think it’s what we both need.”
“Good. Good.” He picked up his fork and speared a piece of pasta. He took a bite and closed his eyes. “It’s good.”
She chuckled. “It’s a tomato pasta. I imagine they’re going to restock the fridge tomorrow. We’ll have a little more variety then.”
The rest of the meal was in silence.
Lucas focused only on eating the meal she’d put in front of him, all the while acutely aware of the way she ate, how she smelled. Neither of them struck up a conversation like they had on previous occasions.
They remained silent.
After dinner, they did the dishes together, and then, he excused himself to go and take a shower.
Blasting cold water on himself didn’t hide the fact of how aroused he was. Nothing did. Finally, unable to hold himself back even for a moment, he wrapped his fingers around his cock and brought himself to orgasm, even with the cold water spraying all over him. The first release wasn’t enough. He continued to work his cock into three more arousals before finally giving it up.
His cock was still hard but not as ferocious as it had been.
After climbing out of the shower, he dried off and took a few moments to carefully reflect in the mirror.
You can do this. You’ve got this. There’s nothing to fear.
Taking a deep breath, he smiled to himself. This was the moment he’d been waiting for. The chance and the opportunity to run with his woman, and he couldn’t wait. He was only going to see the positives and not dwell on anything else.
You will not mate her tonight. This is merely a run.
Chapter Seven
Mabel stood outside waiting. The sun appeared to be mocking her. The moon would be fully up in the sky soon, and she’d hoped to enjoy this run, but all day, it was like there were warning signs everywhere. First, her mother had said the longer she stayed in Lucas’s company, the chances were higher that the mating bond between them would draw them together.
She’d been enjoying his company for a couple of weeks now. After the guilt that had filled her at her accusations, she’d made the effort. Much to her surprise, he wasn’t all that bad. She didn’t know if he was putting on a façade for her or if it was real. No, she knew it was real. There was no doubt about it. There was only so much a person could act, and Lucas, he was real.
Like today, she’d known he was aroused, but he hadn’t come to her. He’d taken matters into his own hands, and she couldn’t fault him. She had as well. The pleasure of being around him had been intense, more so than ever before.
Even now as she stood in front of the sun, wearing only a sundress, which she was going to have to remove when they turned into their true forms, she was on fire. She’d brought herself to three, if not four, undesirable orgasms. In the end, she’d given up. All her dreams and fantasies were of Lucas.
He filled her mind. There was no getting away from him. The truth was she didn’t want to. All she could see was being with him, living her life with him. Some may consider her foolish, but as far as she was concerned, she was far from it. She’d been trying to fight this from the moment they first changed. Being with him wasn’t what she wanted, and yet even as she thought about it, it did still feel completely wrong to her.
“Are you okay?” Lucas asked, coming out into the night.
The sun had nearly set, and the moon was so close.
“Yes, you?”
“Yes.”
They both faced each other. She held out her hand. “Are you ready?”
He took her hand, and together, they walked toward the edge of the trees. The pleasure from his touch rushed through her entire body. It was like a spark of electricity had awakened within her system, and now she was completely at its mercy. Not that it was a bad thing.
She released his hand and stepped away from him.
“I thought you’d cancel tonight,” Lucas said.
“I thought you would as well.” She closed her eyes, shaking her head. Her hands quivered as she peeled off her dress. It felt so good to have her body exposed to the night and the full moon. With a hand resting on her stomach, she looked toward the moon, and then, like magic, she changed, coming into her wolf.