CHAPTER 19
1206 Words
MABEL’S POV
I paced back and forth across my apartment, arms wrapped tightly around myself. Five minutes. It had only been five minutes and Zach still hadn’t replied. With a frustrated growl, I snatched my phone up and hurled it onto the mattress before yanking at my hair.
“f**k… what the hell is wrong with me?”
I was spiraling. The image of Zach shoving his tongue down Anita’s throat flashed through my mind. She was really pretty, even drunk.
My phone pinged. I dove across the bed like a madwoman, heart leaping—only to see it was a stupid group message from my department. I hissed in annoyance and tossed the phone aside again.
That’s when my front door burst open.
Zach stormed in, eyes wild. “Mabel! Are you hurt?”
Before I could answer, he grabbed both my arms, turning me side to side, his hands running over my shoulders and down my sides as he searched for injuries. This was the most emotion I had ever seen from him—raw, urgent, almost frantic. My breath stopped.
“I’m not hurt,” I said softly, eyes dropping to the floor.
Only then did he seem to register the state of my apartment. Everything was tidy.
His expression darkened.
“This doesn’t look like there was any break-in, Mabel.”
I sighed, feeling the weight of his piercing stare on my forehead. “There… wasn’t one.”
He pulled his hands away from me like I had burned him. “Then why the hell did you lie to me?”
I swallowed hard, saying nothing. The silence stretched until his voice rose slightly. “Why did you lie to me?”
I finally looked up at him, eyes watering more from embarrassment than sadness.
“I was jealous.” I said truthfully.
Zach frowned, his face hardening. “I didn’t give you my number just so you could call me for pathetic s**t like this.”
Instead of shrinking in shame, anger flared hot and fast inside me. Angry at myself for being so stupid. Angry at him for being so cold after I’d just bared my feelings.
“You are right,” I said, my voice rising. “It was silly to lie about my apartment being broken into. But don’t you dare undermine what I’m feeling! I have every f*****g right to be jealous! How did you expect me to react when some girl I don’t even know was clinging to you like that? Calling you ‘Zachy’ and ‘baby’ while you carried her like she was the most precious thing in the world? Do you think I’m okay with that? Do you think it doesn’t hurt?”
My chest heaved as I stared at him, tears threatening to spill.
Zach’s expression remained calm, almost detached. “Since you are alright, I’m going to leave.”
He turned toward the door, but I stepped in front of him, raising an eyebrow. “What now? Are you going to pretend my words meant nothing to you?”
“They don’t.”
“Oh, quit lying, you jerk!” My voice cracked. “You obviously care about me or you wouldn’t have come running here thinking I was hurt. No one does that for someone they don’t care about. So stop acting like you’re completely emotionless and just admit it! Admit that I’m not the only one feeling this… this raging pull between us. I’m tired of pretending I can ignore the mating bond.”
My chest rose and fell rapidly as I stared at him, pleading. “Please… let’s stop fighting it.”
Zach stared back at me for a long moment, then spoke in a cold, flat voice.
“You seem to have forgotten that I only care because you’re still useful to me. Any feelings you think I have are purely one-sided. So quit acting so desperate and don’t text me unless it’s actually important.”
He started heading for the door again.
“Then reject me!” I blurted out, my heart pounding violently as my wolf howled in protest inside me.
Zach stopped dead in his tracks.
“I thereby reject you, Zach Cole, as my—”
Zach moved with blinding speed, his large hand clamping over my mouth before I could finish the words. The sudden press of his hard, muscular frame against mine stole the air from my lungs.
“Don’t you dare,” he hissed, eyes flashing with something dangerous.
I yanked his hand away, chest heaving. “If I disgust you so much, why don’t you just reject me and stop making me feel so shameless? If it wasn’t for this f*****g mating bond, I wouldn’t even look at you twice—much less crave you the way I do.”
His eyes darkened dangerously, pupils blown wide. “Are you sure about that, sweetheart?” His voice dropped into a low, gravelly rasp that sent shivers straight down my spine. “Because I know exactly how you look at me. I can smell how much your body wants me.”
He lifted my chin with firm fingers, forcing me to meet his gaze. The air between us crackled.
“You are not the only one with desires.” His thumb dragged slowly across my bottom lip. “Every time you are near me, I have to fight the urge to bend you over the nearest surface and f**k you until the only thing you can remember is my name. The mating bond is driving me insane… but I still want you so badly it hurts.”
The way he stared into my eyes made my knees weak. For a moment, I forgot how to breathe. All the anger, all the hurt, melted into something hotter, more desperate.
“I want you too,” I whispered.
“Yeah?” His voice was rough. “As much as I want you… I don’t want to do anything that would hurt you further. You don’t seem like the type who can handle me.”
He leaned in and pressed a surprisingly tender kiss to my forehead. “We must keep things professional.”
My heart slammed against my ribs. Heat pooled low in my belly as his words sank in.
“I want you too,” I breathed.
A muscle ticked in his jaw. “Yeah? As much as I want to bury myself inside you and claim what’s mine…” He exhaled sharply, forehead resting against mine. “I don’t want to break you. You don’t seem like the type who can handle everything I need. And I refuse to hurt you more than I already have.”
He pressed a slow, lingering kiss to my forehead. When he pulled back, his voice was strained. “We have to keep things professional.”
My pulse thundered in my ears. “What if I don’t want to?”
Zach swallowed hard, desire flooding his eyes. Without another word, I reached for the tie of my night robe and slowly pulled it loose. The silk whispered as it slid down my body and pooled at my feet, leaving me completely bare before him.
- Writer
