Rejected by Moonlight, Claimed by Shadows.

Chapter 5

Janet's POV

My breath hitched at his reaction.

Why did he seem so bothered by a mere mark on my skin?

His intense gaze unsettled me but I refused to show any sign of vulnerability to him. Instead, I faced him with a calm demeanor.

"Are we here to play a question and answer game, Richard?" I asked with subtle defiance as I had no intention of revealing the truth about my past especially not to him.

However, the man hovering over me already knew more than he should. The secrets I wanted to bury were no longer mine alone.

Richard didn't respond immediately. His fingers moved in a slow trail from my waist to my abdomen as if he was searching for something unseen.

It was as if he could feel something beyond the surface that was different about me. But he remained silent as he obviously didn't want to voice the thoughts stirring in his mind.

"There was something about you. Something I had never encountered in any of my casual meaningless affairs in the past."

Richard pressed a kiss on my belly and trailed them slowly up to my chest but I quickly covered my chest with my arms. He seized my hands and pinned them to the mattress.

I bit down on my lip as I tried to stifle the sounds threatening to escape my mouth. But my effort were abortive.

The burning kisses sent shivers through me and it made my body arch into his. A heat pooled within me in a way I had never felt before and it consumed me in a way that I never thought was possible.

I wanted to free my wrists from Richard's tight hold but my eyes rolled and I lost strength when his mouth serviced my curves. The heat of his touch made my toes curl.

My breath came in soft, uneven pants and my mind clouded with sensations that I couldn't control. Just as I was about to protest to stop him, his voice broke through the haze.

"Why don't you tell me who marked you," he murmured with his lilac eyes locked onto mine. Amusement flickered beneath the intensity of his gaze as he dragged his tongue across his lips as if he was savoring the taste of my skin. "Instead of moaning?"

A sharp gasp left my mouth as his thumb brushed against the most sensitive spot on my curves. Series of jolts of pleasure was sent straight to my core. My thighs instinctively pressed together as if they were seeking some kind of relief but Richard only smirked at my reaction.

"Still not talking?" He smirked and ducked his head in the crook of my neck. "You asked me to sleep with you and you still thinking you could keep secrets from me?" He punctuated his words by nipping the sensitive skin on my shoulder.

"Ahh!" I cried out with a sharp sting that made me shudder. But the pain quickly melted into something else as Richard's tongue traced over the same spot to soothe the bite with deliberate strokes.

My mind spun. I didn't know where to focus, his hands which were trailing along my thighs and curves or his mouth which was igniting a fire along my neck.

"Answer me, Janet," he demanded again.

I sucked in a shaky breath. "Promise me! Promise me you won't ask me to leave."

Richard stiffened. His hands and his lips froze as he lifted his head to meet my gaze. My chest rose and fell rapidly and my flushed cheeks betrayed the heat pooling within me but my eyes held something else.

Pain.

A pain I was trying to conceal.

"Why would I do that?" Richard asked and tilted his head slightly. "You offered me your body."

I swallowed hard. "I had a mate," I admitted with my voice barely above a whisper. "He rejected me today."

The moment the words left my lips, Richard's expression darkened.

"And the mark, it disappeared," I added with my trembling fingers brushing the spot on my neck where his sharp eyes had noticed the absence earlier.

I took a deep breath. "Can I leave with you in the morning? I swear, I'll repay you once I'm out of this place."

Richard's jaw tightened and his lips curled into a slow grin. "You are already mine, Janet."

My eyes widened in shock. "What?"

"I don't allow just anyone in my bed," he murmured. "And you made a pact with me earlier." His fingers brushed down my arm and his touch seemed possessive. "You promised to let me sleep with you every night." His golden eyes gleamed and that wolfish grin returned.

I bit my lip. I wanted to tell him the truth that I was carrying Bart's child and I couldn't belong to him. But now wasn't the time. Right now, all I wanted was to forget and to drown in the comfort of this enigmatic man who, despite his dangerous aura, made me feel something other than heartbreak.

Without another thought, I reached for him with my fingers brushing the skin of his neck before pulling him closer. My lips found his and I claimed him in a way I hadn't dared before. I mimicked the way he kissed me earlier with my tongue teasing his lips to see his reaction.

A low growl rumbled from deep within his chest as his wolf was stirred by my boldness. His grip on my thighs tightened as he pulled my body against his and deepened the kiss with an intensity that sent shivers through me.

Richard had never felt this way before. This wasn't just desire, it was something far more dangerous, far more consuming for him.

"Janet, you are now my captive.' He echoed a dark and possessive hum. "I won't let you go even if you beg me to."