It wasn’t avoiding temptation. She was just creating distance, some space. She didn’t need to be close to him all the time.

“I didn’t complain. He asked questions and I answered them. Why?”

“My parents warned me that what we have here is a paradise compared to what he could force us to go through.”

“You’ve got nothing to fear, Mabel. My father is a fair man. He wouldn’t hurt anyone within the pack.”

“But he wouldn’t like his son to be hurt,” she said. “He is fair to the pack, but you forget he’s also a father. You’re his son. He loves you dearly.”

“Where are you going with this?” he asked.

“I’m not going anywhere. I’m merely stating a fact.” She tensed up as he entered the pool again.

With each step he took, he got closer. There was no escape for her.

She glided toward the side of the pool, but as he came in close, he trapped her against his hard body and the wall.

“Is that why you’re here?” he asked. “Are you willing to give me a chance?”

“I don’t want to give you anything, Lucas. I’m obligated to because of what you demanded.”

“I was willing to take my time,” he said. “I wanted to show you that I can change. That the asshole you knew is long gone. I will cherish you as my mate. You’ll want for nothing. Whatever you want, it could be yours. Instead, you decide to spend as much time as possible away from me. Preferring to live in a city with horrid smells, people, and loud noises. I never got the chance, even when you came to visit. Then you had to go and demand to be severed. Again, pushing my hand. I’m not going to lose you, Mabel.”

“This isn’t a game.”

“It is a game, and it’s one you’re going to lose.” Once again, he sank his fingers into her hair and she was on fire, gasping at that touch alone. The full moon was only hours away.

Her body already felt itchy, hot, and in desperate need of his touch. She’d never experienced this unless Lucas was close. Now that he was touching her, it only served to make each action that much more intense.

“You feel that?” he asked. “You want me. Even as your mind hates me, your body, your wolf, she craves me. I bet your pussy is soaking wet and wanting my cock right now. I bet you can’t think straight. You think I didn’t hear you in your room, touching yourself?” He leaned in close, his tongue tracing across her neck. “Do you have any idea how badly I wanted to come inside and taste you? To bring you to orgasm properly?”

“Lucas,” she said, moaning.