He reached out, cupping her face and resting his head against hers. “And the truth is, I never want to stop. I hunger for you, Mabel. This has nothing to do with the mating. All that did was help me to see clearly. If you need something to blame then do that, but don’t for a second believe this isn’t real. It is very real. You and me. Us. This. It is happening, unless in ten months, you declare that you want to end it.”

After kissing her lips, he stepped away and entered the house.

His body was covered in the scent of her. The taste. As he made his way toward his bedroom, flashes of the previous night entered his head. They’d both been so heady on the run, Mabel hadn’t felt the pain as he took her virginity. He’d wanted to take her, to bite down on her neck, and fuck her hard, but all night long, he’d been gentle, careful, giving her what she needed.

Stepping beneath the spray, he washed away the night, but still, she lingered. Her nails had sunk into his back as he rode her. He’d made love to her until they had both passed out.

Lucas had hoped, come morning, it would all be different, that Mabel would miraculously have fallen in love with him.

It hadn’t happened.

There was so much Mabel didn’t know about him. Her parents had been sworn to secrecy. She didn’t know that he’d spent many nights sitting in her room. He’d read her diaries. Each detailing the pain and anger she’d felt toward him. He held her pillow, breathing in her scent. She didn’t know about the shirts he took so whenever he needed to, he could breathe her in. It would help to calm the beast that had so many times wanted to break free and drag her home.

He’d made her life a misery in high school and by leaving him alone, she’d made his.

The last three years, he’d been lonely. The only time he’d been able to feel anything was at the mention of her returning home. His friends had pitied him as he’d hidden in the shadows to wait for a glimpse of her. He’d become a stalker. Keeping to the darkness so she didn’t see him or feel him.

This was fucking insane.

With the shower complete, he turned off the water, wrapped a towel around his waist, and entered his bedroom. He came to a stop.

Mabel sat on the edge of his bed.

Her hair was slick and she wore another of those tempting sundresses. Her feet were bare. She rested her hands on her thighs.

“I’m sorry,” she said.

“What are you doing in my room?”