Bound By Moonlight to My Mates (by Sofange Daye) novel Chapter 42

Chapter 42

Charlotte

The first thing I’m aware of is the smell of coffee. The second thing is the weight of Damon’s arm, heavy across my waist. The third thing is the tension between us. Thick and suffocating, seeping into my pores, and choking me.

I twist in his arms, staring at the ceiling, tracing the cracks in the plaster with my eyes. Tala is restless under my skin. Last night was not enough to keep her sated. She wants more. She wants, not just Damon, but all of my mates. I try to push her away, not wanting to feel her erratic emotions in my mind, but she is getting stronger by the day, and I fear that I will lose myself to her if I don’t find one of them to anchor me soon.

Last night keeps flickering behind my eyelids in flashes of heat. Damon’s mouth on my skin. His hands roaming my body, and the way he growled my name. It sends a shiver down my spine, and I clamp my legs together, trying to remind myself just how much I dislike him.

But that isn’t the truth. The truth is, even though he is infuriating and cocky, I can’t stop myself from wanting him. Last night was amazing. The only thing that could have made it perfect would have been if he had marked me.

He didn’t. Not yet. My cheeks flush with embarrassment. Not having his mark is somehow worse than if he had placed it on my neck.

“What are you doing?” I hiss at myself.

Damon stirs beside me, mumbling something under his breath before tugging me closer to him. The weight of his arm feels suffocating, and I have to get out of here.

Sliding carefully from beneath his arm, I slip from the bed. Damon makes a sound, half growl, half sigh, but doesn’t wake. I take a moment to drink him in. His dark hair, ruffled from the night before, and the stubble along his jaw makes him look devilishly handsome. He is the kind of man who should make my heart ache with need. Instead, it feels bruised.

I tug one of his shirts over my head and pad quietly into the kitchen. The coffee maker is hissing, and I stare at it curiously. He set a timer for dawn. When did he do that?

My hands shake as I pour myself a mug. His footsteps slide against the hard floor as he emerges from the bedroom, but I refuse to look in his direction. If I do, I might combust from embarrassment.

“Morning.” His voice is rough with sleep, deeper than it usually is, threatening to weaken my knees.

I don’t turn to greet him. “Morning.”

He steps past me, bare–chested, grabbing his mug. “You’re quiet.”

I try not to think about his chiseled body fully on display, and I turn slightly, keeping my back to him.

“I’m thinking.”

“About?” He leans against he counter, watching me.

“Last night.” I keep my voice cool.

He exhales through his nose. “Right.”

Silence stretches between us, full of unsaid things. His scent fills the room, and I have to inhale my coffee to drown it out. Tala pushes against me, wanting to lean into him, wanting his bite. I wrap my arms around myself instead.

A knock at the door breaks the stalemate.

Damon’s brows draw together. “Who the hell…”

Before either of us can move, the door swings inward. Jake. A set of keys swings from his fingertips.

Pocketing the keys, he walks in. The boy next door smile spread across his face, and a sack of bagels in his free hand. His eyes land on me in Damon’s shirt, and then on Damon. His jaw tightens, and the smile fades.

“Well,” Jake growls. “Guess I don’t need to ask what happened in here last night.”

My cheeks burn. “Jake…”

Damon steps in front of me, staking his claim on what he refused to mark. “You weren’t invited.”

Jake ignores him, keeping his gaze locked on me. “Then you shouldn’t have given me a key.”

“For emergencies,” Damon growls, but Jake doesn’t flinch.

“You are supposed to be hiding out.” He flicks a glance at Damon. “Not doing this.”

The snarls fill the apartment before I have a chance to think. The two brothers willing to fight each other for me.

“Stop it,” I snap, finding my voice. “Both of you.”

Jake’s eyes soften a fraction at me. “Lotte, we are supposed to be figuring out this sickness together. I would have never sent you here with Damon if I had known he would take advantage of you.”

“What happens in my apartment is none of your business,” Damon growls. “Get out.”

“I am making it my business,” Jake fires back. “We agreed not to push her to make a choice. Not to play musical beds with her.”

Damon moves toward him, shoulders squared. “Say that again.”

Jake’s wolf flickers to the surface, and I remember what he said about him being wild. His eyes roam over my neck, and he scoffs. “You fucked her but didn’t mark her. Pathetic.”

Tala snarls in my mind, and my hands begin to shake around my mug. “Enough!” My voice cracks. “I can’t do this right

now.”

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