The Sickened Luna's Last Chance novel Chapter 42

Chapter 42

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Chapter 42

Ella

As I stood in Alexander’s shower later that night, hot water cascading down my back, my fingers kept drifting up to my mouth. I couldn’t stop touching my lips. The ghost of Alexander’s kiss still lingered there, no matter how hard I scrubbed at the skin.

I hadn’t meant for it to be so… intense. I’d only wanted to shut the journalists up, to prove our “love” was real. But the moment our lips touched, something had ignited between us. I couldn’t deny it.

I’d never been kissed like that before. Hell, I’d never been kissed by Alexander at all. Five years of marriage, and it took a PR crisis for him to finally kiss me.

Well… I had been the one to kiss him. And the moment we had been out of sight, he had walked away from me like I was nothing.

The whole situation felt so damn pathetic. And I felt even more pathetic for actually caring.

I shut off the water and stood dripping in the shower and reached for a towel just as the bathroom door swung open.

“What the fuck!” I screamed, clutching the towel to my chest as Alexander strode in, already unbuttoning his shirt.

His eyes went wide. “Shit!” He whirled around, covering his eyes with one hand. “I didn’t know you were in here.”

“Obviously!” My heart was going wild in my chest as I hastily wrapped the towel around myself and stumbled out of the shower. “Haven’t you ever heard of knocking?”

“I’m not used to sharing a bathroom,” Alexander snapped with his back still turned to me.

I moved to step past him, but as I tried to squeeze by, my damp shoulder brushed against his arm. A jolt of electricity shot through me at the contact.

Alexander froze, his body suddenly going rigid. Slowly, almost reluctantly, he turned his head toward me.

We were close. Too close. Close enough that I could see the flecks of gold in his green eyes, could feel the warmth of his breath against my cheek. My gaze dropped to his lips-those same lips that had been on mine just hours ago.

The air between us crackled with static electricity as we looked at each other. For a moment, I thought he might kiss me again, right there in that steamy bathroom with nothing but a towel

between us.

Part of me wanted him to.

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Chapter 42

+25 BONUS

Alexander swallowed. “Ella.” The sound of my name on his tongue sounded strained, like he was holding back.

Did he want me, too, I wondered? Did he secretly spend nights during the wondering what it would be like to finally be together as man and wife?

past five

years

But then he stepped back and coldly said, “That stunt you pulled today at the press conference can’t happen again.”

I blinked. “What?”

“The kiss. It worked this time, but we shouldn’t make a habit of it. Not with a divorce coming up so soon.”

The reminder stung more than it should have. Nine months. We had agreed on nine months, and then he would reject me, and my wolf would return, and I would live. That was the plan. That was what I wanted.

So why did his words make my chest hurt like I’d been stabbed?

I quickly shoved that nasty, traitorous little feeling back down and locked it away.

“Fine by me,” I said, lifting my chin. “It’s not like I enjoyed it anyway.”

A muscle in Alexander’s jaw ticked. “Good. Then we’re on the same page.”

I pushed past him without another word, ignoring the way my skin burned where it had touched his.

Fifteen minutes later, I was sitting up in bed with a book open in my lap although I hadn’t read a single word.

I was wearing one of my silk nightgowns, the pale blue one with the lace trim that had sat unworn in my drawer for years. I’d bought it back when I’d still believed Alexander might someday want me-back when I was still naive enough to think fated mates always fell in love.

Now, I was just wearing it because I needed to do laundry.

At least… that was what I told myself.

The bathroom door opened, and Alexander emerged in a cloud of steam, wearing nothing but a pair of sweatpants. I forced myself nor to look at the defined muscles of his abdomen or the trail of hair that disappeared beneath the waistband.

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