Page 45 of Moon Destiny

Maybe a different approach was in order. Like telling her something I hadn’t discussed with Dylan.

“Did Alex ever talk to you about his mother?”

She blinked, obviously caught off guard. “Just that she died when he was young.”

“He was ten. She took her own life.”

Brooke gasped. “I d-didn’t know. Alex never said.”

“He never liked talking about it. And he didn’t see his mother often after the divorce.” I sighed as old regrets surfaced. “Rebecca and I should have never married. The Council frowns on long-term relationships with humans for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is the problem posed by aging. Or, in our case, the lack of it. I didn’t tell her what I was at first, but I never lied to her about what I expected from our…time together. We wanted the same things.” I coughed into my fist. “A low-stress, um, fling I guess you could call it.”

Brooke said nothing. Just waited patiently for me to continue.

“Pregnancy in a werewolf-human relationship is exceptionally rare. In some cases, the child is fully human. But Alex was a wolf, and there was no way I could let Rebecca raise him alone. It was a shock for her, learning about me and this world. She hated the rules and the politics. It bothered her knowing she would grow old while I stayed the same.”

“Could you have bitten her? Turned her?”

I shook my head. “I offered, but she didn’t want to risk it. Most women die from a bite. I wasn’t exaggerating when I said you were rare. My marriage to Rebecca lasted two years. I don’t know if being my wife and all that came with it caused her depression, but I bear some responsibility. Maybe all of it. I tried to help her. I hoped she would find someone who made her happy.” My throat burned. “I…found her. She hanged herself.”

Brooke slipped to her knees in front of me. She took both of my hands and squeezed them. “I’m so sorry, Hugh.”

“It’s fine.” I cleared my throat. “I’m— It was a long time ago.”

Brooke gripped my hands more tightly. “It wasn’t your job to make her happy. And even if you had, it might not have been enough. Depression is different in everyone. It manifests in all kinds of ways.”

“I know that.”

She gave me a skeptical look. “Do you, though? You have to lay down this burden, Hugh. It sounds like you did everything you could to make things right. To make it work. But you aren’t responsible for anyone else’s happiness.”

My breath caught. She was so gorgeous with the sunlight around her. It turned her hair to spun gold. And I couldn’t resist her. Couldn’t stop myself from rubbing the silky strands between my fingers. “You’re perfect,” I murmured.

She wrinkled her nose, her freckles scrunching. “I don’t know about that.”

Something hard and cold within me—my heart, maybe—thawed as I gazed down at her, this charming burst of sunshine that refused to bend to my rules or edicts. Like sunlight, she danced around me instead, elusive and addictive and irrepressible. How had I have ever believed I could reject her?

“Do you feel it too?” I murmured. As soon as I said it, I had to know. Did she feel as swept up as I did?

She bit her lip, and that hesitation almost killed me. Then she gave a tiny nod. “Yes.”

Relief washed over me. “Thank goodness,” I rasped, a little embarrassed at how shaky my voice sounded. But she didn’t seem to mind, and she leaned into my hand as I stroked my fingers through her hair. The strands were warm from the sun. I smiled. “Like holding sunshine.”

Her lips parted, and the air thickened with the intoxicating scent of her arousal. “Hugh…”

I pulled her up and into my arms, slanting my mouth across hers. I tugged at her clothes as I walked her backwards, making short work of her shirt and bra. She bumped against my desk, and I broke off the kiss as I steadied her. At the first sight of her tits, my dick went rock hard. “Fuck,” I muttered, cupping her full breasts and tracing my thumbs over her stiffened nipples. “Fuck, these are perfect. Fuck.”

She braced her weight on her palms and leaned back, a teasing look in her eyes, which had lightened to a frosty blue. “Is that the only word you know?”

“It’s the only one that accurately describes what I want to do to you.” I bent and sucked a pink nipple into my mouth, reveling in her sweet scent. I suckled her hard before moving my mouth to the other one. “Have you dreamed of me?” I asked around the taut peak.

Her gasp floated over my head, and she arched harder against me. “H-How did you know?”

My cock tightened. I popped my mouth off her nipple and stood back so I could admire my work. She was flushed, her eyes bleary with lust as she leaned hard against the edge of the desk. Her tits rose and fell with her breaths, the nipples stiff and damp from my tongue. I stepped close, letting her feel how hard I was for her. “What did you dream about, sweetheart? Was I doing this?” I took her nipples between my fingers and pinched lightly.

“Yes.” Her eyelashes fluttered as she moaned. “And you were—oh god.”

“What?” I undid the button on her shorts and lowered the zipper. My cock throbbed, but I ignored my own need as I pushed her shorts down to her ankles. I seized her hips and followed them down, planting soft kisses on her quivering belly as I went. “Need an answer,” I said, kissing the lacy front of her panties right over her clit.

“Mmm.” Her hips jerked. “Y-You were licking me…there.”

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