Page 69 of Eclipse Sector
“I hurt you. I’m sorry. But if you keep sassing me, Omega, I will bend you over my knee and teach that sweet little ass of yours alessonyou won’t soon forget.”
Now it was my turn for my eyebrows to leap upward. “Excuseme?”
“You’re being disrespectful and you know it.”
“I’m being truthful,” I bit back at him. “You keep doing all these things out of pity and?—”
“I do not pity?—”
“No,” I snapped, my palms landing on his chest in an effort to shove him away from me.
But he wouldn’t budge.
The stubborn Alpha simplygrowled.
“Stoplyingto me,” I told him furiously. “Your actions and your words prove that you pity me, Cillian. I mean, you kissedme because Ransom didn’t, just to show me what an Alpha should do. You offered to walk me home the other day from Quinn’s palace, which you’ve never done before. Tonight, you chase me down out of some misconceived notion to protect me. Then you… you…”
I closed my eyes, my own growl emanating in my chest.
Becausehow dare heground me.
But that wasn’t the point here.
“I don’t need or want your pity, Cillian,” I said through my teeth. “I’m a big girl. I can handle your rejection. So just… stop doing whatever it is you’re doing and let me move on.”
I tried to push away from his grasp once more and found myself suddenly sandwiched between his hot form and the cold shower wall.
“Does this feel like I pity you, Ivana?” Cillian asked, his tone holding a lethal edge to it that caused goose bumps to scatter up and down my arms.
I swallowed, his heat a brand against my skin, specifically the hard part of him pressed up against my lower belly.
“Cillian—”
His palm slid from my nape to my throat, his gaze ensnaring mine and forcing me to submit. “It’s my turn to talk now, Omega.”
I shivered, his dominance washing over me in a welcome caress, one that had my wolf whimpering inside for more.
Her desired mate was naked, aroused, and had us pinned to a wall. There was only one outcome she could imagine in this situation.
Unfortunately, I knew of too many other ways this could end.
That knowledge was all that kept me from moaning out loud as Cillian drew his thumb in a circle against the throbbing pulse point of my neck.
“I kissed you because I wanted to,” he said, the violent undercurrent of his tone still very much present. “It wasn’t a lesson. It wasn’t because I pitied you. It was because Iwantyou. Because I’ve considered you mine for six very long years. And I’m struggling to do the right thing and let you go.”
His words echoed in my mind, stirring a tidal wave of confusion. “If you?—”
His grip tightened. “I’m not finished talking, Omega.”
My wolf quivered at the way he said that, all dominance and grace, an Alpha taking charge and forcing his mate tolisten.
But the woman inside me was stronger, causing my eyes to narrow in defiance.
“That,” he growled, the storm churning in his dark irises. “Thatright there is why I find you so fucking irresistible, Vana. You’re not afraid of me even when you should be. And you don’t put me on a bloody pedestal either. You challenge me every damn day, surprise me constantly, and provide me with the most unique sense of peace, all at the same time.”
He pressed his forehead to mine, his eyes falling closed as he inhaled deeply.
“Fuck, Vana. You have no idea what you do to me. How hard this is. How much I wish I could make you mine. But I’m not good enough for you. It’s taking all my strength, all mypower, to let you move on. Hell, toforce youto move on. Except it’s the right thing to do.For you.”
