Pursuing My Rejected Luna by Cara Anderson novel Chapter 305

Ch. 75

Cassandra

“Do you want to tell me what that was about?” Jack asks as he leads me to his room in the warrior quarters- same building as the Alpha house but its own wing.

Do I want to tell him the scent of arousal that’s clinging to me like a wet blanket or the slick running down my thighs is from Noah’s growly voice and hot breath on my skin and not from the anticipation of what we came here for. Um, no.

“Just Noah being Noah,” I hedge instead.

“Hmm,” he looks at me sideways as we keep walking, “well, if he upset you, I’ll talk to him. Alpha or not, your personal life is none of his business. And I’m not afraid to tell him so.”

“It’s okay. Really, it’s no big deal. Let’s not let him ruin our evening.”

“Cassie…” the nickname, the one Jack always uses for me, sends me right back to that porch with Noah’s scent fogging my brain. “I know you still have feelings for him. I don’t expect you to be totally over him, but I was hoping this might be a step in the right direction. But if you’re not-”

“No!” I protest, a little too vehemently. But I’m done letting Noah ruin things for me. And the fact that he tried to ruin this pisses me off. “No Jack. I want this. Want you.”

I give him the biggest smile I can manage but he still doesn’t look convinced. Fortunately, we’ve arrived at his quarter and he lets the subject drop in favor of ushering me inside.

He opens the door and steps back to let me in. I stop just inside the doorway, looking around, taking it all in. The room is clean, organized in a practical way but lacks any personal touches. A desk. A bookshelf with actual books. But not much else that speaks to the man who occupies this space.

What there is though, is a bed. A huge bed–bigger than I expected, which makes me aware, suddenly, that I’m standing in a man’s room about to do something I haven’t done in four years.

Four years. I’d done a great job avoiding all thoughts about that number until right now. Jack closes the door but he doesn’t cross to me immediately–he hangs back, reading the room, noticing that I’ve gone slightly still.

“Hey,” he says. Quiet, like he’s afraid to spook me, worried I’ll bolt like a scared animal.

“Hey,” I return, actually starting a bit at the sound of my own voice.

“You okay?” He steps slowly toward me, no sudden movements, and tips my chin up to look at him.

And because this is Jack, who has never once required me to perform anything, I tell him the truth.

“I haven’t done this in a while,” I say. “A long while.”

He waits, not pushing for more than I want to tell him.

“Since Liam’s father,” I say. “Which was-“I do the math. “Four years, roughly.”

He’s quiet for a moment. His expression doesn’t change from the look of concern he’s been wearing–doesn’t act surprised or offer sympathy or gloat with male satisfaction at being the one chosen after a long gap. He just

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Ch. 75

+15 Bonus

listens.

“I know what people assume,” I say. “Given–everything. My history. The way I operated. I know what they think.”

“I’m not people,” he says simply.

“I know,” I say. “That’s why I’m telling you.”

He takes another step forward, closing the remaining distance between us. Not fast–he moves deliberately, giving me the full visibility of every step, which is a thing I didn’t know I needed until he did it. He stops when we’re nose to nose and puts his hands on my face with a gentleness that is not what I expected from hands that size.

“I’m honored,” he says. Plainly, the way he says true things. “That you chose me.

Something in my chest does something I’m not going to examine right now.

“Don’t make me cry,” But it’s too late. My voice cracks anyway.

“Not my plan,” he grins. And kisses me.

This kiss is unhurried–leisurely in a way that feels like a deliberate offering, like he’s decided the evening belongs to me and he’s going to follow my pace and let me find it. He kisses me slowly, his hands still on my face, and the nervousness in my chest starts to do something else.

“Tell me what you want,” he says against my mouth.

“I don’t-“I start.

“Start anywhere,” he says. “We’ve got time.”

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