Chapter 97
Chapter 97
Tristan’s POV
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I didn’t pull out of Athena immediately. I stayed buried inside her, my forehod pressed against hers as I tried to catch my breath.
My heart was pounding so hard I could hear it in my ears, and for a moment I couldn’t think about anything except how right this felt.
How terrifyingly, impossibly right it felt again.
I kissed her forehead gently, tasting the salt of her sweat, before slowly lifting her in my arms. She was boneless against me, her head tucked into my
neck as I carried her to her room.
www
Her breathing was already evening out, exhaustion taking over, but I couldn’t bring myself to leave her there alone.
I slipped into bed beside her, pulling the covers over both of us, and she immediately curled into my side like she belonged there.
No matter what either of us said, we both knew this wasn’t what siblings did Siblings didn’t lose control on kitchen counters.
Siblings didn’t touch each other the way we just had, didn’t make the sounds we’d made, didn’t fit together like two pieces of the same broken puzzle.
Siblings did
fuck twice in a roll.
When she’d told me this morning that she only saw me as an elder brother, had made a decision. I was going to let her go. I was going to keep my distance and treat her exactly like Orion’s little sister and nothing more.
But then she kept doing things that made it impossible to keep that promise. The way she looked at me during dinner, the way she’d jumped to defend me at the race, the way she’d gotten so angry when I called myself her brother.
Every action, every glance, every breath she took seemed designed to unrave my resolve.
I wasn’t someone who went back on his word. I prided myself on being a man who meant what he said. But with Athena, everything was different. She
made me different.
Made my wolf feel whole again.
I pulled her closer, feeling her warm breath against my chest, and whispered goodnight to her already sleeping form.
I woke up reaching for someone who wasn’t there.
My hand moved across the sheets automatically, searching for a familiar body the way it had every morning for the past four years. It was a habit I couldn’t break, even though I knew the bed would be empty.
Jess.
The name hit me like a physical blow, and suddenly I was fully awake, my het racing for all the wrong reasons.
What was today’s date?
My hands were shaking as I grabbed my phone from the nightstand, dreading what I might see on the screen. When the numbers came into focus, my
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19:39 Tue, Jan 6 T
Chapter 97
stomach dropped to the floor.
Six months. Today marked exactly six months since I’d lost them both.
‘Shit. Shit, shit, shit p>
I bolted upright, panic clawing at my throat. How could I have forgotten? He could I have been so stupid, so selfish, so completely worthless?
I could hear the shower running in Athena’s bathroom, and the sound made e feel even sicker.
I had to get out of here before she finished, before I had to look her in the ee and pretend last night hadn’t been the biggest mistake of my life.
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How the hell was I supposed to face her now? I’d had sex with another woman in the same kitchen where I used to make love to Jess. On the
anniversary of her death. God, what kind of monster was I?
Moving as quietly as possible, I slipped out of Athena’s bed and grabbed my othes from where they’d been scattered across her floor.
The sight of them there, mixed with hers, made my chest tight with shame and something else I didn’t want to name.
I practically ran to my own bathroom, turning the water as hot as it would go and scrubbing at my skin like I could wash away what I’d done. But no amount of soap could clean the guilt from my conscience.
Ten minutes later, I was dressed and heading for the door, my keys clutched in my sweaty palm.
I didn’t call out to Athena, didn’t leave a note, didn’t do any of the things a decent man would do after spending the night with a woman.
Because I wasn’t decent. I was a cheating piece of garbage who’d dishonored the memory of the only woman I’d ever truly loved.
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blackmoonsage
ok this is so confusing make up your mind
7 days ago
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Sara Lili
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.