Chapter 24

Shemika spent the rest of the day in her room. She was aware that Caturix didn’t want her to wash off his scent, but she couldn’t exactly walk around the pack smelling like him, especially after Lyosha had explicitly told her to stay away from him. In truth, she didn’t want to wash off his scent either. She wanted to be enveloped in it, to be immersed in it. She rolled around in her bed, hoping to transfer his scent onto her sheets so she could sleep surrounded by him.

She was drawn to his scent. It warmed her, excited her, soothed her, and touched her in ways nothing else ever had. She couldn’t explain why, not even to herself. It was comforting, yet also arousing. She couldn’t get enough of his scent or his body. As the hours passed, Shemika watched the clock, dreading the moment when she would have to wash herself. He had told her to wash tonight, but he hadn’t specified a time. The thought of his intoxicating scent washing away with the suds was unbearable.

She found herself pouting. She felt whipped. But she couldn’t be whipped. They weren’t even in a relationship. Why did she care so much? Caturix didn’t seem to care at all. She needed to guard her feelings, to suppress her burgeoning emotions before they grew any stronger. She knew that if Caturix discovered her feelings, he would likely cut her off. That would leave her worse off than if she had never admitted her feelings at all. She needed to lie to herself. She only liked Caturix for his body and the pleasure he gave her. She just had to keep telling herself that.

She didn’t join the others for dinner that night. She was sure Lyosha would expect her to stay away and would have his men watching Caturix and his place. So she stayed in her room and snacked on whatever she had. She put on a romantic comedy and dozed off on her bed with the lights dimmed.

~Tap~.

Shemika’s eyes snapped open. She thought she heard something—

~Tap, tap~.

She slid off her bed and walked to her living area where the only windows were. She pulled open the blinds and peered out into the darkness. Or she would have, if not for the large man standing in front of the window.

Her heart would have pounded with fear if it hadn’t been Caturix, but her body recognized him. It yearned for him. She hadn’t expected him to start their secret affair tonight. She thought it would begin in a few days. It didn’t make sense to start immediately, especially when Lyosha would be expecting them to defy his orders. Shemika opened the window and stepped back to let him in. She turned and walked across the apartment. She hadn’t expected him to come so soon, so she hadn’t made any effort to make her apartment more masculine. She was embarrassed by how girly her space was, with different shades of pink and purple everywhere.

When he closed the window and the blinds, she finally spoke. “I wasn’t expecting you tonight, Cat,” she whispered, even though every room was soundproofed for lycan privacy, given their enhanced hearing.

He closed the gap between them and kissed her. She had been right—kissing was a delicacy. It was intimate, different from sex. Sex was a means to an end, at least in her experience. Kissing was satisfying in a completely different way. It was more intimate to Shemika.

He pulled back and rested his forehead against hers. “Do you want me to leave?” he asked, sounding amused as if he already knew her answer.

She shook her head. “Of course not, but…” She let the sentence hang.

“You haven’t washed my scent off yet,” he said, almost teasingly.

She could feel her cheeks heating up with embarrassment. “N-n-no. I haven’t gotten around to it, b-b-but I was just about to,” she stammered.

He chuckled warmly, and Shemika felt like she was in paradise. His laugh was so deep and pleasant. Why was he suddenly so different? She had never heard him laugh or seen him smile before, and now he had smirked, joked, and chuckled all in one day. She felt giddy with happiness. It was overwhelming, maybe too much.

He turned to look around her apartment. “It’s nice,” he said, his voice filled with humor.

She shifted awkwardly as he surveyed her room. “I…I wasn’t prepared for you to visit.”

“Your room reminds me of Kisa’s,” he said, turning to smirk at her.

~Oh, the nerve~. “Yeah, you know the way out,” she grumbled, turning to leave him in the living room.

“I was teasing,” he said, his mood suddenly serious. “Did I offend you? Did it not come off as teasing?” he asked.

She shrugged in response.

“I’m sorry,” he said, quick to apologize. “I’m new to this.”

“A relationship?” she asked.

His brows furrowed in confusion. “What relationship?”

Shemika froze mid-step. “Uh, what? What do you mean?”

“You said relationship, don’t you mean association?” he corrected.

“Hah, yeah, totally,” she laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of her neck nervously. “That’s what I meant,” she insisted.

He nodded slowly. “Of course.”

She continued to the kitchen to see what she could offer him, eager to change the subject and forget about her slip-up. She opened the fridge and looked inside. It was embarrassingly empty. No meat and very little of anything else. She backed up to tell him about the lack of food and backed up…into him. Her back pressed against his firm chest and her rear pressed into…an even firmer surface. She couldn’t suppress the yelp of surprise.

She stepped to the side and moved away. “Are you hungry?” she asked, gesturing to the refrigerator.

Caturix scowled at her then turned his attention to her open fridge. His scowl deepened. “It’s barren, Mika. What are you surviving on?” he demanded.

She shrugged nonchalantly. “Fine, no food.”

He moved toward her. “I am ~hungry~ though,” he said in a low voice. When she didn’t respond, he added, “Aren’t you going to ask what I want to eat?” in a playful tone.

Shemika shivered and backed up. “No. I am not, Caturix.”

“You agreed to call me Cat. So say it,” he ordered.

“Kitty,” she retorted, sticking her tongue out for good measure.

He clicked his tongue and closed the distance between them quickly, grabbing Shemika’s wrist. He pushed her up against the wall and lifted her chin until their mouths met.

“I’m sensing reluctance, Mika,” he said, pulling back. “Do you really not want me to fuck you?”

She blinked at him. “I…I don’t know.” She definitely did, but her thoughts were overwhelming. He was being nice and funny and he was warm and she couldn’t think.

“I won’t fuck you unless you want me to,” he said sternly.

What a contrast to the other men she’d slept with. Willing to take her in any form. Well, she’d been a little unsure about having sex again, but his confirmation was somehow intoxicating. He wanted her, but he wanted her to want him in return. It was new and so different, but welcome.

“I do,” she insisted.

“Good,” he said, grinning down at her. “Then take off your clothes,” he ordered. “Then get on your bed and lie with your face down and your ass up. Put your hands above your head and don’t move them.”

Shemika gaped, frozen with shock.

The corner of his mouth twitched with amusement. “Go now or I’ll slip out the window and I won’t return until tomorrow night.”

Shemika sprang into action and nearly ran to her bed, hurrying to obey his command.