NOVPUB
Chapter 75: _ Stop Doing This To Us
Isleen
~~
I sat frozen in my spot for a long while, staring emotionlessly at Gamma Rhett who looked like he was the happiest man on earth right now.
The world spun.
Pain, pleasure, and a terrifying sense of completion washed over me in dizzying waves as my eyes continued to sync with his.
Finally, tears welled up in my eyes, blurring Gamma Rhett’s face as he sighed like he hated the look I wore.
He hated the look on my face.
I hated what he had just done.
Why?
A glance at my neck now would reveal the mate mark. Now, I’ll be made to always drop my hair to cover my neck or wear clothes that would help hide it.
However, how on earth was I supposed to hide this from Kylo? I could succeed in hiding it from others but Kylo?
What if we were going to be alone – be intimate...
Wait. Could I ever allow myself to be intimate with Kylo now that I mated to his father?
I think not.
Perhaps, this breakup came at the right time. What Gamma Rhett had just done couldn’t be undone. We were marked. I belonged to him now. The thought of that made my throat dry.
What would people think?
Lupe and the elves seemed to take it well the other day. Even if everyone else took it well, what state would that dump Kylo in?
What was I thinking right now?
How could I say I was Gamma Rhett’s? Hell no. Fuck the mate bond, the mark... fuck everything.
My voice, when it finally came, was a choked blurt. "What... what did you do? What... what have you done?"
My wolf answered for him first. She thought she loved it. But she was wrong. We would regret it.
Gamma Rhett chuckled. It was a low and warm sound that sent shivers down my spine. "Don’t say it like it’s a bad thing, Isleen. We did it. We both did it, not just me. And it was the right thing we did too." His hand brushed my cheek, wiping away a stray tear.
I didn’t even realize that I was already shedding tears. It was worth shedding tears.
"The right thing?" I coughed out, anger igniting within me. "This is unbelievable! You are unbelievable! You call this a RIGHT thing?"
I couldn’t stay here any longer. With him. In this car. No.
"You can’t just..." I fumbled with the car door handle, desperate to escape the suffocating closeness but failing at it.
Anxiety had rendered me clumsy.
But Gamma Rhett was faster.
His hand clamped around my wrist, his grip surprisingly gentle yet rigid.
"Isleen," he said again, his voice filled with a warning I couldn’t ignore.
The audacity of the man!
The next thing I knew, his lips were back on mine. This kiss wasn’t the desperate exploration of before. It was possessive, claiming – a declaration of ownership. It was intense, and possessive. Obvious that Gamma Rhett was claiming what he believed was rightfully his.
This wasn’t the hesitant touch from earlier; this was a full-blown bombardment of emotions. To hell with me because a part of me, a traitorous part, yearned to be swept away by his touch, really.
My anger dissolved like ice in the sun. My body which was once stiff with resistance, melted into his embrace right away. Suddenly, everything was amplified.
I could feel him. I could feel the thrum of his wolf beneath his skin, responding to mine in a way that sent shivers down my spine.
I wanted more.
My hands tangled in his hair, pulling him closer. I pulled him closer. I wanted him. I took it. I took more. I was feeding on air from his mouth, gasping with every breath but he didn’t seem to want to do more.
He did less touching while I did more. He did less panting and groaning, I did a lot.
Oh, Gamma Rhett...
To my disappointment or maybe clarity, he pulled back abruptly, his chest heaving. "See, Isleen," he said with a voice that was rough with emotion. "Your body already knows the truth. Stop fighting what you feel. Stop lying to yourself. Stop doing this to US."
Words failed me. How could I fight this? How could I argue against the delicious ache that bloomed in my core with every touch?
But why did he speak of an ’us’? Where was the ’us’? How did that ’us’ come to be? 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝒑𝙪𝒃.𝒄𝒐𝙢
I opened my mouth to protest, but the words wouldn’t come.
He was right. My actions spoke louder than any denial I could muster. ’What’s done is done’ a voice echoed in my head, and it felt oddly comforting.
It felt real.
It felt like the truth.
"We can deal with the consequences later," Gamma continued, ignoring the obvious battle in me, his voice softer now. "But right now, we need to figure out how to be together. That is what we ought to fight for now, Isleen. Not each other, not what’s between us, not our fates because those are what we can not fight. Those are already written for us and sealed. If only I could make you see..."
Kylo’s face flashed in my mind – his innocent smile– his boundless trust in me. How much he loved me. How long we’ve been together. How we’ve fought so hard to be where we are at. Everything we’ve been through together. How could I betray him like this?
Isleen— how could you?
Father forgive me for I have sinned.
I met his gaze with blazing eyes. "No, Gamma Rhett." I declared. "This– this can’t happen no matter what you say. We can never be together. It’ll do you a lot of good to get that straight earlier than later."
With that, I pushed him away and stumbled out of the car. The cool night air hit my face like a slap, but it couldn’t cool the burning sensation spreading through my body.
The mark.
