When they touch me (Shelagh Milano)

Chapter 79 ARTEMISIA

Before my brain can even register what is happening, I'm already being slammed against the wall, my air getting knocked out of my lungs.

"Fynn!" I shriek after filling my lungs back up with a gasp.

I push against his chest, but he ignores me, leaning in to nibble at my skin. He lets his lips travel up and down my neck, overwhelming me with the friction he creates on his way.

Soon enough, I stop fighting him, and start melting in his arms, making him step even closer. As he grabs my legs, he lifts me to have them wrapped around his waist, pressing himself onto me. I moan as he makes me feel his hardening dick, causing him to bite into my skin softly. "Fynn, wait," I breathe out, and he surprisingly reacts, distancing himself from me.

My chest heaves as I look up at him, and he tilts his head. He waits for me to speak as he draws me into his spell, making me lose myself in his eyes.

This isn't going to end well.

Make him stop.

He doesn't want you as his mate.

While my inner voice is still screaming at me, I blend it out completely as I notice how he is inching closer.

My breath hitches in my throat as his lips graze mine, and I close my eyes, waiting for him to claim them. Only that nothing happens.

Opening my eyes slowly, I find him grinning slyly at me.

"Glad to see how you absolutely hate it when I touch you," he mocks me smugly, making me slap him.

I'm convinced that he just moved his head with my slap to prevent me from breaking my hand, but he clenches his jaw nonetheless.

"Get the fuck off me!" I shout, and he takes a step back, looking at me angrily. "And wipe that expression off your face. Stop being a jerk to people if you don't like them to react unpleasantly to you."

He simply continues to glare at me while I breathe like I was just running a marathon. "Look, I get it. We are both feeling the pull because of our bond. But we can't keep going on like that. My heart can't take it anymore." "And what do you want us to do?" he asks, rage still present in his eyes.

I shrug, sighing. "I don't know. But don't you think this isn't fair? Also, for Harper."

"Goddess, why are you bringing her up?" He moves his hand over his face, pushing out an exhausted breath.

Shaking my head, I swallow a sob. "Because I saw how you looked at her. At the construction site. You told her to wait for her in front of your quarters. You told me there was a she-wolf-"

"She isn't the she-wolf I want to get off with," he interrupts me.

"Who is she then? See, you have to stop sending me all those confusing signals," I shout, gesticulating wildly with my hands.

"It's not that easy, Artemisia," he says, making my heart stop at him saying my name without any mockery.

Passing my hand through my hair, I lean back against the wall. "You all have to stop telling me that something is complicated."

He takes a step towards me, cupping my chin to make me look at him again, "I will tell you everything, but you have to trust me until I do. Can you do that for me?"

I nod my head feebly, tears prickling in my eyes.

A slight smile appears on his face, but I make sure he loses it instantaneously. "Would you please sleep on the couch tonight?"

As he nods, I sigh relieved. Taking a step into him, I get him to move out of my way.

He stands there for a split second as I start unpacking my bags. "I will warm up dinner. Will you eat something with me at least?"

I nod again, uttering a low 'uh-huh' but refuse to look at him.

Fynn walks to the kitchen and starts warming up the dinner they had prepared for us silently as I put away my clothes.

As I turn around, I get the shock of my life as I discover the dolls sitting on a sideboard. They are all looking at me creepily, making me shudder. After putting my clothes in one of the drawers, I check if Fynn is watching me before I stuff the dolls into the lowest drawer of the sideboard. We sit down at the island as if it was normal routine after he had dinner warmed up for us.

I can hold my tongue for a little while until I can't take the silence anymore. "Can we at least not spend another couple of hours without saying anything because I don't like it."

He smiles faintly as this gets him to finally look at me, "Sure."

"Okay, thanks," I breathe out.

"Have you thought about what Cayden said to you?" he asks, making me glare at him agape.

"This of all things?" I counter, stabbing my food repeatedly.

He reaches out to me, laying his hand on my side. "Sorry, I just thought it was the only thing we could talk about without getting into a fight."

I purse my lips, his touch calming me significantly. "No, I didn't."

Looking back at my plate, I sigh. "I honestly would like to be with him though."

"Really?" he asks, taking a sip of his water, causing me to nod. "What is the problem then?"

"Wouldn't it be strange? And how will Logan and Matthew take it?"

He shrugs, letting his eyes wander through the room. "Strange? No. And you have to find out, but I guess they will accept it, eventually."

I scrunch up my nose, and he grins at me. "I heard you have the best arguments."

"Pervert," I slap his shoulder playfully, making him laugh.

As we grow silent again, I scoop around a little potato on my plate pensively.

"How did you know that he liked me?" I ask him finally, making him hum.

He swallows a bite before he distorts his face. "The night he went to your brother's coronation... He came back and directly into my room. He woke me up to tell me that he had met someone... Well, special." "Oh," I whisper, and he exhales downheartedly.

"Yeah. Oh. We had our problems, but

I

I guess I helped him through a rough break-up once, so he must have wanted me to be the first to know As he didn't stop in his room and came straight to me, he was still hotding like a piece of your clothing of the evening in his hand,

He puts his fork down, turning fully towards me. "Goddess, it smelled so good. I didn't get one fucking word of what he was telling me."

I look at him with wide eyes, as he

nex

leans closer. "But I did get what he was trying to tell me. And I snapped. The day after, he barely got me to sit down with my brothers and we discovered that we had a mate. He was so heartbroken. I could tell it from a mile apart even if he tried to hide it. I don't think that my brother got it, but you should have seen the smile on his face as he woke me

up."

He shakes his head with a smile, "Don't get me wrong. I can totally be a possessive prick. But what kind of monster would I be to keep you two from being together if you get him to smile like that." Breathing gets harder as he smirks at me, and turns his head away from me. "Weren't there some creepy-ass dolls?"

"Huh?" I jerk up, wiping my tears from my cheeks. "No... What? I didn't see any dolls."

He looks back at me with squinted eyes, and I lower my eyes back onto my plate, changing the subject immediately. "So funny that Daisy hasn't yet turned up to check on my meal."

"Ah, that," he says, taking another

sip. "I told her that I would be fucking

you raw by the moment we cross

the door, and that, if she would even

try to check on you or your nutrients,

I would decapitate her."

We look at each other for a moment, before I burst out in laughter, making him chuckle as well. "You can't be serious."

"I swear. Also, I'm still not convinced about what she spiked your food with. Cayden is getting the brew tested, but that might take a while."

He plays with his glass absent-mindedly, and I reach out to squeeze his arm. "Thank you for looking after me. And I desperately needed the break from her."

"No problem. I'll talk to Cayden and get her to step back a bit. Don't worry," he empties his glass with a swing, standing up.

"I'll go for a run. If you don't mind?" He says as he puts his plate into the sink.

I take a bite of a potato, nodding, "Sure, have fun."

Leaning in, he presses a swift kiss onto my cheek before he walks out of our lodge.

After having finished eating, I clean up and finally get to let myself fall into bed.

I cuddle in, close my eyes, and wait for sleep to claim me, but it never comes.

Scoffing, I caress my locks out of my face and check the time.

Just as I'm about to groan to myself, my heart stops as the door opens and Fynn walks in to reach the bathroom.

Even with the door closed, I can hear the shower running and curse myself as I can't seem to fight off any of the indecent pictures that keep creeping into my mind.

I clasp a pillow close, closing my eyes firmly but all my confidence goes down the drain as the door reopens, flooding the room with his mouth-watering scent.

Fuck.

Continuing to act like I was sleeping, I try to ignore my nagging thought that he must sense that I'm not sleeping pretty easily.

I hear his steps on the wooden floor, and my heartbeat calms down lightly, only to skyrocket again as I feel the bed dip.

"Sorry," he whispers huskily, causing goose bumps to rise on my skin. "But my wolf needs you close. He would never let me spend the night on the couch."

I hug my pillow tighter as he scoots closer, pulling me against his frame.