Total pages in book: 38
Estimated words: 36039 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 180(@200wpm)___ 144(@250wpm)___ 120(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 36039 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 180(@200wpm)___ 144(@250wpm)___ 120(@300wpm)
This woman, this young girl—because that was what she truly was—had shaken his world. Kissing her had been a fucking nightmare to him.All he’d needed in his life was his bike, the open road, and that was it. Not women. Not anyone.
Until he scented her.
He had to be cruel. She had known who he was, had felt that pull. He had to reject her. Ashley was too young, too … new … too shiny. She was not the kind of woman he would imagine as a mate for himself. He was too jaded. Phoenix had seen the cruelties of the world and knew without a shadow of a doubt that Ashley wasn’t ready. She had to be protected.
Being cruel was part of who he was. It was how he learned to survive. So for the last five years he’d constantly convinced himself not to return, to stay as far away from her as possible. Only he found himself coming back repeatedly, more often than ever before, to perhaps catch a glimpse of the woman he couldn’t have.
Ashley Simpkin was a fucking dream. A beauty with full, rounded hips, big, juicy tits, and damn, her ass. He hadn’t seen it in so long, but he loved her ass. Of course, after that first year, the last four had been impossible. She was never around. He had politely asked about her without drawing attention, and they had told him she’d gone camping, or hiking, or she was running an errand. She avoided him. Like now. He saw her coming out of the woods, and she wasn’t alone.
He looked at the man, Daniel, he recalled his name was. They were dressed from their run. The full moon had been high up in the sky. He knew Daniel had a crush on her. The few times he’d visited, Daniel had been his right-hand man, and he had talked about her nonstop. Not that he minded. He learned a lot from the man.
Ashley was an adored member of the pack. Even before she turned, she was a nice person. Sweet, kind, loving. She would do anything for anyone. She worked at the DIY store, even though according to Daniel, she hated the place. She hated decorating or having to fix anything. She loved to read and to bake.
“Alpha,” Daniel said, drawing his attention.
“Where have you two been?” Phoenix asked.
Ashley lifted her head. “It’s a full moon, we just came from the woods, I’m pretty sure you can figure it out.”
She went to brush past him, but he grabbed her arm.
“Ashley doesn’t mean no disrespect, Alpha,” Daniel said.
He hated being called Alpha.
“Do you, Ashley?”
“No, of course not.” She turned to look at him. “No, Alpha.” She pulled out of his grip, bent forward, and gave him a little curtsey. “I’m so pleased you could grace us with your presence.”
She bowed her head forward and he gritted his teeth.
Ashley smelled amazing. His mouth watered for a taste of her. He wanted to pull her in close and press his whole body against hers. To feel her wrapped around him, and damn it, he wanted to feel her wrapped around his dick. He felt himself getting hard.
Five years. Technically longer, but it had been just over five years since he was with another woman. He couldn’t bring himself to look at anyone else. She dominated his fucking world. He wanted her, couldn’t stop thinking about her.
“Alpha, is there anything you need? I was not told that you required anything.”
He looked toward Daniel. “You may go home. I hope you enjoyed your run.”
“I did. I was going to help Ashley home.”
“I can walk myself home. I’ve been doing it for a long time. Trust me, I know the way.” She stood and was about to walk past him again and he captured her arm, not letting her go.
She glared at him, her lips pressed together. He stared right back at her. She was so beautiful, even hating him like she did. Did she realize what she was doing? How hard she was making him?
Daniel hesitated.
“I’ll make sure she gets home,” Phoenix said.
“O-okay.”
And that was another reason why Daniel was never going to win her over. He’d tried to get his advice on how to win Ashley, to become her mate. That was never going to happen. She belonged to him. Ashely was his mate, and no matter what men tried to do, they would not win. They had a bond nothing and no one could break.
Phoenix didn’t let Ashley go. Instead, he waited, watching Daniel leave until they were alone.
Ashley grabbed his wrist, sinking her nails into his flesh. “Let me go!”
He didn’t want to. She was no match for him. It was going to take more than a few nails in his flesh to hurt him. Pulling her in close, he stared into her brown eyes. They were lovely and dark, but he saw the spark of her wolf lying just beneath the surface. She was a strong woman, and she shared a bond with her wolf. He liked that.