CHAPTER 66

Asher stormed past the door, ignoring the welcoming voice of his housekeeper and nods of the guards. He took the stairs two at a time, honing in for the intoxicating scent of his mate.
He could sense her from his study, the least place he expected her to be right now.
In the early days of their marriage before everything fell apart, his study had become her office. She did everything from reading to helping him plan his schedule, watching him work when he was home and making necessary calls. In a way, she was still his secretary although she had resigned. It had been the best arrangement because it meant she was not running off to a job that would demand her time.
He would never admit it but he missed those happy days.
There was a guard standing outside the door to the study. He bowed and Asher gave him a curt nod. He had never seen the wolf before but then again, Armando had been the one involved in recruiting them directly.
At first, he had told himself he was getting extra security because he wanted to punish her by taking away her freedom. But he was being childish and stupid not to admit the truth to himself. The extra security she truly needed. It had been something he wanted to do since day one of their marriage because he was well aware that the pack did not want a human Luna.
But as he had stormed off after it all happened, it had occurred to him she was not just a human Luna anymore. She was a Crier, someone the pack was not just going to have a passive hatred towards. He realized she was going to face open hostility, hence the need for the guards. But he had been too proud to admit that.
And he was never going to admit it. To her and everyone else, he was keeping her away from fornicating. Asher opened the door quietly and there she was, nodding off with a book in her hand. She was sitting in one of the cozy chairs by the windows. Shana looked sweet and innocent in sleep, like a child who knew nothing of the wicked world or had anything to do with the wickedness there in. The sun streaked through her hair, which was packed tight in a bun. He hated it when she styled her hair that way. He loved the brown curls flowing long and free for him to run his fingers through the strands.
Watching her, his heart hurt. He longed for all they used to have and for the umpteenth time, he wished she was not who she turned out to be. Maybe if she was not a Crier, forgiving her would have been easier.
No matter how hard he wanted her and longed for her, missing her every moment of his awful days, he just had to have a fleeting thought about his mother and how she had lived her life for him to know it was never going to work out between them.
Shana jolted awake, like she had felt the eyes boring holes through her. She looked at him sleepily, her senses trying to make sense of the image before her. When she did, she sat up suddenly, the book falling out of her boneless fingers.
"You are home."
"Those words again," Asher thought to himself. Her eyes were vacant and he could see and hear the uncertainty in her voice.
Without a word, he went to her and stretched his hand towards her to help her out of her chair. She stood before him, her eyes throwing him questions he was sure she would not like the answers
Her scent played havoc with his self control with her that close. He realized how much he missed her, the smell of her, the feel of her and the gentle, sweetness of her voice. It was like he was under a spell to always thirst for her.
Not saying a word, he unbound her hair and watched the curls cascade down her waist. Then he bent his head and took her lips in a gentle kiss.
Her lips opened for his tongue. In a way, she tasted different. An intoxicating kind of different that made him want to lose his head.
In one swift move, he had her flat on her back in the comfy couch he had made love to her several times in the past.
With her lying there looking into his eyes with desire drugging hers, he remembered those times in the past when the passion between them was mixed in with friendly banter and gentle humor.
Now, he just had to have her and be done with.
He had her out of her clothes in no time. He got up and took off his just as fast. Then he was lying atop her on the couch, his naked body settling perfectly on hers and Shana moaned at the contact.
Asher wanted to pump into her but for a moment, he allowed himself to enjoy her beautiful body, reneging on his earlier decision that this was going to be purely good, old fucking and nothing more.
His hand went to her breasts and he squeezed one nipple gently, watching it stand erect from the contact. Her big breasts looked....bigger, or fuller. And they felt different but he reasoned she was eating well.
His head bent and he took one pouting nipple into his wet mouth. His mate moaned and thrashed around in pleasure, her hand clamped tightly in his curls as her legs widened instinctively.
Shana needed him to fill the gaping need inside her. She needed him to feel her like never before and make her forget everything that was wrong with her world.
Like he could hear her thoughts, Asher pushed into her gently, first his crown then he fed all of him into her slowly.
"Oh Asher," she groaned in pleasure, forgetting all his warning about not using his name because of the immense pleasure.
Asher moved in and out of her slowly, admitting to himself how much he had missed her calling and moaning his name in pleasure.
Minutes later, when they laid panting in the aftermath of pleasure, Shana smiled to herself thinking all was going to be fine in their world again. He was not standing and leaving her like she was a tramp the way he did the last time.
"Maybe, I should tell him about the baby now," she thought and started to say "I'm...," at the same time he spoke.
""You go first," Asher said.
"No. I want you to go first."
"You sure? You sounded serious," Asher answered back.
"Not really. It's just something random that happened when you were away," Shana said.
"Oh." Then he went on to ruin her good mood with the next words that came out of his mouth."I admit again that the sex is good between us but I must warn you, things can never go back to the way they were if that's what you truly want."
Shana felt the strength and excitement leave her body. It was not what she expected him to say but then again, why should she have expectations? The man was hellbent on withholding forgiveness.
"Then why are you still here?," Shana asked sharply, sitting up and then standing to look around for her clothes.
Asher was taken aback by her sudden hostility. "Because I missed the sex," he replied without thinking.
"Ouch, that hurts bastard," Shana thought to herself. "I get that but I want to know why you are still lying there after the sex. We are done. You should leave already, unless you plan to go another round. I'm ready whenever you are," she said with a pointed look at his soft manhood.
Asher sat up angrily. "It's my house and I can do whatever I like and whenever I like it," he retorted.
"Then I'll leave you to whatever you are doing," she said and turned to leave.
"You don't walk out on me Shana. I'm not done talking!" His voice boomed loudly, stopping her dead in her tracks.
She hated him so much, it hurt to stay in the same room with him. He was a fool and he was not deserving of her love. She was done waiting for him to give her another chance. It looked like it was never going to happen. At least, not in this lifetime, while her heritage was between them.
She turned to look at him, her face totally blank. "What else do you have to say to me?"
"A lot," he replied sharply. "Like what you were doing with my Beta the minute my back was turned," he replied coldly.
"And I told you to talk to your Beta if you've a problem with it," she retorted.
"And then you hung up on me." He was livid with anger. Shana realized her move had pissed him off more than she thought.
Good.
"There was nothing more to be said between us. You've judged and found me guilty without giving me a chance to defend myself. Moreover, you've decided what this relationship is going to be all about," she replied resignedly. "I just have to play along with everything you decide, don't I? Be the good, faithful and sexually available mate? Is that what you want Alpha?," she asked with her eyes boring into his blue slit ones.
Asher swallowed convulsively at her question. Was that what he truly wanted? He could not bring himself to reply her, could not even stop her as she turned to leave.