Chapter 172


    Chapter 172: Control


    Moana


    As I listened to Edrick ying the piano, I couldn’t wipe the smile off of my face. I wished that I could


    see him, but if it made him too nervous, then I was happy to just listen. He yed beautifully, and I


    hoped that I could always hear his music from then on.


    The song that he was ying came to an end, and was followed by silence. I didn’t realize it, but I had


    shut my eyes as I lost myself listening to the music. I opened them again and turned, expecting him to


    still be sitting at the piano, but he wasn’t.


    He was standing right behind me, looking down at me with those glowing silver eyes.


    Edrick was so close to me that I could smell his cologneing off of his shirt and could feel his warm


    breath on my face. Being this close to him made me tremble, but only in a good way.


    “Edrick…” I whispered, looking up to meet his gaze.


    He stared down at me silently, with only his glowing silver eyes conveying his emotion. There was


    something harsh and dominant about them, but something soft, too.


    Suddenly, Edrick bent down to kiss me. His kiss was deep and passionate, and his tongue began to


    work its way in between my parted lips as our breaths intertwined. I felt his arm wrap firmly around my


    waist, and he pulled me close. It was almost a little too rough, but at the same time it sent an excited


    shiver down my spine. My entire body bristled with titition; finally, after seemingly bing closer to


    me after the most recent weeks, I could be intimate with Edrick again. Everything felt as though it was


    falling into ce, and I couldn’t have been happier.


    As he kissed me deeply and sensually, Edrick’s hands slid up my back, through my hair and around the


    nape of my neck. He tilted my chin up further with his hands as he cupped my face. I felt a soft,


    involuntary moan escape my lips, and I pressed my hands up against his chest and began to work at


    his shirt buttons while his lips traveled down to my throat.


    While I worked at his buttons, he suddenly pulled my hands away and picked me up as though I


    weighed nothing. I wrapped my legs around him as he carried me to his bedroom, and heid me down


    on the bed.


    He pressed his body against mine, running his hand up my leg and pushing up my nightgown as he


    kissed my lips. I could feel his erection through his pants, pressing against me and reminding me of the


    night that we first had our fated one night stand. I remembered how big he was, and it made me want


    to feel that sensation of fullness inside of me again.


    His kisses traveled across my jaw, then down my neck and down to my chest, only stopping where the


    lace of my nightgown covered my skin. Once he reached that point, he looked up at me, as though


    silently asking permission to remove my nightgown. I bit my lip and nodded slowly, watching as he slid


    a finger under the strap and slid it off of my shoulder. The fabric fell down and exposed my round, milky


    white breast in the moonlight. Goosebumps were already raised on my skin, and my n****e was hard. I


    wanted him to kiss my breasts. I wanted him to kiss my entire body.


    And he was about to.


    But then, he just… stopped. The silver light in his eyes faded back to gray, and he quickly covered my


    breast again before sitting up and putting distance between us. His face looked red with


    embarrassment, and he avoided my gaze. I sat up abruptly, my eyebrows knit together with worry.


    “What’s wrong?” I asked, feeling a pang in my chest as I looked at him.


    Edrick shook his head and stood. “You have to stop releasing your scent,” he said, his voice low and


    stern. “It’s not fair. It makes me… It makes me lose control.”


    My eyes widened. I didn’t know that Mina had released her scent yet again, and I would have to


    reprimand her for itter as we had agreed that she would ask for permission first. But at the same


    time, I didn’t fully understand why we had to keep doing this.


    “What does it matter?” I asked, standing and letting my thin nightgown fall back down around my legs.


    “We want each other. Why can’t we just be intimate for once?”


    “I just can’t,” Edrick replied, sounding almost annoyed. “It’s not right.”


    From N?velDrama.Org.


    I furrowed my brow. “I’m carrying your baby,” I said. My voice was beginning to raise slightly. “We’ve


    announced ourselves publicly as a couple. We sleep in the same bed, for goodness’ sake. Why do we


    need to keep doing this? What makes it not right?”


    Edrick’s face darkened. Instead of answering, he turned and walked over to the door to leave, but I ran


    after him. I wasn’t going to let him just storm off, just like he always did when we got too close and he


    felt the need to distance himself from me for no apparent reason. I grabbed his arm, maybe a little


    harder than I meant to, causing him to freeze and stare down at me with wide eyes.


    “Just talk to me, Edrick,” I said. “This has gone on for too long. I want to know the real reason behind


    why you find it so abhorrent to be intimate with me.”


    “Because!” Edrick said, almost shouting now. He whirled around to face me fully, and his face was


    twisted with an expression that I couldn’t read. “I will never marry you! Not you, and not anyone, and I


    don’t want to give you the wrong idea! I don’t care that you’re my mate. The mate bond means


    nothing.”


    My jaw dropped at Edrick’s words. I pped my hand over my mouth and shook my head, my eyes


    widening as I took a step backwards.


    He knew all along that he was my mate? So my wolf’s intuition was true after all?


    Edrick’s eyes were just as wide as mine as we stared at each other inplete silence. I could tell that


    he didn’t mean to reveal it, but there was no taking it back now.


    I didn’t know what to say; I didn’t even know where to begin. The fact alone that Edrick knew that I was


    his mate all along and never said anything hurt enough, but now to know that he still nned on not


    being with me despite knowing that I was supposed to be his mate just made me sick to my stomach.


    I couldn’t be here anymore; tonight, I would sleep in my own room, away from him. I needed space to


    think. Without another word, I quickly brushed past Edrick. As I ran across the penthouse to my room,


    Edrick didn’t seem to be following me, either.


    Once the door was locked behind me, I threw myself down on my bed that night, and stared listlessly


    up at the moonlight-speckled ceiling.


    Never before had I heard of a mate refusing the mate bond. And now, it was happening to me.


    Why did it seem as though I was cursed when it came to love?