Chapter 330

Hannah

I woke to the warmth of sunlight on my face and a pleasant sensation in my lower belly. A soft smile touched my lips, and I stretched languidly, letting out a small moan of pleasure. But as consciousness returned, memories of the previous night flooded my mind, and my cheeks grew hot. Noah had been… incredible.

The way he had used his tongue, bringing me to the edge and then over it with just his mouth, never asking for anything in return… It was like nothing I had ever felt before. I could still feel the ghost of his touch on my skin, the way his hands had gripped my thighs, the gentle pressure of his tongue. My body tingled at the memory, a heady combination of satisfaction and renewed desire coursing through me.

Sitting up, the sheets pooling around my waist, I saw Noah getting dressed. His back was to me, his tight muscles rippling as he moved. My blush deepened, remembering how those muscles had felt under my hands last night as I gripped his shoulders.

Noah must have sensed my gaze because he turned, his eyes flicking over me. “Good morning. Sleep well?”

“Y-yes,” I stammered, suddenly shy under his intense gaze. “I did.”

To my surprise, he simply nodded and continued buttoning his shirt. “Good. We need to get going soon. I have meetings back in Nightcrest this afternoon.” All business, I supposed. I swung my legs over the side of the bed, intending to stand, but found them trembling slightly. Noah noticed my hesitation, his fingers pausing on his shirt buttons. “Are you okay? Morning sickness?” he asked, taking a step toward me.

I shook my head, feeling heat rise to my cheeks again. “No, I’m fine. Just… a bit weak after last night,” I admitted, avoiding his gaze. “Ah. Well, order a big breakfast at the hotel restaurant. You need to regain your strength.” His casual attitude made my chest clench, but I chose to ignore it. As I got dressed, however, I couldn’t help stealing glances at him. The memories of last night replayed in my mind—his heated gaze as he looked up at me from between my thighs, the way he had known exactly where to touch, to lick, to suck…

At breakfast, I found it hard to concentrate on my food. Every movement reminded me of our encounter. The way the fork felt in my hand made me think of how I had gripped Noah’s hair when I finally went over the edge. The taste of the sweet syrup on my pancakes was all too similar to the sweet taste of release.

“Your color’s coming back,” Noah commented, breaking through my reverie. His eyes were fixed on my face, but his gaze was far from the heated look he’d given me last night. “Was last night too much for you?”

“No!” I said quickly, perhaps a bit too quickly. I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself. “It was… nice. But…” I hesitated, then pressed on. “Why didn’t you want anything in return? You never asked me to… reciprocate.”

Noah simply shrugged, taking a sip of his coffee. His calm demeanor was infuriating, given how flustered I felt. “I thought I made it clear. I wanted to make you feel good because it’s good for the pregnancy.”

His words sent a pang through my chest. Was that all it was to him? A clinical approach to ensuring a healthy pregnancy? “If I wasn’t pregnant, would you still have done it?” I asked, my voice small.

Noah shrugged again and stabbed a piece of omelet with his fork. “If you weren’t pregnant, would we even be in this situation right now?”

I fell silent, unable to argue with his logic. If I wasn’t pregnant, there was no knowing what would have happened in our relationship. Maybe I would have divorced him much sooner. Or maybe I wouldn’t have been reborn and I would be dead right now.

On the drive home, I couldn’t stop thinking about what Noah had said. If I told myself this was just for the pregnancy, just a health benefit, could I avoid falling in love again? It seemed like a dangerous game to play. My wolf, however, didn’t seem to think that falling in love again would be so bad. She reveled in Noah’s touch, in the closeness we had shared with our mate. But I knew better.

With my father planning to abdicate his role as Alpha soon, leaving my cousin Alvin as the successor, I felt an obligation to step up. Alvin was not a suitable Alpha. He would run Silvermoon into the ground. I almost felt obligated to take over Silvermoon. Even if I did fall in love with Noah again, we couldn’t stay married. An Alpha couldn’t be married to another Alpha from a different pack. The politics of it all made my head spin.

When we finally arrived home, Noah went straight to his office for his meetings. I retreated to my own office, pacing back and forth as I tried to sort out my feelings. But no matter how hard I tried to focus on other things, my mind kept circling back to Noah. His fingers, his tongue, the way I had cried out his name last night…

Groaning in frustration, I sat down in my chair, only to jump back up immediately. The pressure of the seat against my bottom sent a jolt of arousal through me. What had Noah done to me? He had turned me into an addict, that’s what.

I tried to focus on my Luna work, pulling up documents on my computer and rifling through papers. But it was useless. Every few minutes, my mind would wander back to Noah, to his touch, to the way he had made me feel. The memory of his mouth on me, his fingers digging into my thighs, was so vivid it was almost like he was still there.

I knew, then, that if I couldn’t have a release again soon, I might go mad. The tension building in my body was becoming unbearable. I found myself shifting in my seat, crossing and uncrossing my legs, anything to alleviate the growing ache between them, but it was useless.

Finally, I had an idea. It was crazy, maybe even a little desperate, but it might just work.

I shoved aside my work papers and pulled up a blank document on my computer.

I found Noah in his study later, poring over a pile of paperwork. Without a word, I strode up to his desk and slammed the papers I had written down in front of him, not caring if I interrupted his work. Noah jerked his head up, clearly so absorbed in his work he hadn’t even noticed me entering. “What’s this?”

“Read it,” I said, my voice shockingly steadier than I felt at that moment. My heart was pounding so hard I was sure he could hear it.

He picked up the papers, his eyebrows raising as he began to read. I watched his expression change from confusion to amusement to something I couldn’t quite decipher. Was it interest? Desire? Humor?

After what felt like an eternity, Noah looked up at me, his brow furrowed deeply. “Is this… a sex contract?”