Chapter 17
Chapter 17
17 Motives
Tia.
I woke up in the morning on an empty bed. I thought Luke was lying beside me. He must have gotten up early. I sat up and looked around. He was in the sitting room with his head bowed. I wondered what was troubling him, so I stealthily got up and moved toward to sitting area. I wasn’t successful at surprising him because he looked up at me and smiled.
“Tia,” he said, and I smiled at him.
“Good morning,” I said, moving towards the bathroom. I intended to shower with him that morning, but after brushing my teeth. I had issues kissing and making out with my morning breath. I did not think he minded, but I did. I entered the bathroom and looked at my face in the mirror. I looked delighted and satiated. I touched my neck where his mark was supposed to rest, but it was bare. How long were we going to keep our necks bare? I hoped not for long because I knew this was for me, and it wasn’t as bad as I thought. In fact, It wasn’t bad at all.
I finished brushing my teeth and was about to ask him to join me in the shower when he entered the bathroom shirtless in shorts.
“Mind if I join you?” he asked me, and I beamed at him. How did he know? He came at me and crashed his lips on mine. His kiss was hungry and needy, and it had a tinge of fear. I wondered where the fear was coming from, but I ignored it.
“I want to make love to you, Tia,” he linked, and I wondered why he had to tell me. Couldn’t he see it was a ‘hell yeah!!’ for me? My body was more than ready. He hoisted me up, and I wrapped my legs around him. I knew my weight was insignificant because he carried me with ease. He carried me into the shower and put me against the wall.
“I can’t wait to claim you, Tia. I can’t wait to make you mine,” He breathed into my ear, and my heart began to pound. I could not believe how fast things had progressed between us. He buried himself inside me, and I moaned with pleasure.
“Luke,” I managed between moans as he pumped into me. Would I ever get enough of this? He was touching places that I did not know existed, and somehow I knew he was studying me. He hit a spot, and I shuddered, and then he maintained his pace, hitting that very spot until I climaxed. I dug my nails into his sides, and he welcomed it. He growled and gruffed and then poured himself into me.
“Don’t leave me, Tia,” he pleaded, and I did not know why he would say what he did. “Promise you won’t leave me, Tia,” he said, kissing my neck. My body was still trembling from the orgasm.
“I won’t leave you, Luke. I can’t, remember?” I said, and he stilled.
“Not because of my father, Tia. I want you to promise you won’t leave even if you can,” he said, and I understood what he meant. I let myself down by unwrapping my legs from his waist. I looked up at him, and the shower was still pouring over his hair. He looked like a model at that moment, but he seemed afraid of something. There was a heaviness in his heart,
and I wished he would share it with me. Somehow he needed the assurance.
“I am in this a hundred Per cent, Luke. I will not leave you. No matter what.” I assured him, and he hugged me so tightly I thought he would squeeze the life out of me.
“Luke, is everything okay?” I asked him, and he pulled away and nodded. They spun me around in the shower and lathered the sponge with the shower gel to wash my body. Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.
We spent a while in the shower and then dressed up for breakfast.
“Wouldn’t breakfast be over by now?” I asked him while he put on his t-shirt, and he shook his head.
“No. Father wants everyone there, and he isn’t even at the table yet,” he said, and I nodded. I wished I could skip it altogether. Being away from them was blissful. I did not have to deal with Caleb and Kimberly. I wondered what drama would transpire this morning, especially now that I had Luke’s scent. Caleb should give up already, but I doubt if he would.
Luke and I walked hand in hand, and the staff of the left wings smiled at us. I hadn’t seen them this happy since Luke, and I got married. The happiest of them all was Bart. I guess they wanted us to get along badly. Going on that trip wasn’t a bad idea, and having to share a chalet with a single bed was a blessing. Luke and I needed to move past the past and look into the future. Walking with my hand looped in his, I knew we would be a formidable couple; I felt it. His genuine feelings for me, and I was gradually falling in love. I wasn’t ready for a full-on claim, but I knew it wouldn’t take long when my body would want it, my soul would crave it, and my wolf would need it.
Luke gently led me to the breakfast Lounge of the right-wing. We were all smiles until we saw the people present. I felt a crash of joy, and I knew Luke felt the same. Stacy was back. Caleb was there with Kimberly and an auburn-haired girl about my age. She looked like Stacy, so I figured she must be Stacy’s relative. Caleb looked at me with sorrow and concern, and honestly, I was getting sick and tired of his shit. The asshole had me for four years and showed no signs of affection towards me other than friendship. Knowing that he knew how I felt and still treated me the way he did had done it for me. I thought I was in love with him, but now I knew it was just a strong and determined infatuation fading away gradually as Luke claimed my heart and soul.
Luke sat close to his father’s chair, and I sat next to him. I knew I carried his scent so everyone would know we had been intimate. I looked at Luke and wondered if that was why he made love to me this morning. To let everyone know that we had moved forward.
“Good Morning, Luna Stacy, Alpha Caleb,” I greeted them formally with no affection in my voice.
“You should afford the same respect to Kimberly and Monica, my niece,” Stacy said, and I did not reply.
“Mind how you speak to my wife, Stacy. Kimberly and Monica should afford Tia respect as my wife and future Gamma of the pack. Her office and her new last name command it too,” he said, stern and angry. To my surprise, Stacy smiled at him.
“My darling, Luke. I did not mean it that way. I felt it was unkind for Tia to greet Caleb and me and ignore the people present. Still, suppose you see it that way, in that case, you are right.” she said and looked at me.
“Sorry, Tia, if my words came out wrong. I was trying to say that if you want to greet, you should greet everyone present and not single people out. I am sorry if my words offended you. ” she said with a smile, and I became scared because Stacy could not have changed overnight. Had she concocted lies? Was something terrible about to happen to Luke and me? I was now
on my guard.
“How was your getaway?” She asked, and I had no choice but to smile and respond. “It was wonderful,” I said, and Luke kissed my shoulder affectionately which made Caleb get
1. “I am not hungry,” He said, wanting to excuse himself. “Your father won’t be happy if you are not here when he comes. Now sit, ” Stacy said to him sternly. His eyes were red, and he was fighting back the tears.
“Tia, nice to meet you. My name is Monica. I am Luna Stacy’s niece,” the stranger said to me, and I smiled at her. I honestly did not want to be nice to anyone from Stacy’s end.
“Nice to meet you too,” I said. “Good morning, Luke. Nice to meet you,” She said, and Luke turned towards her.
“It is Mr Moon to you, and the pleasure is not mine,” Luke said to her. Kimberly was the first to giggle, followed by me. We both knew the madness in the house. Being outsiders, we understood the politics,
but Monica was yet to realise that charms do not work in this family. I looked at Kimberly, finally something both of us could laugh at. I also did not miss the extra weight on Kimberly or that Monica was crushing on my husband. Luke had that effect more than Caleb. He was too damn handsome for his good.
Alpha Aesop finally decided to grace us with his presence, and we all stood up to greet him. He smiled at Luke and me and sat down. We sat down, and suddenly I became uneasy. I remembered what transpired between the man and me, and I was wary of him. His apology and temporary punishment for Stacy did not mean anything to me. I had my walls and shield up where he was concerned.
“I see you two are closer than you were before you left,” he said, indicating the change in our scents.” Hopefully, a claiming will follow?” he asked his son with a smile, and Luke nodded, placing his hand on my bare thigh and moving up with it. I stifled a moan because he was caressing my inner thigh. “I want you wet and ready by the time breakfast is over,’ he said, and I knew I was sweating because my pussy was clenching uncontrollably. He did not stop caressing my tighs. “They will smell me, Luke. Please stop,” I managed to linked him back, and he looked at me and smiled.
“Even better,” he said out loud. No one knew what we were discussing except for us. My tan skin was a blessing because I would have been red all over. “I am happy everyone is here,” Alpha Aesop said,” breakfast was getting lonely having to eat with just Caleb and Kimberly,” he said, then cleared his throat
“Today is a significant day because I will be stepping down as CEO of Diamond corp so I can spend time with my wife and family,” he said and looked at Luke.
“I knew I said you should work your way up, but it isn’t necessary. You own the company after all, and because of that, you will be taking over from me with immediate effect.” He said, and Luke did not seem thrilled about it. I noticed Stacy nodded to Alpha Aesop as if he had to forgotten to include something.
“Least I forget,” Alpha Aewsop added, ” I would like you to hire Monica as your secretary. Her
resume is quite impressive, and we Moons take care of our own. It will be unfair to leave her to go job hunting when we can easily give her a job,” he said, and that was when I realised why Stacy was being so friendly. Luke shook his head immediately. “I do not want to deal with Stacy’s family members. I will offer her employment as you have requested, but she will not be working closely with me. I would prefer a male assistant, so I do not have issues with my wife. I hope you understand,” Luke said sternly, and Stacy’s face faltered, but she tried to mask it. “Why will it offend Tia that your cousin is working for you?” Stacy asked. “She is not my cousin, Stacy. She is not my relative. Knowing what you’re capable of, I would not want any scandal that might follow this. Please. I did not say I won’t employ her, but she will have no dealings with me.” Luke said. “Well, Tia will not mind Monica being your secretary; they are age mates; I am sure they can be good friends,” she said, trying to put me on the spot. “I mind,” I said, being honest. Luke was my husband. I would not want a woman related to Stacy to be working closely with him. Elisabeth was still an issue; I did not want any problem. “I had forgotten you were blunt,” Stacy said, sounding bored, ” Aesop, tell them,” she nudged her husband. “I am sorry, darling. It is his company, and if Tia has a problem with it, then his offer is best,” Alpha Aesop said to her. “Besides, she will have to work her way up. If she is Tia’s age mate, then she has no experience. There are more qualified people for the job in this country. I will employ only on merit, and being my secretary or personal assistant has a lot to do with experience, which Monica is obviously lacking. As long as there are no ulterior motives, she should be happy to be an employee in Diamond corp.” He said, and Stacy smiled at both of us.
“Thank you, Luke, for the kind gesture. Monica will not let you down.” she said and looked at me, ” You have nothing to worry about where my niece is concerned,” she said, trying to sound reassuring, but that only made me more suspicious because people do not change overnight. Stacy was definitely up to no good.