The Almost Kiss

CLAIRE'S POV

"Unbelievable…" 

I slumped on my bed, stretching my arms out as my heart pounded in my chest. I closed my eyes, feeling both anger and frustration towards myself and Zane. The words he said to me at the gym kept echoing in my head and I tightened my fist. 

Seduce him? 

He must really be out of his mind. 

I went there to work out, not to deal with his arrogance. And why would anyone have an ego as large as a mountain? 

I let out a scoff, rolling on my back. If he hadn't been staring at my breasts, how would he have noticed my tight sports bra? 

But why was he staring at my breasts though? I blinked, trying to process my new thoughts. Boys stare for different reasons, right? It could be anything. 

Besides, he clearly reminded me I had no luck with ever getting marked and claimed by him. The way he looked at me with disdain would never leave my mind. All thanks to the moon goddess for fating me to a giant asshole who despised me like I was a walking vomit. 

I sighed and then got up from the bed before walking to the bathroom. I stood at the door for a while, listening before raising my hand to knock. I had learned to do that to avoid walking in on someone naked. Even though the door was usually locked whenever someone was using the bathroom, I didn't want to risk it. 

Most of the time, I waited for Zane and Skylar to leave before I took my shower. The last thing I wanted was for him to walk in on me with nothing on. I'd lose my mind.

"Anyone in there?" I asked, knocking again. I heard Zane come into his room just seconds ago, and he would obviously want to shower after working out. Was he in there, or did he just enjoy ignoring me? I pressed my ear to the door to be sure and heard no sound. Maybe he wasn't in there after all.

I scanned my room for my towel and as I was doing so, Zane's room door opened, and I heard footsteps walk away shortly after. Paying close attention, I heard no sound coming from his room again. 

That must have been him leaving, and my cue to use the bathroom before he returned. 

Hurrying, I grabbed my towel before stripping out of my clothes. I stared at my naked form in the mirror for about two seconds before wrapping the towel around my body and pushing into the bathroom. 

After turning the shower on, I stepped under it, the warm water feeling amazing against my aching body. With a sigh, I ran my hand over my hair as the water cascaded down my body. 

As I scrubbed, my thoughts wandered like they always did. It was something I couldn't help or change about myself. This time, I wondered what it would take to get marked by Zane. Was that even a possibility? 

Many times, he'd told me in one way or the other not to dream about it. I unknowingly let out a sigh. The thought of being like this forever scared me. I wanted to feel my wolf, to shift, to experience life as a werewolf. Mother described it as the best thing in the world to finally bond with your inner wolf. All of those things could happen to me but Zane was the problem. 

What would I do if I remained unmarked and unmated? Live life as a reject? The thought was terrifying but not far from my reality. 

Shaking off the thoughts, I washed off the soap from my body. 

But just as my fingers reached for the towel hanging, the door suddenly swung open behind me.

Everything seemed to move in slow motion as I immediately froze, my eyes widening as I stared at who had come in without knocking. 

Zane. 

For a moment, I couldn't move to cover myself because it felt like I had frozen up under his gaze. 

But when his eyes slowly roamed over my body and his lips lifted up in a smirk, a scream tore from my throat. I jolted, quickly grabbing my towel, and wrapping it around myself.

"What are you doing here?!" I yelled, shrinking back and covering my face while seeing through the gaps between my fingers. "Why did you come in here?!"

"You didn't lock the door," Zane drawled with an even wider smirk as he leaned against the doorframe. "Wasn't that an invitation?"

I couldn't even look up at him. Anger, embarrassment, shame and all the emotions I could think of were burning through me. I felt like the ground should just open up and swallow me whole. "I thought you left. I heard the door open and footsteps walking away. Why didn't you knock?!" 

He chuckled, and I heard him take a step closer after he pushed himself off the doorframe. "That was Skylar leaving, but I'm guessing you already knew that. You wanted me to come in here, didn't you?"

I snapped my head up and gasped when I saw how close he was, with no more than a few inches between us. "I didn't. And contrary to what you think, I'm not trying to seduce you!" I yelled.

"Really?" He cocked an eyebrow, his expression shifting. "So what took you so long?"

I felt like I couldn't breathe as he stepped closer, and I moved back, finding it harder to breathe. "Ta—Take so long for what?" I asked now very nervous.

"To cover up," he responded, his eyes darkening as he stared down at me. "You wanted me to see your titties, didn't you?"

I swallowed hard, heat rushing to my face. It wasn't just his intimidating figure towering over me that made it impossible for me to speak but the embarrassment from his words. I wanted to say no, but my lips suddenly felt heavy. "I—I…"

Surprisingly, Zane leaned in and brushed my wet hair away from my face. His touch was electric against my skin, sending goosebumps all over me. "Stalking me at the gym, trying to hurt my girlfriend, using Lorien to make me jealous. Are you really that desperate for my mark?"

I opened my mouth. "That—that was…"

I hated the fact that I was stuttering but I couldn't even form coherent thoughts because he was standing so close to me. Too close.

"You have to be honest with me," he said, his fingers grazing my lips, sending shivers down my spine. "If you're honest, I might reward you with your greatest desires." He whispered against my ear.

My greatest desires? I snapped my head up to look at him, a small smile tugging at his lips as he stared down at me. His face was inches away from mine and if that wasn't weakening enough, he placed both hands on the wall around me, trapping me in. 

My knees felt weak as I held myself against the wall, staring at his lips and feeling my mouth go dry. My wolf was going crazy, wanting to take in more of his scent, touch his hair, kiss his lips. I swallowed, but still couldn't take my eyes away from his face. 

Should I really tell him the truth? Would he mark me if I admitted I wanted it? Give me my greatest desires? 

I slowly nodded, unable to hold myself back. "I—I want to be marked." I admitted, my heart pounding inside my chest. 

"Are you desperate?" he asked in a deep husky voice that made me ache for his touch. I licked my lips and his eyes followed my movement. Maybe this was actually happening. I had managed to seduce Zane Ravenscroft. 

"Yes." I bit down on my lips. "I—I'm desperate." I said, my voice barely above a whisper. 

His tongue slipped out to wet his bottom lips and then slowly, he reached for my towel wrapped around my body. My heart slammed against my chest from his movements, goosebumps spreading across my skin. Was this really happening?

I felt like I was in a trance and my eyes were unable to leave his golden eyes as his hands peeled the towel from my body. It fell to the bathroom floor, and Zane's eyes flickered down my body, making heat crawl up my spine. 

He brought his face closer and closer to kiss me, and I responded by standing on my toes, closing the distance between us. I closed my eyes, pouting my lips, waiting for the kiss that would steal my breath away. 

But it never came. 

I opened my eyes slowly after a few seconds and found Zane standing there, watching me with an amused expression. He tutted. "You're so easy," he said, leaning back.

I shrank back, shame and embarrassment quickly hitting me hard. My throat closed up, and I clenched my fists, unable to grab the wet towel lying on the ground. "Did you really think I would kiss you?" He asked, almost chuckling. Then his expression hardened. "I don't like easy girls. No matter how desperate they are."

Before I could even say a word, he walked out of the bathroom while I just stood there, hot tears brimming in my eyes with my body shaking.