Read Online FavoriteObsession by Nancy Corrigan - Free Book Online Page B

words
brought. “Too much time has passed.”
    Aron propped his elbows on the tabletop and leveled a hard
glare on her. She shivered under the look, her instincts warning her she wouldn’t
like his next words.
    “I’ve heard rumblings that the Council has already chosen
your mate if you fail to follow their order.”
    She waited for him to tell her who. All he did was stare at
her. Finally, she conceded, matching his pose so only a few inches separated
them. She embraced the anger seeing Aron brought, better than the churning fear
turning her gut into a rolling mess. “Who?”
    “Micah, Edmund’s great-great nephew.”
    She closed her eyes, pain overwhelming her as quickly as the
anger had. The name of her dead mate brought the memory of that horrible night
back. Her pulse raced. The tightness in her chest made it hard to drag in air.
She wheezed, fear gripping her and threatening to send her into a full-blown
panic attack.
    Josh rubbed circles into her upper thigh. She focused on the
sensation of his roughened fingertips. The horrors faded back into the recesses
of her mind as he soothed her with his gentle caress. The memories weren’t
gone. She’d never be free of them, but Josh’s presence made them bearable.
    “So, my dear Mira, am I right? Wouldn’t you rather be mine
than tie yourself to a male whom I’ve been told could be a mirror image of your
dead mate?”
    She let her breath escape in a long rush. “No, of course I
don’t want Micah, but that doesn’t mean I’d welcome you. Our binding didn’t
happen when it should’ve and it won’t now. So take your offer and shove it up
your ass.”
    Jazz stifled a laugh, but no sign of amusement showed on
Aron’s face. Mira couldn’t put a name to what she saw reflected in his eyes.
Regret, maybe? She wasn’t sure. The contacts he wore hid what little she could’ve
garnered.
    “You were a teenager, Mira.” He growled and the sharpened
points of his claws emerged from his fingertips. “Edmund hurt you, physically
and emotionally. I gave you the time you needed to heal.”
    Time? He’d given her time, all right. Fifteen years she’d
waited for him to claim her. He never had. After he sent word of his
denouncement, she went on with her life. It didn’t matter. The past couldn’t be
changed. Only the future counted and Aron had no claim to it.
    “Don’t pretend to be a martyr. If you’d truly wanted me,
nothing would’ve stopped you from mating me. We are a stubborn species. Once we
set our sights on our prey, we don’t relent until we get it.” She leaned
forward so he had a perfect view of her cleavage. With his eyes focused there,
she sneered. “And you will never catch me.”
    Aron lifted his gaze to her face and watched her, waiting
for her to acknowledge him as her alpha. Silence stretched. She grinned. Hell
would freeze over before she submitted to him or chose him as her mate.
    He blinked and dropped his attention to her lips. He licked
his. “I’ve come to the conclusion that not claiming you might have been a
mistake. This is my chance to find out.”
    She opened her mouth to tell him off. He held up a single
finger. She sat back to enjoy the moment. Aron groveling was a damn fantasy
come true.
    “Do not be so quick to turn me away. Have you forgotten the
visit your sire received?”
    She blanched and slumped in her seat. Although she felt Josh’s
eyes on her, she couldn’t speak of the cursed blessing that had ruined her life.
    “Explain,” Josh ordered.
    When it became apparent nobody else wanted to speak of the
prophecy, she glanced up. Aron’s eyes met hers. The neutral mask he wore didn’t
give her any clue to his feelings. He’d never told her how he felt to be
chosen—cursed as she had. Apparently, he wouldn’t today either.
    “Our goddess appeared before Mira’s father on the day of her
birth. She told him Mira’s offspring would someday lead us into a new era.”
Aron turned his gaze on Josh. “He chose me to