Crescent (Tribes, Book 1) [completed]

Chapter 19

Liana barely dared to open her eyes. She knew he had gone, but that was the issue. She wanted him to stay.

She had never wanted anything more in her entire life.

If talking with Brielle had made anything clear, it was that Liana fought against this rapidly growing attraction for only one reason. Her father.

Though her father's stance on shifters had always been adverse, Liana wanted his approval of this relationship. She had never been rebellious. Never disobeyed her father's strictest commands. It made no sense that she wanted her father to approve of this wolf-man, but Liana had never wanted someone so much in her entire life.

Is this what attraction felt like? She had dated, on and off, but nothing ever felt like this. Nothing made her want to stick with it until the bitter end. Nothing gave her butterflies like this, no one made her melt with a simple touch.

Above all, she trusted Conner's promise. He said he wouldn't push further until Liana gave the okay. Liana believed that of him.

But, oh boy, if she didn't want him to come back and finish what he had started.

The intensity of his touch still rolled over her like waves. With a simple kiss, Liana's limbs shook and her heart raced. She had never felt like this before. She wanted to feel more. What would it be like if he didn't pull away?

Liana caught that dangerous train of thought before it left the station.

Lust would cloud her mind and make her do things she had no intention of doing. She couldn't allow herself to think those kinds of thoughts.

Conner had left her here alone. For the first time. Honestly, Liana had thought that Conner would never permit himself to leave her side, with the way he had been acting. Turned out, he could manage to pull himself away.

Either he possessed immense self-control, or he had never been quite as interested in her as he let on.

Liana would wager on the first, simply because the second didn't make any sense given what she had learned. Conner couldn't be uninterested in her and yet kiss her like that. People always told her that a kiss told the truth even when words lied. If Conner's kiss had been the truth, then Liana could never again believe he didn't have feelings for her.

Her eyes opened. As she thought, he had left.

Mind and legs both wobbly, Liana rose from her seat on the couch. She should get dressed. Brush her hair. Anything to get her mind off that kiss. That beautiful, mind-numbing kiss.

"Get it together!" Liana commanded herself aloud. Her voice rang tinny for a moment, then absorbed into the rugs and furniture in the empty cabin. Thankfully, the loudness had been just what Liana needed to break her own haze.

The hold that Conner had over her was no joke. She craved the sound of his voice and she longed for his touch. Just a few kisses? Liana knew, deep down, that stopping would get harder and harder. Conner had promised, and he could probably deliver exactly what he said, but Liana wasn't sure how long she could keep herself under control.

If every claimed female felt this pull, no wonder no one ever came back from their thirty-day placement. Liana had been there less than a week and she found, despite the danger, she never wanted to leave.

Liana winced. She hoped Conner could convince her father to be okay with this, because if he couldn't she would be stuck between a rock and a hard place. Big time.

For now, Liana locked herself in the bedroom and opened the suitcase that Brielle had brought.

Brielle had indeed packed it with everything from Liana's bathroom and most things from her closet. As well as Liana's secret stash of lingerie. It was an indulgence of hers, one that made her feel pretty and feminine, no matter what she wore atop the silk and lace.