Rescuing His Captive Mate: Saving The Future Luna

Chapter 99 - Both - Love

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Artem

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Hesitantly, uncertain if I should listen or if I should give in, I turned to face her. She was there, no clothes on still but wrapped in a towel that was so large it covered her from her armpits to her knees. She had a sweet, innocent, and understanding look on her face. Her eyes were slightly crinkled and her cheeks were raised, all to prove the smile on her face was genuine.

"Artem, I will never be scared of you. Never." She took a few steps toward me, slowly but steadily. When she was close enough she put her right hand on my elbow while her left hand held the towel in place. "I love you Artem. I knew that before I felt that compulsion to do as you wanted."

"I never meant to make you do anything you didn't want to do." I could hear the pleading in my voice then, the worry.

"I know, and that's why I stopped being so scared of you. I know you would never do anything bad to me."

"But I did something to you that you didn't want." I felt my heart breaking again and a fresh wave of self disgust washing over me.

"I didn't know I wanted it until I got it. But, Artem, I'm not upset. Not anymore. I saw how things could have been. I felt how wrong all these things could have made me feel. It's because of all that, all the things that have happened since I woke up in your arms, that I am glad it did happen. I am glad you were the one that I did those things with. And I know now what you've all been talking about when you mention the mate bond. I know what it is you feel, and what it is that those around us are feeling."

"You do?" Her words were giving me a sense of hope, an inkling of what might be possible with a real mate connection between us.

"Yes I do. My wolf has shown me what it is that I was missing out on. She told me that you were all right when you said that the mate bond was the most precious of all connections and feelings that there is."

"Star? Are you telling me that-?" I let the question drop there, not certain how to end it.

"I am telling you that I feel it, Artem. I feel the love, I feel the happiness that just being near you brings me. I am hearing what my wolf is telling me and I couldn't be happier."

"Star, that's….that's…..that's amazing." I know I was grinning like a fool when I heard those words.

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Star

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The entire time I was in my wolf form I was listening to the words that my wolf was telling me. I heard what it was she had to say about Artem. I knew now what it was that all the others were saying about the mate bond.

Just looking at Artem felt like the best thing in the world. Smelling that intoxicating scent of his was making my body remember all the things that we had done together. I felt the sensations that he had made me feel that night. All I could think about was him, his body, his touch.

When we went into the bathroom and he told me that he had seen my body, that I shouldn't be too embarrassed about this situation, I felt mortified. I had behaved so stupidly when I woke up next to him. I had acted like I was terrified, but it hadn't been him that I was scared of. It was me.

I was afraid of what had been happening to me. I was terrified that there had been something wrong with me. It had all be such a stupid way to handle it, and I knew that now.

When Artem told me that he needed to touch me to help me shift back I just looked down, embarrassed that he would know that I was actually happy to have him touch me. Then there was the fact that I hadn't been able to stop myself pressing my head into his palm. The feeling of his hand, so warm and firm against my scalp was calming and comforting. 

When Artem spoke, when he told me how to become myself again, his voice made me feel like his hands were touching more than just the top of my head. It felt like he was touching me, holding me all over. 

I don't know if it was my wolf that was causing this or if it was the memory of how we had come together that night. I might have wanted to wait, I might have thought it was all happening too soon, but that didn't mean that I hadn't enjoyed it all. None of that meant that I never wanted to do it again. 

The soothing words and the calming touch really did help me to become myself again. Before I knew it I was sitting on the floor. I think it all happened sooner than Artem had expected because he hadn't had the chance to look away.

I saw from the corner of my eye that Artem had turned his head the moment after I felt the cold tile touch my naked human flesh. He had seen me, but he was going to pretend he hadn't

"Is that all better?" He seemed to want to make sure that I was completely me again.

"I think so. I can't see any more fur, and I feel like myself again, but I am naked, just like you said." I pretended like I hadn't seen him look away once he had seen my body.

"Yeah, the clothes you were wearing got destroyed when you changed, not that it consisted of much at that time anyway."

"Yeah, you're right, I was just wearing my underwear." I laughed as I remembered that I had basically been naked already when I woke up in front of him. In truth, he had seen me like this at Uncle Howard's place, he had even put my bra back into place so that I was not completely topless. He was so sweet. 

Still, I didn't want to be fully naked right now so I grabbed a towel and covered myself. 

"I-I'm going t-to go now." He started to walk away from me. 

"Artem?" Just me saying his name made him stop mid step.

"Yeah Star?"

"Are you mad at me?"

"Why would I be?"

"You just seem to be acting weird right now, like you're upset about something." When we were in the bedroom I had thought that things were better between us, but I guess I was wrong.

"I just want to respect you, Star. I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable. And this is very hard on me right now."

"Why is it hard on you?" Was being around me that bad?

"Star, you're naked. You're naked and I am a man that loves you, everything about you. That means I love who you are as a person, your sweet, kindhearted nature. And I also love your body, the sexy way you look, the soft supple feeling of your body, all of it. I'm struggling here, Star, I really am. I want to be with you, I want everything I can get from you, but I refuse to scare or hurt you in any way."

"Artem." I think I understood it all now. He thought I was still mad at him. "Artem?" I said his name again, trying to get him to look at me.

"Star?" He sounded nervous when he said my name.

  "Artem, will you look at me?"

It took him a few moments, like he was wondering if I was playing a trick on him. It hurt me that he didn't trust me, or himself, enough to turn around.

"Artem, I will never be scared of you. Never." I took the few steps that it would take to close the gap between us, when I got to him I grabbed his arm gently. "I love you Artem. I knew that before I felt that compulsion to do as you wanted."

"I never meant to make you do anything you didn't want to do."

"I know, and that's why I stopped being so scared of you. I know you would never do anything bad to me."

"But I did something to you that you didn't want." It sounded like he was about to get depressed again and I needed to stop that.

"I didn't know I wanted it until I got it. But, Artem, I'm not upset. Not anymore. I saw how things could have been. I felt how wrong all these things could have made me feel. It's because of all that, all the things that have happened since I woke up in your arms, that I am glad it did happen. I am glad you were the one that I did those things with. And I know now what you've all been talking about when you mention the mate bond. I know what it is you feel, and what it is that those around us are feeling."

"You do?" He looked so surprised when I said those words.

"Yes I do. My wolf has shown me what it is that I was missing out on. She told me that you were all right when you said that the mate bond was the most precious of all connections and feelings that there is."

"Star? Are you telling me that-?" He seemed to stop there, unable to say anymore.

"I am telling you that I feel it, Artem. I feel the love, I feel the happiness that just being near you brings me. I am hearing what my wolf is telling me and I couldn't be happier."

"Star, that's….that's…..that's amazing." He was finally smiling. He was finally looking happy again. 

I leaned into him then, my hand on his arm providing me with the balance that I needed to support myself. I pushed up from the floor, standing with just my toes on the floor. I noticed that Artem was currently staring at me as he was stunning into silence.

When I was close enough I pressed my lips against his, my eyes closing on instinct alone. There was a quiet gasp, a momentarily surprised sound that came from between Artem's slightly parted lips before his self control seemed to snap.

With a soft sounding growl Artem's hands moved from their frozen position at his sides and came to land somewhere on my back and side. His large hands took up so much room on my back that it made me feel like I was so tiny compared to him.

I needed to grab him even more. I needed to touch him to feel him. And I needed something to hold onto that was going to keep me from feeling like I was going to fall over. I used my left hand to grab a hold of his as well, the towel fell to the floor and my naked body was now fully exposed.

When Artem's hands had unfrozen, so had his lips. His mouth pushed against me with a heated and needy feeling. I opened my mouth at the smallest urging from his tongue and welcomed him into my mouth.

This was not our first kiss, but it felt like the most intense. I could feel Artem's tongue tangling with mine and every time that it moved I felt like my knees were getting weaker. The feeling of Artem's hands on my body as they moved across my body made me feel like I was catching fire at his very touch. One of his hands moved up to rest at the back of my neck and the other moved lower to rest on the curve of my backside.

The way it felt when he touched me, the way it made me feel, it was nothing like the way I felt when Uncle Howard touched me. When Uncle Howard touched me I felt sick and gross. When Artem touched me I felt good, full of heat and desires that I didn't fully have control over.

I pulled away from him, breaking the kiss and pressing my forehead against his. The both of us were panting heavily from the passionate moments, our breaths mingling between us.

"Artem?"