Tangled in Moonlight: Unshifted (Ava and Lucas)

Chapter 296 Lucas: Her Touch

My world has been nothing but shades of gray since the moment I opened my eyes.

A life I don't recognize.

Unfamiliar faces. Voices. Scents. Relentless pain.

Concerned friends, but can I trust them? Are they allies, or enemies playing a dangerous game?

Crazy stories of a world gone mad, and endless silence where half my soul should reside.

It's as though I've been living in a haze of simmering rage. At the world. At those who proclaim friendship. And this mysterious, alleged mate of mine, who comes in smelling like sex and hope, with wide blue eyes and the golden hair of an angel.

She's too perfect.

I'm drawn to her. Every inch of me clamors to soothe the grim lines around her lips, to take away the burdens weighing down her tiny shoulders. Some part of me insists that she's mine and I need to keep her, to hide her away from everyone's view until she's so wholly mine she can't even breathe without me.

I want to possess her.

My lips brush against the crescent scar on Ava's neck. The constant tension in my muscles eases, replaced by a warmth I can't explain. Her scent envelops me, that mix of honey and vanilla that feels like coming home.

I'm so tired. Tired of second-guessing every word, every touch. Tired of searching for hidden motives behind kind gestures. Tired of feeling like a stranger in my own skin.

But here, with Ava in my arms, the world makes sense again.

Her soft gasp as I trace the scar with my tongue sends a shiver down my spine. My hands tighten on her waist, pulling her closer. I want to memorize every curve, every freckle, every scar.

"Lucas," she whispers, her voice trembling.

I lift my head, meeting her gaze. Those blue eyes, wide and vulnerable, hold a universe of emotions. I want to understand everything about her.

I'm not sure if I'm reassuring

her spine, feeling the delicate bumps of her vertebrae. She's so small, so fragile in my arms. Yet there's a strength in her that calls to something primal within

been living in a world of shadows since I woke up. Everything's been muted, distant. But Ava... she's a burst of color in my grayscale existence. A ray of sunlight breaking through storm

anchored. Grounded. The constant buzz of suspicion in the back of my mind quiets, replaced by a certainty

is right. She is

burn, but

now, deep in my

warmth seeps into me, chasing away the chill of uncertainty, of a life

her. Insatiable. Like a starving man at a feast, I'm desperate to gorge myself on

under my fingers as I smooth her hair away from her face. My thumb brushes her cheek, reveling in the softness. Everything about Ava is a

her onto the bed. Her eyes are as deep and dark as the ocean

Willing.

Waiting.

desire.

takes everything in me not to just take what

hair tumbles over my arm as I lean down. Her lips are so damn sweet. So soft. The moment they touch mine, something in me ignites. This kiss is a brand, searing

kissing her. Exploring every contour

has other ideas. Hands of their own, they wander, mapping her curves. Exploring what's mine to claim. Ava arches into me, a soft moan caught between our lips. The

when we're so tangled up that I don't know where I end and

to be. Here, in this

of the world falls away, leaving

down her jaw. She shifts, restless beneath me, the movement causing the bed to creak. I burn to feel her under me. To watch her expression as

my shirt, nails scraping lightly against my back.

still have your clothes on?" Her whisper

needed to regain your energy." But I'm no fool; it takes

primal part of me racing to the forefront. A low growl rumbles in

"I'm energized."

I yank her toward me. Ava's fingers dig into my shoulders, her lips opening under mine as I plunder her mouth.

Mine.