I dried her off, laid her out on my bed, giving myself a moment to just look at her, before joining her in the bed I’d only ever shared with my wife.

I pushed that thought to the back of my head, instead focusing on the way I felt in the moment. How great it was to experience that punch of lust, of heat, as I took in her pretty perky breasts with the dark red peaks, and the blonde hair that was so light on her skin, that it was almost transparent.

I placed my hands on her shins and slowly made my way up, stroking and caressing as I learned more about her. What made her gasp, what made her body bow, and what made her moan.

Katja was extremely responsive, and the look on her face as she made those sweet little sounds in the back of her throat, had me ready to explode before I was ready.

An image of Sarah flashed, unbidden in my brain, but I cast it aside and replaced my fingers with my lips. I kissed, licked and sucked Katja’s skin, driving myself to the brink of madness, as I did the same to her.

“Bane,” she pleaded, putting her hands in my hair and tugging it to try and get me to do what she wanted.

I moved quickly, flipping her over onto her stomach and pulling her hips up so her ass was on display before me. I ran my palms over her cheeks, then down her slit and over her pussy. She was soaked. Turned on and ready for me, which had my wolf howling and eager to mate.

I fisted my hand over my cock, stroking it once and coating it with her juices, then held her hip steady as I drove inside.

Katja’s head flew back as she pushed back against me, driving me deeper inside.

I held on to her hips and fucked her. Hard and fast. The sounds and smells of the room fueling the animal within as I worked us both into a frenzy.

I shifted my hips until I found her g-spot with the head of my cock and then focused on hitting it repeatedly as I moved in and out.

“Oh my God, Bane,” Katja cried, her hands fisting in the bedspread. “Don’t stop.”

I didn’t stop, instead moving faster and harder until I felt her walls clench around me and she let out a long keening moan.

My own body responded and I came long and hard, letting out a low growl as my mind blanked and my tension released.

Katja collapsed on the bed beneath me, and I went to get a wet towel to clean myself off, then another for her. I joined her in bed and pulled her close, her body limp and her soft sigh sweet.

“I love you, Bane,” Katja said softly.

Utterly relaxed, eyes closed, and with a smile on my lips, I replied, “I love you, too, Sarah.”

I felt her go rigid against me, but it still took a minute for what I’d just said to register in my mind.

Guilt instantly flooded me.

Guilt over what I’d just said… what we’d just done. And it was quickly followed by a sense of betrayal.

“Fuck,” I muttered as I moved away from Katja and got out of bed.

I couldn’t look at her as I pulled out shorts and a t-shirt and put them on.

I ran my hand through my hair and finally turned, bracing myself as I faced the bed.

Katja had the blankets pulled up, covering herself, her expression sad, yet understanding?

“Bane,” she began softly. “It’s okay…”

“No,” I shouted, cutting her off. “It’s not okay. This is all too fast… I told you I needed time… it’s my fault. I never should have touched you. This was a mistake.”

I saw Katja flinch, but steeled myself against any further emotions.

I was in self-preservation mode.

Katja got out of the bed, but took the sheet with her and kept it wrapped around her body.

“Bane,” she said, coming toward me slowly, as if approaching a wild animal.

Which in that moment, I was…

“I understand. Maybe we moved too fast. You weren’t ready, I get that. We can slow down and take things a day at a time.”

I shook my head.

“You said you love me,” I said accusingly. “That goes against everything we said…everything we agreed upon.”

Katja’s eyes widened and filled.

“I didn’t mean for it to happen, but I couldn’t help it,” she said, her voice rough with emotion. “You’re so amazing… you and Sloane, and I was helpless against it. I know we said we’d keep those kind of feelings out of it, but Bane… honestly… how can you expect to be with a woman for the rest of your life, have sex with her, raise children with her, and keep both of your hearts disengaged. It’s not how we’re built. Not how I’m built, I guess.”

“That’s the way it has to be,” I said coldly, my body numb.

“I can try,” she began, but I cut her off again.

“No, it’s too late for that now. This whole thing was a mistake. The app, the trial… all of it. You have to go.”

“Bane,” Katja cried, reaching out to me, but I took a step back and tried to ignore the look of pain in her eyes.

“I’m sorry,” I said woodenly. “I can’t do this anymore.”

I turned and fled the room, running down the stairs and shifting before I’d even made it off the porch.

I stopped and howled, my wolf pissed, confused, and disappointed… in me.

I shoved those feelings aside and ran.