She’s tense beneath me as she tries to fight it, but the soft sound that escapes her mouth betrays her. “I don’t need your permission.”
“You’re not getting it anyway.”
It would be so easy to sink my teeth in, right here, right now, and to give her neck the endless attention it deserves. I could have her right in these woods, completely shameless and encouraged by instinct. But I won’t…not until I know I can trust her, and until she admits she wants it all the same.
Still, it doesn’t make holding back any easier.
I swallow hard as her scent fills my senses, forcing me to exercise as much restraint as I physically can. My mouthskims her neck as I urge myself to pull back enough to breathe properly, looking down at her now to find her eyes a touch wider with something caught between need and defiance.
We both take a moment to calm down, still not breaking that intimate space even if we should.
Finally, Naia mumbles as she averts her gaze while a subtle flush fills her cheeks. “I hate this.”
“Yeah,” I reply. “Me too.”
In some ways, I do. I hate the boundaries between us and the difference in our priorities. I hate how her family used her and put a target on her back. I hate how I can’t just have her regardless of how badly my wolf wants her, how I want her.
I also want this to work, even if I shouldn’t.
Another beat, Naia exhales as the tension bleeds out just a fraction, and she slumps back in subtle defeat. “Fine. For now.”
“That’s all I’m asking,” I murmur, taking in her features while I have the chance. There’s no telling when she’ll allow me this close again.
Eventually, I push myself off her, then haul her up to her feet before she can argue again. “Come on.”
Even if I was savoring that contact, she jerks her arm free the second she can. “I can walk.”
“Good,” I mumble, bristling all the same as I keep my attention split between her and the woods around us.
We head back in tense silence with the bond humming between us as company, like a constant reminder of everything we’re not saying. Everything we’re not dealing with.
All the while, I try to convince myself that I’m not still focusing on how addictive her scent is, or how close I was to tasting her all over again.
Chapter 18 - Naia
Even a few days later, I’m still thinking about the way he tackled me. Rather than the impact of it or the argument that followed, I keep seeing the look in his eyes before he shifted back.
That feral intensity in them that said I wasn’t just being reckless, but I was also hurting him. Like I was his problem, and I was something he couldn’t just let go of.
And after the fact, having him so near almost broke my resolve entirely. I can still feel the shiver that ran up my spine at the fan of his breath against my neck, along with how it made me instantly react to him.
I shove the thought away as I walk through Delmont, my arms crossed tightly over my chest. All of it doesn’t mean anything, and it sure as hell can’t mean anything.
While I did say I wouldn’t leave, at least not without him, that doesn’t mean my goals have changed.
Zane is certainly an obstacle, but the bond is truly messing with things. It’s blurring lines that shouldn’t be blurred and making everything feel more charged than it needs to be. That’s all.
He doesn’t care…not really. He’s just reacting to bond and to protectiveness because of the situation and because of what I represent. It has nothing to do with me specifically.
Latching onto that thought, I ground myself with it as I move further into town, hoping for the chance to clear my head after he’s been running through it constantly.
It’s easier that way, even if the memory lingers, and even while I can still hear the way he said I’m not letting you go back alone.
My jaw tightens, feeling annoyed and infuriated thanks to the traitorous thoughts lingering in the back of my mind.
Knowing that ruminating on it won’t help me, I force my attention outward instead. Delmont is busier today, or maybe I’m just noticing more now that I’ve had some time to settle in.
Wolves move through the streets with purpose, keeping conversations low but constant as they fill each other in on the latest news. There’s a rhythm here I didn’t pick up on before, and it’s more functional…stable, even.
