Page 37 of Wolf's Providence

I couldn’t see him, but I could almost feel him stiffening at the question. For a long moment, he didn’t answer. When he finally spoke, his voice was rough, full of something raw that made my pulse quicken. “I’m not mad. We’re trying to figure our shit out, not make things worse.”

Worse?Is that what he thought this was? Something that was broken? Dangerous? Something we needed to tiptoe around? I opened my mouth to ask, but he spoke again.

“Smelling you when you’re…riled up…it’s hard.”

“Hard?” My thirteen-year-old self snickered. “How hard? Really hard?”

I heard his groan, but I also heard the amusement. “You’re a child.”

I grinned at the wall, the tension leaving my body. The bond between us flexed; it felt like…approval.

“Even with you in the room, I can still feel it pulling at me,” I confessed. Caleb grunted in agreement, cementing the fact that he felt it too. “Do you know what this is?”

“No.”

I didn’t believe him, but I also didn’t want to fight. “I don’t think we can ignore it.”

His sigh was loud in the quiet. “No.”

“Are you sure you’re not ignoring it?” I whispered, my face half-hidden in my pillow.

The chair thumped off the wall, and I tensed, knowing he was on his feet. He was behind me, and then he was moving onto the bed beside me, the bed creaking in protest at the added weight. Caleb was a big man. Solid. A large arm wrapped around me despite the layers that covered me. I could see the tension in his muscled arms, but I didn’t resist as he pulled me tight into his body.

“I’m not ignoring it,” he ground out, his voice low in my ear. “Ican’tignore it. I’m not dead. That’s the only way I could ignore it, and with how sweet your pussy smells, even then, it would be impossible.”

My face flamed at his words, and I bit my lip as my heart galloped in my chest. “I washed myself,” I whispered in protest.

I was moved onto my back, the covers still separating us, but as I stared up at him, the look in his eyes made my breath catch. The heat was undeniable. Raw. Wild. But I saw something darker.

Guilt.

I wanted to reach for him, but he pressed the blankets tightly around me, prohibiting any movements.

“If I give into this,” he told me, his voice gravelly with emotion, “I won’t be able to stop.”

My body was shaking with need, but I didn’t want to back down, and I also wanted to respect what he was saying. It was so complicated, and we both had things we needed to resolve, but I also knew I wanted him. I didn’t want to be without him. Despite everything I had said earlier, Iwantedhim.

“If you won’t be able to stop…” I dipped my eyes from his fierce gaze, taking a moment to consider my next words. Looking up at him from under my lashes, I sealed my fate. “Don’t stop.”

Caleb stared at me for a long moment, his eyes searching mine, and I could see the war that raged inside of him. He was fighting this.

Fightingus.

I was tired of fighting. “Caleb…”

His breath was uneven, his fists still clenched on either side of me as he leaned over me. His gaze dropped to my lips, and his body leaned into mine, despite his restraint.

Just when I thought he might pull away, he closed the distance between us in one swift movement, and his lips found mine, opening over mine, and he swallowed my moan as he made me forget everything. The room, the tension, the fear—all disappeared the moment his mouth claimed mine. It wasn’t just a kiss—it was a release.

I melted into him, my hands struggling to fight free of the blankets as I kissed him back, my body straining to be closer to his. The bond pulsed between us, and I could feel the connection deepening, weaving us together in ways I couldn’t explain.

Caleb growled low in his throat as he pulled me closer. His hands, finally freeing me of the blankets, slid down my body, resting on my waist as he kissed me harder, deeper, like he was afraid I might move away if he didn’t hold me tightly enough.

Our tongues moved against each other, and my fingers sank into his thick heavy hair, rubbing the soft strands between my fingers as I arched into his kiss.

I lost myself in him. In us.

I felt him push my top up, his hands exploring my body, and I felt him come to a stop. Caleb jerked his head back, his body immobile as his fingers traced over the scars on my abdomen. His touch, which had just been so urgent, now slowed, trembling slightly as he brushed over the rough skin that told the story of my survival.

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