Page 196 of Untamed

I reach up, my fingers brushing his jaw. He flinches, just slightly, but he doesn’t pull back.

“But you’re wrong. Because walking away from you will destroy me faster than any enemy you’ve ever made.” His eyes close for a beat. Like he’s trying to hold something back. Like I’ve cracked something open that he can’t unsee.

“I’m not asking you to be perfect, Ares,” I whisper. “I’m just asking you not to lie. Don’t stand there and pretend you don’t feel it too.”

Silence stretches between us, heavy and electric.

And then, almost brokenly, he says, “You’re the only thing in this world I don’t know how to survive, Bambina.”

My heart lurches.

I press my forehead to his chest, letting the rhythm of his heartbeat ground me. He stands perfectly still, then slowly, slowly, his arms come around me. Not in possession, but in surrender.

He holds me like I’m fragile.

Like he doesn’t trust himself not to crush the only soft thing left in his world.

His muscular arms are strong around me, solid and steady, but there’s a tremble buried deep beneath it all, one I feel more than see. Like he’s trying to keep himself from falling apart completely.

I tilt my face up, eyes searching his.

“Ares…” I whisper, my voice barely carrying.

His gaze drops to mine, and something behind it flickers, like a flame burning low, not yet ready to die.

“I meant what I said,” I tell him. “I don’t want protection. I wantyou.All of you. The good, the bad… the parts you think no one could ever love.”

His lips press together firmly, and I see it again, how hard it is for him to let the words come. Like they don’t fit easily in his mouth. Like they were carved from stone just to be spoken aloud.

“I don’t deserve you,” he finally says, voice rough. “I’m the reason everything I touch turns to ash.”

I shake my head slowly. “Then maybe I’ll be the one thing that doesn’t.”

A beat of silence passes between us.

Then he leans in, forehead pressed to mine, the warmth of his breath dancing across my lips. The nearness steals the air from my lungs, but I don’t pull away. I don’t flinch.

Because I’m done pretending that I don’t want this.

He speaks again, barely a breath. “You make me want things I thought were dead in me.”

“You make me feel like I’m not alone anymore,” I whisper back.

His hand rises, fingers trailing gently along my jaw, over my cheek, like he’s trying to memorise me with touch alone.

“Tell me to stop,” he murmurs.

I look him dead in the eye. “Don’t you dare.”

And then he dips his head and kisses me.

Not soft. Not sweet. But like he’s drowning and I’m the first breath he’s had in years.

And goddamn it, the man can kiss.

His hands bury themselves in my hair, gripping me like he never wants to let me go. His lips part mine, his tongue sliding in like he’s claiming me, devouring me like I’m the last meal on earth. The kiss deepens, teeth grazing, breath mingling, and I feel it everywhere. In my chest, my spine, the trembling in my thighs. It’s raw and honest, and fucking electric.

Ares draws back just enough to look at me, his breath ragged, his eyes dark and searching. He’s waiting for a sign, for some last-minute salvation, but there’s no hesitation in me. Only burning desire. “Fuck me,” I whisper, my voice trembling with need. My fingers slide across the warm, hard planes of his stomach, tracing every dip and ripple of muscle that twitches under my touch. “Fuck me, the way you need me, Ares.”

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