Page 199 of Untamed

His name leaves my lips like a prayer. And when we fall over the edge together, soaked in sweat, trembling and tangled in moonlight and promises, I don’t feel lost. I finally feel found. Like I’ve spent my whole life wandering, only to realise I was always meant to end up here, in him.

Jordyn’s body is draped over mine, soft and bare, skin still damp from everything we just gave each other. One of her legs is tangled between mine, her cheek resting against my chest, fingers lazily drawing invisible shapes over the scar above my ribs.

I don’t move. I don’t speak.

If I do, this quiet moment might end.

And fuck, I need it to last. Just a little longer while I pretend we’re just a normal couple falling in love.

I trail my hand up and down her spine, slow and steady. She shivers, but doesn’t pull away. Her heartbeat is calm, but mine isn’t.

I’ve never felt so full and so fucking empty at the same time.

She sighs. “Mm, this is… nice.”

That word, from her lips, makes something ache in my chest. Like she’s describing something simple. Soft. Not the goddamn cathedral she just built inside me.

I nod, pressing a kiss into her hair. “Yeah. It is.”

A few quiet beats pass between us. Then her voice returns, smaller, thoughtful.

“Oh, I forgot to tell you.”

That pulls me back.

I glance down, just as she shifts to look up at me. Her eyes are still sleepy, lips swollen from kissing, but something’s there now, uncertainty.

“What is it?” I ask.

She props her chin on my chest, drawing idle circles with her fingertip. “Earlier, after I got home from town… I got a call. An unknown number.”

I go still.

She notices. “It kept ringing. Four times. I ignored the first few, but then I answered it.”

“Jordyn…” My voice is already low, already sharpening.

She lifts a shoulder. “There was nothing at first. Just silence. And then as I was about to hang up… I heard this voice. A man.”

“What did he say?”

Her brows draw together like she’s still trying to make sense of it. “Presto. Then he hung up.”

The word hits me like a gunshot to the spine.

Soon.

My mind fractures instantly into calculation, who has her number, who knew she’d be alone, who wants me rattled. My grip on her waist tightens, and I feel her tense slightly.

“Ares?”

I blink down at her. “Do you think it was just… a wrong number?” she asks carefully.

I force my face to remain calm. My voice doesn’t shake when I say, “No. I don’t.”

Because I know what that was.

A warning.

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