Page 213 of Untamed

But I can’t. Because right now he looks like he’s barely holding himself together. Like if he opens his mouth, something dangerous will pour out.

So, I wait.

My breath shallow, my hands trembling.

I wait for the man who just burned a kingdom for me to finally speak.

I wait for another minute. The silence is unbearable. I can’t take it anymore. I watch as he moves like he’s alone. Like I’m not even standing here, skin still buzzing from the way he kissed me, hand still trembling from the way he pulled me out of that room like I was something precious he’d just stolen from a burning throne.

But now? Now he won’t evenlook at me.I stand there for another breath, then another, and it cracks inside me like ice under pressure.

“Say something!” I snap, the words ripping out before I can stop them. “You just dragged me out of there like some declaration of war and now you won’t even look at me?” Ares stops. His back to me. His shoulders rise with a breath so slow it terrifies me.

When he turns, it’s deliberate...controlled, like a man holding something back that wants to tear through skin and bone.

His voice when he speaks is low and fractured at the edges.

“I’m not looking at you because if I do, I won’t be able to stop.”

I blink, heat stinging my throat.

“Stop what?” I whisper.

He doesn’t blink. “Losing myself in you.”

The words hit like fire and suddenly I’m not angry. I’m unravelling.

I take a step forward, voice breaking with it. “Then don’t.”

He stares at me like he’s drowning in everything he’s never said. Like I’m the only thing keeping him tethered to what’s left of his soul.

And I know,I’ve already lost myself in him.

And I’d do it again without thinking twice.

A moment passes between us. The silence that follows my words isn't like before, it's thick. It’s heavy, like something just broke loose between us.

Ares looks at meintently, and it’s almost too much. There’s a storm behind his eyes, the kind he usually cages behind violence or silence. But right now… right now, it’s all for me. And it’s breaking him open.

His voice is rough when he finally speaks again. “My mind was already made up before I walked through those doors.” His voice is low, steady, but there’s a sharp edge beneath it, like steel honed too thin. Ares takes a step closer. Then another.

“But I had to let him speak. Had to let him believe he still had a say in who I am. What I want.” Another step. His eyes never leave mine. Another step, and he’s in front of me now. Standing lose enough that I can feel the heat rolling off his skin.

“But I stopped giving a shit about what my father wants the moment you walked into my life,”His voice drops an octave.“The moment you looked up at me and saw beyond the monster he made me.”

My throat tightens. I reach for him, without hesitation this time, fingers twisting into his shirt. And he lets me. He doesn’t flinch or pull away. Instead, he steps closer, until we’re chest to chest, our eyes interlocked.

“I sat there and let them paint a future that was never going to happen, because I was waiting for the moment it would hurt most when I took it all away.”

A sharp breath hisses between his teeth, but his eyes are softer now, hurt fleeting across his features.

“And then I looked over at you,” he continues, quietly. “And you weren’t looking back. You were just staring at the table, looking like you were already breaking.”

“That’s when it stopped being strategy.” he sighs as he leans down, just enough for his forehead to rest against mine.

“I didn’t kiss you because I lost control, Jordyn.” His voice is a vow now, low and reverent. “I couldn’t breathe, Jordyn. Not with you sitting there thinking I’d let them take me from you.”

My heart shatters in my chest when I think back to the moment, I convinced myself I had lost him. Because Ididthink that.

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