Page 110 of The Fated Hunter Wolf
"No," I said, stopping him with a hand on his chest. "Whatever you're about to do, don't."
"Sable—"
"You promised me everything." I looked him straight in the eye. "No walls. No holding back. So stop looking at me like you’re going to break me."
His jaw tightened. "I'm not?—"
"You are." I fisted his shirt, pulled him closer. "I can see it. That hesitation. Like you're afraid you'll break me if you let go. I'm not fragile, Rhys." I grabbed the back of his head, caressing him while trying to control the need that was growing in me. "I'm half vampire. Half wolf. I've survived things that would kill most people. So stop treating me like something delicate and give me what you promised."
That brought a whisper of a smile to his lips.
"I need all of you," I said, softer now. "Not the careful version. Not the one who holds back because you're scared.You. Raw and real and completely here with me."
For a heartbeat, he just looked at me. Then his restraint shattered.
He kissed me hard, possessive, his hands gripping my face. This wasn't gentle or careful. This was everything I'd been demanding, everything I needed.
"Yes," I breathed against his mouth. "Like that."
His growl rumbled through his chest into mine. I tasted the wildness on his tongue, felt his fingers tangle in my hair, angling my head so he could deepen the kiss. My wolf surged forward, eager and ready.
But so did my vampire side.
The dual nature rose in me—fangs lengthening alongside canines, bloodlust mixing with wolf instinct. It had been like this since I'd turned, both sides of me wanting, needing, demanding. I usually felt them competing inside me. Right now, they were in perfect agreement.
Make him ours. Claim him.
I grabbed his shirt, pulled. Buttons scattered across the floor. He made a sound—half surprise, half approval—then yanked it off and tossed it aside. His hands were on me, sliding under my shirt, rough and warm and impatient.
"Get it off me," I demanded.
He obeyed, stripping the fabric away. For a moment we just stared at each other—his chest rising and falling hard, my skin flushed hot. The bond between us thrummed insistently, a physical pressure demanding completion.
His eyes changed, the warm brown swallowed by wolf-gold. My own vision sharpened, colors intensifying as my wolf pushed forward. But I felt the vampire rising too—my senses heightening differently, hunger stirring low in my belly.
"Sable." His voice had dropped lower than I’d heard it before. "If we do this?—"
"We're doing this." I pulled him close. "No more doubts. No more fear. Just us."
His mouth found mine again, and this time there was nothing held back. Just heat and desperation and the overwhelming rightness of his hands on my body, his weight pressing me down onto the mattress.
We fell together, tangled and urgent. City lights spilled through the window, painting gold and blue shadows across his skin. I traced them with my fingers, mapping muscle and bone, memorizing the feel of him.
He made a low sound in his throat and moved his mouth to my neck. Not biting yet, but kissing, tasting, his canines scraping my pulse point.
My wolf keened. My vampire side hissed, hungry.
Both wanted him. Both demanded I claim him.
Soon, I promised them.Soon.
His hands worked at the rest of our clothes—clumsy with urgency, fabric pulled away and discarded until there was nothing between us but skin and want and the bond singing for completion.
"Goddess, Sable." He pulled back, hunger in his eyes stealing my breath. "Do you know what you do to me?"
"Show me." I wrapped my legs around him, pulled him closer. "Stop talking and show me."
I watched as his control snapped completely. His eyes went fully gold, his wolf taking over. He climbed on top of me, pushing me back onto the bed and ripping my shirt open.
