I needed to take that time to myself, to outgrow a few things and to work my curiosity out of my system, but I’ve done that now. I know who I am. I know what I want. And the truth is that I want YOU. I’ve always wanted you. It’s always been you.

I hope you don’t mind that I’m telling you this. But I wanted you to know the truth. I don’t know how long it’ll take to catch the supernaturals behind these abductions, but even if you need to stay in our protective services for the next few months, I’ll wait for you. I’ll wait for you to decide if you want me too, and if you do, nothing will stop me from being at your side.

Carlos

When I finished reading, I sat in numb silence. I’d known from Carlos’s behavior that he had interest in rekindling our relationship, but I hadn’t realized how much interest.

Stunned, I reread his letter, then read it again. I’ll wait for you.

He intended to wait for me. But wait for what?

I folded the letter, my fingers trembling, before I tucked it back into the envelope and tossed it on the nightstand. My brow furrowed as I tried to contemplate how I even felt for my ex.

Honestly, I didn’t know. But love? I knew I no longer felt love.

With a sigh, I quickly visited the bathroom before slipping under the cold sheets. That letter stared back at me from the bedside table, while below in the living room, the hunter brooded and the fire crackled.

∞     ∞     ∞

I awoke to the feel of Kaillen beneath me and my body sprawled across his. Our limbs were entwined again, our breaths mingled. A shiver of awareness danced through me. It was how we often woke, as if we sought each other in sleep because while awake I wouldn’t allow it.

Only this time, the hunter still slept.

I blinked, letting my eyes adjust to the early morning sunlight drifting into the room. Stubble graced the hunter’s cheeks. He hadn’t shaved in days. And despite the soft puffs raising his chest that let me know he slept deeply, dark smudges lined the skin beneath his eyes.

It seemed he was sleeping less and less each night. I had no idea what time the hunter had come to bed, but since a half-drunk glass of whiskey sat on his nightstand, I guessed it was pretty late.

For a moment, I studied him, letting myself take in his dark hair, the sharpness of his jaw, the smoothness of his forehead, and the angle of his profile. Gods, he was so beautiful. Achingly so. And his scent . . .

I leaned closer, taking in that aroma of cedar and citrus. I sniffed again, and caught an underlying scent of earth and pine, the same scent I’d detected from Cameron.

I shook my head. So strange. I sniffed again and still detected it.

For whatever reason, each day, Kaillen’s inherent scent seemed to grow a little bit stronger, along with other smells and aromas. I had no idea if my awakening magic also affected my other senses, but I was beginning to think it did. It was the only logical explanation, because not only was my sense of smell becoming sharper but so were my eyesight and hearing, and I could swear that I’d grown physically stronger too. It was all so weird, but I wasn’t complaining. It gave me an edge that I’d never had before.

The hunter stirred against me, shifting, until his leg locked around mine and his arm tightened around my waist. He pulled me closer, his head dipping, his nose nuzzling into the crook of my neck, all while he continued sleeping.

A flame of desire licked my insides, and I pressed my lips into a tight line to stop the breathy sound that wanted to escape from me. Pulsing need clenched low in my belly, and the unconscious hunter must have recognized it, even in sleep, because his rod stiffened, growing into a thick erection that strained against his shorts and speared my abdomen.

Gods.

A low growl came from him, and then his lips were pressing against the base of my throat, his tongue darting out to taste.

I knew I needed to push him away, to scramble back, but he was still sleeping, and oh my god, it felt so good when he moved against me like that.

For a brief moment, I allowed myself to close my eyes, to let myself feel all of the sensations that came with being so close to the hunter, and I let myself pretend—pretend that for just a moment that he loved me for me and not just for my magic.

I shifted my hips until I rubbed against him. That aching curl increased low in my belly. A deep purr came from the hunter’s throat, and his arm hauled me even closer.

I gasped, not able to contain the sound, and then Kaillen’s eyes flashed open.

He gazed down at me, those irises still cloudy from sleep, but fire and hunger strained in them as his wolf’s golden glow flared around them.

“Tala,” he whispered hoarsely. His words were thick, and I wondered if he truly was awake or still sleeping because his eyes closed again before he inhaled deeply.

“Mine,” he said in a deep, throaty growl.

Before I could stop him, his lips were crushed to my mouth.

I tried to scramble back, but it was too late. I’d allowed myself to get too close. After nearly two weeks of avoiding him, my body was wound so tight that one snip and it shot from my control.

My lips parted of their own accord, a breathy moan working up my throat. How? How could I possibly do this? Keep resisting him when I wanted him so much?

Because with him, I didn’t have to tame my sharp tongue, or hide my true magic. He’d seen me—all of me—when I’d let my façade fall and behaved in a way that few in our community had ever seen before.

And Kaillen accepted those parts of me, reveled in them even. He’d encouraged me from day one to be myself without limits or restraints, even if those encouragements were driven by his wolf.

His mouth moved with mine, his hands gliding along my skin. My power hummed and swelled, and a low rumble of pleasure vibrated from him.

The hunter wasn’t afraid of my strength even in sleep. He didn’t covet my power. He simply admired it. Admired me.

And understanding that, knowing that he accepted me as I was, it . . .

My heart tore.

“I can’t do this.” I wrenched myself off of him, breaking his hold as that bone-deep knowledge hit me. Even though we were truly coming to know one another, this attraction between us, this want and desire . . . it wasn’t real. No. It was only real for me. Not him. For him, it was entirely driven by his wolf. Hell, if it wasn’t for his damn wolf, he never would have brought me here, told me about his childhood, trained me, kept me safe. If not for his wolf, the hunter wouldn’t have given me a second thought after he’d rescued my sister.

I was halfway to the bathroom before a blur shot past me and then he was there, standing right in front of me in the bedroom doorway, blocking my path.

“Tala,” he said raggedly.

So he hadn’t been sleeping.

“Get out of my way.” The words hissed out of me, and for some stupid reason, tears began to fill my eyes.

“Colantha.” Anguish streaked across his features. “Why do you fight this? Why do you run from me?”

But I couldn’t respond. My tongue had tied itself into a knot as my belly ached from guilt and desire.

He snarled, his eyes glowing so brightly they were molten fire. “For days I’ve been living like this, barely able to breathe around you, and I know you feel the same attraction to me, so why, dammit? Why?” The last word shot out of him, more growl than language. His hands curled around my hips, locking me in place as his warmth seared into my skin. “Why are you doing this to me? To us?”

Harsh breaths lifted my chest, and I blinked furiously, hating these awful sensations strumming through me. Pain, tension, denial, regret, desire . . . it was all one big swirling mess. But I knew one thing with absolute stark clarity.