Page 47 of The Blood Moon Oath

The words sting, but I keep my posture loose, shrugging it off. Her eyes flick to my chest, and I can’t miss the way her gaze lingers.

“Don’t you ever get tired of hiding?” she asks, her voice dripping with curiosity—and something else. Something that makes my pulse quicken. “I bet there’s more under that cloak of yours than just muscle. What’s really going on in there?”

The damn tension in my pants is growing harder by the second. I’m trying not to show it, trying to keep my control in check, but the way she speaks, the way she challenges me—it’s fucking maddening.

I take a breath, fighting the urge to pull her closer, to lean in and taste that sharp, defiant mouth of hers. “You really want to know?” I ask, keeping my voice low, the question laced with something darker.

She doesn’t back down. “Maybe. What do you think?” Sheleans forward just slightly, eyes darkening, daring me to make a move.

Fuck, it’s getting harder to focus. I step toward her, unable to stop myself this time. “You’ve got a sharp tongue, Sable,” I murmur, watching the way she tenses when I close the distance between us. “I think you’re hiding something too. You can’t just hunt warlocks so successfully without a few skeletons in your closet. What’s your secret?”

She meets my gaze, and there’s a flicker of something dangerous in her eyes. “I’m not the one hiding,” she says, her voice low and steady. “But I’m not here to spill my soul to you, Finn. That’s not why you brought me here, is it?”

She’s too damn perceptive, and it’s starting to fucking irritate me. I can feel my body betraying me, tension building in every nerve as I step closer. The distance between us is nothing now.

Her lips are only inches away, and every breath she takes sends a pulse of heat straight to my core. “What is it about you, Finn?” she whispers, her voice low and thick with something I can’t name, but that makes every nerve in my body snap to attention. “Why do you hold back? What makes you so goddamn cold?”

The words sink into me like a blade, cutting through my defenses. She’s fucking toying with me now. Testing me, pushing my buttons, and I can feel the danger in it. She wants to break through. She wants to unravel me, and it’s working. I can’t decide if I want to kiss her until I can’t breathe or strangle the smug little smile off her face. Either way, the tension between us is unbearable. Every inch of her taunting proximity is like a spark waiting for a match.

“Maybe I don’t have time for games,” I growl, the words harsh, forced. But even as I say it, every muscle in my body screams to pull her closer. I want to drag her into my arms, feelthe heat of her skin beneath my hands, and drown in the scent of her—intoxicating, dangerous. But I can’t let myself.

She doesn’t back off. No, she leans in just a fraction closer, and my control starts slipping like sand through my fingers. Her hand moves, slow, deliberate, brushing against the fabric of my cloak as though she’s testing me, seeing how far she can push me before I snap. “Don’t lie,” she murmurs, her voice curling around me like smoke. “You want to play with me. And I can tell... you’re not used to losing control.”

The words hit me like a shock to my system. My body reacts before my mind does. She’s right, and it’s fucking maddening. I can feel the heat of her touch sear through me, igniting something primal that I’ve been desperately trying to keep buried. My pulse is thundering in my ears, my cock hardening against the tightness of my jeans as I try to keep it in check, but it’s useless.

She knows it. She fucking knows what she’s doing to me, and she’s savoring every second of it. Her fingers linger, a little too long, tracing the edge of my cloak, and I can’t stop myself from leaning in just a fraction. My chest is tight, and every breath I take feels like I’m suffocating under the weight of what’s building between us.

She’s close enough now that I can feel the warmth of her body, the faintest brush of her breath against my lips. The temptation to close the gap is suffocating, but I dig my nails into my palms, forcing myself to stay still, to hold on to some shred of control.

“Stop this,” I mutter, though the words are barely audible, more for my benefit than hers. She doesn’t pull away. Instead, she takes a step closer, the heat of her radiating into me, and I fucking lose it.

“Why?” she asks, her voice dripping with challenge. “Because you can’t handle it? Or because you’re afraid you might like it?”

My heart is racing now, blood pounding in my veins, and I’m no longer sure who’s in control of this game. She’s just a little too close, and I can’t take it anymore. The walls I’ve spent years building crash down around me, and in one sharp movement, I close the space between us. My hands grip her waist, pulling her against me.

Her breath hitches, but it’s not fear I see in her eyes—it's something else. Something darker. Her hands rest lightly on my chest, her fingers just brushing against my skin, and it’s like a fucking jolt of electricity runs through me.

“You’re pushing me too far, Sable,” I growl, my voice tight, a little too strained. I can’t fucking help myself. She’s got me right where she wants me. But I can’t let her see that.

I want to shove her away. I want to pull her close. It’s a war inside me, and right now, she’s winning. She’s close—too close—and the feeling of her hand lingering on my chest is enough to drive me mad.

She doesn’t pull back, though. She leans in closer, her breath warm against my neck. “What’s the matter, Finn? You don’t want to play?” she teases, the words brushing against my skin like a challenge.

“Don’t do that,” I say, my voice tight, forced through gritted teeth. I’m barely holding onto my control, and she knows it.

But then she steps back, just far enough to keep the tension alive, that dangerous spark crackling between us. “Maybe you’re right,” she says with a smirk, eyes never leaving mine. “Maybe you’re just like me. Too proud to admit what you really want.”

I don’t know why, but those words cut through me like a fucking knife. She’s got me by the balls, and she knows it.

I move before I can think, my hands finding her waist, pulling her roughly to me by the arm. The moment our bodies connect, a shock of electricity races through me, setting every nerve on fire. Her breath hitches, her body stiffening for just a second as if she’s going to fight me, but I’m not giving her a choice. My lips crash against hers in a heated, desperate kiss. It’s messy, urgent, like we’re both starving and this is the only thing that’ll feed us.

I can taste her—sweet and sharp, a heady mix of defiance and desire. Her body presses against mine, the softness of her curves melding with the hard planes of my chest, and I feel the heat of her skin like an inferno against mine. Her hands come up to push against my chest, but I don’t give her the space. I hold her tighter, pulling her in so close she can’t escape, my fingers digging into the small of her back, forcing her to feel every inch of me.

She pushes against me, hard, trying to break the contact, but it’s like trying to shove away a force of nature. My mouth moves against hers with an urgency that makes my pulse race. Her lips are warm, soft, her breath ragged as she struggles, but there’s something in the way she’s fighting back that only makes me want her more. Her body presses into mine, her chest rising and falling with every shaky breath, and for a split second, I think she’s going to tear away, push me off, but then—something shifts.

Her hands move up to grip my shoulders, and for a brief, breathless moment, I feel her hesitate, as if the fight has drained from her. Her body goes soft against mine, like she’s surrendering to the kiss, melting into me, her lips parting as her fingers trail down my chest, testing me, feeling me.

God, I want to lose myself in this, in her, but there’s a fire burning inside me, a voice telling me I can’t give in, that if I do, she’ll destroy everything I’ve fought so damn hard to keep incheck. But she’s too much. Her body pressed against mine, her lips finally moving with mine, matching the desperation, the raw need that pulses through me—it’s impossible to ignore.

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