Page 48 of The Blood Moon Oath

And then, just as quickly as it started, I pull away. I’m breathing hard, my chest heaving, but I push her back roughly, too roughly, like I’m trying to put distance between us—like I’m trying to outrun the storm she’s just set off inside me. My mind screams at me to stop, to pull back before it’s too late, but my body doesn’t listen.

“Enough,” I growl, my voice hoarse and strained, like I’m trying to choke back the wildfire of want that’s raging inside me. I stagger back, taking a few steps to clear my head, to put some fucking space between us.

I look at her—her lips swollen, breathless, eyes dark and glassy with something I can’t name. I see it in the way she’s watching me, the way her body trembles as if she’s trying to hold herself together. And I realize, in that moment, she’s feeling it too.

“You think you can just play with me?” I say, the words coming out colder than I mean them to be, my chest tight with the effort it takes to keep my hands from reaching for her again. “I’m not your fucking plaything.”

Her eyes flash with a mix of amusement and something darker, and I know I’ve just made a mistake. "And I'm not yours," she all but seethes.

I can’t be around her right now. I turn toward the door, my hand gripping the handle.

Before I walk out, I throw a final glance over my shoulder. “You want to play games? Go find someone else.” I storm out of the room, my heart pounding in my chest, the fucking tension still buzzing through my body, demanding release.

Chapter

Twenty-Seven

TORIN

I’m leaning against the stone wall outside Finn’s chambers, arms crossed, watching the flickering torchlight down the hallway. The air feels heavy, thick with something I can’t quite place, but it’s clear as day—Finn’s pissed.

I don’t know what happened, but it’s always a fucking storm when that bastard gets riled up. I’m just here for the aftermath. Hell, maybe I’ll get a little entertainment out of it if things go the right way.

Finn’s footsteps echo down the hallway before he appears, storming out of the room with a look that could kill. His jaw is tight, his eyes narrowed like he’s about to rip someone’s throat out. The tension in his posture says it all. Doesn’t matter who it is—he’s been pushed to the edge.

He doesn’t even see me as he storms past, or maybe he doesn’t care. Either way, I just stay still, watching him go, a grin pulling at the corner of my lips.

Then she comes.

Sable.

She storms out of Finn’s room like she owns the damn place, her eyes burning with something between fury and frustration. “You don’t just get to walk away from me, Finn!” she yells down the hall, voice echoing off the stone.

I can’t help the laugh that rumbles in my chest. This—this right here—is going to be fun. I push off the wall, moving toward her slowly, just close enough so she doesn’t sense me coming.

By the time she turns, I’m right behind her, close enough to feel the heat of her body, the tension in the air between us like it’s going to snap. She opens her mouth, probably to say something sharp and biting, but I don’t give her a chance.

I cup my hand over her mouth, silencing her, pressing her back into my chest. She doesn’t freeze, though. She doesn’t just accept it. She fucking fights.

I let her squirm a little, just to feel the way her body moves against mine. The struggle—God, it feels so damn good. She’s not weak. She’s not some helpless little thing who folds under pressure. That makes it even better. The more she struggles, the better it feels, and my cock is hardening against her back.

“Don’t fight it, kitten,” I whisper into her ear, my grip tightening around her. “You feel that? The more you struggle, the better it gets.”

She growls something against my hand, her body going rigid for a second before she slowly starts to deflate. There’s nothing quite like the feeling of having her body give in, just a little, to the pressure, to the electricity between us.

I slowly remove my hand from her mouth, letting her breathe. She turns her head, glaring at me like she’s about to rip me apart with her eyes.

“What the hell was that for?” she snaps, but her voice lacks that sharpness now. It’s more breathless than pissed.

“Just seeing what you’re made of,” I tell her, my voice low. “Now, what happened with Finn? You two seem to have gotten under each other’s skin.”

She huffs, rolling her eyes, but there’s something in her expression that softens just a little. “Nothing, really. He just… we just… got under one another’s skin, I guess.”

I grin. “Uh-huh. Sure, kitten. You know better than that.”

Her face hardens, but she’s still breathing a little heavy, the fight gone, replaced by something I can’t quite place. “Finn’s got issues with women. Clearly.”

I can’t help but laugh. “Yeah, no shit. But that’s Finn. You’ll learn to ignore his bullshit.” I pause, watching her, noticing the way her shoulders tense up again, the way she looks like she’s about to start pacing. “What about you, though? What’s really bothering you?”

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