Page 33 of Untamed

When I don’t respond, he continues.

“Tell me to go, Ember.” His voice is low and molten. “Say the word, and I’ll vanish.”

He pulls back slightly, just enough to meet my eyes. "The choice is yours. Always. But make no mistake—I don’t bluff."

His words hang in the air, thick with promise, as he steps back, giving me space. My knees nearly buckle as the heat between us dissipates like smoke.

I stare at him, my pulse pounding in my ears. I should tell him to leave, to get the hell out of my life before he burns it all down.

But the words won’t come.

He chuckles softly, shaking his head. “That’s what I thought, little queen," he says before disappearing into the shadows. “I’ll be waiting.”

And then he’s… gone, like Batman.Poof.

I’m left alone on the roof, my body trembling and my mind spinning.

God help me, I think I want him to come back.

Chapter 5

RODION

I shouldn’t be doingthis.

I really,reallyshouldn’t be doing this. Rafail is going to have my fucking head.

But what he doesn’t know…

I don’t want to terrify the girl. I’m not that kind of a guy. But Idowant to call her bluff, and I couldn’t help myself. She has post after post about being tied up and blindfolded, about how she fantasizes about being taken in the dark and manhandled.

I would know. I’ve pored over every post with glee, taking clear notes.

She can lie all she wants. I know better. She wants this. I could tell by the way her breathing hitched, and she didn’t tell me to go.

I pried myself away from her with difficulty.

She was even more beautiful than I remembered.

I lean against the edge of the rooftop, watching the faint glow of light filtering through the windows below. I put the lights back on so I can see her again. She’s back inside, pacing like a caged lioness, her hair catching the soft glow of those fairy lights she loves so much. I can see her outline clearly enough to know she’s furious. Confused. But she didn’t tell me to go.

And that’s the only reason I walked away.

I’m not the monster she imagines me to be. Not yet.

Still, my blood sings from the memory of her—her wide green eyes flashing with fire and fear, the way she anchored her hands on her hips and tried to stand her ground against me. She was trembling, sure, but not from terror. I’ve seen terror before. This wasn’t it. This was something else.

Excitement.

Even as I left her, I could feel it, a live current connecting us, sparking every time her lips curled in defiance or her voice rose to challenge me. She wanted to fight, and I wanted to let her win just to see how far she’d push.

But I can’t. I can’t fucking get involved.

She’s innocent—wrapped in her soft blankets and fairy lights, her books and dreams. And my world? It’s drenched in violence and lies, blood under every nail. She doesn’t know what she’s playing with. She doesn’t know what I am.

I clench my fists, my knuckles aching from how tightly I grip the edge of the roof. I should leave her alone, let her think this was some strange fever dream, a flirtation gone too far. She deserves to live her life in peace, untouched by men like me.

But when I closed the distance between us earlier, when her breath hitched, and her pupils dilated as I leaned closer…

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